Harish-Chandra Research Institute

Overview of the Doctoral Programme

The programme consists of a rigorous course work and projects during the first three semesters, followed by research work leading to a Ph.D. degree.

Admission 2027–2028 Course Work Syllabus

First-year coursework

Course Structure

Course Work Syllabus

The instructional part of the doctoral program consists of pedagogical lectures and projects during the first two semesters. The semesters usually start with the first working day of August/January. Each semester is of 16 weeks duration, excluding mid-semester breaks and examination weeks. There are seven core courses and one project of total 32 credits in the first year of the programme.

Syllabus & Credit details

Scroll horizontally to view the complete table.

Semester I Credits Semester II Credits
Algebra I 4 Algebra II 4
Analysis I 4 Analysis II 4
Topology I 4 Topology II 4
Differentiable Manifolds 4 Project 2
Research Methodology 2 — —

Course Work

Course Work Evaluation

Academic Honesty Policy

Please refer to the detailed Anti Cheating Policy.

Anti Cheating Policy

Course Evaluation

Core Courses

Instruction-based courses are evaluated through mid-semester exams, final exams, and internal assessments. Following the examinations, instructors will show students their graded mid-term and final answer scripts.

Course Evaluation

Project

The project is a semester-long reading course supervised by a faculty member. Students are evaluated based on a final seminar presentation and a formal report typeset in LaTeX.

Course Evaluation

Re-examination

Re-examinations: If a student fails a course, a re-examination will be held during the break between the first and second years. The examiner may include an assignment as part of the re-examination, capped at a maximum weight of 20%.

Failing a Re-examination: If a student fails the re-examination, the Mathematics Academic Committee will recommend one of two actions to the Director:

  • The student is unable to continue the program.
  • The student is permitted to repeat the failed courses. If this option is chosen, the MGSC will assign instructors for these courses in the third semester, which may be conducted as reading courses.

Course Evaluation

OGCE

  • Eligibility: To qualify for the OGCE, a student must pass all first-year courses, securing a minimum of 50% in each individual course and a 60% aggregate. Fulfilling this coursework criteria is an HBNI (Homi Bhabha National Institute) requirement for continuing the Ph.D. programme at HRI.
  • Standard Timeline: The OGCE is held within three months of completing the second-semester coursework. For courses starting in August and ending by May 15, the OGCE will usually be conducted by August 15.
  • Course Repetition Timeline: For students repeating courses, the OGCE must be conducted by the middle of their second academic year.
  • Exam Scope: The exam tests the foundation built during the first-year coursework across all taught subjects.

Research-stage requirements

Annual Progress Report

  1. Doctoral committee

    Upon successfully completing the first-year coursework and the OGCE, a student may register with a faculty guide. To monitor academic progress, a Doctoral Committee will be formed consisting of a Chairman (a Professor or Associate Professor), the supervisor as the convenor, and three additional faculty members, including potential experts from outside HRI

  2. Annual Progress Report

    Every student is required to submit an annual progress report and deliver a fellowship extension seminar covering their work.The thesis supervisor will convene the Doctoral Committee and schedule this seminar before the end of tenure. The committee will review the student's submission, after which the supervisor will draft an official progress report in consultation with the committee members.

  3. Fellowship Extension

    The fellowship extension will be based on the recommendation by the doctoral committee and the approval from HBNI (Homi-Bhaba National Institute), the deemed university where all students of HRI are registered for their Ph. D. degree. Thus the students are required to upload the annual progress report signed by the doctoral committee members and the Dean Academic, to the anuvidya website AnuVidhya, preferably within two weeks after the extension seminar. The original annual progress report should be submitted to the HBNI cell at HRI.