The online entrance test shall be conducted by the University and shall comprise of two partswith duration of two hours. The Entrance tests shall be of objective type with a maximum of 50 marks each part. The first part includes Research aptitude, English comprehension, logic and general reasoning and the second part shall be in the subject concerned in which the candidate is willing to pursue the Ph.D degree. The online Entrance test centres are (1) Madurai (2) Coimbatore (3) Dindigul (4) Chennai (5) Sivakasi (6) Thoothukudi (7) Trichy (8) Tirunelveli and (9) Virudhunagar (Subject to change depending upon the minimum strength).

By integrating the entrance test marks and the performance of the candidate in the interview, the department research committee shall rank the candidates on the basis of the marks obtained in the entrance test and the interview.

The Selection Board shall allot the candidates to research supervisors, based on the rank of the candidate and on the basis of the specific area of research preferred by the candidate and the vacancy available with the research supervisors.