- A Master's degree with at least 55% marks (or an equivalent grade) in Humanities and Social Sciences, Media and Cultural Studies, Film Making, Design, Fine Arts, or allied fields from an Indian University or an equivalent degree from an accredited foreign university.
- A. The candidate must have cleared the National Eligibility Test (NET) conducted by the UGC, or a similar test accredited by the UGC (like SLET/SET). OR, candidates who have been awarded a Ph.D. degree in accordance with the University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of M.Phil./Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2009 or 2016 and their amendments from time to time are exempted from NET/SLET/SET. This exemption applies if specific conditions regarding the Ph.D. degree (regular mode, evaluation by two external examiners, open viva voce, published research papers) are met.
- B. The Ph.D. degree must have been obtained from a foreign university/institution with a ranking among the top 500 in the World University Ranking (by QS, THE, or ARWU) at any time.