Frontier research in Arts, Humanities,
Sciences and Management.
Original insights. Global impact.
55+
Years of Research
Excellence
150+
Faculty Mentors
The PhD at Krea University is offered through the Krea Doctoral College and is housed within the School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences (SIAS) and IFMR Graduate School of Business (GSB). The Programme is designed to nurture rigorous, creative, and impactful research through a strong foundation in advanced coursework, sustained original inquiry, and a doctoral dissertation.
Doctoral scholars are embedded within Krea's active research ecosystem, working closely with faculty mentors and engaging with research centres, labs, and interdisciplinary research groups. The programme encourages critical thinking, original scholarship, and research that combines theoretical depth with real-world relevance.
The PhD is offered in full-time and part-time formats at IFMR GSB, and at SIAS where scholars may pursue the full-time track or the part-time / Faculty Improvement Programme (FIP).
The PhD at Krea University follows a structured academic and research progression, tailored to each School. Scholars benefit from rigorous coursework, mentorship, and research opportunities, with milestones designed to support the development of independent, impactful scholarship.
Year 1:Coursework, assignment of faculty advisor(s), formation of Doctoral Committee (DC)
Year 2:Formulation of research problem, inputs from Discipline-specific Advisory Group (DAG), training in techniques/methodologies, presentation to DC for approval
Years 3–5:Independent research/fieldwork, synopsis presentation, thesis submission, presentation of research at seminars and conferences, and, where possible, publication of research work in quality journals
Years 1–2:Core and area-level doctoral courses, MBA-level courses, independent research study, End-of-Year 1 Examination, Comprehensive Examination
Years 3–4 (Full-time) / 3–6 (Part-time):Formation of Doctoral Committee, proposal presentation, periodic progress reports and public seminars, thesis preparation, synopsis & thesis submission, external review, viva voce, final thesis submission
SIAS
IFMR GSB
Management with specialisations in:
Mentorship depth:Accomplished researchers with peer-reviewed impact and global collaborations across arts, humanities, sciences, and management
Dean – Research and Professor of Physics,
SIAS Quantum dynamics, statistical physics,
quantum optics & information
Associate Professor, Economics and Chairperson – PhD Programme,
IFMR GSB
Financial Inclusion, CSR,
Poverty Alleviation
Profile
Professor, Operations and Strategy, IFMR GSB
Strategy, Supply Chain, and Operations Management
Assistant Professor, History, SIAS
Religion, Identity, and Power through Food in Early Indian Texts
Associate Professor, Finance, Accounting and Quantitative Finance
Corporate Finance, CSR, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
Assistant Professor, Data Science and Information Systems
AI and ML in Advanced Manufacturing
Associate Professor of Anthropology, SIAS
Anthropology, Environment, and History
Assistant Professor, OB & HR
Sustainable HRM, Employee Well-being, Responsible Leadership
Dean – Research and Professor of Physics,
SIAS Quantum dynamics, statistical physics,
quantum optics & information
Nearly 100 peer-reviewed publications each year, with faculty combining rigorous scholarship and industry-linked expertise to guide PhD research across disciplines.
From research topic ideation to thesis defense stages — doctoral ideas here carry weight across continents. Yours could be next.
Beyond Food Security: Green Revolution and Excess Body Weight Risks among Women in India
6th Annual Economics Conference, Ahmedabad University, 2025
The Mitigating Impact of Technology at Crisis Times
XIX International Conference on Public Policy and Management, 2025
Illuminating Inequality: Intra-State Economic Convergence and Regional Disparities in Karnataka, India
IIT Indore & Portuguese Association for Political Economy, 2024–25
A Bibliometric Study of the Literature on Advertising Ethics
American Marketing Association (AMA) Winter Academic Conference 2025 (Virtual)
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Utkarsh Choudhary— IJBP Biennial Award for Best Paper, World Anti-Bullying Forum, Norway, 2025
Mohammed Hashim— Best Paper Award, Spatial Econometrics Workshop & PhD Colloquium, IIT Indore, 2024
Jyothis Maria Franklin— Conference waiver grant, Society for Business Ethics Annual Conference, 2025
Soumyabrata Basu— Best Paper Award (First Position), 6th International Conference on Financial Markets & Corporate Finance, IIT(ISM) Dhanbad, 2025
● Opening date:8 December 2025
● Early deadline:28 February 2026
● Final deadline: 31 March 2026
● Interview window:1st week of May 2026
A relaxation of 5% marks or equivalent will be given to candidates who belong to SC, ST, OBC (NCL), PwD, and EWS categories.
5% relaxation in marks for SC / ST / OBC (NCL) / PwD / EWS
Students with Undergraduate and/or Postgraduate degrees from ODL (Open and Distance Learning) institutions are also eligible to apply as per the UGC policy and notification
Discover where our PhD scholars go after Krea—making an impact in academia, research, policy, and industry.
Impact:Research Fellow, Azim Premji University, Bengaluru
Focus:Financial inclusion, household responses to macroeconomic shocks, unintended educational consequences of female security in public spaces
Impact:Faculty Associate, TAPMI, Bengaluru
Focus:Labour economics, education, and policy intersections
Impact:Selected as a prestigious GLO Affiliate under the 2025–26 Global Labor Organization (GLO) Virtual Young Scholars Program (GLO VirtYs)
Focus:Global labour studies and interdisciplinary research
Impact:Research Fellow, Misra Centre for Financial Markets and Economy, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad
Focus:Financial markets, macroeconomics, and applied policy research
● 40-acre green campus in Sri City
● Residential and recreational facilities
● Doctoral library, labs, tech-enabled classrooms
● Vibrant interdisciplinary research community
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The full-time PhD at SIAS is designed to be a 4-year experience, extendible by one more year with fellowship. However, a candidate can take up to 8 years to complete their PhD.
The full-time PhD program at IFMR GSB, is 2 years of course work followed by work on dissertation.
The fellowship is offered until the 4th year of the PhD, and can be extended to the 5th year provided the necessary approvals are obtained.
PhD scholars receive support as admissible under university rules to attend conferences, training, and workshops.
Full-time candidates must work as Teaching Assistants for two courses every academic year (from Year 2 onwards) and contribute to academic activities as suggested by the adviser or DC.
PhD scholars will receive support as admissible under the university rules to attend relevant academic conferences, training, and workshops.
Work experience is not mandatory for full-time PhD.
For the part-time PhD programme, a minimum of 5 years of work experience after MBA is required.
For the PhD Programme at IFMR GSB, applicants must take the IFMR GSB, Krea entrance test if they do not have valid CAT, CMAT, GATE, GMAT, GRE, NET JRF, NMAT or XAT scores.
IFMR GSB offers the PhD degree under the auspices of Krea University, which is established under the Andhra Pradesh Private Universities Act and listed on the UGC website.
LORs may be provided by individuals from academia or industry. There is no fixed format, ensuring flexibility for the recommender.
For any queries related to PhD admissions, please write to [email protected]or call +91 94983 23575
From Krea PhD to global scholarship— contribute original research, shape knowledge across disciplines, and apply now to lead the next wave of research!
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