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TISS's Doctoral Research Fellowship is not a single lump-sum award; it is the route by which the institute's Doctoral Students' Office (DSO) processes and certifies the external fellowships — UGC-NET/JRF, ICSSR Doctoral Fellowship, RGNF, ICMR — that fund most full-time PhD scholars admitted to its Mumbai, Tuljapur, Guwahati and Hyderabad campuses. Entry runs through TISS's own Research Entrance Test/Research Aptitude Test, evaluation of a submitted research proposal, and a personal interview, with candidates typically shortlisted for interview at roughly a 1:5 ratio against available seats. Once enrolled, scholars must maintain at least 55% marks (or the equivalent UGC 10-point grade) across coursework to remain registered and proceed toward thesis submission.

TETFund's Board of Trustees suspended the foreign component of its Academic Staff Training and Development scholarship effective 1 January 2025, redirecting the intervention toward local Nigerian universities, polytechnics and colleges of education. The decision followed the naira's exchange-rate pressure on foreign tuition costs and the fact that at least 137 sponsored lecturers had absconded abroad instead of returning to their home institutions. Scholars already studying overseas when the suspension took effect continue drawing their existing awards until programme completion, and TETFund still permits foreign study in exceptional cases where a course has no local equivalent, plus separate short overseas training attachments of three to six months (not exceeding one year) for staff already enrolled in Nigerian PhD programmes.