IISER: All you need to know
With an objective to promote higher quality of education and a spirit of ground-breaking research in India, the MHRD (Ministry of Human Resource Development) has established seven institutes of scientific excellence across the country. These institutes of national importance are named as Indian Institute of Scientific Education and Research – IISER – and have been established at each of the following cities: Pune, Mohali, Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram, Berhampur, Bhopal and Tirupati.
IISER offers two types of educational degree programs in the basic field of sciences i.e. Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics, Earth Sciences:
- Dual Degree BS-MS
- PhD
Dual degree BS-MS:
It is a 5 year integrated program for highly meritorious and motivated students who have passed out of the 10+2 level. It aims to pave a way to develop high quality research-based thinking and relevant technological and intellectual skills amongst the students. While the first two years of the program consist of classroom courses covering fundamentals and advanced concepts of the core subjects, the next two years aim to promote special interest and knowledge in the subjects of specialization. The final year of the program requires the students to work on a research project of their specialization.
The entire 5 year duration course aims at improving the research mentality of the students and makes them prepared to have an outstanding career in some of the topmost R&D institutes across the world. The students are highly motivated to enter the field of research in the best academic institutions in their respective fields of specialization.
Eligibility criteria:
There are mainly three channels by which students can gain admission to the BS-MS program in IISER. These are mentioned below:
KVPY fellowship: Students who have cleared the KVPY fellowship examination of the current academic year are eligible to appear for the admission procedure in IISERs.
INSPIRE fellowship: The candidates who have qualified the IIT-JEE Advanced examination with a minimum rank of 10000 (General category) are eligible for participation in the application procedure. The ranks of SC, ST, OBC, PD, for eligibility would be reduced and mentioned in the respective website.
SCB Channel: The students who have passed their Class 12 examination in the Science stream with a percentage of marks above the minimum cut off are eligible to apply. They have to appear for an aptitude test conducted by the IISER to be eligible to get an admission in the institution.
PhD:
The IISERs strive to provide India with enriched personnel of high academic qualification and intellect by providing a PhD program to the deserving students bearing farsightedness and a scientific attitude. The institutes aim to make provisions for cutting edge research, equipped with the latest technological advancements and highly qualified professors known for their expertise in the relevant field.
Eligibility criteria: To be eligible to join the PhD program, the students must be in the final year of their Master’s degree program (Science, Engineering, and Mathematics) or Bachelor’s degree (for Engineering and Medical). The students who have passed their final year examination with an aggregate of 60% marks are also eligible to apply.
Apart from a good percentage of marks in the qualifying examination, it is essential that the students clear a national level examination on a paper based on their area of interest. A list of some of the national level examinations that the students may appear to be eligible to join the PhD programme in IISER is given below:
- CSIR-UGC NET
- GATE
- JEST
- NBHM
- JGEEBILS
- DBT-NET, etc
- ICMR-JRF
- INSPIRE PHD
The students have to appear for a written examination/interview conducted by the institution, following which there will be a final result which will select the students based on their merit and overall performance in interview.
These institutes offer courses in the basic fields of science and enable the students to contribute to the technological advancement of the country.
Also check the Career options for IISER graduates here.
