IIM Ahmedabad, Kozhikode, others see enrolment in PhD courses rise as students eye more faculty roles

The number of students opting to do a PhD at Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) has grown constantly over the last five years, shows the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) data. Institutes say this trend hints at a growing demand for management faculty and increased focus on academia,along with corporate jobs.

This growth is in both full-time and part-time PhD programmes offered by the IIMs. In some cases students enrolled in part time programmes outnumber those in the regular ones.

The NIRF data collated for all IIMs are from 2019-20 to 2023-24. However, even the numbers receiving degrees in the 2025 convocations indicate growing numbers.

IIMs: PhD in HRM, Economics, Finance

Most IIMs offer doctorate programmes in specialisations including the following:

• Economics
• Finance and accounting
• Human resource management
• Information systems
• Marketing
• Public policy
• Strategy

These are the common areas of specialisations, but some institutes – like IIM Ahmedabad – also offer specialisations in innovation and management in education and organisational behaviour.

Also read CAT 2025: Four IIMs exit Common Admission Process to join JAP 2026, leave MBA aspirants confused

Those who have completed two years of masters or a two-year postgraduate diploma are eligible for admission; and now, those who have completed four years of graduation with 65% marks are as well.

Candidates applying for the doctoral programme in management are required to take the Common Admission Test (CAT) or a standard test in lieu of CAT, such as GRE, GMAT, GATE, UGC-NET/CSIR. For NRIs and foreign candidates, the standard test is Graduate Management Aptitude Test (GMAT). CAT 2025 was held on November 30 and the results are likely to be out end of December.

There is also a written test and interview which is conducted by the IIMs for shortlisting.

IIM Kozhikode, Lucknow, Shillong

IIMs Kozhikode, Lucknow and Shillong have seen a growth in the number of students in PhD programmes over five years but at the most-established ones, the counts have fluctuated slightly.

IIM Ahmedabad had the highest number of PhD students in 2021-22 – 136. The highest number to graduate was in 2022-23 when 29 were awarded degrees. That’s over double the number it had the previous academic year – 14. In 2025, a total of 19 were awarded degrees.

The biggest jump was for IIM Kozhikode, when the count of research scholars grew from 77 in the year of 2019-20 to 124 in 2023-24.

Also read ‘IIM Calcutta’s new programmes to include 40% AI-based content’: Director

The table below shows the number of students enrolled in the last five years.

Source: NIRF submissions

“We have been observing steady increase in the number of applications for doctoral programmes due to its research reputation, facilities and infrastructure (available and in development) conducive for research, growing demand for management faculty, strong career prospects, structured and time-bound programmes, emphasis on research output, financial assistances – including increased fellowships, favourable placement outcomes too in addition to implementation of reservation,” said Satish Krishnan, chairperson of doctoral programmes in management, IIM Kozhikode.

The IIMs have been slow to implement the central reservation policy of having seat quotas for historically-marginalised communities. IIM Ahmedabad implemented it in its PhD programmes only last year and as an outcome of a public-interest litigation (PIL) case filed in Gujarat High Court in 2021.

However, IIMs are generous with fellowships. In most IIMs, the doctoral fellowship amount is around Rs. 40,000-42,000 per month for the first and second years; in the third year, it increases to about Rs. 45,000.

Some IIMs even provide Rs 50,000 after successful presentation and defence of thesis proposals. This apart, there are contingency funds, conference support and other aid.

Also read ‘IIM Ahmedabad aims to extend full or partial freeships to 40% of students’: Director

As per data shared by IIM Bangalore, its 2025 PhD batch has 29 students – 12 female and 17 male. The ones enrolled are in the 20-25 years age group. Nearly half – 14 – have undergraduate engineering degrees and seven each have MBA and MA degrees.

“Although many management graduates typically pursue corporate careers, the rise in PhD admissions does not suggest a direct transition from MBA programmes,” explained Krishnan.

“Rather, it reflects a growing recognition of academic research and thought leadership as valued and fulfilling career paths. While management education emphasises decision-making and applied problem-solving, doctoral studies demand independent inquiry, theoretical reasoning, and sustained engagement with knowledge creation—signalling a broader appreciation of scholarship alongside industry careers,” he said.

Newer IIMs: Kashipur, Ranchi, Tiruchirapalli

Among the second-generation institutes, IIM Kashipur, Ranchi and Udaipur have seen significant growth. IIM Tiruchirapalli has seen its count drop.

Interestingly, among the newer IIMs, IIM Mumbai’s doctoral programme had the highest number of students enrolled in the year 2019-20, at 92. While those graduating were the highest in the year 2023-24 at 24. Earlier called the National Institute of Industrial Engineering (NITIE), it became IIM Mumbai in 2023.

IIM Mumbai's website states, “A substantial number of our fellows choose academic careers, with many securing positions in prestigious national institutes and international universities, including top IIMs. Our graduated fellows have also joined in reputed universities.”

The IIM Amritsar website states that in the year 2025 alone there were four students enrolled under the Phd programme.

Also read Director General of IMI: ‘MBA courses now need modular curriculum linked to industry problems’

Part-time PhD

The growing numbers are not just for full-time but also for the part-time programme, which some institutes that offer it call the “practice track”. The older IIMs – Calcutta, Ahmedabad, Bangalore – do not offer it.

In case of IIM Lucknow, the number of part time PhD in the year 2022-23 were higher than those enrolled in the regular programme. This holds true even for IIM Shillong.

Krishnan, explained, “It is a common misconception that older IIMs offer a part-time PhD programme In reality, the "PT" designation in some programmes stands for Practice Track, not part-time. The institute offers Ph.D. in Management (Practice Track) for industry executives to help them explore research based careers at both academic institutions as well as research roles in public or private sector organisations. This model responds to what global management scholarship often refers to as the research – practice gap – the disconnect between academic research and its application in managerial and policy contexts.”

The second-generation IIMs have also been running these programmes. The eligibility criteria are similar to the regular doctoral programmes but work experience is a must.

IIM Raipur, for example, requires a minimum of six years of managerial, entrepreneurial or professional experience (post qualification) and a no-objection certificate from the employer. IIM Kashipur called it an executive PhD and requires the candidate to have at least five years of work experience after graduation.