New Delhi: IIT Delhi‘s doctoral output has grown remarkably fast, with the past five years producing almost as many PhDs as entire previous decades. Between 2020 and 2025 alone, the institute awarded 2,259 PhDs — almost as many as the 2,376 granted in the whole of 2010–2019 and close to the 2,281 awarded over 33 years from 1966 to 1999.The surge marks a steep upward curve. After awarding 1,130 PhDs between 2000 and 2009, the figure more than doubled in the following decade and has accelerated further since. In total, 5,765 PhDs were awarded between 2000 and 2025 — more than double the 2,281 granted in the preceding 33 years.The institute attributes this increase to sustained investment and a strengthened doctoral ecosystem. “The rise in PhD output during 2020–2025 is the outcome of significant strengthening of the doctoral ecosystem,” an IIT Delhi spokesperson said, adding, “a key factor was the increase in institutional funding for PhD assistantships. The institute now supports about 5.5 PhD students per faculty member. A co-supervised student counts as 0.5 per faculty member.“According to the institute, growth was also driven by an expansion of sponsored research projects and institutional support through matching PhD seats, which helped create funded positions and ensured continuity of research. National initiatives such as the Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) contributed to attracting high-quality students, improving both enrolment and completion rates. Targeted outreach and special drives for SC/ST students broadened participation.Despite the rapid rise in numbers, IIT Delhi says academic standards remained uncompromised. “Quality assurance remains central to our PhD programme, with rigorous coursework, qualifying exams, regular progress reviews and strict external thesis evaluations,” the spokesperson said.Research capacity expanded through access to advanced experimental facilities at the Central Research Facility, high-performance computing resources and joint PhD programmes with universities such as the University of Queensland in Australia and the National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University in Taiwan. These collaborations helped benchmark doctoral research globally.The institute said it is aligning doctoral training more closely with funded projects, industry collaborations and national missions, while increasing emphasis on research communication skills to prepare graduates for careers across academia, R&D, industry and entrepreneurship.The nature of doctoral research has also evolved. “PhD quality did not decline and in fact strengthened over time,” the spokesperson said, adding, “a new PhD curriculum introduced in 2025 reinforces these shifts.”
