NICMAR Doctoral School

NICMAR Ph.D. admission Test (NPAT) Syllabus

The NICMAR Ph.D. admission Test will consist of two papers: Paper-I and Paper II. Paper-Icontains the
syllabus of Research Aptitude consisting of 60 multiple-choice questions of one mark each. There is no
negative marking. It consists of questions on reading comprehension, logical & mathematical
reasoning, analytical reasoning, and Data Interpretation. Paper-I isfor 60 minutes.
Paper II is based on the area of specialization. The syllabus for each area of specialization is given
below. Candidates are advised to select the most relevant school based on their qualifying degree and
research area of interest. Paper-II syllabus can be one of the references for this. Paper II consists of 60
multiple-choice questions of one mark each. There is no negative marking. Paper II is also for 60
minutes.

The syllabus of NPAT for each school is as below:

School of Construction (SoC)

Construction Materials: Structural Steel – Composition, material properties and behaviour;
Concrete - Constituents, mix design, short-term and long-term properties.
Construction Management: Types of construction projects; Project planning and network analysis -
PERT and CPM; Cost estimation.
Transportation Infrastructure: Geometric design of highways - cross-sectional elements, sight
distances, horizontal and vertical alignments. Geometric design of railway Track – Speed and Cant.
Concept of airport runway length, calculations and corrections; taxiway andexit taxiway design.
Highway Pavements: Highway materials - desirable properties and tests; Desirable properties of
bituminous paving mixes; Design factors for flexible and rigid pavements; Design of flexible and rigid
pavement using IRC codes.
Geomatics: Principles of surveying; Errors and their adjustment; Maps - scale, coordinate system;
Distance and angle measurement. Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing - Scale, flying height; Basics
of remote sensing and GIS.
Air Pollution: Types of pollutants, their sources and impacts, air pollution control, air quality
standards, Air quality Index and limits.
Engineering Mechanics: System of forces, free-body diagrams, equilibrium equations; Internal
forces in structures; Frictions and its applications; Centre of mass
Solid Mechanics: Bending moment and shear force in statically determinate beams; Simple stress and
strain relationships; Simple bending theory, flexural and shear stresses, shear centre; Uniform torsion,
Transformation of stress; buckling of column, combined and directbending stresses.

Structural Analysis: Statically determinate and indeterminate structures by force/ energy methods;
Method of superposition; Analysis of trusses, arches, beams, cables and frames; Displacement
methods: Slope deflection and moment distribution methods.
Structures: Working stress and Limit state design concepts for concrete and steel structures.
Fluid Mechanics: Properties of fluids, fluid statics; Continuity, momentum and energy equations
and their applications; Potential flow, Laminar and turbulent flow; Flow in pipes, pipe networks;
Concept of boundary layer and its growth; Concept of lift and drag.
Soil Mechanics: Three-phase system and phase relationships, index properties; soil classification
systems; Permeability, Seepage, flow nets, uplift pressure, piping, capillarity, seepage force; Principle
of effective stress and quicksand condition; Compaction of soils.
Foundation Engineering: Sub-surface investigations, sampling, plate load test, standard penetration
and cone penetration tests; Earth pressure theories; Stability of slopes; Stress distribution in soils;
Pressure bulbs, Shallow foundations, effect of water table.

NICMAR Business School (NBS)

Management Functions, Communication, Decision Making, Organization Structure and Design,
Managerial Economics, Demand analysis, Market Structures, National Income, Inflation, Business
Ethics & CSR, Ethical Issues & Dilemma, Corporate Governance, Value- Based Organisation.
Management Theories, Human Resource Management, Strategic Role of Human Resource
Management, Competency Mapping & Balanced Scoreboard, Career Planning and Development,
Performance Management and Appraisal, Organization Development, Change & OD Interventions,
Talent Management & Skill Development, Employee Engagement & Work-Life Balance,
Organisational Behaviour. Entrepreneurship Development. Women Entrepreneurship and Rural
Entrepreneurship. Strategic Management, Strategic Analysis, Strategy Formulation, Strategy
Implementation. Marketing, Market Segmentation, Positioning, and Targeting; Product and Pricing
Decision,Place and promotion decision. Micro and macro Economics.
Marketing Management; Consumer and Industrial Buying Behaviour, Brand Management,
Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Drivers, Value creation, Supply Chain Design, Designing
and Managing Salesforce, Personal Selling, Service Marketing, Customer Relationship Marketing,
Retail Marketing, Emerging Trends in Marketing, International Marketing. International Business,
Foreign Direct Investment, Multilateral regulation of Trade and Investment under WTO,
International Trade Procedures and Documentation; EXIM Policies, Role of International Financial
Institutions, Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Big Data, Data Warehousing, Data
Mining, and Knowledge Management. Capacity Management in Operations, Manufacturing Process
Design and Analysis, Inventory management, Aggregate Operations Planning and Scheduling,
Works and motion Study. Supply Chain Management, Sourcing Strategic Services. Financial
Statements, Capital Structure, Leverages, Value & Returns, Capital Budgeting, Risk and Uncertainly
Analysis Dividend, Mergers and Acquisition, Portfolio Management, Derivatives, Working Capital
Management, International Financial Management, Foreign exchange market.
Statistics for Management, Data analytics, Probability modelling, inferential statistics, multivariate
data analysis, time series analysis, optimisation, econometric modelling.Quality Management.

School of Project Management (SoPM)

Statistics and quantitative methods: Central limit theorem, mean mode, median, sampling and
population survey, correlation, regression, hypothesis testing, random sampling, ANOVA, design of
experiment, deterministic models- linear programming, transportation models, Multi-criterion
decision making using AHP, probabilistic models- queuing theory, decision theory and simulation
models
Project planning and control: Project management processes, systems approach to project
management project life cycle, preparing work breakdown structure (WBS), Matrix organization
structure for projects, Roles and responsibilities of project manager, professional practice and ethics,
Students syndrome in project management, project planning and scheduling using Critical path
method (CPM), concept of total float and free float, Project planning and scheduling using Program
Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT), project scheduling using line of balance method, Critical
Chain Project Management; feeding buffer, project buffer.
Core knowledge areas of project management: Project time management: project schedule
monitoring and control; project cost management: cost estimation methods, project budgeting, cost
control using Earned value management, depreciation, activity-based costing, project scope
management: work break down structure, project quality management: Project quality control, quality
assurance and audits.
Facilitating knowledge areas of project management: Project procurement management : process of
tendering, bidding and contracting in projects, Project integration management: preparing project
charter, team building in projects, conflict and dispute resolution, Project risk management :
Assessing political, economic, social, technological and environmental risks in projects, Human
resources management in projects : Managing men, machine, money and materials in projects;
Project stakeholder management :internal and external stakeholders, financial appraisal of project
with NPV& IRR, stakeholder engagement strategies.

School of Architecture, Planning and Real Estate (SoAPRE)

Regional and Settlement Planning, Codes and standards, Construction and Project Management
techniques, disaster resistant structures, environmental planning and design, Sustainable
development, Urban Design principles, Planning processes new city planning concepts, Methods of
non-spatial and spatial data analysis, Housing, Real estate valuation, Building Management Systems,
Built environments, Transportation planning, Urban and Rural Infrastructure development,
Application of G.I.S and Remote Sensing techniques inplanning.
Construction Materials and Management, Water Resources Engineering, Environmental
Engineering, Water and Waste Water Quality and Treatment, Municipal Solid Wastes,
Transportation Engineering, Transportation Infrastructure, Traffic Engineering.
Micro Economics, Consumer Behaviour, Macro Economics, Demand and Supply dynamics, IMF &
World Bank, Public Economics, Public Revenue, Public debt, Public budget, Fiscal Policy and its
implications, Real Estate and Banking, Instruments and Working of Monetary Policy, Growth and
Development Economics, Models of Economic Growth, Social Sector Development, Environmental
Economics and Demography, Cost- Benefit Analysis, Rural and Urban Development Economics,
Reforms in Land, Labour andCapital Markets, Centre-State Financial Relations.
Linkages between real estate/ infrastructure growth and policy rates, inflation- real estate asset price,
sources of finance for real estate and infrastructure development, innovative financial instruments in
real estate and infrastructure, FDI in real estate and infrastructure, Relationship between Economic
growth, real estate and infrastructure development, project selection criteria and funding options,
Risk and Returns, Concept of Portfolio, Real Estate and infrastructure regulatory bodies and
financial institutions.

School of Energy and Environment (SoEE)

Project Management: Types of construction projects; Project planning, scheduling, Monitoring and
Control. Network Techniques - PERT and CPM; Cost estimation.
Civil / Construction materials / Green Construction Materials: Stones, brick, Lime & lime
products, sand, cement & timer etc.-Manufacturing, properties and specifications, preparation and
use of cement and lime mortars, plane and reinforced concrete. Building materials - Foundation,
floors, walls and panels, roofing, wood work. Roof Treatment: Finishing items for floors, walls,
panels and woodwork. Plumbing and fixtures, shuttering and staging, ready mixed concrete. General
rules and regulations for Building construction. Sustainable building materials (product selection
criteria and sustainable materials); Green procurement and subcontracting, Concept of Zero water
building, water management and waste management, water conservation strategies in buildings,
water footprint, carbon footprint, grey water management, smart water management, nature-based
treatment.
Architecture and Planning: Building Construction, History of Architecture, Contemporary
Architecture, Building Services, Building Bye-laws, Site Planning and Landscape design, Climate
responsive design, Solar passive and active systems, Computer applications, Building Information
Modelling, Sustainable development strategies, Green buildings, Green building rating systems.
Energy conservation, Energy Efficiency.
Environmental Management / Science: Introduction to environmental Management System- -
Implication of development projects on the eco-system- land, water and air; Protection of forests,
fauna, fisheries and wild life; Initiatives at the international and national levels for protection of
environment and ecology; Pollution -Types -Impact and Mitigation Strategies Role of industry and
built environment in sustainable development: Introduction, Definition, Need, Principles, and Key
terminologies, Drinking water Standards, Effluent standards, Emission and ambient standards.
Benefits and barriers of EMS – Concept of continual improvement and pollution prevention -
environmental policy – initial environmental review environmental aspect and impact analysis.
Mechanical/Electrical/Chemical Engineering: Mechanical Engineering systems: Gears, drives,
Boiler, Pumps, fans, blower’s compressor, turbine, heat pumps, HVAC, drives, steam cycles, Carnot
cycle, thermal power plant, hydroelectric power plant. Electrical Engineering systems basics:
Transformer, Electric Motors-DC -AC, switch gears, Power factor calculation, Iron losses,
Distribution and transmission systems, Metering system. Mass and Energy balance. Thermodynamic
properties and VLE. Fluid mechanics. Size reduction and size separation. Heat and Mass transfer.
Chemical reaction engineering. Chemical technology. Instrumentation and process control. Plant
design and economics.
Energy Management: Energy efficiency of different systems; boiler, compressor, pumps.
Benchmarking of energy efficiency of these products. In Boiler -efficiency testing, excess air control,
Steam distribution & use- steam traps, condensate recovery, flash steam utilization. Thermal
Insulation. Electrical Systems: Demand control, power factor correction, star rating of an electrical
appliance, Motor drives- motor efficiency testing, energy efficient motors. Energy conservation in
Pumps, Fans (flow control), Compressed Air Systems, Refrigeration & air conditioning systems.
Waste heat recovery: recuperates, Cogeneration - concept, options (steam/gas turbines/diesel engine
based. Demand side management.