A number of reputed institutes in the country have come together to conduct a Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) for enrolment of students in Ph.D. / Integrated M.Sc.-Ph.D. programs in physics (including various inter-disciplinary research areas in physics) and Theoretical Computer Science.
JEST is conducted for selecting candidates to be interviewed for admission to Ph. D. Programmes in Physics/ Theoretical Computer Science in these institutions in the country.
Applications are invited from motivated students, with consistently good academic record, for appearing in JEST leading to enrolment in a Ph. D. Programme in Physics (including various inter-disciplinary research areas in Physics)/ Theoretical Computer Science, at any of the 21 premier participating institutions.
JEST score forms an important component in the selection of candidates for the Ph.D. programmes in these institutions.
JEST 2009 Participating Institutes
ARIES, Nainital
IIA, Bangalore
IISc, Bangalore
IISER MOHALI, Mohali
IISER PUNE, Pune
IUCAA, Pune
JNCASR, Bangalore
NCRA, Pune
PRL, Ahmedabad
RRI, Bangalore
SNBNCBS, Kolkata
BARC, Mumbai
UGC-DAE CSR, Indore
HRI, Allahabad
IGCAR, Kalpakkam
IMSc, Chennai
IOP, Bhubaneswar
IPR, Gandhinagar
RRCAT, Indore
SINP, Kolkata
VECC, Kolkata
Minimum Qualifications & Selection Procedures
Ph.D. Programme (PHYSICS)
M.Sc. in Physics or M.Sc. / M.E. / M.Tech. in related disciplines. Candidates with M.Sc. in Mathematics and B.Tech (in Engg Physics/Applied Physics/Post B.Sc. Hons only) will also be considered at IIA. Graduates with a B.E. or B.Tech. will also be considered at IISc, IMSc, IUCAA, JNCASR, NCRA, RRI, IISER Mohali, IISER Pune and SNBNCBS. At IPR candidates should have a Masters degree in Physics, Engineering Physics, Applied Physics, etc. with at least 55% aggregate. Talented final year B. Sc. Graduates will also be considered for pre-selection at IUCAA.
Ph.D. Programme (Theoretical Computer Science)
M.Sc./ M.E. / M.Tech. / M.C.A. in Computer Science and related disciplines, and should be interested in the mathematical aspects of computer science. Talented B.Sc. / B.E. / B.Tech. graduates will also be considered for integrated M.Sc.- Ph.D. programme.
Integrated M.Sc. - Ph.D. Programme
At HRI, candidates with a Bachelor's degree will also be considered for the integrated M.Sc. - Ph.D. programme in Physics.
At IMSc, graduates with B.Sc. / B.E. / B. Tech. degree will also be considered for admission to M.Sc. (by Research) programme in Physics and Theoretical Computer Science, as part of an integrated Ph.D. programme.
At SNBNCBS, graduates with B.Sc. (Physics) / B.E. / B.Tech. degree will be considered for the integrated Post-B.Sc.-Ph.D. programme in subject areas mentioned above.
At IIA, graduates with B.Sc. (Physics/Mathematics) / B.E. / B.Tech. degree will be considered for the integrated M.Sc.-Ph.D. programme in subject areas mentioned above.
Integrated M.Tech - Ph.D. Programme at IIA
At IIA, graduates with M.Sc. (Physics / Applied Physics) / B.E. / B.Tech. degree will be considered for the integrated M.Tech-Ph.D. programme in subject areas mentioned above. Details of the programme can be found on the IIA webpages.
Mere qualifying in JEST does not entitle one to get a Research Fellowship. Using the JEST results, each institute will call a limited number of candidates for its further selection procedure depending on its requirements. All candidates selected after interview will receive Research Fellowship from the respective institutes.