Institute Post-Doctoral Fellowship (IPDF) at IIT Madras

Job Description

IIT Madras’s Institute Post-Doctoral Fellowship (IPDF) pays Rs 1,30,000 a month plus a Rs 2 lakh annual grant, making it one of the most generous postdoc schemes in India. It is meant for early-career researchers with strong publications, and fellows work with, rather than under, a faculty mentor, with freedom to change the course of their research.

At a glance

• Scheme: Institute Post-Doctoral Fellowship (IPDF)
• Where: Any IIT Madras department, through a faculty mentor
• Pay: Rs 1,30,000 per month consolidated (Rs 70,000 from the institute plus a faculty top-up of at least Rs 60,000 from project funds)
• Grant: Rs 2,00,000 a year for travel, contingency and consumables
• Duration: Initially 1 year, extendable by up to 2 more years; minimum tenure 2 years
• Apply by: Selection runs throughout the year

Institute postdoc schemes like this one are funded partly by the institute and partly by the mentor’s projects, which gives the mentor a stake in the fellow’s success. IIT Madras also lets fellows co-guide student projects and write their own funding proposals, useful experience for anyone aiming at a faculty job.

About the fellowship

• Carry out quality research on a proposal that is not a mere extension of your Ph.D. work
• Write funding proposals, which the institute encourages
• Co-guide B.Tech, dual degree, M.Sc., M.A. and M.Tech projects with your mentor
• Possibly teach as guest faculty, paid under guest-faculty rules in addition to the fellowship

Fellows get medical benefits as applicable to Ph.D. scholars, may attend national or international conferences from the contingency grant, and get up to 30 days of leave with fellowship per completed year. Women fellows are eligible for maternity leave, subject to conditions in the guidelines. Renewal for the second year requires at least one manuscript based on first-year work at IIT Madras.

Eligibility

• A Ph.D., applying within five years of completing it; those who have submitted the thesis may apply but must produce the degree certificate within six months of appointment
• Maximum age 32 years on joining, with 5 years’ relaxation for SC/ST and women candidates and 3 years for OBC-NCL
• At least two Q1 (top-quartile) journal publications as primary contributor
• Nomination by an IIT Madras faculty member, with a signed commitment of funds (Annexure I of the application form)
• IIT Madras Ph.D. scholars are not encouraged to apply, except outstanding candidates applying to a different department

Eligible candidates face a seminar-based evaluation by a Departmental Evaluation Committee, then an interview by an Institute Selection Committee, which recommends selected candidates to the Director. Rolling programme: there is no closing date. ResearchJobs.in will re-check this listing on 12 October 2026.

Pay and duration

• Rs 1,30,000 per month consolidated (Rs 70,000 institute base plus a faculty top-up of at least Rs 60,000)
• Contingency grant of Rs 2,00,000 a year
• Initially 1 year, extendable by up to 2 more years after annual review

How to apply

Find a potential mentor on the department websites, send them your research proposal and get their agreement. Then apply through that faculty member by email with all documents (no more than 25 MB in total), using the application form on the IIT Madras post-doctoral opportunities page; apply separately for each department. The full rules are in the IPDF guidelines (PDF). Bring a signed printed copy of the application to the interview.

Key dates

• Selection takes place throughout the year

Please read the official IIT Madras post-doctoral opportunities page before applying, and browse more postdoctoral fellowships on ResearchJobs.in.