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Positions at a glance
| Position | Who it is for | Selection | How to apply |
|---|---|---|---|
| Post-doctoral fellow | PhD holders who want more experience in analog/mixed-signal IC design | IITM post-doctoral process; senior project positions as available | IITM post-doc page; for project positions, write to the faculty member |
| PhD2 | Master's degree holders | Shortlisting on PG and UG scores, then interview | research.iitm.ac.in |
| Direct PhD2 (MS+PhD) | Bachelor's degree holders | Shortlisting on UG and GATE scores1, then interview | research.iitm.ac.in |
| MS | Bachelor's degree holders | Shortlisting on UG and GATE scores1, then interview | research.iitm.ac.in |
| Part-time / External MS, PhD | Employees of related industries and government research labs, whose work is aligned with the research topic | Interview | research.iitm.ac.in; discuss with your employer and the faculty member first |
| Project associate3 | Graduates who want to work on our sponsored projects, usually with a view to joining the MS/PhD program | Interview similar to MS/PhD, scheduled when you are ready | Write to me |
| Summer internship | Students after their third year | IITM summer internship process (applications usually open in February) | See the IITM website |
| Semester-long internship | Students whose institutions permit semester-long internships | Case by case | Write to me |
| Internship + final year at IITM | Students of CFTIs with an MoU with IITM, interested in a PhD at IITM | Nominated by the parent institution | Enquire with your institution |
| Course projects | IITM MTech/Dual-degree (final-year project) and BTech (final-semester project, UGRC mini-projects) students | Discussion with the faculty member | Write to me |
1The GATE requirement is waived for CFTI applicants. For project associates, it can be waived for MS admission after six months of service on the advisor's recommendation.
2PhD and Direct PhD students can apply for the Prime Minister's Research Fellowship (PMRF), which provides a substantially enhanced stipend and grants for conference travel.
3Project associates can take courses for credit; these credits can be transferred to the MS/PhD program after joining.
Admission process
- MS/PhD admissions are through interviews held twice a year, roughly in May and November. The application site opens in February/March and September/October respectively.
- The interview is preceded by a screening test. See the syllabi on the EE admissions page. Example questions are available.
- If you are interested in working with me, you are welcome to send me your CV before applying. For project positions and internships, write to me directly.
Preparing for the interview
A firm grasp of passive and active circuit analysis is the minimum expected of all applicants. "Knowing" a circuit means being able to calculate how it behaves under different conditions: given any circuit, you should be able to set up the relevant equations and solve them. For simple cases such as first-order circuits, ideal opamp circuits and basic transistor amplifiers, you should also have the intuition to work out the behaviour without going through every step. This requires solving problems (by multiple approaches where possible) and thinking carefully about why the answers come out the way they do. Merely watching the lectures or reading the text will not help much.
- Basic Electrical Circuits and Analog Circuits: online courses on NPTEL
- IIT Madras recorded lectures: Electrical and Magnetic Circuits, Electrical Circuits and Networks, Analog Systems and Laboratory, Analog Circuits
- Electrical networks: Hayt and Kemmerly, Engineering Circuit Analysis, McGraw Hill, 6/e. Chapters 1–10.
- Analog electronics: Sergio Franco, Design with Operational Amplifiers and Analog Integrated Circuits, Tata McGraw Hill. Chapters 1–5, 8–10.
- Analog electronics: Sedra and Smith, Microelectronic Circuits, Oxford University Press, 7/e. Chapters 2, 7 and their prerequisites (other editions have similar content in different chapters).