Ph.D. Admissions Announcement: Monsoon 2026
School of Natural Sciences
Department of Life Sciences
Ph.D. in Life Sciences / Ph.D. in Bioinformatics

 

The Department of Life Sciences in the School of Natural Sciences at Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (Deemed to be University), Delhi-NCR, invites applications for admission to the Ph.D. program for the Monsoon semester (Aug 2026).

Research areas in the Department of Life Sciences

Research in the Department of Life Sciences is multifaceted, with a major focus on the areas of

  • Cancer Biology
  • Virology
  • Cell Signalling 
  • Epigenetics
  • Neuroscience
  • Bioinformatics
  • Plant Biology
  • Bacterial Morphogenesis and Biofilms
  • Protein Folding and Stress Response 
  • Chromatin remodelling factors and nuclear receptor signalling
  • Protein Structure Biology
  • Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
  • Noncoding RNA & gene regulation 
  • Developmental Biology 
  • Regeneration Biology
  • Vascular development, Lymphatic trans differentiation
  • Immunology
  • Animal Behaviour

Many of our research projects are interdisciplinary, involving collaborations with other Departments/Schools/Center of the University. Detailed descriptions of the research areas of each faculty member can be found at https://snu.edu.in/departments/department-of-life-sciences/

 

How to Apply:

Candidates can apply for PhD admission through three modes, each with a slightly different application process.

 

  1. JRF Candidates: Candidates who hold fellowships through CSIR/UGC- JRF, INSPIRE, ICMR, DBT-JRF, and similar programs are eligible for a direct interview. The last date for submission of the online application form is 24th May 2026.

    Selection process: On-Campus Interview: Eligible candidates will be invited for a face-to-face interview at the Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence in Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. The tentative dates for on-campus interviews are 6th -10th July 2026. Any changes to the dates mentioned above will be communicated promptly.
  2. Qualified Candidates from JGEEBILS 2026: Based on performance in the JGEEBILS exam held on 14th December 2025, the candidates are invited to submit a full application for further evaluation. The Department of Life Sciences (DLS), Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence (SNIoE/SNU) (Deemed to be University) will use this application to shortlist candidates for interviews (LINK of Shortlisted Candidates). Candidates applying through JGEEBILS 2026 can submit their online forms till 7th May 2026.

Selection Process:

  1. First Round (Online Interview): Candidates will be shortlisted based on the information provided in the full application form and invited to the first round of online interviews. The tentative dates for the online interviews are 18th - 21st May & 25th – 28th May.
  2. Second Round (On-Campus Interview): Candidates selected from the online interview will be invited for a face-to-face interview at Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence in Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh, based on their performance in the first round. The tentative dates for On-Campus Interviews are 6th -10th July 2026.

Any changes to the dates mentioned above will be communicated promptly.

  1. SNU entrance exam (online) qualified candidates: Applicants who do not qualify for either fellowship category (JRF) and have not appeared for the JGEEBILS exam on December 14, 2025, are required to apply for the SNU Entrance Exam. The last date to fill out the online application form is 24th May 2026.

    Selection process: Based on their performance in the written test, candidates will be invited to a face-to-face interview at the Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, Gautam Budh Nagar, Uttar Pradesh. The tentative dates for on-campus interviews are 6th -10th July 2026. Any changes to the dates listed above will be communicated promptly.

Application Instructions:

All interested applicants should apply online by clicking the “Apply Now” button at the bottom of this page. Please follow the instructions carefully.

  • Fill all the mandatory fields
  • Upload the following documents online:
  • Passport-size color photograph
  • Current CV
  • All Mark sheets/Degree Certificates (Bachelors and Masters)
  • Standardized Examination/Fellowship Certificate- JGEEBILS, CSIR, UGC, INSPIRE, ICMR, etc. (if applicable)
  • A Statement of Purpose

Please make provision for at least one reference letter in support of your application.

The candidate may note that the University reserves the right to accept or reject any application based on its departmental screening criteria; hence, not all applications may be shortlisted for interview.

Financial Support & Research Grants for Ph.D. Scholars

All full-time Ph.D. scholars admitted to the program will receive a doctoral award (teaching and research assistantship), including a monthly stipend of ₹45,000 for the first two years and ₹50,000 for the next three years, subject to benchmarked performance. The continuation of this award depends on satisfactory performance in the program, which is continuously evaluated, and compliance with all university regulations. Additionally, all full-time Ph.D. scholars will receive an annual tuition waiver of ₹60,000 and an annual hostel fee subsidy of ₹60,000. Deserving Ph.D. students will also be eligible for a travel research grant of ₹1,50,000 to support conference travel (only for Scopus-indexed conferences), both domestic and international, during the five-year Ph.D. program.

Detailed information about the fee structure and the nature of assistantships is available on the SNIoE admission website.

For any queries related to the application and admission, you may contact: Mr. Anil Kumar Shukla, Senior Administrative Assistant, Department of Life Sciences. 

Email: [email protected] Telephone: 0120-7170100 Extn: 654

Please note that the application will only be considered if all the required documents are provided. For any queries regarding applications and admissions, write to the Email ID above. 

Application Submission Guidelines

  • Applications must be submitted online—offline submissions will not be accepted.
  • Incomplete applications or those missing Statement of purpose, Referee Reports, or any other required documents will not be processed.

Shortlisted candidates will receive a call letter from SNIoE that includes the interview schedule and further instructions.

For any clarifications, please contact [email protected].

Exam

Important dates

Last Dates

JGEEBILS

 

Last date of Online form Submission

7th May 2026

Online Interviews

18th -21st May & 25th – 28th May

On-Campus Interviews

6th -10th July 2026

 

SNU Entrance

&

JRF Candidates

 

Last date of Online form Submission

24th May, 2026

Online Exam

7th June 2026

On-Campus Interviews

6th -10th July 2026

Important dates:

Any changes to the mentioned dates will be communicated promptly.

About Life Sciences Department:

Many of our research projects are interdisciplinary, involving collaborations across the globe. Detailed descriptions of the research interests of our faculty and other information are provided on the Departmental websites: https://snu.edu.in/departments/department-of-life-sciences/; https://lsci.snu.edu.in/research/laboratories

Research Infrastructure: The laboratories of the Department of Life Sciences and School of Natural Sciences are well equipped with state-of-the-art research facilities and equipment, including a Next Generation Sequencing facilities, Flow cytometer and sorter, Confocal Laser Scanning Microscope, Spinning disk microscope, Real-Time PCR, Advanced Fluorescence Microscopes including live imaging, Culture facilities (BSL-2) for Mammalian cells, Parasites and Viruses, BSL-3 laboratory, and a central instrumentation facility comprising LC-MS, XRD, AFM, CD-Spectrophotometer, MST, Raman spectrometer, Luminometer, ultracentrifuge, etc. A state-of-the-art SPF animal facility called Center for Integrative and Translational Research (CITRES) was inaugurated in January 2024. This facility houses multiple animal models and is equipped for generating genome-edited animals. The computational facilities include a high-performance IBM cluster (“Magus”) consisting of 57 compute nodes (8064 cores) with a total capacity of 320 TFlops of Theoretical Peak Performance. Additionally, several stand-alone Linux workstations are used for teaching and research. Several Bioinformatics and Cheminformatics analysis software are also available. The Center for Excellence in Epigenetics is part of the Department of Life Sciences, which houses state-of-the-art facilities for epigenetics, genomics, proteomics, and drug discovery studies. 

About Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, Delhi-NCR

Shiv Nadar Institution of Eminence, Delhi-NCR, is a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, research-focused, and student-centric institution that is bringing a paradigm shift in higher education in India through its innovative curriculum, interdisciplinary focus, and cross-disciplinary thinking. The University is building an ecosystem of knowledge to promote recognition of the interconnectedness of ideas, systems, and environments worldwide, both on and off campus. The University has 4 Schools, 24 Departments, and 8 Research Centers engaged in teaching, practice, and research in disciplines as diverse as Engineering, Humanities and Social Sciences, Management, Natural Sciences, Art, Design, Performing Arts, Communication, and Extended Education and Professional Development. The schools offer Bachelor’s, Master’s, and Doctoral degrees along with a multidisciplinary curriculum to enable students to explore subjects and disciplines that may be widely different from their chosen Majors. 

The University has been selected as one of the four private “Institutions of Eminence” by the Government. In the NIRF (Government’s National Institutional Ranking Framework), SNIoE is the youngest institution on the ‘top 100’ overall list, and our score has risen steadily. In NIRF-2025, SNIoE ranked 57 in the ‘University’ category. We are also among a selected group of green-field institutions in the country that was awarded the prestigious Atal Incubation Center grant by the Niti Aayog, Government of India, in the first round in 2017.