Bypassing Gujarat Common Admission Services, Gujarat University to Hold PhD Admissions Independently

Gujarat University to Conduct Independent PhD Admissions, Opts Out of GCAS

Ahmedabad: Gujarat University (GU) has decided to manage its PhD admission process independently for the current academic session, stepping away from the Gujarat Common Admission Services (GCAS) system. The university will organize its own PhD entrance examination on August 12, while the online registration window for applicants will remain open from July 14 to July 23.

Around 700 PhD seats will be available across more than 80 disciplines. The complete admission procedure — starting from the entrance test to seat allotment — will be handled through the university’s Samarth portal. Candidates will be required to pay a non-refundable registration fee of ₹1,000.

The PhD entrance examination will be an MCQ-based test of two hours duration, carrying 100 marks. Half of the marks will assess general studies, while the remaining 50 marks will focus on subject-specific questions chosen by the candidate. After the written exam, further selection stages such as group discussions may be conducted before final merit-based seat allocation. Applicants who have qualified the NET examination will be exempted from the PhD entrance test and will be eligible for direct admission.

This move represents a notable shift from the previous year, when PhD admissions were processed through GCAS, which led to disagreements. Gujarat University had raised concerns, pointing out that reputed institutions typically administer their own doctoral admissions, even when undergraduate and postgraduate admissions are centralized. Following these representations, GCAS has now transferred control of PhD admissions back to individual universities.

University officials are currently compiling detailed information on the number of subject-wise vacancies, which is expected to be announced before the entrance examination.