How to prepare for IIT JAM Biotechnology 2025: Check Important Topics and Best Books
Indian Institute of Technology Joint Admission Test for MSc 2026 ( IIT JAM )
Counselling - 27 Mar '26 - 15 Apr '26
IIT-JAM 2025 exam Biotechnology course was conducted by IIT Delhi for the academic session 2025-2026 on February 2, 2025. For getting into the MSc biotechnology program aspirants should immediately start preparing for IIT-JAM Biotechnology. This article provides detailed IIT-JAM 2025 Biotechnology exam prep tips and important topics to study for the biotechnology paper.
How to Prepare for IIT JAM 2025 Biotechnology
Biotechnology as a field is an amalgamation of Biology and Technology. In Biotechnology, aspirants are educated on what procedures can be done to modify living organisms. Candidates who want to pursue Biotechnology as a discipline at the master’s level can consider appearing for IIT JAM 2025. Conducted by the IITs on a rotational basis, the IIT JAM exam is the platform through which aspirants can secure admission to MSc programme and integrated PhD programmes offered at IITs and other IIT JAM 2025 result-sharing institutes.
Read More: CUET PG Vs IIT JAM: Which is Better for Master’s Degree
For the academic session 2025-2026, the IIT JAM 2025 exam was concluded on February 2, 2025, at 100 exam centres across the nation. IIT Delhi, the exam officials will test the domain knowledge of candidates for the programmes offered. MSc Biotechnology is one of the courses for which the JAM 2025 exam will be conducted. Candidates preparing for the IIT JAM 2025 Biotechnology exam have ample time to ace and secure a seat in the desired IITs and other result-sharing institutes.
IIT JAM 2025 application form registration started on September 3, 2024, on the official website of IIT JAM. Interested applicants are advised to check out the IIT JAM eligibility criteria 2025 in order to not lose their candidature at any stage of the IIT JAM 2025 admission process.
Candidates applying for the IIT JAM 2025 Biotechnology exam can check out the JAM 2025 preparation tips, important topics, exam pattern, syllabus, IIT JAM 2025 seat intake and other details from here:
- IITs Offering MSc in Biotechnology and Seats
- Preparation Tips to Crack IIT JAM Biotechnology Paper
- Study important topics
- Important Topics for IIT JAM Biotechnology Preparation 2025
IITs Offering MSc in Biotechnology and Seats
Aspirants can secure admission in the MSc Biotechnology course offered at the below-mentioned colleges:
| Institute Name | Course Name | Number of Seats Available | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GEN | EWS | SC | ST | OBC | Total | ||
| IIT Bombay | MSc Biotechnology | 13 + 1* | 3+1* | 9 | 5 | 3 | 35 |
| MSc in Environmental Science and Engineering |
1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | |
| IIT Indore | MSc Biotechnology | 6 + 1* | 1 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 15 |
| IIT Roorkee | MSc in Biosciences and Bio Engineering |
Will be released Shortly | |||||
NOTE:* Indicates seats reserved for PwD Candidates.
@ The department may revise (a) the curriculum, (b) modes of assessment, and (c) the duration of the academic program by taking into consideration the nature and extent of disability of each PwD student. The Department will seek approval of each such revision by the Senate of the Institute. The Department, and thereby the Institute, reserves the right to implement such duly approved revisions, along with Reasonable Adjustments, specific to each PwD student.
As many as 73,360 candidates applied for IIT JAM 2025 out of which 62,654 candidates qualified for the exam. Here is the table given below showing the number of seats available in the respective IIT’s for the subject of Biotechnology. Given the limited number of seats in the Biotechnology course through the science entrance exam, it is not difficult to estimate how competitive the exam is. Thus, candidates need to have a strategy in place to crack IIT JAM 2025 to secure admission to the Biotechnology course.
The table shown below mentions Academic programs offered by IIT’s in Biotechnology(BT) code with the minimum educational qualifications. Aspirants of IIT-JAM 2025 preparation must look into this before going further.
| Academic Programme |
Institute |
Minimum Educational Qualifications for Admission |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Essential subjects in Bachelor’s Degree |
Essential subjects at (10+2) level |
||
| MSc Biotechnology |
IITB, IITI |
Any branch/subject |
No restrictions |
| Joint MSc-PhD in Molecular Medical Microbiology |
IITKgp |
Bachelor's degree with major in any of the following discipline of Biological Science with Chemistry as the ancillary subject. (Biology/Biotechnology/Botany/Life Science/Physiology/Zoology/Microbiology/ Biochemistry/Genetics/molecular Biology) |
No Restrictions |
| MSc-PhD Dual Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering |
IITB |
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 |
Mathematics |
Commonly asked questions
Students may get admission in IIT Roorkee with 80% in Class 12 as the minimum aggregate ranges between 50% to 75% in Class 12 boards. However, admissions to the programmes at IIT Roorkee are done on entrance basis. Hence, Class 12 marks are not enough. Students also need to have valid entrance test scores.
IIT Roorkee admission to its flagship courses BArch and BTech is based on JEE Main and JEE Advanced Counselling. For admission, students are required to apply for both JEE Main and JEE Advanced for admission to IIT Roorkee BTech. The aspirants must fill out the application form for JEE (Main) through the official website of the National Testing Agency (NTA) (nta.ac.in).
Followed by JEE Main, students are required to register for JEE Advanced. Next, candidates have to fill in the registration form, upload scanned certificates, and pay the application fee. The photo and signature in the online JEE Advanced application form will already be populated from the JEE Main application form.
Preparation Tips to Crack IIT JAM Biotechnology Paper
Candidates can go through the IIT JAM preparation tips mentioned below in order to formulate a strategy to crack the JAM exam paper for Biotechnology.
Be acquainted with IIT JAM exam pattern
To score well in the IIT JAM Biotechnology paper, aspirants need to know the exam pattern for the exam. IIT JAM exam pattern is such that candidates need to attempt Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), Multiple Select Questions (MSQs) and Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions. The total number of questions that aspirants need to attempt in the Biotechnology paper is 60 questions.
Know the marking scheme
Candidates are informed that there is a negative marking in IIT JAM 2025. Aspirants need to be doubly sure of the marking scheme of the exam. This is necessary to ensure that they score maximum marks in the test and avoid negative marking as much as possible.
| No of Questions |
Marks Added or Each Correct Answer |
Marks Deducted for Each Wrong Answer |
|---|---|---|
| First 10 MCQs |
1 mark each |
1/3 mark to be deducted |
| Next 20 MCQs |
2 marks each |
2/3 mark to be deducted |
| 10 MSQs |
2 marks each |
No negative marking |
| First 10 NAT Questions |
1 mark each |
No negative marking |
| Next 10 NAT Questions |
2 marks each |
No negative marking |
Know IIT JAM Syllabus
Biotechnology paper for IIT JAM exam comprises of questions from subjects such as – Chemistry, Biology, Mathematics and Physics. The weightage of questions asked from these subjects in the IIT JAM Biotechnology paper are:
| Subject |
Weightage (in percentage) |
|---|---|
| Biology |
44 |
| Chemistry |
20 |
| Mathematics |
18 |
| Physics |
18 |
IIT JAM syllabus for Biotechnology papers is such that questions from Biology and Chemistry are of graduation level whereas questions from Mathematics and Physics are of 12-grade level.
Study important topics
To score well in IIT JAM 2025 for Biotechnology course admissions, aspirants need to be well acquainted with the important topics from which questions with maximum weightage are asked in the exam. Some topics that aspirants should thoroughly study to score well in the IIT JAM exam are as mentioned below:
| Subject |
Important Topics for IIT JAM Biotechnology Paper |
|---|---|
| Biology |
Cell biology, Biochemistry, Genetics, Molecular biology, Evolution, Plant/Animal Biology, Ecology, Biotechnology, Microbiology, Immunology. |
| Chemistry |
Physical chemistry, Inorganic chemistry, Organic chemistry |
| Physics |
10+2 level |
| Mathematics |
10+2 level |
Read important books
Candidates should prepare a list of important books to read for IIT JAM Biotechnology exam preparation. Here, candidates should go through one or two important books and thereafter prepare well for each section of this Science exam.
Solve past years’ papers and mock tests
Candidates should solve as many sample papers, mock tests and previous years’ IIT JAM question papers as possible. This will help aspirants know their level of preparation as well as increase their speed of attempting questions in the IIT JAM exam.
Commonly asked questions
After the completion of the application process and entrance exams, candidates are shortlisted based on the following criteria for each course:
- For BTech admission is based on JEE Main and JEE Advanced scores. Candidates are allotted seats in JoSAA Counselling for BTech, BTech-MTech (Dual Degree) and BSc courses.
- Admission to MTech is through GATE followed by COAP Counselling.
- MSc course selection is through IIT JAM and CCMN Counselling.
Candidates can check with the IIT Bombay admission office for the selection rounds of the rest of the courses. Furthermore, the cutoff for BTech, M.Tech and MSc courses is released by the respective counselling bodies. For merit-based courses, the institute releases a merit list announcing the names of the shortlisted candidates. As per the merit list, candidates are called for counselling for seat allotment. Shortlisted candidates must pay the fee to confirm their admission.
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Important Topics for IIT JAM Biotechnology Preparation 2025
Aspirants can go through the list of important topics that they should consider studying thoroughly while preparing for the IIT JAM exam for Biotechnology admissions. The topics along with the weightage allocated to them as mentioned below are determined basis of past years’ papers for the IIT JAM exam.
| Topic | Weightage |
|---|---|
| Biochemistry | 8-10 |
| Molecular Biology | 6-7 |
| Animal Physiology | 4-5 |
| Cell Biology | 2-4 |
| Taxonomy | 2-3 |
| Genetics | 4-5 |
| Recombinant DNA and Techniques | 5-6 |
| Immunology | 2-3 |
| Microbiology | 2-3 |
| Maths | 10-12 |
| Physics | 10-12 |
| Chemistry | 12-15 |
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 5 days ago
Yes, BSc students are eligible for IIT JAM 2026. They have to complete their graduation or must be in the final year of graduation while applying for JAM. Admisison is offered to M.Sc., M.Sc. (Tech.), MS (Research), M.Sc. - M.Tech. Dual Degree, Joint M.Sc. - Ph.D., M.Sc. - Ph.D. Dual Degree, and Int
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Students who have a score above the JAM qualifying cutoff and are mentioned in the merit list can apply for the counselling process. The counselling will be held online. JAM counselling schedules are available online.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
IIT JAM 2026 counselling will be held in four rounds, followed by an additional round. Students need to fill the form at the JOAPS portal to participate in the JAM counselling process.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
The authority has released the JAM qualifying marks online. Candidates can check cutoff to know the minimum passing marks in each paper. IIT JAM qualifying marks for Economics are mentioned below.
- GEN -40.63
- OBC-NCl / EWs -36.56
- SC/ST/PwD - 20.31
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
IIT JAM 2026 cutoff was released on March 21, 2026. Candidates can check the cutoff at official website. This is the qualifying cutoff. Candidates who score above the IIT JAM qualifying cutoff can participate in the counselling process.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
IIT JAM 2026 qualifying cutoff for GEN category vary category wise. Check the table for the JAM qualifying cutoff subject-wise.
Subject Name | GEN Cutoff |
Biotechnology | 42.3 |
Chemistry | 18.65 |
Economics | 40.63 |
Geology | 25.98 |
Mathematics | 12.65 |
Mathematics Statistics | 13.33 |
Physics | 12.04 |
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Below is the qualifying cutoff for IIT JAM OBC category.
Subject Name | OBC (NCL) / EWS |
Biotechnology | 38.07 |
Chemistry | 16.78 |
Economics | 36.56 |
Geology | 23.38 |
Mathematics | 11.38 |
Mathematics Statistics | 11.99 |
Physics | 10.83 |
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
Based on past years exam analysis, IIT JAM is moderately difficult. The questions in the JAM exam are conceptually based. Candidates need to keep their concepts clear and practice JAM question papers regularly for better performance in the exam.
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
IIT JAM counselling process is mentioned below.
- Go to IIT JAM 20266 website
- Click on the JOAPS portal
- Click on counselling link
- Fill the form, choose the preference order
- Pay the fees
- Submit the form
V
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a week ago
IIT JAM merit list is based on AIR. The authority will consider the total number of seats available in each category, to include the number of candidates in the All India Merit List. Candidates who are included in the merit list will be eligible to apply for admisison.
V
Contributor-Level 10