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 back-up 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.

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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 to consolidate Science as a career option for bright students from across the country.

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JAM is expected to serve as a benchmark for the undergraduate level science education in the country. The Integrated Ph.D. Programme at IISc was started in the early 1990’s 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.

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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.

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IIT-JAM Schedule

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

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Educational Qualification

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The candidates who qualify in JAM shall have to fulfill 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.

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(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

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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 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.

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

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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.

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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).

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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.

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Negative Marking

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

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

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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 provision of using 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 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 for 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.