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 and the subsequent interviews are generally conducted in the first week of January every year at IUCAA Pune.

   • Link to apply online for INAT-2024: https://inat.iucaa.in
   • Application deadline: November 15, 2023
   • Last date for online submission of Assessment forms: November 19, 2023
   • Admission (Written) test: January 10, 2024
   • Short-listed candidates will be interviewed on:January 10 - 12, 2024

2. Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST)

   This test is usually conducted at IUCAA, Pune, and at other centres in India on the third Sunday of February every year. 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 Integreted 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 fees is charged for applying. Screening committees involving IUCAA faculty members evaluate the applications and shortlist students for the written test. All such shortlisted students are informed by email. Interviews are conducted immediately after the written test and during the next couple of days, depending on the total number of students to be interviewed.
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.