IIT JAM 2020 Exam - Application Form (Extended), Dates, Syllabus, Pattern

What is IIT JAM?

Joint Admission Test for MSc (JAM) is an all-India level online entrance exam conducted by Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) every year on a rotational basis on behalf of Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), Government of India. Candidates are informed that biometric system of identity verification (finger-print) will be used for JAM 2020 exam as well as admission.

Till last year, IIT JAM exam was conducted in seven Science subjects (also referred to as test papers) in order to provide admission to candidates in MSc and other post-bachelor courses offered at IITs and integrated PhD courses offered at Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore. However, from 2020 onwards JAM would be conducted for six subjects only. Several National Institutes of Technology (NITs) and Centrally Funded Technical Institutes (CFTIs) also accept JAM scores for MSc admissions. 

IIT JAM 2020 exam dates have been released. The exam is scheduled to be conducted by IIT Kanpur on February 9, 2020. IIT JAM application process 2020 started on September 4, 2019. The last date to fill IIT JAM application form was October 8, 2019 but it wasextended to October 9 till 5:30 pm. IIT JAM admit cards will be released on January 7, 2020. Check complete IIT JAM 2020 exam dates. 

IIT JAM 2020 Important Dates

IIT JAM 2020 Events	IIT JAM 2020 Dates	Salient Features
Start date to fill application form	September 4, 2019	Application process commenced for IIT JAM. Candidates had to fill the application form for the exam online. No change in application process for the science exam.
Last date to fill application form	October 9, 2019	IIT JAM application process was to close on October 8 but authorities extended it to 5:30 pm on October 9.
Last date to fill application form for J&K students	November 28, 2019	MHRD issued a letter to JAM auhorities to re-open the application process for J&K candidates who were not able to fill IIT JAM application form within the stipulated registration window due to unavailability of internet connectivity. The application window for J&K students was November 22 to November 28, 2019.
IIT JAM exam date	February 9, 2020	IIT JAM exam to be conducted in two sessions. Session-I to be held from 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM Session-II to be held from2:30 PM to 5:30 PM
IIT JAM result	March 20, 2020	Result to be declared on the official website of the exam.

IIT JAM 2020: List of Courses and Colleges Accepting Scores

MSc courses in which aspirants can secure admission at IITs basis their JAM 2020 ranks/ scores are as mentioned below:

Test Paper (Code)	Course	List of IITs Accepting JAM Scores
Biotechnology (BT)	MSc Biotechnology	IIT Indore, IIT Bombay, IIT Roorkee
	MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering	IIT Bombay
Chemistry (CY)	MSc Chemistry	IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Indore, IIT Jodhpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, IIT Patna, IIT Roorkee, IIT Ropar, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, IIT Bhilai, IIT Palakkad
	Joint MSc- PhD in Chemistry	IIT Bhubaneswara, IIT Kharagpur
	MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering	IIT Bombay
	Joint MSc- PhD in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences	IIT Bhubaneswara
Geology (GG)	MSc Applied Geology	IIT Bombay, IIT Roorkee
	Joint MSc- PhD in Geophysics	IIT Kharagpur
	Joint MSc- PhD in Geology	IIT Kharagpur, IIT Bhubaneswara
	Joint MSc- PhD in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences	IIT Bhubaneswara
	MSc(Tech) in Applied Geology*	IIT (ISM) Dhanbad
Mathematics (MA)	MSc in Economics	IIT Roorkee
	MSc Mathematics	IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Indore, IIT Jodhpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, IIT Patna, IIT Roorkee, IIT Ropar
	MSc Mathematics / Applied Mathematics and Computing	IIT Hyderabad
	MSc Mathematics/ Mathematics and Computing	IIT (ISM) Dhanbad
	MSc Mathematics and Computing	IIT Guwahati, IIT Bhilai
	Joint MSc- PhD in Mathematics	IIT Bhubaneswara, IIT Kharagpur
	MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Operations Research	IIT Bombay
	MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering	IIT Bombay
	Joint MSc- PhD in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences	IIT Bhubaneswara
Mathematical Statistics (MS)	MSc Applied Statistics and Informatics	IIT Bombay
	MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Operations Research	IIT Bombay
	MSc Statistics	IIT Kanpur
	Joint MSc- PhD in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences	IIT Bhubaneswara
Physics (PH)	MSc Physics	IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Indore, IIT Jodhpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Madras, IIT Patna, IIT Roorkee, IIT Ropar, IIT (ISM) Dhanbad, IIT (BHU) Varanasi, IIT Bhilai, IIT Palakkad
	Joint MSc- PhD in Physics	IIT Bhubaneswara, IIT Kharagpur
	MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Physics	IIT Kanpur
	MSc Applied Geophysics	IIT Bombay
	MSc Astronomy	IIT Indore
	Joint MSc- PhD in Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences	IIT Bhubaneswara
	Joint MSc- PhD in Geophysics	IIT Kharagpur
	MSc- PhD Dual Degree in Environmental Science and Engineering	IIT Bombay
	MSc (Tech) in Applied Geophysics	IIT (ISM) Dhanbad

Admission in each course is provided on the basis of merit in the corresponding test paper of JAM.

Note: Through Biological Sciences (BL) paper candidates can secure admission in integrated PhD course only offered at IISc.

IIT JAM Eligibility Criteria

In order to fulfill IIT JAM 2020 eligibility criteria, candidates should hold a bachelor’s degree with at least 55% aggregate marks (50% for SC/ ST/ PwD category candidates). It may be noted that the aggregate marks should be without rounding off and take into account all subjects, including languages and subsidiaries, all years combined, informs the official website.

Candidates who have appeared or will appear for their graduation exams in 2020 are also eligible to apply.

Age Limit: There is no age limit to appear for IIT JAM 2020 exam.

Go through detailed IIT JAM 2020 eligibility criteria here.

IIT JAM Admission Process

Candidates need to follow the below mentioned steps as part of IIT JAM selection process:

Step 1: Fill IIT JAM Application Form

For IIT JAM 2020 registrations, candidates need to apply for the exam in the online mode. Candidates need to visit the JAM Online Application Processing System (JOAPS) link present on the official website of the exam and fill the IIT JAM 2020 application form there.

IIT JAM 2020 application fee also needs to be paid in the online mode only via net banking/ debit card/ credit card. It may be noted that candidates can apply for maximum two test papers at a time. But for appearing for the second test paper, candidates need to pay an additional application fee.

Step 2: Download IIT JAM Admit Card

Candidates can download their IIT JAM 2020 admit cards from the official website of the exam. After downloading the admit card, candidates need to take a print out of it and carry it to the allotted exam centre along with a valid ID proof (original).

Candidates not carrying the admit card and ID proof might not be allowed to appear for JAM 2020 exam.

Step 3: Appear for IIT JAM

Next, candidates need to appear for IIT JAM 2020 exam at the allotted exam centre. It may be noted that candidates can appear for one or two IIT JAM test papers. However, candidates appearing for two test papers must ensure that both exams are being conducted in different sessions.

Check IIT JAM exam pattern here.

Step 4: Check IIT JAM Result

IIT JAM 2020 result will be declared on the official website of the exam.

For each test paper in IIT JAM 2020, candidates will be given an All India Rank (AIR). Based on AIR, an All India Merit List will be prepared. Candidates whose names/ roll numbers appear in the merit list will then be eligible for admission in MSc courses offered at IITs and integrated PhD programmes offered at IISc.

Step 5: Fill Admission Form for IIT JAM Counselling

Qualifying candidates then need to fill the admission form available on the official website of JAM 2020.

Note that irrespective of whether a candidate qualifies in one or two test papers, only one duly-completed admission form needs to be submitted, informs the official website.

After filling the admission form, candidates need to pay a processing fee of Rs 600 in the online mode through JOAPS.

Step 6: Check Admission List

After the submission of admission form along with the processing fee, an admission list will be declared on the official website of the exam. After the declaration of the list, offer letters will be sent by the respective admitting college/ institute(s) to candidates.

After receiving the offer letter, candidates need to submit an acceptance form along with an advance seat booking fee in the online mode through JOAPS.

Category	Acceptance Fee
General/ OBC – Non Creamy Layer	Rs 10,000
SC/ ST/ PwD	Rs 5,000

After this, candidates will be allotted seats and their IIT JAM 2020 admission process will be complete.

If seats remain vacant after the first admission list, two more admission lists will be declared for candidates.

Note: “Being in the merit list of any test paper neither guarantees nor provides any automatic entitlement for admission. Admissions shall be made in order of merit and depending on the number of seats available at the admitting institute(s),” states the official website.

It may also be noted that admission in IISER Bhopal, IISER Pune and Centralized Counselling for MSc/ MSc (Tech) for NITs (CCMN) will not be done through common JAM admission process, informs the official website.

IIT JAM Exam Centres

IIT JAM 2020 exam centres have been released. The Science entrance exam is scheduled to be conducted in a total of 65 cities scross India. The official website informs that there could be one or more IIT JAM exam centres in one city. The exact IIT JAM exam centre details will be mentioned on the admit cards of candidates. 

Candidates can specify three exam cities in order of preference at the time of filling IIT JAM application form. However, it may be noted that first two exam cities can only be from the same zone. Candidates can select the third exam city anywhere within India. The zone-wise list of IIT JAM exam centres 2020 is yet to be released by IIT Kanpur.

IIT JAM 2020 Exam Cities
Agra	Ahmedabad
Asansol - Durgapur	Bareilly
Bengaluru	Bhopal
Bhubaneswar	Chennai
Coimbatore	Dehradun
Dhanbad	Dibrugarh
Faridabad	Ghaziabad
Ernakulum	Greater Noida
Gurugram	Goa
Hisar	Hubli
Guwahati	Hyderabad
Indore	Jaipur
Jammu	Jodhpur
Jalandhar	Jorhat
Kalyani	Kannur
Kanpur	Kharagpur
Kolkata	Kollam
Kottayam	Kozhikode
Kurukshetra	Lucknow
Madurai	Mohali
Moradabad	Mangalore
Mumbai	Nagpur
Nanded	New Delhi
Noida	Nasik
Palakkad	Patna
Pune	Roorkee
Raipur	Ranchi
Siliguri	Thiruvananthapuram
Thrissur	Tiruchirapalli
Tirunelveli	Vadodara
Varanasi	Tirupati
Vijayawada	Visakhapatnam
Warangal	-

Important: The test city, Gaziabad, has been shifted from IIT Delhi zone to IIT Roorkee zone due to operational reasons.

IIT JAM Student Reaction

IIT JAM 2020 has not been conducted yet.

IIT JAM 2019 was conducted on February 10 by IIT Kharagpur in 65 cities across India. The exam was conducted in two sessions – 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM (for Biological Sciences, Mathematics, and Physics subjects) and 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM (for Biotechnology, Chemistry, Geology, and Mathematical Statistics).     

Shiksha spoke to students of different cities after IIT JAM 2019 exam was over today to know how their exam went. A majority of students that Shiksha spoke to shared that the exam was easy. Read complete IIT JAM 2019 Student Reaction here.

IIT JAM Preparation Tips by Toppers

Check out preparation tips by IIT JAM toppers of previous years below:

IIT JAM 2019 Mathematics Topper Interview: AIR 2, Vikas Didel wants to get into research	IIT JAM 2018 Chemistry Topper Interview: AIR 4 Ravi Kumar opts for IIT Bombay
IIT JAM 2018 Chemistry Topper Interview: AIR 10 Karan Doda wants to join a PSU	IIT JAM 2018 Geology Topper Interview: AIR 1 Rahul Kumar scores 98/100
IIT JAM 2018 Topper Interview: AIR 13, Subhrajyoti Behera shares prep tips	IIT JAM 2018 Physics Topper Interview: Javed Akhtar wants to make a career in research

FAQs on IIT JAM

Q. What is IIT JAM?

A. IIT JAM is a national level exam that is conducted to shortlist students for admission in MSc and integrated MSc courses offered at colleges accepting IIT JAM scores for admission. IIT JAM is jointly conducted by the IITs and Indian Institute of Science (IISC). IIT JAM is conducted on a rotational basis by colleges participating in the exam. IIT JAM 2020 is being conducted by IIT Kanpur.

Q. What is the eligibility for IIT JAM 2020?

Q. Is IIT JAM difficult?

A. Experts share that IIT JAM exam is difficult to clear. This is not because the difficulty level of the questions asked is very high but because the selection ration through IIT JAM exam is low. However, this does not mean that the questions asked in the exam are very easy. 

Q. How many exams are there in IIT JAM?

Q. How many subjects are there in IIT JAM?

A. In JAM 2020, there are six subjects. The subjects for which IIT JAM 2020 will be conducted are Mathematical Statistics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Geology, Physics and Biotechnology.

Q. Who will conduct IIT JAM 2020?

A. IIT JAM 2020 is being conducted by IIT Kanpur on February 9. IIT JAM is a national level entrance exam conducted to shortlist aspirants for admission in MSc and other post-bachelor courses offered at IITs and IISc Bangalore.

Q. How many times can I appear for IIT JAM?

A. There is no restriction on the number of times an aspirant can take IIT JAM exam. Candidates can give JAM exam only if they fulfill the eligibility criteria of the science entrance test.

Q. Is Maths in 12 compulsory for IIT JAM?

A. In majority of the courses wherein admission is offered through IIT JAM, the eligibility criteria states that aspirants should have studied Mathematics at the Class 12 level. Candidates can go through detailed IIT JAM eligibility criteria here.

Q. What score is necessary in IIT JAM for admission in IIT?

A. The IIT JAM score at which admission is offered in different courses varies from one IIT to the other. Candidates can go through IIT JAM cutoff to get a better idea of the score at which they can secure admission in a course through this science entrance exam.

Q. What is the benefit/advantage of IIT JAM?

A. IIT JAM is a national level science entrance exam that is conducted on a rotational basis by the participating IITs and IISc. IIT JAM is the means through which candidates can secure admission in MSc and other post-bachelor courses offered at IITs and integrated PhD courses offered at IISc Bangalore.

Q. What do I do after IIT JAM?

A. Candidates who clear IIT JAM get admission in the course of their choice at IITs/ IISc Bangalore. After completing the course, aspirants can get a job in their specialisation/subject. Get more details on what to do after IIT JAM here.