The Doctoral Programme at the Department of International Relations and Governance Studies provides research scholars an excellent opportunity to acquire and consolidate a diverse set of skills. Scholars will get a ringside view of the discipline of International Relations – covering disciplinary history, theory and empirics – as well as of global currents in the study of political thought, governance and development. They will participate in debates on the philosophy of science/social science while developing a 'nuts and bolts' pragmatism when it comes to operationalizing their doctoral projects.
The threads that runs through the PhD programme are, first, an understanding of the significance of context – historical, cultural, economic, among others – when it comes to thinking about the world and, second, a keen awareness of the need to address asymmetries and deeper imbalances of knowledge production, circulation and consumption between the global North and the global South. The objective at the Department is to develop a contextual approach to studying international relations and global governance.
The Department offers wide-ranging expertise within International Relations (IR), Governance, Development Economics, Political Theory/Philosophy, and Area Studies.
Eligibility
A master’s degree in any discipline with a minimum of 55 percent or its equivalent in grade point from a UGC recognized university. We strongly encourage applications from candidates who have a background in the disciplines/fields of International Relations (IR), Politics, Area Studies, Development Studies and Governance.
The Department follows a three-stage selection process overseen by its Graduate Admissions Committee.
Stage one involves screening of received applications for completeness, accuracy and authenticity. Screening is done ensure that the applicant has met the minimum eligibility criteria for applying and that an application is complete in all respects. Applications that are found to be incomplete are rejected at this stage.
Stage two consists of a written exam and an interview. Those applicants whose applications pass the first stage are invited to take a written exam and appear before the Departmental Committee for an interview. These are marked components with 70 percent for the written exam and 30 percent for the interview.
Stage three involves screening of received applications for completeness, accuracy and authenticity. Screening is done ensure that the applicant has met the minimum eligibility criteria for applying and that an application is complete in all respects. Applications that are found to be incomplete are rejected at this stage.
| Last date for applying online | 17th June, 2020 |
|---|---|
| Intimation to shortlisted candidates | 24th June 2020 |
| Written exam and interview | 2nd and 3rd July, 2020 |
| Intimation to selected candidates | 07th July 2020 |
| Selected candidates to communicate acceptance of offer by | 10th July 2020 |
| Coursework commencement: | Late-July/early August 2020 |
All full-time PhD research scholars admitted into the program shall receive a doctoral research and teaching assistantship consisting of 100% tuition waiver and 70% hostel-fee waiver. The student shall also receive a monthly stipend of Rs.50,000 for the first two years, and Rs.55,000 for the next two years subject to bench-marked performance. The assistantship is subject to satisfactory performance in the program evaluated continuously and in compliance with all University regulations. Shiv Nadar University and the Center for South Asian Studies (CSAS), University of Michigan (UM) are working on an understanding by which PhD students from SNU will be able to seek co-advisors from the latter institution
Candidates may note that the University reserves the right to accept or reject any application based on its departmental screening criteria, hence all applicants may not be shortlisted for the interview. Therefore, no requests for refund of the application fee shall be entertained whether or not the candidates are called for the interview.