The general details of the department PhD programme follow the institute policies, details given in the Academic Research Division website . We conduct an admission test usually comprising a written test and interview. Candidates who have cleared UGC-NET or have an MPhil /MTech degree may directly appear for the interview. Prospective candidates can align their interests with the research of faculty in the department. Selected candidates are either supported by a sponsored project or through DST/CSIR fellowships. The BITS also provides a limited number of fellowships to selected candidates. During the first year of PhD, scholars go through course-work, undertake teaching assignments and participate in department activities. Following this, scholars have to clear a qualifying examination before registering for their PhD thesis. The PhD candidate is assigned a supervisor and a Doctoral Advisory Committee (DAC), who guide them through the preparation of a research proposal that is presented to the Department. This is a result of literature survey and in-depth study of current status of research in their field and formulation of relevant research questions that they will work on during their PhD. Scholars encouraged to collaborate and have frequent discussions. They are expected to present department seminars and present their research progress to the DAC at the end of every semester. Research findings are communicated to the entire research community through papers published in well-regarded journals and through conference presentations. A set of coherent research outcomes form the PhD thesis which is evaluated by experts in the area. The PhD Thesis defence in the form of a seminar is presented to the Department and examined by an external examiner. Upon the recommendation of the examiners and the supervisor, the candidate is awarded a PhD degree.

An advertisement for PhD admission normally appears in April & November for admission into 1st semester & 2nd semester respectively. Working professionals (for instance, college teachers) may also seek admission as part-time PhD candidates. PhD admission test usually comprises a written test and interview. Candidates who have cleared UGC-NET or have an MPhil /MTech degree may directly appear for the interview. Admissions Portal Selected candidates are invited to interact with the department to choose an area of research and are assigned a supervisor and a Doctoral Advisory Committee (DAC) consisting of at least two faculty members. The supervisor and DAC select the course package for the first two semesters. PhD scholars are granted a tuition fee-waiver (decided by the current rules of the Institute) in exchange for teaching assistantship. A scholar is assigned teaching work taking up a maximum of 6 hours a week.

During the first two semesters, the scholar goes through formal coursework decided by the supervisor and DAC based on the scholar's background and requirements. The course unit requirements are a minimum of 24 units, not exceeding 14 per semester. The scholar must obtain at least D grade in each course and have a minimum CGPA of 5.5 to be able to continue in the programme. List of Currently available G-level courses Laboratory skills are inculcated through the SKILL courses. In addition, the scholar may also be permitted to take specialised level 4 undergraduate courses as per need. If the requirements of a particular candidate are not met by named courses then they may be permitted to take one of the generic courses with appropriate content as decided by the DAC. After successfully qualifying and registering for the PhD Thesis, the scholar is required to take the Research Methodology course.

A PhD candidate has to qualify in two thrust areas of their choice. In each area, the candidate must write at least two papers. As of now, the Theoretical Physics area is compulsory for all candidates in Physics, while they may choose their area of specialisation as the other thrust area.

Thrust Area	Papers
Theoretical Physics	Quantum Physics Electromagnetic Theory Thermal and Statistical Physics Classical mechanics
Astrophysics and Cosmology	Astronomy and Astrophysics General Relativity and Cosmology Quantum Field Theory Particle Physics
Nuclear and High Energy Physics	Nuclear Physics Advanced Quantum Physics Quantum Field Theory General Relativity and Cosmology Particle Physics
Condensed Matter/Semiconductor Physics	Solid state Physics Semiconductor Physics Soft Condensed Matter Physics Computational Methods in Condensed Matter Advanced Statistical Physics Non-equilibrium Statistical Physics
Optics and Spectroscopy	Methods of Spectroscopy and Microscopy Quantum Optics Non-linear Optics Laser Physics
Non-linear dynamics and Complex Systems	Non-linear Dynamics and Chaos Advanced Non-linear Dynamics Advanced Statistical Physics Classical Mechanics
Quantum Physics	Foundations of Quantum Theory Quantum Optics Quantum Information and Computing