Enrolment in PhD programmes of Chennai’s Anna University doubles

Enrolment in PhD programmes of Chennai’s Anna University doubles

Wed, Mar 16 2022 Enrolment in PhD programmes of Chennai’s Anna University doubles

Chennai: The 2021-2022 academic year has seen the enrolment of students in Anna University’s PhD programme double while comparing with previous years. Academicians attribute the spike to pent-up demand and the likelihood that a doctorate degree will soon become mandatory for the direct recruitment of assistant professors at varsities.

In 2021-2022, a whopping 2,293 students were admitted to PhD programmes offered by AU’s four campus colleges and engineering colleges affiliated to it across the state. In 2020-2021, the figure was 1112 while in 2019-2020, the university admitted just 1087 PhD scholars.

The rise in PhD enrolment comes amid a consistent drop in enrolment in MTech/ME courses at the varsity. However, in 2020, with COVID-19 at the peak, we did not advertise for PhD programmes in July, so interested candidates can apply. The pent-up demand could be the cause for the rise in PhD admissions this year.