The department is actively involved in research in all current areas of Computer Science. The focus of the PhD program is on research training with a high degree of specialization. The aim of such a training is to make our PhD students very competent in their respective areas, so that they may be able to take up teaching or research-and-development professions.
The residence requirements for PhD program is four or six semesters depending on whether the student has M.Tech. or B.Tech. degree, respectively.
For PhD students who have an M.Tech. degree, the minimum requirement is that of 144 credits, out of which at least 36 credits should be through regular post-graduate courses and at least 72 credits should be through research. In case of PhD students holding a B.Tech. degree, the minimum requirement is that of 216 credits, out of which 36 credits should be through post-graduate courses and at least 72 credits should be through research. A typical course is considered to be of 9 credits. All the courses in the PhD program are electives. A list of all computer science courses is available here (https://www.cse.iitk.ac.in/pages/Courses.html). A large number of electives are offered in each semester. The exact courses offered will depend on availability of faculty members in a particular semester.
Please check the Research Areas page to learn more about the interesting work being carried out by members of the department.
The department of Computer Science & Engineering at IIT Kanpur has always been a very open and supportive department for all its students, and particularly so for the PhD students. There is a relaxed, friendly atmosphere, where faculty and students mix freely. PhD students are respected as much as any faculty member. They have their own air-conditioned office space, furniture, etc., with a telephone. Each student is given a PC on her/his desk, when they join. They get office support for photocopying, laser printing, mailing, stationery, etc. They have a say in deciding the books and journals to be bought by the library. They can expect to get travel support to attend conferences. More details on financial assistantship is given below. In addition, the deparment runs a large number of short-term courses for the industry, in which PhD students have a choice to teach. If they choose to teach those courses, they will be given additional handsome remuneration for that.
Non-sponsored candidates admitted to the regular full-time PhD Program who are Indian Nationals are eligible for financial assistance as follows: TA/RA ship: Candidates admitted to the PhD program (and satisfying some conditions like either holding M.Tech. degree or having a valid GATE score, minimum marks in qualifying degree examination, etc.) will be offered the Teaching Assistantship (TA) or Research Assistantship. A teaching assistant can be asked to conduct labs, help an instructor in grading, and other course-related tasks. In some cases, TA can also be asked to teach tutorial sessions to the first year BTech students. A research assistant can be asked to support the department in various academic activities. An RA can also be assigned to faculty members to help them in their research effort. The assistantship amount depends on whether the candidate has a BTech degree or an MTech degree. The assistantship after MTech is Rs. 25000 per month. This amount can be supplemented by various grants. Ph.D students are given stipend of Rs. 25,000 per month for first two years which increases to Rs. 28,000 per month for next three years. Project Assistantship: Several faculty members are working on sponsored projects, supported by government funding agencies such as MHRD, DoE, DST, AICTE, etc. Some projects are also funded by Industry. A PhD student can be hired as a project employee to carry out research. The assistantship amount in such cases may be more than the default stipend of Rs. 25,000 p.m. Industry Fellowships: Several companies are supporting PhD students by providing them with a fellowship.
Extension of financial Assistantship for PhD Scholars (2016 – 2017 - I) Letter.
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