As a college student, one of the best ways to build your profile, especially for research or studying abroad, is by pursuing research internships in India. However, navigating the process—finding institutes offering these internships, understanding timelines, checking eligibility, and locating application links—can be overwhelming. In this blog, I’ll share everything you need to know, along with tips to strengthen your application and a secret technique to secure internships at your dream institute.

Instituties to aim for internship

If you’re looking to build your profile for higher education or research, summer research internships in India at IITs,  NITs, IISc and a few other top instituites are an excellent opportunity.

These internships, running from May to July 2025, offer a chance to work on impactful projects under highly qualified faculty.

Many of these projects can lead to publishing research papers or presenting at conferences—both significant boosts for your academic and professional journey.

Some institutes, like IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Tirupati, and IIT Dhanbad, even offer stipends ranging from INR 5000 to 6000. Additionally, most provide on-campus accommodation, either free or at a nominal fee, making the experience even more rewarding.

Eligibility and Details

Each institute has unique requirements, so here’s a quick breakdown:

1. IIT Palakkad

Eligibility: Open to all branches and years (UG/PG).

Criteria: No CGPA requirement.

Application deadline: 18th March,2025

Application deadline (foreign nationals): 25th February, 2025

Link: IIT Palakkad Internship 2025

2. IIT Dhanbad

Eligibility: Open to all branches and years (UG/PG).

Criteria: CGPA of 7.5 (IITs/NITs/IISERs), 8.0 (NITs/ IISERs/ NISER/IIEST), 8.5 (other institutes).

Application deadline: March (tentative)

Link: IIT Dhanbad Internship 2025

3. IIT Kanpur

Eligibility: For engineering undergraduates (2nd year or above).

Criteria: Good CGPA students will have an edge during the selection process.

Application deadline: 15th February, 2025

Link: IIT Kanpur Internship 2025

4. NIT Rourkela

Eligibility: Open to 2nd-year UG/PG students.

Criteria: No strict CGPA requirement.

Application deadline: 28th March, 2025

Link: NIT Rourkela Internship 2025

5. IIT Madras

Eligibility: For pre-final year UG/PG students.

Criteria: Good CGPA expected (no specific cut-off).

Application deadline: 28th February, 2025 (5PM)

Link: IIT Madras Internship 2025

6. IIT Guwahati

Eligibility: Open to Civil Engineering students.

Criteria: For pre-final year students; no CGPA requirement.

Application deadline: 20th March, 2025

Link: IIT Guwahati Internship 2025

7. IIT Hyderabad

Eligibility: For UG students.

Criteria: Applicants should be among the top 20% based on CGPA/% score

Application deadline: 5th March, 2025

Link: IIT Hyderabad Internship 2025

8. VNIT Nagpur

Eligibility: For B.Tech 2nd year, 3rd year and M.Tech 1st year students

Criteria: First-class or CGPA above 6.75.

Application deadline: April (tentative)

Link: VNIT Nagpur Internship 2025

9. IIT Gandhinagar

Eligibility: For UG/PG students

Criteria: No CGPA criteria mentioned

Application deadline: 1st March 2025

Link: IIT Gandhinagar Internship 2025

10. Jawaharlal Nehru Centre For Advanced Scientific Research

Eligibility: For UG/PG students

Criteria: greater than 65% in 10th and 12th and  first class in the previous semesters.

Application deadline: 10th February, 2025

Link: JNCASR Internship 2025

11. IISER Pune

Eligibility: For UG and PG students

Criteria: Minimum 60% in overall grades, or 80% in the particular stream(s) of interest.

Application deadline: 21st February, 2025

Link: IISER Pune Internship 2025

12.BARC (Bhabha Atomic Research Centre) Internship

Eligibility: Open to UG/PG students in Physics, Chemistry, and Engineering.

Criteria: 60% and above, no backlogs

Application Deadline: March 2025 (tentative).

Link: BARC Internship 2025

13.TIFR Mumbai

Eligibility: Open to UG and PG students in Science and Mathematics.

Criteria: No specific requirement mentioned

Application Deadline: 20th February 2025.

Link: TIFR Internship 2025

14. IISc Bangalore

Eligibilty: Open to UG and PG students in Science and Engineering.

Criteria: Good CGPA

Application deadline: not mentioned

Link: IISc Internship 2025 (need to apply via cold emailing professors from different departments)

Summary of all Internships: 

Application Tips

Most deadlines fall in February and March, with a few extending to April. Prepare these essential documents in advance:

• Photograph
• Transcript
• No Objection/Bonafide Certificate from your college
• Resume

My Secret Technique: Cold Emailing

If you want to secure internships outside formal programs or at any time of the year, cold emailing professors is a powerful approach. Reach out to faculty members whose research interests align with yours. Share your passion for their work, highlight relevant experience, and ask to work under their mentorship.

Back in 2015, I used this method to land an internship at IIT Kharagpur, and it worked like a charm. Personalize your emails by referencing their research papers and expressing genuine interest in their work. For a detailed guide on crafting effective emails, check out my previous video.

Learn more about this in this video:

Stay Updated

These are just a few of the opportunities available. New internships are announced regularly, so keep checking our blog page and follow us on LinkedIn.

For all these internships, it would a feather in your cap if you can publish a research paper, for this if you need any assistance, do check out our guided course – A-Z of Research Paper Writing & Presentation

Best of luck with your applications! Let me know in the comments if you secure an internship—I’d love to celebrate your success. Thank you for reading, and I’ll see you in the next blog! 😊