academics

Ph D

Attention! Deadline for application to 2024 PhD Admissions approaching: 28 March! APPLY NOW

New!!!!! SAGE Fellowships for full-time doctoral applicants. Read in section on SAGE Fellowships.

NID’s doctoral program

In pursuit of its continued commitment to Design research, NID started a doctoral programme in Design in the year 2017. The goal was to take a step further from the practice of Design so well pursued in its Bachelors and Masters programs into the world of advanced and detailed in-depth research study of particular aspects of Design that might hitherto not have been studied. NID’s PhD programme in Design aims to promote deep reflection, inquiry, and rigour in the development and dissemination of new ideas, expressions and skills in the field of Design and allied fields and contribute new theories and knowledge to Design, Design education and Design practice.

A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Design is awarded at NID for advanced study of the creation of innovative solutions/  approaches/ methods/ interfaces for products/ communications/ services/ experiences along with an accompanying thesis that extends the body of knowledge of application of design thinking, process, and practice.

The programme is open to educators and professionals in design and allied fields who wish to reinvent their own practice or knowledge base while pushing the boundaries of the discipline through innovation in practice and create new design theories. The PhD programme at NID aims to be a national and international benchmark for doctoral research in design.

With the scholars of the first batch now graduating with their doctoral degrees, the program is drawing more and more applicants for doctoral pursuit in Design.

Practice- vs Theory-led doctoral research in Design

The PhD programme in Design at NID may be undertaken in one of the following modes:

Practice-led Research: Original investigation undertaken in order to gain new knowledge mostly by means of practice and the outcomes of that practice. Such research includes practice as an integral part of its method and often falls within the general area of action research outcomes accompanied by substantiated claims of originality and contribution to knowledge. Creative outcomes may be in the form of artefacts such as objects, images, film, fashion, music, Design collections, models, samples, prototypes, digital media, performances and exhibitions or other outcomes. The doctoral submissions for this kind of research must include contextualisation of the creative work.

Theory-led Research: Such research would be concerned with the nature of practice and lead to new knowledge that has operational significance for that practice. The main focus is to advance knowledge about practice, or to advance knowledge within practice.  Such research may be fully described in text form in the doctoral thesis.

Part-time vs Full-time engagement

The PhD programme is allowed to be taken up in part-time or full-time formats.

Full-time PhD

Residence: Full-time candidates are required to be present on campus throughout the duration of their doctoral study period.

Duration: The maximum duration allowed for a full-time candidate is 3 years, which can be extended upto 5 years upon formal application by the candidate and endorsement by their guide and co-guide.

Eligibility for financial support: Occasionally the Institute might make announcements of financial support if sources make such support available. On such occasions only full-time candidates are eligible to apply for the support.

Attention: SAGE Fellowships for full-time doctoral applicants

Read in section on SAGE Fellowships.

Part-time PhD

Residence: Part-time candidates are required to be present on campus for the duration of scheduled coursework, seminars, and other academic requirements that are declared to be held in person.

Duration: The maximum duration allowed for a full-time candidate is 5 years, which can be extended upto 7 years upon formal application by the candidate and endorsement by their guide and co-guide.

Employer’s No-Objection Certificate: Working professionals in employment elsewhere and seeking admission to the part-time PhD programme are required to obtain a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from their employer, stating that the employer has no objection to the employee pursuing a PhD from the Institute, and that the employee will be available in person or online as the Institute may require for doctoral consultations with the guide, for all Institute coursework, periodic seminars and presentations, as the case may be, and will fulfil residential requirements as per the Institute’s requirements. This certificate should be submitted no later than acceptance of offer of admission if made.

Eligibility for financial support: Part-time candidates would NOT be eligible for ANY financial support from the Institute.

Part-time candidates shall also be governed by all rules and regulations of the Institute.

NID-HSLU Cooperation PhD Program

In the year 2022 NID entered into an agreement with Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts—School of Design, Film and Art (HSLU), Switzerland, to offer an NID-HSLU PhD Cooperation program separate from its own PhD program alluded to above, on the theme Eco-Social Innovation by Design. This program is open to people worldwide to apply. A common portal is used for application to both programs. Information on this program is available on the website https://www.hslu.ch/en/lucerne-school-of-art-and-design/research/doctorate/phd-programme-eco-social-innovation-by-design/.

The SAGE PhD Fellowship

NID is pleased to offer one (1) full-time PhD Fellowship on the topic of Biopackaging through the SAGE PhD Fellows program of Echo Network of Bangalore, a Denmark-based organisation that works with the Nordic Centre of India to promote research on Sustainability. Research proposals are invited for this Fellowship opportunity.

The terms of this Fellowship are as follows:

  • This Fellowship would be available for research only on the topic of Biopackaging. The research must also relate to the field of Design and thus make a contribution to theoretical knowledge of the two fields (Design and Biopackaging) combined.
  • The Fellowship would be available only to full-time candidates. The candidate would be required to fulfil physical attendance requirements at NID's Ahmedabad campus for the entire duration of their doctoral study.
  • The Fellowship would be available for three (3) years. If more time is required for the research work to be completed, the candidate could apply for it (extending the duration upto a maximum of 5 years) but the duration of funding is limited to 3 years.
  • The fellowship would include a stipend for living expenses in Ahmedabad, tuition fees of the PhD program, and all costs (eg, travel, conferences, material) related to the research being conducted. 
  • The candidate on this Fellowship is required to spend up to 7 months in Denmark (over the three-year Fellowship period) working with Danish institutes associated with Echo Network on this project. The costs of this would be covered in addition to the fellowship.
  • Applicants to this Fellowship must clearly include the following in the title of their research proposals: “Application for SAGE Fellowship” to indicate their intent of applying for the fellowship. Absence of this phrase in the title would be taken to mean that the applicant does not wish to be considered for the fellowship even if the topic is related to Biopackaging.
  • Only one (1) position is available for the Fellowship.
  • Applicants for the Fellowship would go through the same Admissions process as that published in the Admissions Handbook for 2024.
  • The candidate who is awarded the Fellowship would be required to go through all the academic processes of all doctoral students of NID during their doctoral tenure at the Institute.

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Disciplines

The PhD programme in Design will include:

  • Original investigation undertaken through a design project, in order to gain new knowledge by means of practice and the outcomes of that practice. Claims of originality and contribution to knowledge may be demonstrated through creative outcomes, which may include artefacts such as objects, images, film, fashion, music, design collections, models, samples, prototypes, digital media or other outcomes such as performances and exhibitions. Doctoral submissions for this kind of research must include a contextualisation of the creative work. A written/video thesis will form a part of the dissertation,which shall be in a dialogic and analytic relation to the outcome, with a suitable articulation of the objective, methods, process and findings.
  • The research may also be concerned with the nature of practice and lead to new knowledge that has operational significance for that practice. The main focus of this kind of research shall be to advance knowledge about practice or to advance knowledge within practice. The results of the research, in this case, may be fully described in text form in the doctoral thesis.

The programme shall promote the accumulation and application of diverse research methods that should be customised as per Indian variables and the context of Indian socio-cultural heritage and should be relevant to the needs of the country. The main emphasis of the programme will be the generation of new knowledge through testing and implementing new materials, techniques, processes and design ideas. The programme will nurture design thinking as an inquiry-based field of research and knowledge production that, in turn, inform better design practices.
 

Curriculum Objectives

The PhD programme in Design aims to promote deep reflection, inquiry, and rigor in the development and dissemination of new ideas, expressions and skills in the field of design and allied fields and shall lead to their meaningful manifestations in the form of new design collections, objects, communication, services, strategies, etc. The work shall contribute new theories and knowledge to design, design education and design practice.

The purpose of the programme is to support the creation of products or services that improve the quality of life of people, meet demands to sustain the environment, improve policymaking; and better the understanding and use of design in industry, education and society at large.

Objectives

To foster original research and create new knowledge about the nature and practice of design.

To engage in a deeperunderstanding of expressions, methods and the role of design in problem solving activity.

To foster NID’s pedagogic principlesof ‘Learning to Know’and ‘Learning to Do’alongside itscore ideals and culture.

To enable collaboration in research, scholarship, design development and service.

To enable students to engage in advanced research and practice with design theorists and practitioners in a broad varietyof fields.

To contribute towards the Institute’s objective of design for dignity and service to society, and to participate in meaningful design for change and sustainability.

How to Apply

Admission to the PhD programme at NID as well as to the NID-HSLU Cooperation program is conducted annually, through NID’s Admissions portal https://admissions.nid.edu. The admission process is a multi-stage one consisting of the following steps:

  1. Submission of application form. The applicant must fill out the form for PhD Admissions on the link above. If the applicant wishes to apply to both, the PhD programme at NID and the NID-HSLU Cooperation program, separate applications (with different email ids) must be made for the two.

The application process is completed with payment of application fee. Once the payment is made, the information in the application may only be changed in a small Edit Window provided between 29 Mar and 31 Mar on payment of a processing fee.

  1. Screening of applications on the basis of educational qualification. The applicant’s qualifications have to abide by the requirements mentioned in Section 5 of the Admissions Handbook 2024-25. Deviation from them would be cause for rejection of application.
  2. Scrutiny of research proposal submitted. As part of the application, submission of a research proposal is required. The proposals of eligible candidates would be evaluated on criteria mentioned in the Admissions Handbook.

Attention! Research proposals are especially invited on the topic of Bio-packaging, for which a funding opportunity in the form of the SAGE PhD Fellowship is available. Please read about this in the section on SAGE Fellowship. This opportunity is available only to applicants to NID’s PhD Program, not to the NID-HSLU Cooperation Program.

  1. Passing of the Doctoral Research Test (DRT). This test is required to be taken by all applicants who are less than 15 years from their basic educational qualification.
  2. Interview. Candidates who pass the DRT would be interviewed by a selection panel appointed by NID.

The candidates who pass the interview stage would be ranked according to merit and the top 12 would be made offers of admission. All government norms that apply (eg, reservation based on caste and disability) would be followed in the process.

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