IUCAA Ph.D. Programme

The intake of students into IUCAA's Ph.D. Programme is through

1. IUCAA National Admission Test (INAT)

   INAT is conducted by Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics, Pune. This test will be conducted on Third Sunday of January in various cities across the country in addition to Pune. The list of candidates shortlisted for two rounds of in-person interviews to be conducted at IUCAA, Pune will be published on our website tentatively after 15-20 working days of the written test.

   • Link to apply online for INAT-2025: https://inat.iucaa.in
   • Application deadline: November 18, 2024
   • Last date for online submission of Assessment forms: November 22, 2024
   • Admission (Written) test: January 19, 2025
   • Short-listed candidates will be interviewed on:To be announced

2. Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST)

   JEST written test is conducted in February-March every year at more than 30 centres across the country. For more details about JEST, test syllabus, sample question papers, etc. please visit http://www.jest.org.in/

3. CSIR-UGC NET for JRF (Physics)

   Only those who have qualified for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) in the previous two years are eligible to apply. Those who have qualified for only Lecturership are NOT ELIGIBLE.

Eligibility:

The academic year at IUCAA begins in August every year. Students, who expect to complete their M.Sc. degree (in Physics, Applied Physics, Mathematics, Applied Mathematics, Electronics, or Astronomy) or B.E./ B.Tech./ M.E./ M.Tech. degree (in any branch) with 55% marks or more by July are eligible to apply. In addition, talented final year B.Sc., 1^st year M.Sc. (in Physics / Applied Physics / Electronics / Astronomy / Applied Mathematics), 2^nd / 3^rd year Integrated M.Sc. and 2^nd / 3^rd year B.E. / B.Tech. (any branch) students can also apply to be PRE-SELECTED for research scholarship (to do Ph.D.) at IUCAA.

A relaxation of 5% in the qualifying marks, from 55% to 50%, is applicable for candidates belonging to SC/ ST/ OBC-NCL/ EWS or Person with Disabilities (PwD) category.

We are looking for highly motivated students with consistently good academic record. Students who have already completed the above degrees can also apply. Selection to research scholarship is through a written test and interviews.

Application procedure, shortlisting of candidates and interviews:

1. INAT: The application procedure is completely online. Offline applications are not accepted. No fee is charged for applying. Screening committees involving IUCAA faculty members evaluate the applications and shortlist students for the written test to be conducted in various cities across country. Candidates who qualify in the written test are invited via email to appear for two rounds of interviews at IUCAA, Pune. The dates of interviews will be communicated to the shortlisted candidates via registered email IDs.
2. JEST: The application procedure is completely online. Offline applications are not accepted. An application fee is charged, details of which are available at https://www.jest.org.in/ This test is conducted at various cities throughout India. After the declaration of JEST results, students are required to apply online. Screening committees involving IUCAA faculty members evaluate the applications and shortlist students for interviews. All such shortlisted students are informed by email. Interviews are conducted either during May or June every year.
3. CSIR-UGC NET for JRF (Physics): Students are required to apply online. Screening committees involving IUCAA faculty members evaluate the applications and shortlist students for interviews. All such shortlisted students are informed by email. Interviews are conducted either during May or June every year. Please note that the student has to produce a letter from the CSIR-UGC informing qualification as JRF at the time of interview.