The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are institutions of national importance established through an Act of Parliament. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a premier research and teaching institute established in 1909.

The IISc Bangalore & IITs are well known, the world over, for quality education in engineering, science, management and research in frontier areas. The aim of these institutes is to build a sound foundation of knowledge, pursue excellence and enhance creativity in an intellectually stimulating environment.

The current pace of advancement of technology needs a coherent backup of basic science education and research. The vibrant academic ambience and research infrastructure of IISc Bangalore & IITs motivate the students to pursue Research and Development careers in frontier areas of basic sciences as well as interdisciplinary areas of science and technology. Further, IISc and IITs have well equipped modern laboratories, efficient computer networks and state-of-the-art libraries.

The teaching process is structured to promote close and continuous contact between the faculty and the students. A number of financial assistantships are available to SC/ST and other deserving and meritorious students at individual institutes.

From the Academic Session 2004-05, IITs started conducting a Joint Admission Test for M.Sc. (JAM). The objective of JAM is to provide admissions to M.Sc. (Two Years), Joint M.Sc.-Ph.D., M.Sc.-Ph.D. Dual Degree, and other Post-Bachelor Degree Programmes at the IITs and the Integrated Ph.D. Degree Programmes at IISc and consolidates Science as a career option for bright students from across the country.

JAM is expected to serve as a benchmark for undergraduate level science education in the country. The Integrated Ph.D.

The programme at IISc was started in the early 1990s to enable students to directly join for a Ph.D. Degree after their B.Sc. Degree. The M.Sc. (Two Years), Joint M.Sc.-Ph.D., M.Sc.-Ph.D. Dual Degree, and other Post-Bachelor’s Degree Programmes at the IITs and the Integrated Ph.D. Programmes at IISc offer high-quality education in their respective disciplines, comparable to the best in the world.

The curricula for these programmes are designed to provide the students with opportunities to develop academic talent leading to challenging and rewarding professional life. The curricula are regularly updated at IISc and IITs.

The interdisciplinary content of the curricula equips the students with the ability to utilize scientific knowledge for practical applications. The medium of instruction is English for all the above-mentioned programmes.

IIT-JAM Schedule

IIT-JAM is conducted once a year, i.e., in the months of February. The notifications announcing the IIT-JAM were published in the months of October in the weekly journal of nationwide circulation (Employment News).

Educational Qualification

The candidates who qualify in JAM shall have to fulfil the following eligibility criteria for admissions in IISc, Bangalore & IITs.

(i) For IISc, Bangalore: First class marks (as declared by the university) for General/OBC category candidates and at least second class or 50% aggregate marks for

SC and ST category candidates in the qualifying degree.

(ii) For IITs: At least 55% aggregate marks (taking into account all subjects, including languages and subsidiaries, all years combined) for General/OBC category candidates and at least 50% aggregate marks (taking into account all subjects, including languages

and subsidiaries, all years combined) for SC, ST and PD category candidates in the qualifying degree.

Scheme of IIT-JAM Test

The JAM Examination will be carried out as ONLINE Computer Based Test (CBT) where the candidates will be shown the questions in a random sequence on a computer screen. The duration of the examination will be 3 hours and the medium for the test paper will be English only. There will be a total of 60 questions carrying 100 marks. The entire paper will be divided into three sections, A, B and C. All sections are compulsory.

Questions in each section will be of different types as given below:

Section–A contains a total of 30 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) involving 10 questions of one mark each and 20 questions of two marks each. Each MCQ type question has four choices out of which only one choice is the correct answer. Candidates can mark the answer by clicking the choice.

Section–B contains a total of 10 Multiple Select Questions (MSQ) carrying two marks each. Each MSQ type question is similar to MCQ but with a difference that there may be one or more than one choice(s) that are correct out of the four given choices. The candidate gets full credit only if he/she selects all the correct answers only and no wrong answers. Candidates can mark the answer(s) by clicking the choice(s).

Section–C contains a total of 20 Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions involving 10 questions of one mark each and 10 questions of two marks each. For these NAT type questions, the answer is a signed real number, which needs to be entered using the virtual numeric keypad on the monitor. No choices will be shown for these types of questions.

Negative Marking

In all sections, questions not attempted will result in zero marks.

In Section-A (MCQ), the wrong answer will result in negative marks. For each wrong answer of 1 mark question, 1/3 mark will be deducted and similarly, for each wrong answer of 2 marks questions, 2/3 mark will be deducted.

In Section-B (MSQ), there are no negative and no partial marking provisions. There is no negative marking in Section-C (NAT) as well.

There is a provision for using an online virtual calculator and hence, the candidates should not bring any calculator with them.

Mobile phones or any other electronic devices are strictly prohibited inside the examination hall. Charts, graph sheets, and tables are also NOT allowed inside the examination hall.

A scribble pad will be provided for rough work and this has to be returned back at the end of the examination.
The candidates are required to select the answer for MCQ and MSQ type questions using the mouse. The answer to NAT questions can be entered using a virtual numeric keypad (the keyboard of the computer will be disabled). At the end of the 3 hours, the computer will automatically end the examination.

ACADEMIC PROGRAMMES

The following are the full-time M.Sc. (Two Years), Joint M.Sc.-Ph.D., M.Sc.-Ph.D. Dual Degree, and other Post-Bachelor’s Degree Programmes at different IITs and Integrated Ph.D. Programmes at IISc to which admissions shall be made on the basis of JAM 2018.

Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISc):
Integrated Ph.D. Programmes Physical Sciences.

IIT Bhubaneswar (IITBBS):
Joint M.Sc.-Ph.D. Programmes in Physics, and Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences

IIT Bombay (IITB):
Two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) Programmes in Applied Geophysics, and Physics. M.Sc.-Ph.D. Dual Degree Programmes in Environmental Science and Engineering,

IIT Delhi (IITD):
Two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) Programmes in Physics.

IIT Dhanbad (ISM):
Two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) Programmes in Physics, and Three year Master in Science (M.Sc.[Tech]) in Applied Geophysics

IIT Gandhinagar (IITGN):
Two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) Programmes in Physics.

IIT Guwahati (IITG):
Two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) Programmes in Physics.

IIT Hyderabad (IITH):
Two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) Programmes in Physics

IIT Indore (IITI):
Two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) Programmes in Physics, and Astronomy with an option to convert it to M.Sc.-Ph.D. Dual Degree Programme during the second semester.

Programme conversion of the eligible students is confirmed at the end of the third semester subjected to them qualifying the CSIR/UGC-NET, GATE or any equivalent examination and meeting the short-listing criteria of the concerned discipline. Students continuing M.Sc.-Ph.D. Dual Degree Programme is awarded an M.Sc. degree after successful completion of all its prescribed requirements with the recognition that it also partially fulfils the requirements of M.Sc. and PhD. Dual Degree Programme.

IIT Jodhpur (IITJ):
Two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) Programmes in Physics.

IIT Kanpur (IITK):
Two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) Programmes in Physics.

M.Sc.-Ph.D. Dual Degree Programme in Physics (Transfer from M.Sc.-Ph.D. Dual Degree Programme to M.Sc. Physics Programme is not permitted. However, for the students admitted to the M.Sc.-Ph.D. Dual Degree Programme, the M.Sc. degree will be given after successful completion of all academic requirements of the first six semesters while working towards Ph.D. degree).

IIT Kharagpur (IITKGP):
Joint M.Sc.-Ph.D. Programmes in Geophysics and Physics.

IIT Madras (IITM):
Two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) Programmes in Physics.

IIT Patna (IITP):
Two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) Programmes in Physics.

IIT Roorkee (IITR):
Two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) Programmes in Physics.

IIT Ropar (IITRPR):
Two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) Programmes in Physics.

The profile of the admitting institutes covered under JAM can be seen at the websites of the respective institutions as given below