PhD Programme in Climate Change

The Centre on Climate Change and Sustainability at South Asian University invites applications for its PhD programme through the Entrance Test and Direct Admission Mode.

This interdisciplinary PhD programme aims to prepare the next generation of scholars and practitioners to address 21^st century challenges of climate change, green transition, and sustainability.

Students enrolled in the PhD programme can undertake cutting-edge research in the following areas:

• Climate change impacts, risks, and vulnerability assessments
• Climate adaptation, resilience, and sustainable livelihoods
• Mitigation policies: decarbonization and energy transition
• Climate-agriculture-water interfaces
• Climate change governance and negotiations
• Climate-air pollution linkages
• GIS and AI-ML applications in climate studies
• Net zero for sustainable businesses
• Linkages between ESG and sustainable reporting
• Climate finance, carbon credits, carbon market, green energy
• Any other research area relevant for climate studies

Eligibility:

Candidates must have completed a minimum of 17 years of formal education, i.e., 12 years of regular schooling followed by either a 3+2 year or a 4+1 year Bachelor’s and Master’s degree program in any discipline from an institution recognized by the government of any of the SAARC countries with a minimum of 55% marks in sciences and 50% marks for non-science subjects.

Candidates with a 4-year Bachelor’s degree are also eligible provided they have secured a minimum of 80% marks for science subjects and 75% marks for non-science subjects.

Admission Procedure:

Admission to the PhD programme in Climate Change and Sustainability shall be as per university norms. Apply here: https://sau.int/

PhD Entrance Test Syllabus:

The PhD Entrance Test will assess candidates’ conceptual understanding of interdisciplinary knowledge on climate change and sustainability, and their research aptitude relevant to doctoral-level studies.

Multiple-choice questions will be asked from the following areas:

• Climate science: Earth’s climate system, greenhouse effect, global warming, climate data, trends, and uncertainties
• Climate change impacts, risks, vulnerability, resilience, and sustainable development
• Climate adaptation strategies, mitigation pathways, decarbonization, and energy transition
• South Asia energy mix and leading Emission Trading Systems (ETS)
• Climate policies, climate governance, UNFCCC, IPCC, and the Paris Agreement
• Climate economics, climate finance, carbon markets, ESG, sustainable reporting, and net-zero
• Research aptitude and analytical ability: research methodology basics, quantitative and qualitative reasoning, data interpretation, logical reasoning, and environmental awareness

For further reference, please see the syllabus for MS Climate Change and Sustainability here: https://sau.int/course/master-of-science