Doctoral Programmes

Julian is a PhD candidate at the School of Social Sciences. His doctoral work is at the intersection of sexuality, migration, and masculinity studies. His others research interests include psychometrics, social and cultural psychology and culture studies.

Prior to joining NIAS, Julian completed his Master’s in clinical psychology and Bachelor’s in Journalism, Psychology and Literature both from CHRIST (Deemed to be University) Bengaluru. Professionally, he has worked as a Research Assistant at the Directorate of Educational Research and Training (DERT), Government of Meghalaya and as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology, Assam Don Bosco University.

Arslan Wali Khan is presently pursuing doctoral studies at the School of Social Sciences, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bengaluru. He obtained his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Political Science from Aligarh Muslim University. His research interests are in domains such as;

• Politics of Space
• Political Economy of Violence
• Theories of Globalization, Nationalism and Modernity
• Urban Segregation
• Islamicate South Asia

His ongoing Ph.D. investigation is tentatively titled as “The Making and Un-Making of Muslim Ghettos: Tracing the Linkage between Globalization, Ethnic violence and Spatial Segregation in Urban India” This study aims to comprehend the construction of Muslim ghettos in India, elucidating the influence of communal violence and globalization on this phenomenon. To analyze these dynamics, Arslan employs theoretical framework of David Harvey’s “accumulation by dispossession” and Saskia Sassen’s concept of the “global city.”

Divya Hoskere is a PhD scholar at the School of Humanities at NIAS. Her broad area of research includes the study of the Natyashastra, Indian aesthetics and theatrical design. Divya is an accomplished Bharatanatyam artiste and is trained in the traditional puppetry of Karnataka with over 15 years of experience as a national and international performer in both fields. 

Divya holds a Master's degree in performing arts - Dance from Jain University and a Bachelor's degree in Communication Design from PES University. She was named as one of the "Cultural Stars to look forward to" in 2022 by The New Indian Express - national edition. She is a recipient of the Scholarship to Young Artists awarded by the Ministry of Culture, Government of India and is also a Graded Artiste of Doordarshan. Divya received the Junior Research Fellowship (UGC NET JRF) in the field of Performing Arts in 2022. For more see: www.divyahoskere.com

Ekasmayi Naresh is a PhD scholar at the School of Social Sciences.

She is working with Dr. Shalini Dixit and Dr. Debosree Banerjee. With a background in Psychology, her primary areas of interests include mental health and identity. Her doctoral research focuses on the experience of psychotherapy among people of marginalized sexual and gender identities. The research also looks at how psychotherapy is conceptualized in the work of mental health practitioners and in the education curricula of mental health services. Her work seeks to understand how the social context and membership to an identity group interact with disciplinary practices and application.

Prior to joining NIAS, Ekasmayi completed her Master’s in Clinical Psychology from Manipal Academy of Higher Education, in 2020. She graduated from Christ (deemed to be) University with a Bachelor’s in Psychology, Sociology and English Literature, in 2018. Professionally, she has worked as a researcher and mental health therapist for various public and private sector organizations.

Nitin Rawat is a Ph.D scholar at the school of Conflicts and security studies. His broad research interest lies in non-traditional security threats, human security, conflict transformation etc.

Before joining NIAS, Nitin has completed his M.Phil. in Political science from the Central university of Haryana. He also worked as Subordinate Officer in Sashastra Seema Bal, MHA. He is a recipient of UGC Junior Research Fellowship.

Ms. Aishwarya is currently pursuing her PhD in Heritage Science and Society Programme in School of Humanities at NIAS. She worked as Project Associate – I on Project “Exploring Medieval Coastline using Geospatial Analysis and Historical Records at NIAS. Prior to NIAS, Ms. Aishwarya worked as Researcher for Varaha Tech Labs, Delhi, and Archaeological Survey of India Jodhpur Circle. Ms. Aishwarya’s research interest lies in analysing imprints of Heritage using Geospatial Analysis.

She is also interested in Settlement Archaeology, Environmental Archaeology and Landscape Archaeology. She has participated in Archaeological excavations and explorations. Ms. Aishwarya has completed her M.Phil. from Deccan College, PGRI, Pune on topic “Reassessing Mesolithic Culture of South-eastern Rajasthan with special reference to Bhilwara District.” Her Master’s Degree is in Ancient Indian History Culture and Archaeology from Deccan College, PGRI, Pune.

Virain Mohan is a PhD scholar at the School of Conflict and Security Studies, under the guidance of Dr. Prakash Panneerselvan. Virain’s interest areas lie in maritime policy and area studies. Virain has completed his Master’s in International Studies from Christ University, Bangalore and Bachelor’s from D.A.V. College, Chandigarh.

Joyeeta Dey is currently enrolled as a PhD student in the School of Social Sciences, National Institute of Advanced Studies. She works in the field of sociology of education with special interest in the themes of globalisation, privatisation,  datafication,  digitalisation and automation. She has co-published on some of these themes with Critical Studies in Education, European Education Research Journal, Discourse and Routledge.  She was recently employed on a project on ‘Artificial Intelligence and Indigenous Language Education’ with University College London.

Her previous experience includes working as a research associate for i) the University of Melbourne on a RtE 12 (1) (C)  research project ii) d on a DFID-ESRC funded project titled Researching Accountability in School Education (RAISE) iii) with Deakin University on a research project on an Education-MIS in India iv) and with Pratichi Institute (now Amartya Sen Research Centre). She has Masters degrees in Sociology of Education (University College London) and Education Policies for Global Development (Erasmus Mundus Joint Masters Degree).