JEST Exam Pattern 2025: Check Physics, Mathematics, Computer Science Pattern & Marking Scheme

There are various premier research institutes and universities in India that accept JEST scores for admissions purposes. Each institute has its own eligibility and selection criteria for the exam takers. So, it is advisable for all the applicants to go through the eligibility criteria of the institute if they wish to get admission so that they exactly know whether they are eligible to appear for the exam or not. 

Here are the list of courses offered by JEST. Candidates who wish to appear for the exam must be aware of the following courses to prepare for the JEST Exam accordingly. 

• MSc, PhD, and Integrated PhD in Physics
• PhD and Integrated PhD in Theoretical Computer Science
• PhD in Neuroscience and Computational Biology

Candidates with an MSc or an advanced BSc degree in Physics or Computer Science are eligible, based on the programme and the institute's eligibility criteria they want to apply for. So, the best suggestion is to check out the eligiblity criteria of all the institutes a candidates wish to get admission to avoid any sort of confusion. 

Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) is an entrance exam test for admission to PhD and International PhD programme of different participating institutes for two subjects Physics and theoretical Computer Science/Neuroscience.

This exam is conducted in offline mode/ pen-paper mode. This year exam conducting authorities have changed, earlier it used to be Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) but now it has changed to Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology (IIST). Hence the final validation will be declared along with releasing of notification but as per previous year JEST exam pattern it will be conducted in offline mode only. 

Applicants need to follow the below mentioned tips to qualify JEST exam. 

• Go through the exam pattern and structure of the test.

• Follow best books for JEST preparation and make short notes.

• After completing the syllabus, they should take regular mock tests and analyse their performance.

• Solving JEST previous year question papers will also help them to understand the question trends and types to expect in the actual exam.

No, apart from Physics, JEST is also for those candidates who are interested in pursuing Theoretical Computer Science, Neuroscience, and Computational Biology at the PhD level. Therefore, candidates who wish to appear for the JEST Exam must go through the eligibility criteria in detail before filling out the JEST Application Form. 

The exam is conducted annually at various JEST Exam centres across India. It is conducted at the level of an MSc or advanced BSc in Physics or Computer Science. Although, it is not as difficult as the other big competitive exams still it demands a decent amount of time, consistency and dedication to crack this exam to get admission to the preferred institute.