PhD Entrance Exam Syllabus, Exam Pattern, and Eligibility

Here you will find everything about the PhD Entrance examination syllabus for various universities in India.

The Doctrine of Philosophy (or PhD, for short, and 'Doctrine' in more social occasions) courses are considered to be the highest grade of courses made available in India. They're offered in various fields and disciplines, which includes all three streams of science, commerce, arts. The nature of obtaining a PhD requires you to be highly research-oriented since the work itself is similar. Candidates have to submit their final thesis on the subject they chose to pursue. This thesis, in return, must be based on the research done in that particular field and provide a satisfying, logical conclusion.

List of Top PhD Streams and Courses
Top PhD Courses Wise Syllabus
PhD Entrance Exam Eligibility
DU PhD Entrance Exam Syllabus
JNU PhD Entrance Exam Syllabus
MLSU PhD Entrance Exam Syllabus

List of Top PhD Streams and Courses

PhD courses are offered in various streams and with multiple courses for some of them. The entire list of PhD streams and the popular courses are mentioned in the table below:

List of Top PhD Streams and Courses
Streams	PhD Courses
Arts	PhD in English
Education	PhD in Education Physical education
Mass communications	PhD in Mass communications Journalism and mass communication
Science	PhD in: Chemistry Physics Mathematics Biotechnology Zoology
Commerce	PhD in Commerce Statistics
Engineering	PhD in Civil engineering Electrical engineering
Medical	PhD in Pathology
Veterinary Sciences	PhD in Veterinary Science Veterinary Parasitology
Paramedical	PhD in Nursing
Dental	PhD in Dental Sciences Orthodontics
Pharmacy	PhD in Pharmacy
Management	PhD in Management Studies Business administration
Agriculture	PhD in Agriculture Agronomy
Hotel management	PhD in Hospitality
Architecture	PhD in Architecture
Law	PhD in Law LL.D
Design	PhD in Design Fashion Design
Computer Applications	PhD in Computer Applications

Top PhD Courses Wise Syllabus

PhD syllabus varies for each course, there is a wide range of scope for each candidate. However, the entire list of PhD syllabus along with their streams are tabulated in the table below:

Streams	PhD Courses wise Syllabus
PhD in English	Semester I Research: Nature and Functions Error, Evidence, and Truth
	Semester II Types of Literary Research Textual Study And Search For The Authoritative Text
	Semester III Problems of Authorship Problems of Authorship Literature Review
	Semester IV Search for Origins Search for Origins Research Design
	Semester V Development of Goals And Theory How To Write A Dissertation/ Thesis?
	Semester VI Data: Classification, Tabulation, Presentation, and Analysis What is a Research Paper?
PhD in Mass communications	Core subjects Communication theory Research Methodology I Research Methodology II
	Elective subjects Specialized and analytical journalism Journalism studies
	Other subjects Seminars Theory and practices Fieldwork
PhD in Science	Semester I Component Object Model (COM) & interfaces in COM CORBA, JAVA, and object web Computer architecture Advanced computer algorithms Distributed COM Dynamic programming
	Semester II Vector and array processor Multiprocessor architecture Pipeline architecture Computer system design Advanced software engineering Testing
	Semester III Advanced database management systems Parallel and distributed databases, web databases Backtracking, branch and bound Data mining Data warehousing
	Semester IV Telecommunications systems, satellite systems, broadcast systems Web engineering and software quality metrics Frequencies for radio transmission Wireless network and communication Wireless LAN
	Semester V XML Primer, JSP, XLS, ASP Distributed objects and remote innovation Advanced transaction processing Building web agreement
	Semester VI Distributed file system Transactions and concurrency control, replication Distributed systems Medium access control
PhD in Commerce	Semester I Biochemistry of Medicine Physiology and Human Anatomy Pharmaceutics Pharmaceutical organic chemistry Biology / remedial mathematics Pharmaceutics
	Semester II Phytopharmaceuticals and pharmacognosy Pharmaceutical microbiology Community pharmacy Pharmacotherapeutics - I Pathophysiology Pharmacology - I
	Semester III Project Work
PhD in Engineering & Technology	Foundations of computing Parallel and distributed systems Formal methods: Program correctness, Hoarier logic, Program semantics and model checking Software systems Final research
PhD in Management	Semester I General management
	Semester II Elective I Information technology management Financial management Human resource management Operations management
	Semester III Quantitative analysis Research methodology Computer applications Semester V Project work Review report Seminar
	Semester IV Logistics Retail merchandising Marketing Semester VI Dissertation
PhD in Law	Semester I Research processes Methods of investigations and tools for collection of data Research methodology
	Semester II Jurisprudence Constitutional law
	Semester III Seminars and presentation
	Semester IV Seminars and presentation

PhD Entrance Exam Eligibility

Obtaining a PhD showcases the candidate's excellence on the field of their choice. The research projects and theses they submit are testament to what new practices and conventions they can bring to the field. Alternatively, they can project the knowledge they have to the younger generation through their positions as academic professors or lecturers in the best colleges offering PhD courses.

Since a PhD means you're the best in the field, you'll obviously be placed in higher positions in any organisation that does work under that particular field. Fellowship programmes can be headed by you. Lectures and you will also be offered professor post in many of the universities, and a lot of fellowship programs also make the candidates complete their fellowships by giving lectures to the university students of the courses that the candidate is doing the fellowship in.

The eligibility for this course involves a postgraduate degree with a minimum score set by the university you're interested in. The core subjects of the postgraduate degree will be considered as the eligible fields in which the candidate can pursue their PhD programme. Even though some of the colleges offer admissions based on merit in their postgraduate degrees, most universities conduct their own entrance exams as a gateway to their PhD courses.

The syllabus for the exams is generalised for all candidates, and is largely aptitude-based. Depending on the course and the feasibility, some universities conduct the appropriate exam. With that out of the way, here's a look at the syllabus of the most famous entrance exams for PhD admissions.

DU PhD Entrance Exam Syllabus

Delhi University is one of the top universities of the country; it has 700+ college-based affiliations, centres across the most popular states, the largest student population in Asia, and is one of the largest universities in the world. Delhi University offers admission to various PhD programs based on the score, which the candidate achieved in the entrance exam. Some colleges under Delhi University offer admissions to PhD courses based on the merit you've obtained in any postgraduate course. Here's how the PhD entrance exam syllabus and the exam pattern works, after which we'll also take a look at the courses:

Quantitative Methods For Research: There will be 60 questions in this section.
Accounting Finance and Tax: There will be 35 questions in this section.
International Business and Marketing: There will be 35 questions in this section.
HRM and Law: There will be 35 questions in this section.
Economics: There will be 35 questions in this section.

DU PhD Courses Offered

DU PhD Courses Offered
Stream	Subjects
Arts	Foreign and Domestic Linguistics (Arabic, English, Punjabi, Sanskrit, etc), Buddhist Studies, Germanic and Romance Studies, Library and Information Science, Modern Indian Languages and Literary Studies, Philosophy & Psychology
Applied Social Sciences and Humanities	Business Economics, Slavonic & Finno-Ugrian Studies
Commerce and Business Studies	Commerce, Financial Studies
Education	-
Interdisciplinary and Applied Sciences	Biology, Biotechnology, Biochemistry, Biophysics, Genetics, Microbiology, Plant Molecular Biology, Botany & Zoology, Electronics, Physical Education and Sports Sciences
Social Sciences	Adult Continuing Education and Extension, Political Science, History, Economics, Sociology, Geography, Social Work, East Asian Studies, and African Studies
Mathematical Sciences	Mathematics, Operational Research, Statistics, and Computer Science
Science	Anthropology, Botany, Physics & Astrophysics, Chemistry, Geology, Zoology, Environmental Studies, and Home Science

JNU PhD Entrance Exam Syllabus

Jawaharlal Nehru University is located in New Delhi, and is also considered to be one of the largest universities of the country. Its influence spreads across 3 states: Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana. This is thanks to the innumerable affiliations to other colleges and universities. The university offers more than 200 courses under UG, PG, and PhD Courses, and annually conducts entrance exams as a way to obtain admissions to various PhD programmes and courses.

Their PhD entrance exams are largely MCQ-heavy, with questions on PG-level mathematics, statistics, computer science and general aptitude. Here is the appropriate JNU PhD entrance exam syllabus:

JNU PhD Entrance Exam Syllabus
Stream	Subjects
Technology	Basic Engineering and Technology (UG), Physics/Chemistry/Mathematics (UG), Fundamental Life Sciences and Informatics (10+2)
Life Science	Life Sciences (PG), Physics/Chemistry (UG), Mathematics & Computer Science & Information Science (10+2)
Mathematics	Real Series Analysis, Trigonometry, Calculus, Analytical Geometry, Differential Equations, Statistics, Probability, Modern Algebra, Matrix Theory, Theory of Equation, Numerical Analysis
General Aptitude	Current Affairs, General Science, History of India
Computer Science	Representation of Characters, Binany and Hexadecimal Representations, Organisation of a Computer, Floating-Point Representation of Numbers, Data Structures, Fundamentals of a Computer, Integers and Fractions, Boolean Algebra, Input/Output Devices, Venn Diagrams, Computer Memory, Computer Organisation, Central Processing Unit, Binary Arithmetic, C Programming Language, Truth Tables, Structures of Instructions in a CPU

MLSU PhD Entrance Exam Syllabus

Mohanlal Sukhadia University (MLSU) is considered to be one of the best universities in Udaipur, Rajasthan. It's is a state-governed university established to cater to the educational needs of candidates living in Udaipur and its surrounding areas. The university offers more than 200 courses to all the aspiring candidates across the nation.

It offers admissions to various courses that extend to its affiliated colleges via annual entrance exams. Admissions are offered based on the score of the candidate in these exams. But that's easier said than done because due to its reputation, you'll face strong competition in the exams. Here's their syllabus:

The examination is known as the Research Entrance Test (RET) and is conducted in 2 papers.
- The 1st paper consists of general topics.
- The 2nd paper consists of questions based on the specialisation you chose.
- Both papers have 100 as its total score.
General topics consist of PG-level aptitude and general awareness questions, presented in an MCQ format. You have to choose between 4 options in the questions provided.
The core paper consists of PG-level questions in the subjects you chose.
You're also required to cover both the MCQ and descriptive questions on the paper.
Some of those questions are research-oriented so as to test your research skills. It also gives you an idea of how the course works, and what you could expect from it.

PhD Entrance Exam Pattern

As we already know, PhD is pursued by candidates who want to excel in their field of specialization. The entrance exam is expected to be tougher than any other exam. Commonly, the questions are based on the paper of specialization. The traditional PhD exam patterns are as follows:

The exam is conducted both online and offline, depending on the particular conducting authority.
The questions are mainly in MCQ patterns.
Usually, Part A consists of research questions in numerical ability, language proficiency and logical reasoning.
Part B consists of technical questions related to the specific discipline.
For each incorrect answer, marks will be deducted.
The duration and the number of questions vary for each PhD entrance exam.
Additionally, the exam pattern may vary depending on the conducting authority.