IIMC takes the PhD plunge after six decades of playing it safe

NEW DELHI: After 60 years of churning out journalists, the Indian Institute of Mass Communication has had a lightbulb moment: why not let people research the it properly?

The deemed university formally launched its PhD programme on 1 January, opening applications for full-time and part-time candidates until 30 January. Those clutching UGC-NET certificates can waltz straight into personal interactions, whilst the less fortunate part-timers must sit an entrance exam on 19 February.

IIMC vice chancellor Pragya Paliwal Gaur, speaking at the launch, served up the usual academic rhetoric about “genuinely contributing towards research for resurgent India” and thinking “out-of-the-box.” 

The programme promises a smorgasbord of research areas: journalism, digital media, strategic communication, film studies, political communication, and that perennial favourite, advertising and public relations. Scholars can expect rigorous academics, interdisciplinary scholarship, and—if they’re lucky—something resembling an answer to why media keeps changing faster than academics can study it.

The selected candidates list drops on 23 February, interviews kick off on 9 March, and the whole process wraps by 27 March. Coursework begins April 1st—no joke.