Updated By Ankita Jha on 17 Nov, 2025 12:09
Get IIT JAM eligibility criteria 2026, which include the minimum qualifications and a certain age that applicants must fulfil before applying for the JAM 2026 Exam. One can know about the IIT JAM Eligibility 2026, including the age limit, subject requirements, and more, from here!
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IIT JAM Eligibility Criteria 2026: If you're aiming to sit for IIT JAM 2026 exam, it is important to understand the eligibility criteria before starting the application process. For the academic year 2026-27, IIT Bombay is the organizing institute, and JAM 2026 application form was released on September 05, 2025. The last date to apply was October 20, 2025.
The exact eligiblity criteria for IIT JAM 2026 has been released through the information brochure. To be eligible for IIT JAM 2026, you should have a bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognized university. If you are currently in the final year of undergraduate education, you can still apply, provided you submit all proofs of qualification by September 2025. Also, there will be no age limit to take the exam.
Direct Link: IIT JAM 2026 Information Brochure(activated)
IIT Bombay has also set some marks requirements to be eligible for IIT JAM 2026 exam. You will need to have at least 55% overall marks or a CGPA of 5.5 out of 10 if you belong to the General, OBC-NCL, or EWS categories. For SC, ST, and PwD students, the minimum requirement will be 50% marks or a CGPA of 5.0 out of 10. Keep reading if you want to know more about IIT JAM eligiblity 2026, age limit, marks required, and course wise minimum educational qualifications set by authorities.
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Also Read: IIT JAM Syllabus 2026
There is no age limit to appear for IIT JAM 2026 exam. However, you have to fulfill the education qualification and subject requirements to be eligible for IIT JAM 2026 exam.
Students with Uni-ocularity and/or color blindness are not eligible to apply.
For doing fieldwork, students in the PwD category should be able to walk without any assistance.
Note: If a candidate is found to have furnished wrong details, the admitting institute has the authority to cancel the admission at any time.
According to the general IIT JAM eligibility criteria 2026, Indian and foreign national candidates can apply for the exam. However, the foreign nationals will need to satisfy the rules and regulations of the Admitting Institute(s) related to foreign students
You are required to fulfill IIT JAM eligibility criteria 2026 (MEQ) to fill out the application form. If you are unable to fulfill the minimum eligibility criteria, you might not be considered for the admission process or your candidature can be cancelled at any stage. Check the IIT JAM minimum educational qualifications for IIT JAM 2026 in the table below:
Test Paper (Code) | Course | Minimum Educational Qualifications for Admission |
|---|---|---|
| IIT JAM Eligibility 2026 Biotechnology | ||
Biotechnology (BT) | MSc Biotechnology/Bioscience and Bioengineering/Molecular Medicine/Biological Sciences | Any branch/ subject |
MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering | Any one of Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics for two years/ four semesters, and any one of the other four subjects for at least one year/ two semesters | |
| IIT JAM Eligibility 2026 Chemistry | ||
Chemistry (CY) | MSc Chemistry | Chemistry for three years/six semesters |
Joint MSc- PhD in Chemistry | ||
Joint MSc- PhD in Nuclear Medicine | BSc/ BS degree (three years/ six semesters) with Chemistry as Honours/ Major/ Main Subject, Mathematics as compulsory one subsidiary subject and Physics/ Biology as another subsidiary subject for at least two years/ four semesters | |
MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering | Any one of Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics for two years/four semesters, and any one of the other four subjects for at least one year/two semesters | |
Joint MSc- PhD in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences | Mathematics and Physics with any one of these subjects among Chemistry, Computer Science, Computer Application, Geology and Statistics | |
| IIT JAM Eligibility 2026 Geology | ||
Geology (GG) | MSc Applied Geology | Geology for three years/six semesters and any two subjects among Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Biological Science |
Joint MSc- PhD in Geophysics | Geology as a subject for three years/six semesters and any two subjects among Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry | |
Joint MSc- PhD in Geology | ||
Joint MSc- PhD in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences | Mathematics and Physics and any one of these subjects among Chemistry, Computer Science, Computer Application, Geology and Statistics | |
MSc (Tech) in Applied Geology* | BSc degree (3 year) with Geology as Honours/ Major/ Main/ Equivalent subject and any two subsidiary subjects from Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry | |
| IIT JAM Eligibility 2026 Economics | ||
Economics (EN) | MSc in Economics | Any Bachelor’s degree (BA/ BSc/ BCom/ BStat/ BMath/ BTech/ BE or equivalent). The bachelor’s degree or equivalent qualification obtained by the candidate must entail a minimum of three years of education after completing higher secondary schooling |
| IIT JAM Eligibility 2026 Mathematics | ||
Mathematics (MA) | MSc Mathematics | Mathematics for at least two years/ four semesters |
MSc Mathematics / Applied Mathematics and Computing | ||
MSc Mathematics/ Mathematics and Computing | ||
MSc Mathematics and Computing | ||
Joint MSc- PhD in Mathematics | Mathematics/Statistics as a subject for at least two years/four semesters | |
MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Operations Research | ||
MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering | Any one of Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics for two years/four semesters, and any one of the other four subjects for at least one year/two semesters. | |
Joint MSc- PhD in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences | Mathematics and Physics and any one of these subjects among Chemistry, Computer Science, Computer Application, Geology and Statistics | |
Mathematical Statistics (MS) | MSc Applied Statistics and Informatics | Mathematics or Statistics for at least two years/ four semesters |
MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Operations Research | ||
MSc Statistics | Statistics for at least two years/ four semesters | |
Joint MSc- PhD in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences | Mathematics and Physics and any one of these subjects among Chemistry, Computer Science, Computer Application, Geology and Statistics | |
Physics (PH) | MSc Physics | Physics for at least two years/four semesters and Mathematics for at least one year/two semesters |
Joint MSc- PhD in Physics | ||
MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Physics | ||
MSc Applied Geophysics | Physics and Mathematics/Mathematical Physics for two years/four semesters and at least one of them as subject for three years/six semesters | |
Joint MSc- PhD in Medical Physics | BSc/ BS degree (3 years/ 6 semesters) with Physics as Honours/ Major/ Main Subject, Mathematics as compulsory one subsidiary subject and Chemistry/Biology as another subsidiary subject for at least two years/ four semesters | |
MSc Astronomy | Physics/ Mathematics / Computer Science Engineering, Electrical Engineering / Mechanical Engineering | |
Joint MSc- PhD in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences | Mathematics and Physics and any one of these subjects among Chemistry, Computer Science, Computer Application, Geology and Statistics | |
Joint MSc- PhD in Geophysics | Geology/Physics as a subject for three years/six semesters and any two subjects among Mathematics, Physics and Chemistry | |
MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering | Any one of Biology, Biotechnology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics for two years/four semesters, and any one of the other four subjects for at least one year/two semesters | |
MSc (Tech) in Applied Geophysics | BSc Degree (3 yr) with Physics as Honours/ Major/ Main/ Equivalent subject, Mathematics as a subsidiary subject for 2 years/4 semesters and another subsidiary subject from Chemistry, Geology, Electronics, and Statistics for 1 year/ 2 semesters. | |
You have to fulfill the subject requirement to appear for the IIT JAM 2026. Check the IIT JAM subject requirement 2026 in the table below:
Test Paper (Code) | Course | Subjects Required at Class 12th level |
|---|---|---|
Biotechnology (BT) | MSc Biotechnology | No Restrictions |
Joint MSc- PhD in Molecular Medical Microbiology | No Restrictions | |
MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering | Mathematics | |
Chemistry (CY) | MSc Chemistry | No Restrictions/ Mathematics required in some colleges |
Joint MSc- PhD in Chemistry | Mathematics | |
Joint MSc- PhD in Nuclear Medicine | No Restrictions | |
MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering | Mathematics | |
Joint MSc- PhD in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences | No Restrictions | |
Economics (EN) | MSc in Economics | No Restrictions |
Geology (GG) | MSc Applied Geology | Mathematics |
Joint MSc- PhD in Geophysics | ||
Joint MSc- PhD in Geology | ||
Joint MSc- PhD in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences | No Restrictions | |
MSc(Tech) in Applied Geology* | Mathematics | |
Mathematics (MA) | MSc in Economics | No Restrictions |
MSc Mathematics | ||
MSc Mathematics / Applied Mathematics and Computing | ||
MSc-MTech Dual Degree in Mathematics-Data and Computational Sciences | ||
MSc Mathematics/ Mathematics and Computing | ||
MSc Mathematics and Computing | ||
Joint MSc- PhD in Mathematics | ||
MSc Applied Mathematics | ||
MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Operations Research | ||
MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering | Mathematics | |
MSc Applied Mathematics | Mathematics | |
Joint MSc- PhD in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences | No Restrictions | |
Mathematical Statistics (MS) | MSc Applied Statistics and Informatics | No Restrictions |
MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Operations Research | ||
MSc Statistics | ||
Joint MSc- PhD in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences | ||
Physics (PH) | MSc Physics | No Restrictions |
Joint MSc- PhD in Physics | ||
MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Physics | ||
MSc Applied Geophysics | ||
MSc Astronomy | ||
Joint MSc- PhD in Medical Physics | ||
Joint MSc- PhD in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences | ||
Joint MSc- PhD in Geophysics | Mathematics | |
MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering | ||
MSc (Tech) in Applied Geophysics | No Restrictions |
For the General/OBC category, the IIT JAM reservation criteria are to secure at least 55% of the marks, or 5.5 CGPA out of 10, in each year and 50% of the altogether, or 5 out of 10 CGPA, for the SC/ST category. Check IIT JAM reservation eligibility below:
| IIT JAM Reservation Criteria 2026 | |
|---|---|
| General | 55% or 5.5 out of 10 CGPA |
| SC & ST | 50% or 5.0 out of 10 CGPA |
Now that you know IIT JAM eligibility criteria 2026, you can plan your next steps with confidence. Making sure you meet all the requirements early on will save you stress later and let you focus fully on preparing for the exam.
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No major changes are made in the eligibility criteria for IIT JAM exam every year. Still, it is recommended that the candidates should go through the detailed IIT JAM eligibility criteria thoroughly to be on the safer side.
Yes, physically challenged candidates who can walk without any help can apply for the IIT JAM exam. However, colour blind candidates are not eligible to apply for IIT JAM.
IIT JAM is conducted by one of the IITs and IISc Bangalore on a rotational basis every year.
Yes, candidates pursuing their final year graduation studies are also eligible to apply for the IIT JAM exam.
There is no minimum and maximum age limit criteria stated by the officials to be eligible for the IIT JAM exam.
If the selection ratio is considered, then the IIT JAM is quite a difficult exam to crack.
Candidates can appear in the IIT JAM exam for as many times they want but they have to make sure they check all the boxes of the IIT JAM eligibility criteria before applying.
No, there are no relaxations in IIT JAM eligibility criteria for candidates belonging to the OBC and OBC (NCL) category candidates.
Bachelor’s degree holders from a recognised University/Institution with a minimum aggregate of 55% are eligible to apply for the IIT JAM exam.
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