Admissions to the i3c BRIC-RCB PhD Programme in Biosciences 2026-27

The Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (BRIC) is a society tasked with implementing and giving effect to the cabinet approval accorded to the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) for the creation of one autonomous body subsuming 13 of its erstwhile autonomous institutes. The objectives of BRIC are diverse and aimed at promoting cutting- edge research in biotechnology aligned with national priorities, fostering innovation and translation across institutional boundaries, and developing indigenous technologies and capabilities in line with the principles of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

BRIC seeks to nurture the next generation of scientific leaders by enabling the pursuit of knowledge and innovation in globally competitive and nationally relevant ecosystems. To support research endeavours, BRIC will develop and maintain world-class facilities with advanced platform technologies, capabilities, and instrumentation at its research institutes, providing access and training to researchers across the country. BRIC aims to work in partnership with the Regional Centre of Biotechnology (RCB) to offer globally competitive interdisciplinary education and research programs in biosciences.

The Regional Centre for Biotechnology (RCB) is an Institution of National Importance created by an Act of Parliament, established by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, under the auspices of UNESCO. RCB has emerged as a pioneering institute for research in Biotechnology and is defining new horizons in providing world-class education, training and research at the interface of multiple disciplines. RCB is committed to exploring new frontiers, furthering science and connecting contemporary and emergent areas of Biotechnology through cutting-edge research.

The i3c BRIC-RCB PhD Programme in Biosciences
A need was felt to establish a nationally cohesive, interdisciplinary Ph.D. programme in biosciences to expand the scale of generating highly skilled, globally competitive human resource. It was envisioned that the trained human resource produced through this programme would be better equipped to provide bioscience-based pioneering solutions to contemporary problems relevant nationally and globally. The main objective of the proposed programme would be to foster greater academic and research interaction among the institutions of the DBT BRIC (iBRICs), RCB and ICGEB (collectively called BRIC+ institutions), and to increase the professional networking opportunities for the Ph.D. scholars.

As a part of this programme, all scholars will undergo one semester of coursework physically at RCB, Faridabad immediately after joining. They will subsequently also undergo a 3-month field immersion programme following the coursework, before reporting back to their respective BRIC+ institutions for the remainder of their PhD.

Eligibility Criteria
Track I
Indian students with 4-year Bachelor’s degree or Master’s degree from a recognised institution in any area of science and technology, or a Bachelor of Medicine, Bachelor of Surgery degree, or an equivalent degree are eligible to apply. An aggregate score of 60% or an equivalent grade in the preceding qualifying degree examination is an essential qualification (with a 5% relaxation for SC/ST/OBC- NCL/differently-abled (PwBD) allowed as per extant statutory norms). All applicants must have a five-year valid national level fellowship such as the DBT-JRF, CSIR-JRF, UGC-JRF, ICMR-JRF, or similar.
Track II
Undergraduation in medicine (MBBS) or in any branch of engineering from the non-biological sciences (BTech/ BE) with 60% aggregate marks in the preceding qualifying degree examination is an essential qualification (with a 5% relaxation for SC/ST/OBC-NCL/differently- abled (PwBD) allowed as per extant statutory norms). Age limit: 30 years on the application deadline.

No of total seats : 75 (Track I – 70 and Track II – 5).
Reservation of seats : As per GoI guidelines.

Selection Process
Only online applications will be accepted at i3cbricphd.rcb.ac.in/, which includes payment of an application fee of Rs. 500/-, if applicable. SC/ST/PwBD/EWS candidates are exempted from payment of the application fee. The selection process is likely to be as per the following schedule :
Intimation to shortlisted candidates for 1st interview (online) : June 12, 2026
First interview (online) : June 16-17, 2026
Announcement of results for candidates selected for 2nd interview : June 20, 2026
Second interview (at RCB, in person) : July 06-07, 2026
Declaration of final results : July 08, 2026
Interaction of selected and waitlisted candidates with BRIC+ institution representatives (in person at RCB) : July 08-10, 2026
Deadline for selected candidates to accept offer by email and pay fees online : July 13, 2026
Offers sent to waitlisted candidates : July 14, 2026
Deadline for waitlisted candidates to accept offer by email and pay fees online (one day each for subsequent WLs until all seats are filled) : July 14, 2026 onward (TBA)
Registration, enrolment and fellowship activation of all scholars who have accepted the offer (at the respective BRIC+ institutions) ; July 14-31, 2026
All scholars report to RCB for the coursework : August 3, 2026
Providing false/incorrect information in the application form or non-possession of essential qualifications detected at any stage of the selection process will lead to the disqualification of the candidate. The decision of the Competent Authority at RCB shall be final and binding in this regard. The fee structure for the i3C BRIC-RCB Ph.D. programme in biosciences will follow extant RCB norms.

Note : Students who are unable to submit their transcript/ provisional degree certificate (PDC) of the qualifying degree examination at the time of joining from the respective university/college/institution shall be given 21 days of time from the date of commencement of the programme, i.e. till 21.08.2026. No further extension shall be given and their candidature will be treated as cancelled if they are unable to submit the transcript/ provisional degree certificate within this extended deadline.

The last date for submitting online applications is June 08, 2026