CDS – Computer & Data Systems (CD-CS) mid-year PhD Admissions (Jan 2020) Information

Common Information: Research activities at CDS are categorized into two streams: Computational Science (CD-CP) and Computer and Data systems (CD-CS). The candidate has to apply for CDS and the department committee will shortlist the candidates for research interview based on GATE Score and/or B.Tech./M.Tech. scores. The shortlisted candidates will have to attend an interview which consists of written component and oral interview. Candidates have to carefully review their eligibility and choose one stream, either CD-CP (Computational Science) or CD-CS (Computer and Data System) at the time of interview. The written component will differ between these streams, please refer to the appropriate brochure carefully before filing in the combined preference sheet. Eligibility for CD-CS and CD-CP can be viewed here.

Additional Information

  • Research Interviews (Nov 18-19, 2019)
    • Shortlisted students will be called for interview on one of the two days, and in either the morning or afternoon session.
    • The interview process for the CD-CS Computer Systems stream has two stages: Written and Oral, both conducted in the same session.
      • Written component (Duration: 30 minutes): A written exam consisting of short answer questions is conducted first to test the candidate’s suitability for the research programs at CDS. The questions will be from the following subjects: Programming in C, Data Structures, Algorithms, Discrete Mathematics, Probability and Statistics. The level of preparation expected will be at the final year engineering undergraduate level.
      • Oral Interview: Candidates who are successful in the written component will attend an oral interview before a CD-CS stream faculty committee. In the oral interview, you will be questioned on:
        • Basic Area Subjects:  Programming in C, Data Structures, and Algorithms. Students are expected to be prepared in all these subjects for the oral examination. The level of preparation expected will be at the final year engineering undergraduate level.
        • Lab-related Topics and Suggested Paper Readings:  You will then be asked questions on topics and papers for the labs selected in preference sheet. Candidates choosing a lab are required to be prepared on at least one of the lab-related topics, and encouraged to read the suggested papers for the lab, if any. These are given in the lab listing in the brochure.

Note: Preference will be given to the PhD candidates, including Direct PhD. See “Why do a Ph.D. at CDS?” for more information. Candidates for PhD are strongly advised to prepare well on their fundamentals, come with a focus and knowledge of the research areas they would like to target in their PhD, and have clarity on the preferred lab(s) and the kind of work done in those labs in the targeted research areas. Review the research topics and the papers from the labs you are interested in. Responses like “I would like to work in a specific area. But I do not know anything about the field and can pick up if admitted” are not helpful.

For any queries/questions about admissions, please contact: chair.cds#iisc.ac.in (replace # with @)

Fequently Asked Questions (FAQs) about admissions are here