23.6.08

Blockbuster! More than 200 PhDs to graduate from IIT-B


The number of students who will complete PhDs from IIT-Bombay this year will cross 200. Never in the history of the IITs have so many doctoral students graduated from a single institute in an academic year. The IITs are considered among the top institutions for pursuing education in technology, but for years the population of research students on these campuses has been way lower than their international counterparts, like Georgia Tech or MIT. In fact, from 1999 to 2001, all the IITs put together merely graduated 240 PhD students. This appears to be changing. In 2007-08, the Powai campus, which is celebrating its golden jubilee, is expecting at least 210 doctoral students to graduate. This is a huge jump from last year, when 152 doctoral students received PhDs. Of the 252 research students, 167 are pursuing their research in engineering, 66 are working in the area of pure science and the rest are into humanities and management. A student spends between two and five years pursuing a PhD. In 1974, all the IITs put together gave the country 184 PhD students. Over the years, the growth of the PhD has not been impressive. Even IIT-Delhi saw 140 — its largest-ever chunk of doctoral students — PhD degrees this year.

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