UPES Ph.D Law: Fees 2026, Course Duration, Dates, Eligibility

Ans. No, an LLM is not mandatory for the UPES PhD Law programme. Any Master’s degree or equivalent professional degree with at least 55% aggregate marks is sufficient for eligibility. Candidates from disciplines related to law, social sciences, policy studies, or management are considered, provided they can demonstrate a viable area of doctoral research through the required research proposal submitted at the time of interview.

Ans. The UPES Research Entrance Test (RET) is a university-conducted entrance exam that tests research aptitude and understanding of legal methodology. Candidates who hold a valid UGC-NET qualification are fully exempt from the RET. Those who qualify the RET are then required to submit a 1,000-word research proposal and appear for a personal interview before final selection is made.

Ans. Full-time PhD scholars at UPES receive a 75% fee waiver on the per-semester fee, bringing it down to INR 25,000 per semester. In addition, a monthly research stipend of INR 30,000 and an annual contingency grant of INR 30,000 are provided for research consumables, laboratory needs, and conference participation. These benefits are governed by UPES fellowship policy and are reviewed periodically.

Ans. The PhD Law programme at UPES is a full-time on-campus programme based in Dehradun. While admission interviews are conducted entirely online via Microsoft Teams, all coursework, research supervision sessions, and the orientation programme are held on the UPES campus. Scholars are expected to be present on campus throughout the programme duration.

Ans. UPES PhD Law admits students in two intakes per year, typically the January cycle and the July cycle. Each cycle follows its own application, RET, and interview timeline. Candidates are advised to monitor the official UPES School of Law website for announcements regarding application opening dates, RET schedules, and other admission-related notifications for each cycle.