JEST 2021: Exam Date (Postponed), Admit Card, Pattern, Syllabus & Results

What is JEST?

Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) is conducted jointly by several premier institutes such as IISc, IISERs, NISER, etc. The organising authority, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), conducted JEST 2021 across 37 exam centre spread across the country. The official dates for JEST 2021 have been released online and the national-level entrance exam was scheduled to be conducted on April 11, 2021, but has been postponed until further notice. Candidates are informed that if they wanted to pursue PhD or Integrated PhD course in one of the participating institutes in the below-mentioned streams they had to qualify JEST 2021 exam.

JEST 2021 Eligibility Criteria

Listed below is general JEST 2021 eligibility criteria for MSc, PhD and Integrated/MSc/MTech - PhD programmes. To view detailed eligibility criteria for admission in programmes offered at colleges accepting JEST scores for admission, candidates are advised to visit the official website of the respective colleges/institutes.

JEST 2021 Eligibility Criteria for PhD programme in Physics

The eligibility criteria to take the JEST exam for the PhD course in Physics varies from college to college.

• MSc in Physics (in all participating Institutes).
• MSc in Mathematics / Applied Physics / Applied Mathematics / Optics and Photonics / Instrumentation / Electronics will also be considered at Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bangalore.
• BE or BTech will be considered at IISc, IMSc, ICTS-TIFR, IUCAA, JNCASR, NCRA-TIFR, TIFR-TCIS, RRI, IISER Mohali, IISER Pune, IISER Thiruvananthapuram.
• MSc in Physics / Electronics / Astronomy / Applied Mathematics will be considered at IUCAA.
• MSc in Physics, Engineering Physics or Applied Physics will also be considered at IPR.
• MSc in Physics, Chemistry, Applied Mathematics, Biophysics or Biochemistry will be considered at SNBNCBS.
• BTech Eng Phys will be considered at TIFR.
• ME/MTech in Applied Physics will be considered at NISER.

JEST 2021 Eligibility Criteria for PhD programme in Theoretical Computer Science at IMSc

• MSc/ME/MTech.in Computer Science and related disciplines, and should be interested in the mathematical aspects of computer science.

JEST 2021 Eligibility Criteria for PhD in Neuroscience at NBRC

• MSc (Physics/ Mathematics), BE/BTech/MCA in Computer Science

JEST 2021 Eligibility Criteria for PhD in Computational Biology at IMSc

• MSc/ME/MTech?/MCA in any engineering or science discipline, with good mathematical skills and a strong interest in biological problems.

JEST 2021 Eligibility Criteria for Integrated MSc/MTech - PhD Programme (Physics)

• BSc (Physics/Mathematics) will be considered at SNBNCBS.
• BSc (Physics) will be considered at IMSc.
• BSc (Physics/Mathematics/BE/BTech in Electrical/Instrumentation/Engineering Physics/Electronics and Communications/Computer Science and Engineering/Optics and Photonics will be considered in IIA.
• BSc (Physics) or BE/BTech in Engineering Physics, with a minimum of first-class marks, will be considered at NISER.
• BSc (Physics) will be considered at IISER-Pune, ICTS-TIFR, NCRA-TIFR, and TIFR-TCIS.

JEST 2021 Eligibility Criteria for Integrated PhD Programme in Theoretical Computer Science at IMSc

• BSc/BE/BTech/MCA in Computer Science or related disciplines and should be interested in the mathematical aspects of computer science.

JEST 2021 Eligibility Criteria for Integrated MTech - PhD Programme at IIA

• MSc (Physics/Applied Physics/Post-BSc (Hons) in Optics and Optoelectronics / Radio Physics and Electronics.

JEST 2021 Eligibility Criteria for Integrated PhD Programme at IISER Thiruvananthapuram

• BSc (Physics) or BE/BTech in any discipline.

JEST 2021 Eligibility Criteria for MSc Programme at HRI

• BSc (Physics) or BE/BTech degree in any discipline.
• HRI is starting a new MSc programme in Physics from 2021. The Integrated PhD programme in Physics at HRI is discontinued from 2021.

Age Limit: There is no age restriction for appearing in JEST exam.

JEST Exam Highlights

JEST 2021 Important Dates

JEST 2021 Courses Offered

Courses in which aspirants can secure admission based on their JEST result are as mentioned below:

JEST 2021: List of Colleges accepting Scores

JEST exam is a means through which aspirants can secure admission in PhD and integrated PhD programmes. Go through the list of JEST participating colleges below.

Also Read: List of colleges & courses for JEST admission.

JEST 2021 Admission Process

Candidates need to go through the below-mentioned steps to take part in JEST admission process successfully.

Step 1: Fill JEST Application Form

Candidates had to fill JEST 2021 application form online. Once they had duly filled the application form they needed to pay the application fee which could be done online using a credit/debit card or even net banking. Application fee payment was also accepted online only. No other mode was accepted.

Step 2: Get JEST Admit Card

Aspirants needed to download JEST 2021 admit card from the official website of the exam. The official website informed: “Admit cards will not be sent by post/email. Bring a print-out of the downloaded Admit Card and one of your photo-ids to the examination centre”.

Step 3: Give Joint Entrance Screening Test

Aspirants had to appear for the JEST 2021 exam according to the date, time and venue mentioned on their admit card. JEST exam will be of three hours duration and was conducted on the exam date from 10 am to 1 pm.

Step 4: Check JEST Result

Candidates can check their JEST 2021 result by filling in details, such as their roll number and date of birth on the official website of the exam.

Step 5: Contact Colleges Accepting JEST Scores

After aspirants qualify JEST 2021 exam they need to contact colleges that accept JEST scores for admission and further fulfil the admission criteria as listed by them. 

JEST 2021 Exam Centres

JEST 2021 test centres were released. JEST was conducted across 38 test cities in the country. Candidates can go through JEST exam centres in the table below:

FAQs Regarding JEST Exam 2021

Q. What is JEST?

A. Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) is a national-level exam, which is jointly conducted by top institutes of the country. Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) is the organising body of the exam. Candidates who secure minimum qualifying marks in the entrance test can pursue PhD/Integrated PhD course in the premier institutes, including IISc, IISERs, NISER, etc.

Q. What is the syllabus of Physics for JEST 2021 exam?

Q. What are last-minute preparation tips for JEST 2021 exam?

Q. Which books are recommended for Physics in JEST exam preparation?

Q. What are the disciplines on which the JEST examination is based?

A. There are two disciplines on which the entrance exam is based, which are Physics or Theoretical Computer Science. You cannot appear for both disciplines at once.

Q. What is the age limit to be eligible for the JEST examination?

A. The Board has set no age restriction for appearing in the JEST examination. However, each participating institute has set its own eligibility criteria.

Q. How many attempts are accepted for the JEST examination?

A. No, there is no restriction on the number of attempts for appearing in JEST examination.

Q. Is it true that there are separate entrance tests for PhD and integrated PhD programmes?

A. No, there is a common examination for both PhD and integrated PhD programmes.

Q. Which participating institutes offer admission in the PhD course in Theoretical Computer Science?

A. Currently, the Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IMSc) is the only institute which is accepting JEST exam score for admission in the PhD programme in Theoretical Computer Science.

Q. Is the JEST examination difficult to crack?

A. Not at all. The question paper of the JEST exam contains questions from the topics that you studied at graduation or post-graduation level.

Q. Which participating institutes offer admission in the PhD course in Neuroscience or Computational Biology?

A. Currently, National Brain Research Centre, Gurgaon is the only institute that offers admission in PhD course in Neuroscience/Computational Biology.

Q. Where can I download sample papers for the JEST exam?