The number of students applying for doctoral programmes at some of the top Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) has significantly decreased over the past decade. A study conducted by Professor D Manjunath from IIT-Bombay revealed that this decline began in 2021 and has continued, causing concern among educators in India’s top Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) colleges.
The disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic affected education, and its impact has persisted for a year. However, the number of PhD applications at these institutions, including the IITs and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), has not shown signs of improvement, as highlighted in a working paper authored by a senior professor from IIT Bombay.
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In most universities, there are two opportunities for PhD admissions each year, one in May and another in December. Interestingly, the number of applications during the December cycle is noticeably lower than those received in May. The research paper also highlighted a decline in applications for various core fields such as chemical, civil, computer science, electrical, and mechanical engineering. This trend was observed not only at several IITs including those in Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Gandhinagar but also at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru.
Professor D Manjunath from IIT-Bombay, in his paper titled ‘Engineering PhDs in Premier Institutions: What’s the Slope?’, which has gained significant attention in academic circles, pointed out that this decline in interest for PhD programmes is happening at a time when these institutions have record numbers of faculty members and ample research funding and the demand for their intellectual resources is increasing.
The paper mentions an example from IIT Bombay regarding the number of applications for PhD courses in electrical and mechanical engineering. In 2009, there were 800 applications for electrical engineering, which increased to 2,150 in 2014 but then dropped to 900 in 2022. Similarly, for mechanical engineering, there were 300 applications in 2009, which rose to 1,450 in 2016 but decreased to 950 in 2022.
The working paper, which is based on publicly available data, suggests several factors that might explain this decline in PhD applications. These factors include more students choosing to study abroad, pursuing government jobs, and concerns about the declining quality of Master’s programmes.
Some IIT professors disagreed with Professor Manjunath’s findings while speaking to ThePrint, and others agreed. Some attributed the drop in PhD applications to limited post-doctoral opportunities in the Indian tech industry.
Professor Subhasis Chaudhuri, the Director of IIT Bombay, mentioned that the decrease in applicants is due to increased opportunities in the tech industry for IIT graduates.
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