Emulating the spirit of research at the Indian Institutes of Technology, the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University seeks to give an impetus to post-graduate and doctoral studies. In what is said to be a first for any State agricultural university, TNAU says its will offer an Integrated Ph.D. programme in four disciplines – agronomy, plant breeding and genetics, agricultural entomology and agricultural microbiology. An external Ph.D. programme in 26 disciplines will also be offered to only professionals.
According to Dean of the School of Post-Graduate Studies, C. Udayasoorian, the four-year Integrated Ph.D. integrates a three-year Ph.D. programme with a year of post-graduate coursework in generic research training and discipline-specific research content.
“Graduates opting for this programme should have a Cumulative Grade Point Average of above 8.5 and should be willing to focus more on research. It also saves a year’s time for them,” he said.
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The External Ph.D. is offered to candidates who have two years of experience in any R&D organisation. TNAU permits the candidates to pursue the doctoral programme at their organisation itself under a research supervisor, approved by TNAU, in any of the 26 disciplines. The candidates will be given time between four and eight years to complete the thesis.
“Both the Ph.D. programmes are unique and are in great demand. These are available only in institutions that enjoy the stature of IITs. We expect more than 100 candidates to join the first batch of External Ph.D. The programmes will have an edge over the regular doctoral programmes,” the Dean said.
The university is also inviting applications from eligible candidates for admission to masters’ programmes in 39 disciplines and regular Ph. D. programmes in 26 disciplines.
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The new addition in the PG courses is the master’s programme in Molecular Plant Breeding.
The programmes are offered at the university as well as its constituent colleges in Coimbatore, Madurai, Killikulam, Periyakulam, and Mettupalayam.
Application deadlines
Applications can be downloaded from the website www.tnau.ac.in. Last date for receipt of applications for master’s programme is June 29, and that for doctoral programmes is July 22. All correspondence will be done electronically. Candidates can check the university website/e-mail for updates.