Benefits of Clearing JEST Exam: Participating Colleges, Eligibility

Updated On: February 21, 2024 09:35 pm IST | JEST

JEST is a national-level entrance test conducted every year to grant admission in prestigious universities of India. Candidates can check the benefits of clearing JEST exam and various participating institutions of JEST in this article.

Table of Contents

JEST Overview
Benefits of Clearing JEST Exam
Various Participating Institutions of JEST
JEST Eligibility Criteria for Admission in Participating Universities

Benefits of clearing JEST exam: Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) is conducted every year for admission to PhD and Integrated PhD programmes of different participating institutes in physics and theoretical computer science/neuroscience. SERB is responsible for conducting the JEST exam. JEST is a national-level entrance test, candidates who qualify JEST gets the opportunity to study in very prestigious universities of India. The qualifications required for admission to the PhD and Integrated PhD programmes various participating institutes are different. So, it is important that the potential candidates visit the websites of the participating institutes of their choice to know more about the qualification requirements. Candidates who appeared for the exam must know the benefits of clearing the JEST 2024 Exam. So, scroll down to check all the benefits of clearing JEST exam 2024. Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram (IIST) is the conducting authority of the JEST exam. IIST will held the JEST 2024 exam on March 03, 2024.

JEST Overview

Some of the important information regarding the JEST is mentioned in the following sections for the convenience of the candidates:

Applicants seeking admission for a Ph.D. / Integrated Ph.D. programme in either physics or theoretical computer science or neuroscience or computational biology in any one of the participating institutions can appear for JEST at any one of the exam centers.
JEST is considered to be a National Eligibility Test (NET) by the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB) (a statutory body established through an Act of Parliament).
Research fellows working in SERB programmes and having qualified NET would be eligible to get enhanced fellowships through JEST
Various participating institutes have their own eligibility criteria for admission in Ph.D. / Integrated Ph.D. programmes.

Also Read:JEST Selection Process

Benefits of Clearing JEST Exam

Depending on the JEST result, every participating institution would call a limited number of candidates for its own selection procedure depending on its eligibility criteria and requirements. All the selected candidates would receive research fellowships from the respective institutes. This leads us to a next set of questions as to why the candidates should opt for the JEST exam? Let’s discuss benefits of clearing JEST exam further:

The integrated PhD programme is offered in very few institutes. Some of the prestigious institutes where this course is offered include Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSC), Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), ETC.
The interested candidates can also enroll in Harish Chandra Research Institute (HRI) which has come up with the MSc programme in theoretical physics based on the JEST rank.
One of the most important things about clearing the JEST exam is that it is a lifeline for engineering graduates who do not have a degree in Physics but want to enter a research career in Physics.
Students after going for post-graduate or PhD level programmes can opt for jobs as faculty or research associates in the physics department of various national and international institutions of high repute.
Candidates after completing their studies can also work as a technology expert in a reputed organization.
Students can also go for research and development jobs, and publish their work in scientific journals after clearing the JEST exam
Also if at the end of the programmes candidate is still confused they can even end up studying various fields of physics and would be in a position to decide which field to choose for higher studies.
By clearing the JEST exam a candidate can get various career options in the private and public sectors.
Once the JEST exam gets cleared, candidates get a chance to complete the PhD course in a reputed organization/firm/company. Candidates with PhD degrees may gain high salary packages due to the in-depth knowledge gained during their course work in their respective field of study.

Various Participating Institutions of JEST

A list of various participating colleges that will be accepting JEST Score are mentioned in the following sections:

Name of Participating Institute	Overview of the Institute
ARIES	Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Nainital: Astronomy and Astrophysics, and Atmospheric Physics.
Bose Institute	Bose Institute, Kolkata: Atmospheric sciences, Biophysics, Complex systems and networks, Condensed matter physics and materials science, High energy physics and astroparticle physics, Quantum physics and quantum information, Nuclear and radiation physics
HBNI	Homi Bhabha National Institute, Mumbai
HRI	Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad: Theoretical Physics, Astrophysics
ICTS	International center for theoretical sciences (TIFR), Bangalore:Astrophysical Relativity, Data Assimilation and Dynamical Systems, Statistical Physics and Turbulence, and String theory and Quantum Gravity.
IGCAR	Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research, Kalpakkam: Solid State Phase transformations, Superconductivity, Structure and dynamics of soft condensed matter, Band structure studies, Accelerators based Irradiation induced phenomena, Low-dimensional systems, Physics of interfaces, Nano-materials, Thin films technology and Theoretical physics
IIA	Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Astronomical Instrumentation, Optics, and Atomic Physics.
IISc	Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore: Condensed Matter Physics (Experiments and Theory), Astronomy and Astrophysics (Theoretical), Atomic and Optical Physics (Experimental), Bio Crystallography and Bioinformatics, and High Energy Physics (Theoretical).
IISER Bhopal	Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Bhopal: Condensed Matter Physics (Theory and Experiment), Soft Matter Physics (Theory), Biophysics, Laser Plasma Interactions, Ultrafast Physics (Experiment), Astrophysics and Cosmology, High Energy Physics (Theory, Phenomenology and Experiment), Nonlinear Optics
IISER Berhampur	Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Berhampur: Condensed matter physics (Theory and Experiment), Electronic Materials & Devices, High energy physics (Theory, Phenomenology,Experiment), Nuclear Structure, Photonics, Quantum Theory,Quantum Information.
IISER Kolkata	Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Kolkata: Condensed Matter Physics, Field Theory, Classical & Quantum Gravity, Cosmology, Solar Science, High Energy Physics, Nonlinear dynamics, Statistical Physics, Soft Matter, Optics & Spectroscopy, Atomic physics, Biophotonics, Spintronics, Nanoscience, NMR, Quantum Information
IISER Mohali	Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Mohali: Quantum Information (Experiment and Theory), Complex systems & Networks, Theoretical Astrophysics & Cosmology, Particle Physics and Field Theory, Statistical physics, Quantum thermodynamics, Condensed Matter (Theory and Experiment), NMR-Methodology, Ultra-fast Physics, low temperature physics.
IISER Pune	Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Pune: Field Theory, Theoretical Particle Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Nonlinear Dynamics, Complex Systems and Networks, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy, Quantum Information Processing, Radio Astrophysics, Atomic Physics and Quantum Optics, Energy Studies, Solar and Plasma Physics, Nanosciences, Scanning Probe Techniques, and Semiconductor Physics and Devices.
IISER Thiruvananthapuram	Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram: Experimental: Magnetism, Superconductivity, Nanoscience, Photonics, Semiconductor physics, Surface sciences, Nanoscale plasmonics, Ultrafast spectroscopy, Nonlinear Optics. Theory: Cosmology, Quantum information, Statistical physics, Condensed matter, String theory & Nonlinear dynamics.
IISER Tirupati	Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Tirupathi: Theoretical Astrophysics, Observational Astronomy, Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics, Soft Matter Physics, Nonlinear Physics, Experimental High Energy Physics, Atomic and Molecular Physics
IIST	Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Atmospheric Sciences, Applied and Adaptive Optics, Atomic and Molecular Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Nanotechnology, Nonlinear Dynamics, Photonics, Quantum Information and Statistical Physics
IMSc	The Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai: Theoretical Physics, Theoretical Computer Science, and Computational Biology
IOP	Institute of Physics, Bhubaneswar: Physics (Condensed Matter, Nuclear and High Energy Physics) and Accelerator-based Research.
IPR	Institute for Plasma Research, Gandhinagar: Physics (Experimental and Theoretical).
IUCAA	Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune: Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics.
JNCASR	Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research, Bangalore: Experimental and Theoretical Condensed Matter Physics, Statistical Mechanics, and Materials Science.
NBRC	National Brain Research Centre, Manesar:Molecular, Computational and Systems Neuroscience. Sensory & motor systems, learning & memory, language & speech processing, functional neuroimaging: EEG, MEG, fMRI, MRS, stem cells, developmental neurobiology, neurogenetics, neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders, cancer signaling & glial tumor biology.
NCRA-TIFR	National Centre for Radio Astrophysics, TIFR, Pune: Astronomy and Astrophysics.
NISER	National Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhubaneswar: Theoretical High Energy Physics and Lattice QCD, Experimental High Energy Physics, Condensed Matter Physics (Theory and Experiment), Optics and Metamaterials.
PRL	Physical Research Laboratory, Ahmedabad: Theoretical Physics, Astronomy and Astrophysics, Solar Physics, Space and Atmospheric Sciences, Planetary Science and Geo-Sciences
RRCAT	Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology, Indore: Lasers and their Applications, Laser Plasma Interaction, Cold Atom Physics, Condensed Matter Physics (Superconductivity and Magnetism, Crystals and Thin Films), Nanomaterials and Applications, Nonlinear and Ultrafast Optical Studies, Beam Physics, and Free Electron Laser.
RRI	Raman Research Institute, Bangalore: Astronomy & Astrophysics, Light & Matter Physics, Soft Condensed Matter and Theoretical Physics. Radio & X-ray Astronomy, Signal Processing, Imaging and Instrumentation. Ultrafast phenomena, Liquid Crystals, Soft Materials & Active Systems, Physics in Biology, Classical and Quantum Gravity, Statistical Physics and Stochastic Processes.
SINP	Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics, Kolkata: Condensed Matter Physics (Theory and Experiments), Nuclear Physics (Theory and Experiments), High Energy Physics (Theory and Experiments), Astroparticle Physics, Quantum Gravity, String Theory, Mathematical Physics, and Materials Science (Surface Science and Plasma Physics).
SNBNCBS	Satyendra Nath Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences, Kolkata: Astrophysics and Cosmology, Chemical and Biological Physics, Condensed Matter Physics and Material Science, High Energy Physics and Quantum Field Theory, Mathematical Physics, Nanosciences, Quantum Optics and Quantum Information, Statistical Physics, and Complex Systems.
TIFR-TCIS	TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Hyderabad: Condensed Matter Physics & Materials Science of Nonequilibrium, Soft & Living matter, Fluid Dynamics, Intense Laser-matter interactions, Computational Physics, Statistical physics, NMR of Biophysical & other systems
TIFR	Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai: Astronomy and Astrophysics, Condensed Matter Physics and Material Science, High Energy Physics, Nuclear and Atomic Physics, Theoretical Physics
UGC-DAE CSR	UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research, Indore: Surfaces, Interfaces, Thin Films and Nanomaterials, Physics at Low Temperatures and High Magnetic Fields, X-ray, Optical and Electron Spectroscopic Studies Using Synchrotron and Laboratory Sources; Electrical, Magnetic and Thermal Properties of Condensed Matter; Condensed Matter studies using Magnetic Neutron Diffraction, Nuclear Technique Based Condensed Matter Physics-Positron
VECC	Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre, Kolkata: Accelerator physics, Condensed matter physics & materials science, Nuclear physics (Experiment and Theory), Relativistic heavy ion collisions & QCD Phase transition (Experiment and Theory)

JEST Eligibility Criteria for Admission in Participating Universities

For a detailed overview of the eligibility criteria the candidates should refer to the websites/advertisements of the participating institutes in detail. However, few of the tentative eligibility criteria of admission to M.Sc, Ph.D, and Integrated / M.Sc / M.Tech. - Ph.D programs in the participating institutes for JEST are discussed in the following sections.

Eligibility Criteria for Ph.D. Program

Candidates wanting to pursue Ph.D. Physics should have the following:

A criteria mandated by all the participating institutes includes M.Sc. in Physics. Additionally, few of the institutes accept B.E. / B.Tech. / M.Sc. / M.E. / MTech. in disciplines of applied physics and mathematics, as listed below.
M.Sc. in Mathematics / Applied Physics / Applied Mathematics / Optics and Photonics / Instrumentation / Electronics will also be considered at IIA.
B.E. or B.Tech. will be considered at IISc, IMSc, ICTS-TIFR, IUCAA, JNCASR, NCRA-TIFR, TIFR-TCIS, RRI, IISER Mohali, IISER Pune, IISER Thiruvananthapuram.
M.Sc. in Physics / Electronics / Astronomy / Applied Mathematics will be considered at IUCAA and NCRA-TIFR.
MSc in Physics, Engineering Physics or Applied Physics will also be considered at IPR.
M.Sc. in Physics, Chemistry, Applied Mathematics, Biophysics or Biochemistry will be considered at SNBNCBS.
B. Tech Eng. Phys.will be considered at TIFR and NCRA-TIFR.
M.E./ M. Tech in Applied Physics will be considered at NISER.
M.Sc. in Physics/Astronomy/Optics/Photonics/Biophysics/Mathematics or ME/M.Tech in Engineering also will be considered at RRI.
MSc. in Physics, Chemistry and BioPhysics will be considered at SNBNCBS.

Eligibility Criteria for Theoretical Computer Science at IMSc

M.Sc./ M.E. / M.Tech. in Computer Science and related disciplines, and should be interested in the mathematical aspects of computer science.

Eligibility Criteria for Ph D in Neuroscience at NBRC

M.Sc (Physics/ Mathematics), B.E/ B.Tech/ M.C.A in Computer Science

Eligibility Criteria for Ph D in Computational Biology at IMSc

M.Sc./ M.E. / M.Tech. / MCA in any engineering or science discipline, with good mathematical skills and strong interest in biological problems.

Eligibility Criteria for Integrated M.Sc. / MTech - Ph.D. programme(Physics)

Eligibility Criteria for admission to Integrated M.Sc. / MTech - Ph.D. programme(Physics) programs are listed below:

BSc in Physics (Major/Hons), or in Physics and Mathematics (Physics cannot be an allied/subsidiary/minor subject) will be considered at SNBNCBS.
B. Sc. (Physics) will be considered at IMSc.
B.Sc. (Physics / Mathematics) / B.E. / B.Tech. in Electrical / Instrumentation / Engineering Physics / Electronics and Communications / Computer Science and Engineering / Optics and Photonics will be considered in IIA.
B.Sc (Physics) or B.E./B. Tech in Engineering Physics , with a minimum of first class marks, will be considered at NISER.
B.Sc. (Physics) will be considered at IISER-Pune, ICTS-TIFR, NCRA-TIFR, and TIFR-TCIS.
B. Sc. (Physics / Mathematics) / B.E. / B.Tec. will be considered for Integrated M.Sc - PhD at Bose Institute.
B. Sc. (Physics / Mathematics/Computer Science/Electronics) / B.E. / B.Tech. will be considered for Integrated M.Sc - PhD at Bose Institute.

Eligibility Criteria for Integrated Ph.D programme in Theoretical Computer Science at IMSc

B.Sc./B.E./B.Tech. /M.C.A. in Computer Science or related disciplines and should be interested in the mathematical aspects of computer science.

Eligibility Criteria for Integrated M.Tech - Ph.D. programme at IIA

M.Sc. (Physics / Applied Physics) / Post-B.Sc. (Hons) in Optics and Optoelectronics / Radio Physics and Electronics.

Eligibility Criteria for Integrated Ph.D. programme at IISER Kolkata and IISER Thiruvananthapuram

B. Sc. (Physics) or B.E. / B. Tech. in any discipline.

Eligibility Criteria for M. Sc. programme at HRI

B. Sc. (Physics) or B.E./B.Tech. degree in any discipline
HRI is starting a new M.Sc. programme in Physics from 2017. The Integrated Ph.D. programme in Physics at HRI is discontinued from 2017.