PhD Agriculture Course: Admission 2024, Fees, Syllabus, Entrance Exam, Top Colleges, Career Scope

A PhD in Agriculture or Doctor of Philosophy is a doctoral research degree and is normally the highest level of academic qualification one can achieve. A PhD in Agriculture degree holder can get a job in Agricultural sectors, fertilizer companies, educational institutes, and many more.

The course has a specialisation that deals with fuel and food production, plant genetics, plant physiology, soil sciences, and crop management.

A PhD in Agriculture is usually a three-year full-time programme but can take up to six years to complete. The course curriculum includes research, progress reports, thesis, etc.

Following are the steps of Ph.D. Agriculture admission through the entrances:

Step 1: Fill out the application form

Even if your college conducts an entrance test, you are required to fill up the application forms for the entrance test so that you can sit for the test.

Step 2: Appear for the entrance test

The dates for the entrance test are released by the university shortly after the application deadline. The candidate needs to prepare well for the entrance test to get a good rank.

Step 3: Appear for an interview (optional)

The interview process is completely optional. Only a few colleges conduct interviews for the students who have cleared the entrance test. It may either be a personal interview or a technical one.

Step 4: Admission to the college

The students who have cleared all the previous stages of the admission process will be allowed to take the admission.

Here are some tips to effectively prepare for PhD Agriculture entrance exams:

• Knowing the examination format will keep you ahead of the others. The pattern may differ from university to university. In most cases, the question paper is divided into two parts: one part contains subjective questions while the other part contains objective questions.
• Give more importance to the sections which are important from the examination's point of view. For that, you need to make a list of all the topics that are important from the examination point of view and give special attention to those sections.
• The key to acquiring a really good score in the examination is revision. The more you revise, the better will you be able to score in the examinations. You must start your revision at least 2 months before the date of the examination.

The CSIR NET exam is conducted for the Junior Research Fellowship and for the Lectureship in Science and Technology subjects. The eligibility criteria for the CSIR NET are as follows:

(a) Academic criteria:

1. The applicant must have a degree in any of the following: B.Tech, BE, B.Pharma MBBS B.Sc. (Hons. ), or M.Sc.
2. Candidates with Bachelor's-level degrees, such as B.Tech, can only apply for JRFs and not lectureships.
3. The applicant must have a minimum of 55 percent in their degree course. 

(b) Age criteria:

1. The upper age limit for CSIR NET is 28 years for JRF, which is relaxed to 5 years for certain categories.
2. If you want to apply for the position of assistant professor, there is no age limit.

IIT Roorkee has REVISED the GATE 2025 application form dates. As per the revised schedule, GATE 2025 registrations had started on 28 August, 2024. The last date for GATE 2025 registration have been extended to October 3, 2024 (without late fees). Earlier, candidates had to submit the application form by 26 September 2024, with regular fees. Candidates will be able to submit the GATE 2025 application form with late fees until October 11, 2024 (extended).

Candidates can complete information by clicking on the given link: GATE 2025 Application form. To enroll for the GATE exam, candidates have to pay a requisite fee of INR 900 (for female/SC/ST/PWD candidates) and INR 1800 (for other candidates) during the regular period. A late fee of INR 500 is charged for candidates applying after October 3, 2024.  

Application Form may be submitted in three simple steps:
Step 1 Apply for Online Registration using unique Email ID and Mobile No.
Step 2 Fill in the Online Application Form and note down the system generated Application No. Upload scanned images of Candidate’s Photograph (file size: 10 kb - 200 kb) Candidate’s Signature (file size: 4kb – 30kb)and candidate’s thumb
impression(between 3 kb to 30 kb) in JPG format.
Step 3 Pay fee using SBI/ICICI Bank Payment Gateway through Debit Card/ Credit Card/ NetBanking/UPI(Annexure-V) and keep proof of fee paid. In case the Confirmation Page is not generated after payment of fee then the transaction is cancelled, and amount will be refunded to the candidate’s account. However, the candidate has to make another transaction, in case the Confirmation Page is not generated.

Yes, there is a negative marking of 25 per cent in the CSIR NET exam for each wrong answer (33 per cent in Part C of Earth Sciences paper). Marking Scheme in CSIR NET 2024 exam varies with different stages of exam. Part A comprises 20 questions, and each question carries 1 mark. Therefore, the total marks allotted for Part A is 20. Part B and Part C comprise subject-specific questions, and each question carries 2 or 4 marks. Part B comprises 40 questions, and the total marks allotted for this section is 80. Part C comprises 60 questions, and the total marks allotted for this section is 120. It's important to note that the negative marking can significantly affect the final score, and the candidates should attempt the questions carefully and only answer those questions for which they are confident about the correct answer. Guesswork should be avoided as it may lead to negative marking and a reduction in the overall score.

Here are some recommended books for PhD in Agriculture students, you may find useful:

Note: The information is sourced from external sources and may vary.

Here are some core subjects covered under PhD in Agriculture:

• Advanced Agricultural Marketing and Price Analysis
• Agricultural Meteorology
• Agricultural Chemistry
• Environmental Economics
• Agricultural Physics
• Advanced Host Plant Resistance
• Food and Nutrition
• Insect Behavior

Here are some best college option in Uttar Pradesh for PhD Agriculture:

Note: The information is sourced from the official body and may vary.

India has around 37 PhD Agriculture colleges including private and government institutions. Among them, VIT Vellore, Amity University, Lovely Professional University, Shoolini University, GB Pant University, etc., are some top options. The average course fee of these colleges is around INR 1 - 4 Lakh. 

These colleges offer PhD Agriculture courses under various specializations including Genetics and Plant Breeding, Agronomy, Agricultural Economics, Agri-business Management, and Food Science and Technology.

The future of PhD Agriculture students in India is always bright. They need not have to worry about jobs. Given below are a few prospects for these students:

• The candidates may conduct research in different fields related to Agriculture. They may either work at various agricultural labs or conduct their research. They may invest their time in discovering new techniques of agriculture and new ways to improve crop production.
• The PhD Agriculture students may also opt for an academic career path. They may teach at various prestigious educational institutes in the country. They are responsible for imparting agriculture-based knowledge to the students.

Being a PhD Agriculture Scholar, you can opt for many industries in India and abroad such as Government Agriculture Departments, Forest Departments, Food Production, Educational Institutions, Research Centers, Market Research Companies, and more.

There are many complex and soft skills that PhD Agriculture scholars need to possess to succeed in their careers. These are not necessarily skills that students can get in a classroom setting. Instead, these are skills that are learned through experience.

Therefore, students should always put in the effort to go out of their comfort zone and gain as much experience as possible. Some of these skills include:

Note: The information is sourced from external sources and may vary.

Actual meanings of both:-

Agriculture: ‘Agri' means land and ‘culture' means cultivation. Hence agriculture is the process of cultivation of land.

Agronomy: ‘Agron' means management of soil/field and ‘nomous' is study. Hence, Agronomy is the study of the management of land.

Agronomy is one of the disciplines that is comprised in Agricultural studies. The agricultural study is divided into different divisions which together complete the process of cultivation such as Plant Pathology, Entomology, Agronomy, Agricultural economics, etc.. Agronomy is a part of the overall process of agriculture, there's no difference between the two.

While Agronomy is limited to the management of land which includes water use efficiency, watershed management, Irrigation methods, etc. Agriculture involves many other processes like soil testing, soil management, Insect pest management etc., besides agronomy.