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Since its inception, Krea has focussed on building an institution with exceptional research calibre. The PhD programme is designed to strengthen the creativity and scholarship of research scholars who are expected to engage in deep and impactful research. The programme takes a holistic approach, strengthening foundational knowledge through coursework and encouraging critical thinking to produce original scholarship during the course of the doctoral programme.
The PhD programme is designed to be a holistic research experience that places equal importance on learning within and outside the classroom. Here are few reasons on why the programme stands out:
Highly experienced and supporting faculty with veteran researchers, specialists, and experts from the field
Prepared not just for a career in academics but also for the corporate world, with excellent placement possibilities
Opportunities to work with Research Centres on various topics of applied research and public policy
Networking opportunities with faculty from renowned international institutions
Tuition fee waiver, accommodation support, and a monthly fellowship
Support for national and international conferences for full-time PhD students
Research is core to Krea and drives everything we do at the university. Research here finds itself at the intersection of extensive, interdisciplinary and interwoven thinking. There are diverse areas to choose from across Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Sciences. The pedagogy is strategically designed to provide scholars with the best available theory, practice, and methodology for executing their research.
Organic Chemistry- Organic synthesis, Electrosynthesis, Photochemical Synthesis, Electro-photochemical Synthesis, Electrocatalysis
Computational Chemistry- Modelling Weak Interactions, Molecular Confinement, Nanoscale Systems, Protein-Ligand Interaction, Reaction Mechanisms
Molecular Spectroscopy- Molecular Photophysics, Time-resolved spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy and Microscopy
Inorganic Chemistry- Inorganic Materials synthesis and Characterization, Nanomaterial synthesis, Heterogeneous catalysis, thermocatalysis and electrocatalysis using inorganic and nanomaterial composites
Algorithms and Complexity- Approximation Algorithms and Parameterized Algorithms
Computational Logic, Formal Methods and Programming Languages- Application of formal methods and artificial intelligence to software systems and cyber-physical systems, Logic and foundations of Computer Science, Programming Language Semantics, Verification and Formalisation of Proofs
Quantum Computation- Quantum Algorithms and Quantum Information Theory
Atmospheric and Climate Sciences- Aerosol-monsoon interactions, Monsoon projections, Middle atmospheric dynamics, Thermosphere-Ionosphere coupling
Space Physics and Aeronomy- Thermosphere-Ionosphere coupling, Ionospheric studies, Space weather
Remote Sensing- Optical cameras and spectrometers for atmospheric studies, Radar signal processing, Satellite data fusion
Political Ecology
Social-Ecological Systems
Conserving biodiversity in peopled landscapes
Natural Resource Governance
Climate policy- Climate responsibility and finance, Climate performance
Sustainability Science- Planetary boundaries and human development
Sustainability Policy- Global sustainable transitions, Energy transition on a finite planet
Research Areas: Early Modern, Modern and Contemporary South Asia
Specialisations: Transport History, Military History, Colonial state and archives
Research Areas: Premodern South Asia
Specialisations: Medieval and Early Modern history, Early India, Regional History and Area Studies, Comparative Literature, Religious Traditions and Identities, Indian Ocean and Maritime networks, Money and Exchange, Textual Traditions and Literary studies, Intellectual History
Research Areas: Art and Material History
Specialisations: Architectural History, Material and Visual Culture
Research Areas: World History
Specialisations: Medieval Europe, West Asia and the Mediterranean, Sassanians and Byzantines, Frontiers and Empires, Textual and Numismatic studies
Research Areas: Indian Medieval History and History of Science in India
Algebra, Combinatorics, and Representation Theory:
Specialisations: Group Cohomology, Homological Algebra, Noncommutative Ring Theory, Algebraic and Topological Combinatorics, Number Theory, Representation Theory of Algebraic Groups and Lie Algebras.
Applied Mathematics and Analysis of Partial Differential Equations:
Specialisations: Fluid Dynamics, Spectral Theory, Theory of Homogenization, Regularity Theory of PDEs, Calculus of Variations.
Topology and Geometry:
Specialisations: Combinatorial Group Theory, Geometric Group Theory, Hyperbolic Geometry, Low-Dimensional Topology, Mapping Class Groups, Teichmüller Theory.
Quantum Optics and Quantum Information (Theory and NV-Centre-based experimental studies)
Specialisations: Quantum Computing, Quantum Sensing / Magnetometry, quantum cavity arrays, quantum phase transitions, and statistical physics, superconducting qubits
Condensed Matter Physics and Materials Science
Specialisations: Strongly correlated electronic systems, low dimensional and geometrically frustrated magnets, Materials discovery under extreme conditions (High Pressure & High Temperature), Biological molecules under pressure, Spectroscopy (Raman and Solid state NMR/NQR down to 4 K), superconductivity
Particle and Astroparticle Physics
Specialisations: Neutrino physics and astrophysics, Beyond Standard Model (BSM) physics, dark matter and dark energy
Major Research Areas and Sub-Fields
The discipline’s research and teaching span the full breadth of contemporary political inquiry. Our work is empirically grounded, conceptually rigorous, and attentive to the layered textures of politics in India, the Global South, and the wider world.
Democracy, Institutions, Law and Public Policy
Core Questions: How do democratic institutions function? How do rights, justice, and accountability shape political life? How do states design and implement policy?
Sub-fields / Themes:
Democratic practices, accountability, governance, and public service delivery.
Law, constitutionality, citizenship, rights, and justice in plural societies.
Public policy in India and comparative policy analysis (welfare, inequality, inclusion,social protection).
State–society relations and institutional interactions.
Identity, Culture, Inequality & Social Movements
Core Questions: How do social identities shape politics? How do cultural forms and collective action challenge or sustain power?
Sub-fields / Themes:
Caste, religion, ethnicity, minority rights, marginalisation, social exclusion.
Social movements, civic action, mobilisation, democratic participation from below.
Intersectional politics: gender, sexuality, technology, labouring bodies, and social categories.
Cultural politics: belonging, identity, minority cultures, social imaginaries, urban cultures.
Comparative Politics, Global Politics & Transnational Processes
Core Questions: How do political systems differ across regions? How does global interdependence reshape power and justice?
Sub-fields / Themes:
Comparative politics of the Global South and cross-regional institutional analysis.
International politics, world order, globalisation, transnational flows, global justice.
Political economy of development: economic transformation, inequality, and historical development trajectories.
Urban, Regional & Special Politics/Political Economy of Space
Core Questions: How do space, economy, and infrastructure shape political power and social life?
Sub-fields / Themes:
Urban politics, spatial governance, city planning, urban histories and imaginaries.
Regional economic geography: infrastructure, mobility, circulation, and rural–urbanlinkages.
Spatial inequality, class, and the political economy of development.
Politics of Technology, Media, Data and Contemporary Global Challenges
Core Questions: How do digital technologies, media systems, and global crises transform democracy and citizenship?
Sub-fields / Themes:
Digital politics: big data, platforms, surveillance, technology-mediated social relations.
Media, representation, classification, and power in cultural and political life.
Global crises and planetary politics: environment, pandemics, ethical challenges of globalisation.
Political Theory, Philosophy and Intellectual Histories
Core Questions: What concepts organise political life? How do ideas, norms, and histories shape our understanding of politics?
Sub-fields / Themes:
Political theory and political philosophy: justice, democracy, freedom, rights, identity,state.
History of ideas and intellectual history, with strengths in Global South, non-Western and decolonial traditions.
Critical theory and normative political analysis: ethics, power, authority, collective action.
Clinical and Counselling Psychology, Cultural Psychology, Social Psychology, Political Psychology
Developmental Psychology and Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology, Computational Psychology, Neuropsychology
Visual Cognition, Linguistic Cognition, Psychophysics, Psycholinguistics
Methods: Qualitative, Quantitative, Field based, Experimental, Computational, Psychophysical, and Neuroimaging methods or any combinations thereof.
Entails coursework, teaching, and dissertation, and scholars are to reside on campus (during term time) for the entire duration of the programme.
Designed for professionals looking to further their research interests while also enhancing career prospects. Scholars are to stay on campus for the first term of the programme and visit campus as and when suggested by the advisor and the Doctoral Committee (DC).
Coursework
Assigning advisor(s)
Formation of the Doctoral Committee (DC)
Formulation of research problem
Inputs and approval from the Discipline-specific-advisory group (DAG)
Basic training on relevant techniques/methodologies
Detailed presentation to the DC for approval
Research/Field Work
Presentations in conferences
Publishing in Journals
Coursework
Assigning advisor(s)
Formation of the Doctoral Committee (DC)
Formulation of research problem
Inputs and approval from the Discipline-specific-advisory group (DAG)
Basic training on relevant techniques/methodologies
Detailed presentation to the DC for approval
Research/Field Work
Presentations in conferences
Publishing in Journals
Important
The Doctoral Committee will conduct a progress review for every candidate at the end of each academic year.
For candidacy, scholars must complete the required coursework and get necessary approvals on their research proposal within the time period stipulated by the DC.
All full-time PhD scholars are required to work as Teaching Assistants for 2 courses every academic year, from the 2nd year onwards.
Krea provides state-of-the-art research facilities including laboratories, libraries, and access to online databases to its doctoral scholars.
The Mazumdar-Shaw Biological Sciences Laboratory at Krea houses instruments that support a wide range of procedures in the biological sciences—zoological and botanical specimen preparation and observation; biochemical preparation, purification, and analysis of samples; molecular cloning techniques; multiplexed immunological assays; spectroscopic and calorimetric measurements; ecological observation and measurement; and data analysis, inference, and interpretation.
The Computational Chemistry Lab at Krea University provides rigorous and forward-looking training in modern molecular modelling and data-driven chemical discovery.
The Data Science Lab provides GPU-enabled workstations for hands-on machine learning where scholars can explore data, build models, and run experiments using JupyterLab/Anaconda Navigator with popular Python and R libraries (PyTorch, scikit-learn, etc.). For workloads that require more power, our on-campus HPC cluster offers high-performance computing and GPU acceleration, ideal for deep learning training and other computationally intensive tasks.
Physics lab offers several unique experimental facilities, such as a Dobsonian reflector telescope, a 3D printer, an optical table, a gamma spectroscopy kit (Indosaw), a spectrofluorometer (Horiba Scientific), a UV–Vis spectrometer (LABINDIA), and an analytical IR spectrometer (Bruker).
Scholars have access to two modern computer laboratories with over 100 high-performance workstations that support hands-on instruction and structured lab sessions alongside coursework.
The Behavioural Sciences & Neuroimaging Lab is dedicated to advancing research in human cognition through a multidisciplinary approach. The lab is equipped with advanced tools such as Electroencephalography (EEG), Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS), Virtual Reality (VR) systems, eye-tracking technology, and a range of instruments for behavioural measurement.
Faculty members are drawn from the best universities across the world and are a fine blend of academic expertise, combined with robust research credentials. Each year over 100 peer-reviewed publications published, combining rigorous scholarship and industry-linked expertise to guide PhD research across discipline
Student stories of of aspirations, milestones, passion and perseverance
Aravind R, an SIAS PhD scholar in Sociology presented a paper titled ‘Digital Queer Intimacies in the City: Pleasure, Labour and Ghettoisation’aste to fuels in the journal Science.
Trisha Putturaya, SIAS alum, has co-authored an article titled From Diversity to Monotony: Ecological Communities Are Homogenising with Professor Guha Dharmarajan, Professor, Biological Sciences, SIAS. The article has been published in Mongabay.
A research paper titled Modeling Recurrent Neural Networks in Serial Recall Paradigm with Dynamic Self-excitation, co-authored and presented by Purvikalyani Prasannah, UG Cohort of 2023–27, SIAS,
Research stories that are curious, critical and committed
Aravind R, an SIAS PhD scholar in Sociology presented a paper titled ‘Digital Queer Intimacies in the City: Pleasure, Labour and Ghettoisation’aste to fuels in the journal Science.
Shining spotlight on faculty achievements
Trisha Putturaya, SIAS alum, has co-authored an article titled From Diversity to Monotony: Ecological Communities Are Homogenising with Professor Guha Dharmarajan, Professor, Biological Sciences, SIAS. The article has been published in Mongabay.
Student stories of of aspirations, milestones, passion and perseverance
A research paper titled Modeling Recurrent Neural Networks in Serial Recall Paradigm with Dynamic Self-excitation, co-authored and presented by Purvikalyani Prasannah, UG Cohort of 2023–27, SIAS,
The pathway to becoming an able researcher seeks a blend of curiosity, critical thinking, perseverance, resilience and to top it all, a knack of handling uncertainty, and the Krea PhD scholars are all of these and more. They are driven with a singular aim to contribute to the welfare of humanity through academia, research, and industry.
The 40-acre green and sustainable campus in Sri City, is situated right in the heart of an Integrated Business City. Located 70 km from Chennai, the campus hosts state-of-the art infrastructure, tech enabled classrooms, cutting edge labs, expansive cafeteria, diverse sports facilities, a world class library, green spaces, medical centre, convenience store and much more.
"Understanding the intricate and interconnected relationship between everything that surrounds us is of utmost importance if we aim to gain a comprehensive understanding of human beings as a species.
Achieving this level of understanding is not possible through a single discipline, but requires an interdisciplinary approach - which is precisely what Krea University offers. The impressive range of expertise that Krea faculty members possess sets the tone for a synchronised harmony that is truly captivating. As I perused some of the works of Krea professors, I was struck by the depth of knowledge and the sheer dedication they bring to their fields. It is evident that pursuing a doctoral degree at Krea University will require a great deal of hard work and effort, but the rewards are well worth it"
Take your first step into the world of pivotal interdisciplinary research
