PhD in Computational Natural Sciences

About the Program

Students admitted to the program have to complete a course work followed by breadth and depth examinations apart from the thesis work. The expected duration is between 4 – 5yrs.

Course Duration

Around 5 years; typically all course work is finished in the first year (2 semesters) followed by research work for the thesis.

Eligibility

M.Sc in fundamental sciences, M.E / M Tech / B.E / B Tech in CS / IT / Biotech / BioInformatics / BioMed, MCA.

Admission
Procedure

Admissions are mainly through Post Graduate Entrance Examiniation conductued some time between Feburary and April every academic year. Visit www.iiit.ac.in/admissions/pgee

Curriculum (Semester-wise)

For the course component, there are (a) depth and (b) breadth requirements, and the student need to satisfy BOTH. The recommendations may differ from student to student since the students come from a varying backgrounds, for example MSc (Maths / statistics, Physics / Chemistry / Biology and their interfaces, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics) and BTech (CSE, Biotechnology, Bioinformatics, other Engg. branches). The students are required to satisty the requirements for ALL streams listed below:

Breadth Requirements for Sciences Stream (Stream I)

At least 2 courses from the set :

Equilibrium Thermodynamics and statistical thermodynamic
Elementary classical mechanics and nonlinear dynamics (biology, chemistry and allied areas majors)
Elementary quantum mechanics+ Introduction to biology (non-biology majors) + Advanced molecular/biomolecular architecture
Structural bioinformatics OR Biomolecular structure, interaction and dynamics.

Courses offered so far:

Advanced Molecular Architecture
Advanced Biomolecular Architecture
Classical Mechanics and Elementary Quantum Mechanics
Quantum Mechanics II (including Physics of Quantum Computing)
Thermodynamics & Statistical Mechanics Introduction to Biology
Biomolecular Structure Interaction and Dynamics
Intro Bioinformatics / Elements of Bioinformatics / Algorithm for Structural Bioinformatics / Advanced Bioinformatics

The level desired is defined by matter included in the following text books:

Berkeley Physics, vols. 1-5;
Physical Chemistry by P W Atkins and the contents of courses offered.

Breadth Requirements of Techniques and applied areas (Stream II)

At least one of the following:

Mathematical and numerical methods
Bioinformatics

Courses offered so far:

Numerical Techniques and Computing
Numerical Analysis
Numerical Methods in Structural Mechanics
Numerical Methods for Computer Science

Breadth Requirements of Computer Science related knowledge (Stream III)

At least one of the following:

Programming & Basics of Databases
ITWS

There are courses offered for the B.Tech. Students or M.S./M. Tech students of ‘IT in X’ areas that may be taken for this stream

Students either need to do the required courses or acquire the relevant knowledge by independent/self study. When a course with a title matching with a topic above is being offered, students may take that course. If such a course is not offered, then a related course may be taken. If a student feels that (s)he has the required basic knowledge, they may seek a certificate to this effect from the teacher of the course or the coordinator of CNS program.

Depth Requirements

Any four courses CNS/BI 4000 or above will be required. These may or may not be part of the list mentioned above in the breadth qualifier streams. Students may choose options from offered electives or from core courses.
Grades: A minimum of grade ‘B’ is desired for the courses taken.
Options: A student should consult the faculty for choosing courses that are relevant to his/her background.