IIM Ahmedabad is one of the popular student destinations for those aspiring to build their career in management and research. However, the admission at this IIM is not a cakewalk and demands strict discipline of efforts. Notably, because of the reservation policies being upheld by IIM-A. So there is no denying to the fact that the aspiring students need to have a strong academic background and intellectual curiosity and taste for research.
IIM Ahmedabad offers admissions in 11 areas of specialization namely, business policy, economics, finance & accounting, food & agribusiness, human resource management, information system, innovation & management in education, marketing, organizational behaviour, production & quantitative methods, public systems. The accepted students are also eligible to receive a comprehensive fellowship that cater to needs to students like bearing additional costs and a modest living. The institute provides in-house residential facilities in the form of dormitories as the PhD program here is a full-time residential program. A fixed number of houses are also available for married students.
A total of 378 doctoral students have graduated from IIMA so far. Also, these graduates have received top-notch placements in the fields of teaching, research and consultancy.
Admission Criteria
IIM Ahmedabad accepts GRE/ GATE/ GMAT as the standardized test for admission to PhD courses in lieu of CAT. International students and NRIs need to prove their eligibility with GATE scores. Look at the table below to know the required standardized test scores for admissions in various streams of PhD.
However, in certain exceptional cases, students are eligible for admissions at IIM Ahmedabad even without fulfilling the requirement of standardized test scores. Following are these cases:
- When the applicant is a PGP alumnus of any IIM
- PGPX/ PGP-PMP of any IIM where these courses are taught
Depending on the educational qualifications of the students, the completion of PhD may take 3-4 years. For specific details, check the following table:
| Entry Qualification | Minimum duration for completion of PhD |
| Masters | PG Diploma (2 yrs) | Professional Qualification CA/ICWA/CS with B.Com/Degree | 3 Years |
| BTech\4 year Degree with 6.5 CGPA or equivalent | 4 years |
Based on the above-mentioned admission criteria, the students must compulsorily abide by some more additional requirements, as mentioned below, for admissions at IIM.
Additional Admission Requirements
- The graduate/ postgraduate degrees/ equivalent qualification must have been completed from:
- Any of the Universities incorporated by an act of central or state legislatures in India or other educational institutions established by an act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University under section 3 of UGC Act, 1956 or
- recognized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India or
- possess an equivalent qualification from an institution approved by AICTE.
- Students pursuing the final year of their Master’s/ Bachelor’s Programs are also eligible to apply. But the accepted students in this category are allowed to join the program only on the basis of Provisional Admission and also, only if they fulfil the following admission criteria:
- submit a certificate from the Principal/Head of the Department/Registrar or Director of the university/institute (issued on or before May 31, 2020) stating that they have appeared for the examinations (including practical examinations) in all the subjects required for obtaining the Master’s/Bachelor’s degree/equivalent qualification, latest by May 31, 2020.
- submit mark sheets and pass certificate of the concerned degree and issued by the Principal/Registrar of their college/institute.
- Postgraduate applicants need to submit their final degree mark sheet/ certificate. Whereas the B.Tech applicants or any other four-year degree holder applicants should meet the 6.5 CGPA (or equivalent) stipulation.
- In case of disregard of non-fulfilment of any of the above-mentioned criteria, the provisional admission shall be deemed invalid and will be thus liable for cancellation.
Admission Deadlines
Last date to apply for online admission: January 23, 2020
Link to apply for PhD from IIM A: https://web.iima.ac.in/fpm/fpmapplication/
Note: The admission link is already open since September 10, 2019.
Admission Process
The candidates can apply online for a maximum of three areas of specialization. Both the application forms and brochures can be accessed online. The students need to submit an online application fee of Rs. 500 through the IIMA gateway.
Scores of CAT 2017/2018 and 2019 are considered for PhD 2020 admission in IIM Ahmedabad. Candidates clearing CAT cutoff or the standardised test will only be considered eligible for the admission process.
The Reservation Debate
The Central Educational Institutions (Reservation in Admission) Act, 2006, mandates that all central education institutions must reserve seats for each course and branch of study. But in the first week of September 2019 grabbed eyeballs throughout the nation when it invited applications for its PhD program but didn’t mention about the reservation quota for SC, ST and OBC students.
Siddhartha Joshi, a fellow at IIM Bangalore and Deepak Malghan, an associate professor at IIM Bangalore, recently flooded all the news channels and media portals when they wrote an open letter to Director of IIM Ahmedabad, demanding justification of this violation.
These open condemnations also revealed the hidden facts on gender inequality dominant even in the IIM faculties.
For any further admission queries in PhD at IIM Ahmedabad, students can refer to:
In-charge
Ph. D. Programme
Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Vastrapur, Ahmedabad 380 015
Phone: 079-66324638/39