Study and Research Opportunities in India

Long and short-term academic programs are available in India across many universities and educational centers. International students and researchers may apply to BA, MA, Ph.D., and postdoctoral research programs in India. Moreover, summer schools and conferences are other excellent academic activities that make India an attractive destination for scholars and scientists. Many programs also come with fully-funded scholarships and fellowships as well as travel grants and financial aid, thus every student, researcher, and professor can always find a suitable program in India and apply.

Scholarships and Fellowships in India

Summer Programs in India

Winter Programs in India

India as an Academic Destination

The world consistently talks about the development of India, the second largest population holding country in the world. However, India is yet a country of big contrasts: the high volumes of unemployment, illiteracy, and early marriages go in parallel with powerful technological advancements and significant educational reforms.

So, be prepared to experience both Indias when applying for international studies there.

In this section of ARMACAD, we focus on presenting you India as an academic destination, which is quite attractive as such. If you want to receive a quality education on the latest advanced areas like Artificial Intelligence and Augmented Reality, meanwhile have a chance to explore exciting niche courses like Cognitive Computing to Yoga, Ayurveda, and Sanskrit, India is the right place. A pleasant bonus that you will pay up to 4 times less for Indian education than for U.S. or E.U. similar programs.

India has a sufficient education infrastructure for welcoming international students. There are more than 800 universities, 39,000 colleges, which together can host 20 mln students a year.

Purely depending on the countries' university statistics, India's leading programs are provided on engineering and technology subjects. This statement relies on the fact that most Indian Universities included in QS India and QS India University Rankings are Indian Institutes of Technology.

The Top 3 IITs include:

Out of tech sphere limits, the below list also presents the globally ranked Indian universities according to U.S. News Rankings.

The oldest universities in India date back to the 1800s, including the Senate of Serampore College (1818) and Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (1847).

International student expenses in India

The first thing you need to know about India's student expenses is that government supports international students only after they are in the country for three consecutive years.

Moreover, for receiving a student visa to India, you should prove the way you are going to fund your stay in the country without working there.

So, unlike other countries, government scholarships are not the most popular education funding providers in India. Double-check the presented funding opportunities of this section to fill this gap.

In case you are going to live on your financial resources in India, the below-estimated picture of international student costs will help you estimate your budget.

International students mainly settle in the capital Delhi and the largest city Mumbai. Those two cities have approximately the same level of expensiveness. Generally, even though India currently experiences an economic breakthrough, its living costs are still markedly lower than in China, Japan, and South Korea.

So, the average tuition fee per academic year is 3,300-7,800 in India. Medicine and engineering courses are the most expensive, as they require frequent use of facilities. For some Ph.D. programs, there is a monthly stipend of 340$.

Coming to accommodation, some universities offer dormitories, called halls of residence. The rent for such halls is between 700-2,000$ per academic year and often includes utilities such as the internet.

Student Visa

If you do not have a Bhutanese or Nepalese passport or don't hold an Overseas Citizen of India status, there is a visa requirement to study in India. An important note here is that you should have a machine-readable passport along with the visa, as it's the main mandatory requirement for entering the country.

To receive a visa, you will need to complete the following steps:

Have a written admission confirmation from the Indian University for at least a 6-months-long course.
As mentioned above, you will also need to justify how you will fund your expenses while studying in India without working in the country.
You need to obtain a No Objection Certificate from the Indian Ministry of Health, which will validate your proper health condition.
You must also provide a written statement that your family members are not from India and do not live in India. If they do, they must assist your expenses in the country.

All the documents required for the visa should be translated either to English or Hindi. Generally, English is quite widespread in India; however, the primary and government language is Hindi, so you might need the translations of the application documents.

An Indian study visa is valid for up to 5 years. Depending on which countries' passport you hold, the visa may cost 13-118 USD.

If you need additional information on India's studies, visit the Indian Ministry of Education's official website. We hope this article will help you to construct your dream academic path in India.