Ph. D. in Sustainable Development

Program Background

"When we try to love or serve without understanding those whom we are serving, we often end up harming society and ourselves. In order for service to be beneficial, it needs to go hand and hand with discernment. This is the essence of sustainable development."

- Dr. Sri. Mata Amritanandamayi Devi, Chancellor, Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham

India's socioeconomic growth and development depends upon the sustenance of its rural communities, as 70% of its population are still living in rural villages. These communities form the backbone of the country. Despite the country's overall progress, the rural population has been facing numerous pressing problems which need to be addressed. Some of the challenges they face include: extremely poor access to basic facilities and infrastructure, poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition, waste management, along with the unexpected impact of climate change and extreme weather conditions that result in devastating natural disasters.

At Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (Amrita), our faculty and students have a mission and a vision to work towards our country’s progress, thereby delivering a sustainable future and creating a global impact. Under the guidance of our Chancellor, Dr. Sri Mata Amritanandamayi Devi (affectionately called as “AMMA”, meaning Mother), a world-renowned humanitarian and meliorist, we have pledged to the motto -“Education for living and Education for life”. Along with academic learning which is important to make a living, education must impart a culture of the heart—a culture based on enduring values, that is essential for life (E4LIFE). AMMA then suggested us to provide opportunities to students from all over the world to spend quality time in the villages that will help them experience, understand and solve the problems faced by the villagers.

To this end, Amrita adopted 100+ villages and got committed to use applied research as the foundation of socio economic progress and sustainability. Further, to make this accessible to the international academic community, the Live-in-Labs®, Amrita’s flagship program was launched in 2013. The Live-in-Labs® is a credit-based program which adopts a multidisciplinary theory–into–practice approach.

Related Links: Amrita Live-in-Labs®

Program Overview

Our Chancellor’s exemplary vision and untainted intent of care for people in real need, has laid the foundation for this PhD Program. This program is integrated with a comprehensive yet flexible curriculum called- the “Experiential Learning Curriculum” that aims to enroll and cater to candidates from various disciplines and work towards the sustainable development of the adopted villages.

• Avail opportunities for a double/joint PhD in affiliation with international universities
• Engage with the Industry
• Work in funded projects by UN, Govt of India, European Commission, World Bank etc.
• Join world class research centers and work with distinguished international Professors 

We work on the following thematic areas to make these villages self-reliant: 

1. Health & Hygiene
2. Education & Gender Equality
3. Waste Management & Infrastructure
4. Energy and Environment
5. Agriculture & Risk Management
6. Livelihood & Skill Development
7. Water & Sanitation
8. Other relevant areas 

A detailed study of each of these areas in every community gives rise to a combination of problem statements intertwined with dynamic challenges such as the psychosocial beliefs, language barriers, cognitive behaviour, social issues prevalent based on caste, gender, politics etc. that are very unique to every community. These problem statements and challenges are being analysed meticulously by interdisciplinary teams of students and expert researchers in order to address them.

Curriculum & Faculty

Amrita’s PhD program in Sustainable Development is a multidisciplinary and theory-into-practice PhD program. The program is designed to provide an interdisciplinary grounding with its integrative courses.

We offer this program in two modules:

1. Academic Learning Module:

   The academic learning module will be designed and tailored to suit the need of implementing the proposed research and development. It will constitute a highly comprehensive, flexible yet  customized set of Core courses and Elective courses. Wherever applicable, we will arrange:

   • International faculty lectures to offer various specialised courses and academic workshops;
   • Technical workshops from industries to enhance technical knowledge and
   • Allow undertaking MOOCs from reputed Universities with transferable credits.
   • Funded opportunities for Joint or Dual PhD in collaboration with highly reputed international universities are available for ALL candidates.

   List of our Partner Universities:

   • University at Buffalo, The State University of New York, USA
   • Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands
   • Politecnico di Milano, Italy
2. Experiential Learning Module:
   • Organized community visits
   • Theory-into-practice approaches to effective community engagement
   • Explore and feel the pulse of rural communities in India that are very diverse in terms of their culture, language, literacy, natural resources and socioeconomic development
   • Identify pressing problems of rural communities through one’s own experience by embracing and engaging with them
   • Develop sustainable solutions and ensure empowerment of the rural communities

The course structure is designed to combine flexibility to pursue an individual field of study, with the development of broad-based skills and knowledge in relation to sustainable development. The students can decide on a list of core courses and electives after discussion with their allocated guides at Amrita. The students should maintain an overall B+ average with no lower than a B in any of the core classes.

Faculty at Amrita:

For a list of Faculty at Amrita, please visit

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Funding Information

Amrita is currently offering 100 fully funded fellowships for international and Indian students who wish to join for a full-time PhD program under the various thematic areas of Sustainable Development. The fellowships will be awarded purely based on academic excellence. It is mandatory for the enrolled PhD students to spend quality time in the villages selected for their study program, ensuring timely and effective outcomes.

Funding for international candidates:

ALL international students who successfully enroll in the PhD program at Amrita will acquire the E4LIFE International Fellowship.

Each fully funded fellowship will include:

*The selection of international partners, the period and duration of travel will be subject to approval by the Amrita Centre for International Programs (ACIP) office and your PhD guide. 
**Not exceeding a maximum of INR 25,000 per month

Terms and Conditions:

All costs towards the implementation of the proposed solution in rural communities will be borne by the University, considering the following:

• The Fellowship is valid for a minimum of 3 years and can go upto a maximum of 4 years based purely on academic evaluation. Credibility of the candidates and competency of the projects will be given top priority.
• Fund per fellowship: A minimum of USD 19,000 (INR 13,50,000 Lakhs) upto a maximum of USD 35,000 (INR 25,00,000) based on the scope and credibility of the proposed research and implementation of sustainable solutions.
• It is mandatory that each PhD candidate’s research work (awarded with fully funded fellowship) results in the implementation of a sustainable technological solution, addressing a problem statement in one of the 100+ adopted villages of Amrita.

Funding for Indian candidates:

All Indian students who successfully enroll in the PhD program at Amrita will acquire the E4LIFE Fellowship.

Each fully funded fellowship will include:

*Subject to availability

**The selection of international partners, the period and duration of travel will be subject to approval by the Amrita Centre for International Programs (ACIP) office and your PhD guide

Funded opportunities for Joint or Dual PhD in collaboration with highly reputed international universities are available for ALL candidates.

Terms and Conditions:

All costs towards the implementation of the proposed solution in rural communities will be borne by the University, considering the following:

• The Fellowship is valid for a minimum of 3 years and can go upto a maximum of 4 years based purely on academic evaluation. Credibility of the candidates and competency of the projects will be given top priority.
• Fund per fellowship: A minimum of INR 10,00,000 upto a maximum of INR 25,00,000 based on the scope and credibility of the proposed project.
• It is mandatory that each PhD candidate’s research work (awarded with fully funded fellowship) results in the implementation of a sustainable technological solution, addressing a problem statement in one of the 100+ adopted villages of Amrita.

Other funding available:

Amrita also offers a wide range of partially funded scholarships for ALL students who could not qualify for our E4LIFE international fellowships. They are open under:

• Dean’s scholarships
• Department scholarships
• Short-term scholarships
• Industry sponsored scholarships
• Research and Teaching assistantships

Application Deadline: July 31, 2020

Who Can Apply?

International and Indian students can apply for the program with fellowship through the online Registration form. Applicants from a wide range of academic disciplines can apply, including:

• Engineering (Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Civil Engineering, Wireless Sensor Networks & Applications)
• Health Sciences (Medicine, Nursing, Pharmacy & Toxicology Dentistry)
• Biotechnology
• Microbiology
• Nanotechnology
• Geography
• Geo Sciences
• Pure Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics)
• Environmental Science
• Life Sciences
• Business & Management
• Social Sciences
• Others

Eligibility Criteria

• Completed a Master's degree or must be in their final semester of Master’s program
• CGPA above 8.0 at the preceding degree (mandatory for fellowship)
• Age limit: Below the age of 50 years (Exceptions could be made upon discretion by the Admissions committee)
• International students are exempted from taking an entrance exam at Amrita
• Indian students are required to take an entrance exam. Please look for the entrance exam date on the Amrita website - Doctoral Programs

Applicants must have:

• Good communication skills
• Capacity to work in an interdisciplinary team
• Experience related to social work is helpful but not mandatory
• Willingness to work in rural communities of India
• We welcome applications from prospective full-time students ONLY. This PhD program will take 4 years to complete when enrolled as a full-time student.

Preparing for Your Interview

You will be assessed based on the following points:

• The details provided on your CV and SOP will be the base for your interview
• You will be tested for the depth of your subject knowledge, research capabilities, communication skill and English language
• To go through and understand some of the research undertaken at Amrita towards sustainable development in villages, please go through the following links:
  • Live-in-Labs®
  • Social Sciences Women Empowerment
  • Wireless
  • Humanitarian Robotics HCI
  • Engineering
  • Management

What Happens After the Interview?

Candidature:

• The applicants who are rated “Good” after the interview will be offered an E4LIFE International PhD Fellowship Offer Letter.
• The students are required to print, sign the acceptance letter and send it back to us as a scanned copy.
• This will be treated as a confirmation that the student has accepted the offer.
• We will then issue an Admission Confirmation Letter and a Visa Letter, with which the candidates can apply for their Visas.
• Any other formal document(s) required by the Embassy should be intimated to us, along with the Embassy Email ID and we will send it directly to the Embassy.

Waiting List:

The applicants will be intimated about the results of their interview.

• Those who are rated “Average” after the interview will be added to the “Waiting List”.
• They will either be considered again for candidature upon discretion by the admissions committee or will be offered an Internship for 6 months to 1 year with the Live-in-Labs® program at Amrita.
• This will be a paid internship and the students need to bear a cost of USD 315 per month. This internship is intended to help students build their capacities to pursue their PhD in Sustainable Development going forward. For more details on the Live-in-Labs® program, please visit the embedded link.