Ph.D. Biotechnology is a Doctorate course in Biotechnology that generally takes 3-5 years to complete. In this course, students would have to the study subjects like Research Methodology, Scientific Communication, Recent Trends in Biotechnology, etc. A student who has completed Post Graduation in Biotechnology from a recognized University with minimum aggregate marks of 55% (for general category) or 50% (for SC, ST & OBC candidates) is eligible for the course. Admission process for Ph.D. Biotechnology is based on the entrance exams like CSIR-UGC NET, UGC NET, GATE, etc. The college also conducts a group discussion & personal interview round after the entrance exams for the final shortlisting of candidates. The average fee for pursuing a Ph.D. Biotechnology is INR 50,000 to INR 4,00,000 & the fees may vary from college to college. Many top colleges offer this course. Some of the top Ph.D. Biotechnology colleges have been tabulated in the table below. During this course, the candidate will have to perform research in one of the major Biotechnology topics which include Molecular Biology, Bioinformatics & Biostatistics, Protein Biotechnology, Genomics, etc. Top Ph.D. Biotechnology Colleges in Kerala Top Ph.D. Biotechnology Colleges in the Karnataka. The job role available after completing a Ph.D. in Biotechnology is Assistant Professor in Biotechnology, Biochemist, Medical Scientist, Microbiologist, Biomanufacturing Specialist, Product Manager, Medical Communication Specialist, etc. The average starting salary for the Ph.D. Biotechnology candidates is INR 4,00,000 - 20,00,000.After Ph.D. in Biotechnology, candidates can do research work, or they can be recruited as a professor in the many prestigious institutes like IITs, NITs & others. They can also earn a DSc degree in the related fields after completing a minimum research period of 4-5 years.

Ph.D. Biotechnology Course Highlights

Course Level Doctorate

Full form Doctorate of Philosophy in Biotechnology 

Duration 3-5 years

Eligibility Postgraduate degree in Biotechnology or Bioinformatics

Admission Process On basis of Entrance Test.

Course Fee INR 10,000 to INR 1,50,000

Average Salary INR 3 LPA - INR 15 LPA

Job Positions Professor, Biotechnical Researcher, Medical Coder, Associate Research Scientists, Biochemist, Medical Scientist, Microbiologist, Biomanufacturing Specialist, Product Manager, Medical Communication Specialist, etc. 

Top Recruiting Areas Colleges and Universities, Medical Research Centres, Agriculture Sector, Pharmaceutical Industry, Research Centres, etc.

Top Companies Wipro, Reliance, Ocimumbio, Jubilant Biosys, Tata Consultancy Services, IBM Life Sciences, Accelrys, BioMed Informatics

This course is a research-based doctoral course that revolves around topics like Biological Chemistry, Microbiology, Molecular Biology, Analytical Techniques & Bioinformatics.

Through this course, students learn & conduct research on how to produce new organic products by processing pre-existing products through bioprocessing.

This course will also train the student in biological techniques like cross-breeding, embryology, etc & their applications in the real life.

They can choose to work in the various sectors like Medical Sector, Government Labs, Pharmaceutical Companies, Chemical Factories, Agricultural companies & many allied industrial.

The candidate will have to complete a research thesis on any of the relevant topics of their choice and submit it at end of the course.

Why Should You Study Ph.D.? Biotechnology?

The possibilities in Biotechnology are immense. Whether it is in the medical field or agriculture, this technology has developed a lot in the coming time.

Biotechnology has applications in many industries. Professions can choose to work for a variety of organizations, including government agencies, private companies, regulatory bodies, or clinical laboratories.

The scope of the field is expected to increase in the future. Just as there will be development in technology, there will be many employment opportunities in this field.

The candidate will have multiple career options. Besides pursuing a career in Biotechnology, students can also make a career in IT industry.

The candidate can also turn entrepreneur. This course gives you the ability to start your own research lab, you can become a professor in universities & can become a research scientist as well.

Ph.D. Biotechnology Admission Process

Admission to the Ph.D. Biotechnology will be done according to marks scored in the entrance examination.

Some of the most popular Ph.D. Biotechnology Entrance Exams are UGC NET, CSIR UGC NET, etc.

GATE/GPAT qualified candidates will also be considered for admission to the course. They will not have to appear for any entrance exam.

The stepwise admissions process is briefly discussed below:

Step 1: Application: The first step of the admission process is filling up the application form. Once you have successfully submitted the application form, you may proceed with the further steps of the admission process.

Step 2: Entrance Exam: Most universities accept students based on the marks scored by them in the entrance test. The cut-off for the entrance test is determined by college authorities.

Step 3: Group Discussion & Personal Interview: Some colleges also conduct personal interviews. The candidate will be shortlisted based on the performance in the interview.

Step 4: Enrollment: The final stage of the admission process is getting admitted to the college. For that, they need to submit all required documents & pay the admission charge.

Ph.D. Biotechnology Eligibility Criteria

The candidate must complete their post-graduation in Biotechnology or Bioinformatics or any other relevant discipline from a recognized board or university.

Minimum 50% - 55% aggregate marks or 6.75 CGPA on a 10 point scale should be scored at Post Graduation level to be eligible for this course.

They should also clear entrance exams like CSIR- UGC – NET, DBI JRF, ICMR JRF, etc.

The candidate should be currently employed in a relevant field with a research experience of minimum two years.

Ph.D. Biotechnology Entrance Exams

CSIR- UGC – NET- It is a test conducted by the National Testing Agency on behalf of the council of scientific & industrial research (CSIR). The question paper contains 120 questions of 200 marks & is divided into 3 sections.

JNUET- This exam is conducted by National Testing Agency on behalf of Jawaharlal Nehru University & this exam will be a computer based test & will be conducted online. The duration of this exam is three hours.

Some important dates regarding these entrance exams are summarized in the table below:

Exam Name Application Period Exam Date Exam Mode

CSIR-UGC NET for JRF To be notified soon To be notified soon Online

UGC-NET for JRF To be notified soon To be notified soon Online

NBHM Entrance Exam To be notified soon To be notified soon Online

How to Prepare for the Ph.D. Biotechnology entrance exam?

Initially, you need to know the exact syllabus & pattern of the exam, & the syllabus is huge so try to start preparing yourself for the exam a few months before.

You should make a list of subject & prioritize them based on marks allocated to them and after that create a timetable with the distribution of subjects & study the subjects according to the marks.

You should follow a few good reference books for the preparation process. And after completing syllabus of reference books you can solve maximum mock test papers to the check whether your preparation is touching optimum mark or not.

At last, try to solve as many as PhD entrance exams of previous year as it will give you a clear idea about difficulty level & how many times you should allot to a particular type of question.

Some good reference books that can be used to prepare for the entrance exams are listed in the table below.

Book Author 

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology of plants Buchanan 

Concepts & Experiments Karp

Cell proliferation and apoptosis Hughes & Mehmet

Molecular Cell Biology Lodish 

Cell & Molecular Biology D. Robertis

How to get Admission in a Good PhD Biotechnology College?

These are a few important tips that you must keep in mind if you wish to be a part of a really good college:

You should have a very good GPA or a very good percentage in your post-graduation that will help you to get admitted to the college of your choice.

Be well-prepared for entrance test. Try to attempt at least 70-80% of questions correctly to be able to qualify for the exam.

If your university conducts an interview then be prepared with questions that you might face during the interview.

Make sure that your application form does not have any mistake. Otherwise, your application may get rejected during documents verification.

Keep an eye on official website of university for regular updates regarding the admission process.

Ph.D. Biotechnology Top Colleges

Many reputed colleges in India provide Ph.D. Biotechnology course. The top college providing this course according to India Today Ranking Survey 2019 have been given in table below.

College Name Location Average Annual Fees 

Stella Maris College Chennai, Tamil Nadu INR 2,000

Women’s Christian College Chennai, Tamil Nadu INR 48,200

Mount Carmel College Bangalore, Karnataka NA

St. Xavier’s College Ahmedabad, Gujarat INR 80,000

Kishinchand Chellaram College Mumbai, Maharashtra NA

DAV College Chandigarh INR 9,425

Maharani Lakshmi Ammanni College for Women Bangalore, Karnataka INR 44,000

Bishop Heber College Tiruchirappalli, Kerala INR 30,000

Ramaniranjan jhunjhunwala College Mumbai, Maharashtra INR 12,000

Jaipur National University Jaipur, Rajasthan INR 1,26,000