About PhD in Agriculture Admission

PhD Agriculture is a three to six-year doctorate which is created in such a way that the learners get to know a deep understanding of their chosen topics. Over the past few years, the scope of pursuing PhD courses in India has increased manifolds. Many universities are in front of admission in this PhD course. 

According to Wikipedia "Agricultural science (or agriscience for short is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. Professionals of agricultural science are called agricultural scientists or agriculturists."

PhD in Agriculture Course Highlights

Tabulated below are some of the highlights of the course.

Course Level

Doctorate

Full-form

Doctorate of Philosophy in Agriculture

Course Duration

3-5 years

Eligibility Criteria

Postgraduate degree in Agriculture or relevant courses

Admission Process

Direct Admission or Entrance test and Interview

What is PhD Agriculture all About?

India is an agro-based country and Agricultural courses are very popular in India. Let us see what the PhD Agriculture course is all about.

The course covers all the fundamentals of Agriculture. It includes topics like soil design, introductory crops, fertilizers, water quality, pest identification and many more.

The students will be able to master various scientific methods of agriculture. They are also taught various ways by means of which they will be able to develop their own techniques of agriculture.

The course is research-based. It's ideal for those students who possess the scientific ability to solve the various issues related to agriculture that farmers face from time to time.

Throughout the duration of the course, the candidates get to perform numerous case studies. They deal with various real-life problems and find solutions to all those problems.

The PhD Agriculture course has numerous similar courses. Some of the similar courses include Ph.D. in Forestry, Ph.D. in Horticulture, Ph.D. in Agronomy and many more.

Why Study PhD Agriculture?

A PhD Agriculture is quite a prosperous course. Here we have mentioned some of the important reasons why you should pursue this course:

The Agriculture course has a practical approach. It will allow the students to deal with various practical problems and come up with relevant solutions to those problems. They may come up with new approaches to solve the problems.

After completing the course, the students will be able to successfully develop new techniques and methods of agriculture. The candidates may also come up with new farming techniques that would improve agricultural yield.

The PhD Agriculture students get a wide variety of career opportunities. They may work at sectors like agro-based companies, fertilizer industries, etc. They may also work in food processing farms and educational institutions.

The students may work as a professor or a lecturer at various schools and colleges. They may also open up their own labs and carry out research activities on various agricultural procedures.

The PhD Agriculture students may initially earn a stipend of INR 30,000 to INR 40,000 during their Ph.D. course. Later, they may earn a salary of INR 2 LPA to INR 8 LPA. This salary largely depends on the post that you have been appointed for.

Do I Qualify for the PhD Agriculture Eligibility Criteria?

Different PhD Agriculture courses have different eligibility criteria. Let us look at some of the most important PhD Agriculture eligibility criteria for the course:

• A candidate must complete his master's in agriculture or any other relevant discipline with a minimum of 50% marks.
• The student must have at least 50% marks in higher secondary and bachelor's degree courses.
• If the college organizes an entrance test, the cut-off for the entrance test will have to be cleared.
• In case there is an interview round, the student must perform really well in the interview.

What are the Top PhD Agriculture Entrance Exams?

Entrance to the PhD Agriculture colleges is mostly done on the basis of the marks acquired in the admission test. The admission test is conducted once a year and the results of the test will determine whether a candidate will be able to become a part of that particular college. 

This year, because of the COVID-19 crisis, all examinations have been rescheduled. Here are some of the most popular entrance tests for the PhD Agriculture candidates:

UGC NET Exam 2021:  The UGC National Eligibility Test (NET) is the common entrance examination for all Ph.D. candidates. The examination may vary according to the stream opted by the candidate.

AAU VET 2021: The Assam Agricultural University Veterinary Entrance Test is the examination conducted by Assam Agricultural University. The syllabus for the examination is determined each year by the university itself.

UGC CSIR NET 2021: Council of Scientific & Industrial Research – National Eligibility Test is the test for the post of Junior Research Fellowship. The test is conducted in offline mode and the candidates can sit for the test twice a year.

OUAT 2021: OUAT is the Orissa University of Agriculture and Technology entrance examination. The examination is mostly conducted every year in the month of June. The question paper for the examination has four different sections.

Syllabus of PhD Agriculture

The PhD Agriculture Course may span across 3 to 5 years. During the entire PhD Agriculture course duration, the candidates will have to study various courses related to Agriculture. Along with that, the PhD Agriculture syllabus also includes courses in basic sciences.

1. Advanced Agricultural Marketing And Price Analysis
2. Environmental Economics
3. Agricultural Chemistry
4. Food And Nutrition
5. Advanced Insecticide Toxicology
6. Doctoral Seminar-i
7. Natural Resources Management
8. Agricultural Meteorology
9. Agricultural Physics
10. Advanced Host Plant Resistance
11. Insect Behaviour
12. Doctoral Research

What is the  PhD Agriculture Admission Process?

The admission process for the PhD Agriculture course is quite basic. It is done either on the basis of the candidate’s performance in the admission test or the rank secured by the candidate in the Master degree course. 

Most colleges conduct a counseling process prior to admission. After the counseling is done, a merit list is prepared on the basis of which admissions are done. For colleges that conduct an entrance test, there is no specific cut-off. The cut-off for the admission process is determined each year by the respective college or university. 

Following are the steps of PhD Agriculture admission through entrances:

Step 1: Fill the application form

Even if your college conducts an entrance test, you are required to fill up the application form 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 students need to prepare really 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 an interview for the candidates who have cleared the entrance test. It may either be a personal interview or a technical one. 

Step 4: Admission to the college

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

How to Prepare for the PhD Agriculture Entrance Test?

Previously, there used to be no entrance tests for Ph.D. courses. However, over the last few years, certain colleges and universities started conducting their own entrance tests. So, here we have listed some of the important preparation tips for you:

Get to know the latest syllabus for the examination. The syllabus may change every year. So, you must make it a point to get a fresh copy of the syllabus. You can easily download the syllabus from the website of the university.

You must know the format of the examination. Knowing the examination format will keep you ahead of 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 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 examination. You must start your revision at least 2 months before the date of the examination.

Look through the questions from the sample papers and the previous year’s question papers. This will keep you well accustomed to the type of questions that you might face in the examination. Few links to the PhD Agriculture entrance test’s sample papers and previous year’s question papers have been listed below:

Read books by popular authors. This will definitely help you to score really good marks in the entrance tests. A lot of books are available that are specially meant for  PhD Agriculture entrance tests.

Job Profiles after PhD Agriculture

PhD Agriculture has always been one of the most popular courses for the students of India. This is mainly because of the fact that India is an agro-based country and there are multiple ways to build a career in the field of Agriculture. Our country has a huge number of industries that are totally dependent on the Agricultural sector. As a result, the candidates may seek PhD Agriculture jobs in any of those sectors.

Some of the most popular sectors that provide PhD Agriculture jobs are Agricultural Sectors, Food Processing Industries, Fertilizer companies etc. Some of the professionals end up starting their own farms where they recruit officials

• Farm manager
• Research Associate
• Agriculture Officer
• Production Manager
• Lecturer

Future scope of  PhD in Agriculture

The future of PhD Agriculture students in India is always bright. They need not have to worry about jobs. Given below are few future 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 own personal 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 of the country. They are responsible for imparting agriculture-based knowledge to the students.