WISE Fellowship for Ph.D. (WISE-PhD)

What is the WISE Fellowship for Ph.D.?

The WISE Fellowship for Ph.D. (WISE-PhD) is a scheme of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Ministry of Science and Technology, run under the department's WISE-KIRAN (Women in Science and Engineering–KIRAN) division. WISE stands for Women in Science and Engineering. According to DST, the fellowship is designed to give women a chance to pursue research careers, and in particular to help those who took a break in their careers return to science through a doctorate.

The fellowship targets unemployed women who hold a science or engineering postgraduate qualification and want to pursue a PhD but lack independent financial support. By funding the scholar directly, WISE-PhD lets a woman register for and complete a doctorate at a recognised institution without needing a separate salaried position.

Key features

• A monthly fellowship of Rs 37,000, plus HRA as per norms.
• An annual research grant of Rs 1,00,000 to meet research costs.
• An institutional overhead paid to the host institution.
• A tenure of up to 5 years, or until the PhD thesis is submitted, whichever is earlier.
• Support across five broad disciplines: Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Life Sciences, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and Engineering and Technology.

What are the WISE-PhD benefit amounts?

According to the DST WISE-PhD page, a selected fellow receives:

• Rs 37,000 per month as fellowship.
• House Rent Allowance (HRA) as per Government of India norms where accommodation is not provided.
• A research grant of Rs 1,00,000 per year for consumables, travel and contingency.
• An institutional overhead (reported at around Rs 50,000 per year) paid to the host institution.

The fellowship is valid for a maximum of 5 years or until the thesis is submitted, whichever comes first.

Who is eligible for the WISE Fellowship for Ph.D.?

You can apply if:

• You are an Indian woman aged between 27 and 45 years on the date of application.
• You hold a postgraduate degree in basic or applied sciences, or an equivalent such as M.Phil, M.Tech, M.Pharm or B.Tech.
• You are unemployed and want to pursue a PhD.
• You have not completed two years of PhD study as on the application date, and you are not drawing a fellowship from any other source.

SC, ST and Persons with Disability (PwD) candidates get a 3-year relaxation in the upper age limit.

You cannot apply / are not eligible if:

• You are below 27 years of age: DST states women under 27 are not eligible.
• You are currently employed, the fellowship is only for unemployed women.
• You are male, or the programme is not designed for you as an individual.
• You have already completed two years in a PhD as on the date of application.
• You are already availing another fellowship or financial assistance for the same research.

What documents are required for WISE-PhD?

How to apply for the WISE Fellowship for Ph.D.

1. Wait for DST to announce an open call for WISE-PhD on dst.gov.in/wise-fellowship-phd-wise-phd. Calls open periodically rather than year-round.
2. Prepare your research proposal and secure the consent of a host institution and a research supervisor.
3. Register and log in on the DST online proposal portal (onlinedst.gov.in).
4. Complete the online application form, attach your qualification proof, age proof, proposal, host consent and status declaration.
5. Submit before the deadline stated in the call, and keep the acknowledgement. Shortlisted candidates are evaluated by an expert committee before the award is sanctioned.

Duration and continuation

The fellowship supports a fellow for up to 5 years or until she submits her PhD thesis, whichever is earlier. Continuation each year depends on satisfactory progress reports reviewed by DST and the host institution. Because WISE-PhD runs through periodic calls, applicants should track the DST page for the next opening — a call may be closed at any given time and reopened later.

Help and where to get it

Queries about WISE-PhD are handled by the WISE-KIRAN Division of DST. The division's listed contact is 011-26567373. Applicants can also use the help information published alongside each call on the DST website and the online proposal portal.

WISE-PhD is a genuine but competitive scheme with narrow eligibility. If you are under 27, currently employed, or well past two years into a PhD, this specific fellowship will not apply to you, but DST runs sibling schemes (such as WISE-SCOPE for post-doctoral women) under the same WISE-KIRAN umbrella.

How to check your application status

WISE-PhD does not run a public, real-time tracker where you can enter a reference number and see a status bar. Because DST evaluates applications call-by-call through an expert committee, status information reaches applicants in stages rather than continuously.

1. Confirm submission first. After you submit on the DST online proposal portal (onlinedst.gov.in), the portal generates an acknowledgement or application number. Save this and the screenshot of the confirmation page, since it is the only proof you have that the form actually went through before the call closed.
2. Log back into the portal periodically. Applicant dashboards on DST's proposal portals typically show a status field once screening begins, such as "under scrutiny," "shortlisted for review," or "not shortlisted." Log in with the same credentials you used to apply and check this field rather than assuming silence means rejection.
3. Watch for a shortlisting or presentation call. Candidates who clear the initial screening are usually asked to present their proposal before an expert committee (in person or online). This call comes by email or phone to the contact details given in the application, so an outdated email ID is a common reason applicants miss this step entirely.
4. Call the WISE-KIRAN Division if the portal shows no update. The division's helpline, 011-26567373, is the direct route to ask a human where a specific application stands, especially once several months have passed since the call closed. Have your application number and the exact call/cycle you applied under ready when you call.
5. Check the DST WISE-PhD page for cycle-level announcements. DST periodically posts results, shortlists, or the opening of the next call on dst.gov.in/wise-fellowship-phd-wise-phd. If your specific call's results are not posted there yet, the fellowship for that cycle is still under evaluation.
6. After selection, track continuation separately. Once awarded, year-on-year continuation of the fellowship depends on your progress report being accepted by DST and the host institution, so a fellow already in the programme should follow up with the host institution's nodal officer, not the applicant portal, for renewal status.

Common reasons for rejection

• Applying outside the eligibility window. DST fixes the age band at 27 to 45 years (30 to 48 for SC/ST/PwD) as on the date of application. Applications from women below 27 or above the relaxed upper limit are rejected at the screening stage itself; there is no fix except reapplying in a future call once you fall inside the band.
• Being currently employed. WISE-PhD is explicitly restricted to unemployed women. Any indication of current employment, including part-time or contractual work, in the declaration or supporting documents leads to rejection. If you are employed, you are not a fit for this specific fellowship regardless of your research record.
• No confirmed host institution or supervisor. A proposal without a signed consent letter from a recognised institution and a willing supervisor is treated as incomplete. The fix is to secure this consent before you start the online form, not during it, since many calls have a narrow submission window that does not leave time to arrange a host institution afterward.
• Weak or generic research proposal. Proposals that do not clearly state the topic, objectives, methodology, and relevance to one of the five supported disciplines (Physical and Mathematical Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Life Sciences, Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, Engineering and Technology) score poorly with the expert committee. Discuss the proposal with your prospective supervisor and revise it around a specific, answerable research question rather than a broad area of interest.
• Already past two years into a registered PhD. The scheme is meant to fund the earlier part of a doctorate. Candidates who have already completed two years of PhD study as on the application date are not eligible, and applying anyway wastes a cycle. Check your registration date against the call's cutoff before applying.
• Already drawing another fellowship for the same research. WISE-PhD cannot be combined with another fellowship or financial assistance covering the same PhD work. Declaring an existing UGC, CSIR, or institutional fellowship without giving it up, or failing to disclose it, results in rejection or later cancellation if discovered.
• Missing or mismatched documents. A postgraduate degree that is not in basic or applied science (or a recognised equivalent such as M.Phil, M.Tech, M.Pharm, or B.Tech), or age proof that does not match the DOB used in the form, is a frequent, avoidable cause of rejection. Cross-check every document against the form entries before submitting.
• Submitting after the call closes. Because WISE-PhD runs through periodic calls rather than a year-round window, a technically complete application submitted even a day late is not considered. Track the call's opening and closing dates on the DST page in advance rather than starting the form close to the deadline.