Which IITs Are Taking PhD Applications for January 2027, and When They Close

PhD admission for January 2027 is open at some IITs and still unannounced at others. This page lists what we could confirm on each institute’s own website on 17 October 2026, with the closing date where one is published.

The January round moves quickly. Adverts appear through September and early October, and most close between mid October and early November. If your institute is in the “not announced yet” list below, check its page again in a week or two.

At a glance

IIT January 2027 calls that are open

Two of these deserve a second look. IIT Bombay’s call includes the new Double Doctoral Degree Programme with Tohoku University, which awards two doctorates. IIT Kharagpur’s rolling call carries the Director’s Platinum Jubilee Excellence PhD Fellowship, worth Rs 80,000 a month for two years and then Rs 90,000 to candidates in the top 50 of GATE 2026.

What changed since 4 October

Three IITs have opened their January 2027 round since this page was first written.

• IIT Delhi opened its portal for the 2nd Semester of 2026-27. The last date is 29 October 2026 at 4:00 p.m. for national candidates, and 29 October 2026 for foreign nationals. The information brochure and the English and Hindi advertisements are now on the IIT Delhi PG admissions page.
• IIT Kanpur opened on 16 October 2026 at 2:00 p.m. and closes on 3 November 2026 at 2:00 p.m. Students in the final year of their programme, likely to finish by 4 January 2027, may apply and take provisional admission.
• IIT Dharwad opened on 13 October 2026 and closes on 16 November 2026, the latest IIT deadline on this page. Interviews run from 18 November to 2 December 2026, results are declared between 10 and 12 December, and classes begin on 4 January 2027.

IIT Bombay closes today, 17 October 2026, with a late-fee window to 21 October.

Already closed for January 2027

IIT Gandhinagar. Applications opened on 7 September 2026 and closed on 1 October 2026 at 5:00 p.m., extended from 28 September. Shortlisted candidates are announced around 15 October 2026, with interviews and written tests from 22 October to 6 November. The institute does say it considers applications at any time of year for exceptional candidates, processed by selection committees at regular intervals, so a strong candidate can still write to a department.

Not announced when we checked

We looked at the admissions pages of the remaining IITs on 17 October 2026 and could not find an open January 2027 call. That does not mean one will not appear. Several of these institutes publish in October, and some run their January round department by department, with no single institute-wide advert.

IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Ropar, IIT Patna, IIT Indore, IIT Jodhpur, IIT Bhubaneswar, IIT Tirupati, IIT Palakkad, IIT Bhilai, IIT Goa, IIT Jammu, IIT (BHU) Varanasi and IIT (ISM) Dhanbad.

IIT Bhubaneswar has published an MS (Research) notice for the Spring Session 2026-27 with a last date of 10 November 2026, which is worth a look if a research master’s suits you better than a direct PhD.

Two notes on that list. IIT Hyderabad’s PhD admissions page was still showing the July 2026 round when we checked. IIT Goa’s most recent published cycle closed on 10 May 2026 for the 2026-27 year.

January 2027 calls beyond the IITs

The IITs are not the only January intake, and several of these close later than the IIT deadlines.

IISER Tirupati’s five-discipline call closed on 15 October 2026, so it has come off this table.

AcSIR deserves a mention of its own. One application reaches 78 research institutes, including 38 CSIR laboratories, 28 ICMR institutes and 5 under the Department of Science and Technology. If you want a research career in a national laboratory, that single deadline covers a great deal of ground.

How to use this page

1. Start with the deadlines closest to today. A call closing on 15 October needs your attention before one closing on 1 November.
2. For an IIT in the “not announced” list, open its academic affairs or admissions page directly and look for the words Spring, Semester II, Even Semester or ODD semester.
3. Check the department page as well as the institute page. Several IITs run the January round department by department.
4. If you are short of options this round, look at AcSIR and the IISERs. Their deadlines sit later and their intake is large.

Our full list of open calls is on the PhD positions and admissions page, updated as new adverts appear. For how the January round works in general, read our guide to PhD admission at IITs for the January session.

Frequently asked questions

Which IITs are taking PhD applications for January 2027?

On 17 October 2026, seven IIT calls were open: IIT Bombay (closing today), IIT Roorkee, IIT Mandi’s School of Chemical Sciences, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, IIT Dharwad, and IIT Kharagpur’s rolling admission.

Has the IIT Gandhinagar January 2027 deadline passed?

Yes. It closed on 1 October 2026 at 5:00 p.m., after an extension from 28 September. The institute does consider applications outside the announced cycles for exceptional candidates.

What is the last date for IIT Delhi PhD admission for January 2027?

29 October 2026 at 4:00 p.m. for national candidates, for the 2nd Semester of the academic year 2026-27. Foreign nationals have the same last date of 29 October 2026.

What is the last date for IIT Madras PhD admission for January 2027?

30 October 2026 at 5:00 p.m., for PhD and MS (by Research) for the Jan – May 2027 term.

Which January 2027 PhD call closes last?

Of the ones on this page, VIT’s VITREE 2027 closes on 20 November 2026. Among the IITs, IIT Dharwad closes last, on 16 November 2026. NISER Bhubaneswar closes on 1 November 2026, and AcSIR and ARIES on 31 October 2026.

Can I apply to more than one IIT?

Yes. Each IIT runs its own admission with its own form and fee. Some institutes limit you to one application within that institute. IIT Kharagpur allows only one and rejects duplicates without a refund.

Is there a single application for all the CSIR laboratories?

Yes. AcSIR runs one admission for 78 institutes, and you choose the laboratory on the form. The last date for the January 2027 session is 31 October 2026.

How often is this page updated?

We check the institute pages as new adverts appear and update the tables. The date at the top of this page tells you when it was last confirmed. Always open the official page before you apply.

Sources

• IIT Bombay, PhD Spring Semester Advertisement 2026-27 (PDF)
• IIT Roorkee, Admission to Doctoral Programmes
• IIT Mandi, School of Chemical Sciences advertisement (PDF)
• IIT Madras, Research Admissions
• IIT Kharagpur, Rolling PhD Admission
• IIT Delhi, PG Admissions
• IIT Kanpur, PG Admissions
• IIT Dharwad, PhD Admissions
• IIT Gandhinagar, PhD Programmes
• AcSIR, Admissions
• NISER, PhD Advertisement 2026-27 Winter (PDF)
• IISc, Mid-year Admission Notice 2026-27 (PDF)
• IISER Pune, PhD Programme
• IISER Tirupati, PhD Admission
• ARIES, PhD Programme
• IIITDM Kurnool, PhD Admission

Checked on 17 October 2026. Deadlines move and institutes publish extensions. Open the official page before you apply, and tell us if you find something out of date here.