WISE Fellowship for Ph.D.

The "WISE Fellowship for Ph.D. (WISE-PhD)" was started by the Department of Science and Technology under ‘Women in Science and Engineering-KIRAN (WISE-KIRAN)’ Scheme to provide an opportunity to carry out Doctoral research in basic and applied sciences to women scientists and technologists between the age group of 27-45 years who want to pursue research in STEM fields as a bench-level scientist.

Vision:

WISE-PhD provides an opportunity for women to pursue higher education, i.e., a Ph.D. through an independent project grant.

Objectives:

The main objective of WISE-PhD is to encourage women scientists to conduct Doctoral research in science and engineering and to engage them in knowledge dissemination through SSR.

Target Group:

Women who have Post Graduation in Basic or Applied Sciences or an equivalent degree and wish to pursue Ph.D. in basic & applied sciences can apply to the WISE-PhD programme for financial support. Women in regular employment are not eligible for this programme.

Scientific Disciplines:

Under WISE-PhD, support is available in 5 scientific disciplines viz. (1) Physical and Mathematical Sciences (2) Chemical Sciences (3) Life Sciences (4) Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and (5) Engineering & Technology

Project Duration:

The project is tenable for a maximum period of five (5) years or till submission of a Ph.D. thesis, whichever is earlier.

1. The fellowship amount under this programme is ₹37,000/- per month along with House Rent Allowances (HRA) as per norms.
2. This Programme also provides a Research Grant of ₹1.00 lakh per year and Institutional overhead charges @₹0.50 lakh per year (as per DST norms).

Unemployed women who want to pursue a Ph.D. can apply for a fellowship under WISE-PhD. The programme is open for both candidates; those who have not yet registered as well as those who have already registered for a Ph.D., but not availing of a fellowship from any sources. However, candidates who have completed two (2) years duration in Ph.D. as of the date of application are NOT eligible. The following are the primary eligibility criteria:

Qualification:

The applicant should have an M. Sc./ M. Tech. or equivalent degree like B. Tech., M.Phil., M. Pharm. etc. in basic and applied sciences from a recognized University/Institute.

Age:

The minimum age to apply for the programme is 27 years and the maximum is 45 years (A relaxation of 3 years in the upper age limit is allowed for SC/ ST/ PH candidates). The cut-off date for age calculation would be the date of submission of the WISE-PhD application.

Employment:

Women in regular employment are not eligible for WISE-PhD.

Online

Step 01: The call is open throughout the year for proposal submission under WISE-PhD at ePMS (https://onlinedst.gov.in).
Step 02: The proposal format is available at https://dst.gov.in, and https://onlinedst.gov.in under WISE-KIRAN Division.
Step 03: Log on to https://onlinedst.gov.in/ to access the home page of the “DST e-PMS Portal”.
Step 04: Click on “New PI Registration” and fill in the requisite details for New user registration. In the ‘Personal Information’ section, fill – Department, Institute, and Institute Address as per the Host Institute identified for the WISE-PhD programme. Fill in the Designation as ‘WISE-PhD Fellow’
Step 05: After logging in, click on the “Submit proposals” link, which will take you to a page seeking multiple information starting with – General information, Principal investigator, etc. Fill in all the mandatory information sought against each menu, as applicable. (If you belong to the SC/ ST/ PH category and wish to claim age relaxation, select the options accordingly and upload supporting documents).
Step 06: In the ‘Financial Details’ section, enter the ‘WISE-PhD Fellow’ fellowship amount for each year calculated based on ₹4,44,000/- per year (@₹37,000/-* per month). Calculate and fill the HRA amount based on the applicable rate @ 0/ 9/ 18/ 27 percent of the fellowship amount. The research grant is @ ₹1,00,000/- per year, and Overhead is @ ₹50,000/- per year, which are fixed and have to be filled accordingly.
Step 07: If you have the PFMS Unique Code of the Host Institute, then fill it in the ‘PFMS Details’; else, leave this section.
Step 08: After filling in all the above particulars, preview your details before the final submission of the application form by clicking on the “Preview” button. The preview page will display all the facts/ particulars that you have mentioned. If there is something that you wish to update, go back and correct the information, or else proceed with the filled details by clicking on the “Submit” button to finally push data into the server.
Step 09: Candidates are advised to carefully fill and verify the details filled in the online application themselves as no change will be possible/ entertained after clicking the FINAL SUBMIT BUTTON.

Selection Process:

A preliminary screening will be done of the project proposals received under WISE-PhD and a final selection will be made as per the recommendations of the Subject Expert Committees (SECs). The final decision of DST will be communicated to the applicants only after obtaining due administrative and financial approvals.

Last date for Receipt of Application:

• The online Application portal is open throughout the year for proposal submission.
• For any enquiry, please contact enquiry-wosdst@gov.in
Note 01: It is mandatory to submit the proposals only through online mode. There is no need to submit the hard copy of the proposal at the DST. Proposal submitted through e-mail will not be entertained.
Note 02: The PI is required to see the completeness of the application before it is submitted finally. Once a proposal is submitted, another one can be submitted only when the last one is rejected upon evaluation. The PI shall keep a copy of the submitted proposal for their reference.
Note 03: Incomplete or wrongly filled-up application format or application with a lack of essential information/ documents will be summarily rejected.
Note 04: Submission of proposals other than in the prescribed format shall summarily be rejected without any further processing as per programme norms.