How can one pursue research in Physics

By Vishal Juneja

A career in research

Physics has a lot of fascination starting from a tiny atomic scales having Quantum phenomenon to the massive bodies in the Universe having Black holes, galaxies and lots of other stuff.

Researching or being a scientist is one of the most eminent, though not the most paid job in India. However, it is still well paid and you can have a lot of opportunity if you keep the option of studying or working abroad. So how and when to start the preparation to be the one? Well, there are lot of opportunities at different points of time where you can prove your talent in Physics.

Being a school student there are lot of opportunities and scholarships you can get if you are good in academics and have a core interest in Science. Following are the exams you can take:

1. NTSE (National Talent Search Examination): NTSE is one of the most prestigious talent search stage-II exam in schools. Apart from getting Rs 500 per month as a scholarship from 11th class onwards, you are also given preference in Government jobs, NDA interviews and many other selection processes.

2. APhO (Asian Physics Olympiad): This programme follows a four-stage process which comprises the following:
• NSEP (National Standard Examination in Physics): It is organised by IAPT for higher secondary students. Though the exam is equivalent to the level of CBSE class 12th exams still no detailed syllabus is given for NSEP. Students who clear the exam and appear in merit list follow up to second round.
• INPhO (Indian National Physics Olympiad): It is organised by HSBCE and those who qualify the first round are eligible for this National Level Olympiad.
• Pre-Department Training in Physics (PDTs): Before moving to Asian Olympiad, students go through the training and get observed, and very few selected students along with the leaders represent the country in Asian Physics Olympiad.

3. IO (International Olympiad): This programme includes a five-stage process:
• First two processes remain the same as in the case of APhO. You have to qualify National Standard exam in Physics or Astronomy and follow the Indian National Olympiad in the same specialisation subject.
• Third stage is the Orientation Cum Selection Camps (OCSC). For these camps, 35 students are selected in each subject on the basis of their performance in INO.
• Fourth Stage has a pre Departure training for two weeks which leads up to the final participation in International Physics Olympiad.

The whole process of participating In International Physics Olympiad is similar to other disciplines (Chemistry, Biology, Astronomy, Earth Science, Mathematics, Junior Science, Geography, and Philosophy).

4. KVPY (Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana): The national level competitive exam is conducted by Department of Science and Technology, consisting of two-level selection process. First level consists of an Aptitude Test having different papers for Class 11th (SA Stream) and 12th (SB Stream), which leads to the second and final round of interview. With an overall score in both rounds students are selected and given scholarship if they pursue their career in research areas of Science, Engineering and Medicine after class 12th. Scholarship has an annual grant of Rs 20,000 and monthly stipend of Rs 5,000 during bachelor’s course and Rs 28,000 annual grant with Rs 7,000 monthly stipend during master’s course.

Also, students qualifying KVPY are eligible for direct admission in some of the best research institutes in India like IISc Bangalore or IISER institutes for their bachelor’s courses after lass 12th.

5. INSPIRE Scholarship:

• A scholarship of Rs 80,000 is provided to top 1% students of all boards pursuing courses in Basic Sciences. Every year DST releases a minimum percentage for each board that students need to secure to get scholarship.
• Also, top 10,000 rankers of JEE Main or JEE Advanced are eligible for this Scholarship if they undertake courses in Natural or Basic Sciences.
• Students getting admission in IISER, NISER, DAE-CBS at University of Mumbai or who happen to be KVPY, NTSE, JBNSTS or a Science Olympic medallist, opting a course in Natural & Basic Science are eligible for “Scholarship for Higher Education”.

After pursuing Science stream in class 11th the necessary subjects that candidates have are Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics. From other subjects, you can simply choose Biology or Computer Science. Biology is also a good combination with Physics but what people usually do not consider is that it is one of the most interesting and active research fields nowadays explaining and working upon the Biological systems and explaining the phenomenon using the laws of Physics. Computer Science is definitely a good option for anyone who would like to work upon the Theoretical sector in Physics. Having knowledge of computation helps you a lot because there are many things in Physics which are very complicated to solve theoretically. So numerical methods are used to analyse the data and understand the equations and a lot of other stuff in which you have to simulate and create codes to get the output, along with working on many latest technological devices like Arduino or Raspberry pie operated using the codes of C or C++ or some other languages.

Depending on the interest you should simply choose the right set of subjects in class 11th.

What are the actual options available after class 12th to enter the research field? You can opt to pursue:

1. BTech/BE:
• To secure admission in best Engineering colleges, you can prepare for entrance exams like JEE Main and BITSAT and get the approved degree. It simply depends on you that whether you find interest in doing research or securing a job or pursuing MTech followed by PhD in discipline of your interest.

2. BSc Physics or an equivalent course having major in Physics:
• Majority of students consider JEE as the medium of getting admission in Engineering courses. However, it’s a wrong fact. You can also get admission in BSc at IISc Bangalore or IISER institutes by qualifying JEE Advanced with top rank. Another way to get into these premium institutes for bachelor’s degree courses is if you are a KVPY scholar.
• An integrated MSc course is a four to five year programme where you complete bachelors as well as master’s degree together in enhanced version as you have a project submission as a master thesis in the end of the course.
• BS-MS dual degree is also an enhanced programme in which you get an opportunity to simultaneously earn both the degrees – BS and MS in a course of your choice, like in IISER and BITS.   
• Another way is to get a simple bachelor’s degree from any UGC approved central or state university. Many universities such as Delhi University (DU) releases merit cut-off lists for admission in a variety of courses. Many other universities offer direct admission in a course on the basis of a minimum percentage secured by candidates in their qualifying exam.

BSc (H) Physics degree, for example, is considered as a major course in Physics, while BSc in Physical Science involves more than one major subject and thus the syllabus of this course covers less content of a particular specialisation course and cannot be considered by some best institutes. Many institutes have defined eligibility criteria for a specific specialisation in the masters course.

Exams during BSc or bachelor’s degree
1.    KVPY exam: Only the first year students of bachelor’s courses of Natural Science are eligible to appear for KVPY exam under SX stream and get a chance to get selected for KVPY scholarship.  
2.    NGPE exam: It is the only undergraduate National Olympiad for graduates. The syllabus for the exam covers the three-year undergraduate syllabus. The written test is followed by a practical exam post which top five students are selected to be gold medallists.

Apart from the exams, one thing that plays an important role is internships during undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Internships are basically summer or winter projects which give you knowledge about Basic Sciences and a good exposure about doing research. The research is beneficial for those students whose curriculum just comprises theoretical learning and lab sessions without a bachelor’s research project. A research project works as an additional skill enhancement technique which can be beneficial for your future interview sessions. The research project is also good for students who have a high interest in exploring Physics in depth. Every year you can apply for a summer project fellowship on the site of Indian Academy of Sciences.

After the completion of BSc a student is eligible to take admission in a Master’s programme.
• Simple MSc courses: A majority of institutes offer admission in MSc through entrance exams such as:
1. IIT JAM: It is one of the most popular and common entrance exams which is taken by students for admission to master’s courses offered at the some of the premium institutes of India. IIT JAM scores are accepted by institutes such as IITs, NITs, IISERs, IISc etc. Get the complete list of colleges accepting IIT JAM scores. Institutes such as IISc and IIT Bombay also conduct interview rounds for candidates clearing JAM paper. While Harish Chandra Research Institute provide admission through scores of JEST (Joint Entrance Screening Test) exam followed by another written test and an interview.
2.    DU, JNU and many other state universities organise their own entrance exams for admission in master’s courses.
• Integrated PhD courses: Institutes offering admission in integrated Phd courses conduct an entrance exam followed by an interview. Some of the institutes offering integrate PhD courses are TIFR, IIT Kanpur, and IISER Pune. Among these institutes, TIFR conducts its own entrance exam, TIFR GS (Tata Institute of Fundamental Research Graduate School) exam followed by an interview for integrated PhD course admissions. On the other hand, IIT Kanpur and IISER Pune accept JAM or JEST exam scores.

After completion of Regular MSc course one can go for exam UGC NET. Two cut-off percentages are released for this exam. First one is for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) which allows you to get stipend and continue PhD research. The other one is for eligibility of Associate Professor. Students qualifying UGC NET are eligible for fellowship during PhD. However, they can also apply directly to the institute, without appearing for NET, to PhD programme. After clearing the written test and interview they will be eligible to pursue PhD course but without the fellowship provided by UGC.

Most of the institutes accept JEST scores to shortlist candidates for PhD courses. However, they also conduct an interview round before selecting candidates. There are many research institutes which do not offer undergraduate courses but master’s and research courses for PhD. Some such institutes are ARIES (Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences), HRI (Harish Rai Chandra Institute), TIFR, IUAC (Inter-University Accelerator Centre) and a lot others. Research areas are broadly theoretical or experimental.

About the Author:

Vishal Juneja

I am Vishal Juneja pursuing major BSc in Physics from University of Delhi. I have core interest in Physics and wish to pursue research in future, for which I am working on some independent research projects and enhancing my skills.