Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) is a national-level entrance examination conducted for admission to a PhD/Integrated PhD programme in Physics or Theoretical Computer Science or Neuroscience or Computational Biology in one of the participating institutes. The statutory body established through an Act of Parliament, Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB) recognises the JEST as a National Eligibility Test (NET).
Several renowned Institutes, Including IISc, IISERs, NISER, and others, collaborate to organise the Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST). JEST is a screening test for PhD and International PhD Programs at several collaborating institutes in Physics, Theoretical Computer Science, Neuroscience, or Computational Biology. The JEST test is only given for two subjects, physics and theoretical computer science. However, the prerequisites for admission to the PhD and International PhD Programs very participating Institute.
The examination conducting organisation, SERB (Science & Engineering Research Board), will announce the admission notice for the JEST Entrance Examination in the fourth week of January 2024. Aspirants preparaing for the JEST 2024 Examination will be able to fill out an online registration form for the PhD degree provided by JEST 2024 participating universities.
The JEST 2024 Application form window will be open for about a month, and the deadline for completing the online registration form will be fourth week of February, 2024.
The Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) is an entrance exam held in India for admission to PhD and integrated PhD Programs in Physics, Theoretical Computer Science or Neuroscience. Several prestigious Indian Institutions participate in JEST for admission to their PhD and integrated PhD Programs. The Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and numerous Indian Institute of Technology (IITs) are among these institutions.
JEST 2024 will be administered between 3 PM to 6 PM in the third week of 2024. The JEST 2023 Exam pattern has been modified for the academic year 2024-2025.
The number of questions in the examination remained the same as the previous year, but the maximum marks in the questions was increased from 100 to 300, as was the grading scheme. It addition, only two portions were examined. This year's NAT questions were removed.
The table below summarises the JEST Exam's features and Information:
Particulars | Details |
Exam Name | Joint Engineering Screening Test |
Conducting Body | SERB |
Exam Level | PhD Level |
Exam Frequency | Once a Year |
Mode of Exam | Paper-Pencil Based Test (PBT) or Offline |
Total No. of Test Takers | PhD - 7,263 Integrated M.Sc-Ph.D - 6,226 |
Courses Offered | Integrated M.Sc/M.Tech-PhD/PhD |
Exam Fees | INR-800 - General Category Male candidates INR-400 - SC/ST/Female Candidates |
Exam Duration | 180 Minutes |
Selection & Marks | Three Sections with total 100 Marks |
Total No. of Questions | 50 |
Marking Scheme | +3 for each correct answer (Part A & Part B) +1 for each correct answer (Part C) -1 for each incorrect answer (Part A) -1/3 for each incorrect answer (Part C) |
Mode of Exam | English |
Colleges Accepting Jest Score | 33 Institutes in India |
Number of Test Cities | 38 Cities in India |
Official Website | https://www.jest.org.in/ |
jest2024@iiserkol.ac.in |
The JEST 2024 Application form will be available on the official website - jest.org.in, from 05 January, 2024 and it will end up on 24 January, 2024.
The conductng body has announced the JEST Exam date 2024. The JEST 2024 examination will be held on 03 March, 2024. Candidates who meet all the eligibility criteria have to start filling up and submitting applications for JEST 2024 which via online mode only.
Events | Dates |
JEST 2024 - Registration Start Date | 05 Jan, 2024 |
JEST 2024 - Registration Close/End Date | 24 Jan, 2024 |
JEST 2024 Admit Card | To be Notified |
JEST 2024 Exam Date | 03 March, 2024 |
The official URL for the JEST 2024 exam will be generated shortly. Candidates could submit their applications for JEST 2024 online. After completing the application form, customers must pay the application cost, which can be done online with a credit/debit card or using the netbanking. Payment for application fees will be accepted online.
The first step in completing the JEST Application form 2024 is to register by providing basic personal and contact information. Following that, candidates must log in using their registration credentials and fill out the application form with educational details, exam city preferences, courses and colleges, and upload documents, photographs and signatures. The application cost must be paid as the first step.
JEST 2024 - The registrations will take place from October, 2023. Aspirants have started filling up and submitting applications for JEST 2024 via online mode only. One should create an account using a valid email-id and the same email-id should be used to apply online.
Candidates have to submit the application form through the created account. After submission, a unique submission number will be sent to the email-id. Use the same number to register for the JEST examination. Once the online application form is submitted, no further changes will be accepted.
To appear for the Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) conducted by the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), candidates should meet all the prerequisites set by the participating institutes, which have their own eligibility criteria. Applicants who are expected to complete their final examinations by August of each year are also eligible to appear for the JEST exam of that year.
The General JEST 2024 qualifying criteria for M.Sc, PhD and Integrated/M.Sc./M.Tech - PhD Programs are listed below. Candidates are recommended to visit the official website fo the particular universities / Institutes to read specific eligibility criteria for admission in programs offered at colleges accepting JEST Scores for admission
Candidates are advised to visit the official websites/advertisements of the participating institutes for the detailed eligibility criteria. For admission to PhD programme in Physics, candidates should possess M.Sc. in Physics from any of the participating institutes. Some institutes even accept BE/B.Tech/M.Sc/ME/MTech in disciplines of Applied Physics and Mathematics. Click here to know more about the JEST eligibility criteria.
Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) is a pen and paper based test and conducted in a single session. The official website has released the sample paper for Physics, which is divided into three parts. The distribution of questions will be 15, 10 and 25 for Part A, B and C, respectively. The maximum number of marks is 100.
Candidates are also advised to be aware of the marking scheme prior to JEST preparation. The JEST exam is conducted at 36 test locations spread across the country.
JEST 2024 Exam Pattern, the paper consisted of 50 questions. The test paper will be divided into two parts and will contain multiple-choice questions. Candidates are scored out of 300 points on the JEST Exam.
Section | No. of Questions |
Part A | 25 |
Part B | 25 |
Total | 50 |
The following are the courses to which candidates can gain admission based on their JEST Results
PhD in Physics | Integrated PhD in Physics |
PhD in Theoretical Computer Science | Integrated PhD in Theoretical Computer Science |
PhD in Neuroscience | Integrated PhD in Neuroscience |
PhD in Computational Biology | Integrated PhD in Computational Biology |
The examination authorities will release the JEST 2024 syllabus along with the information in January, 2024.
Mathematical Methods, Classical Methods, Electromagnetism & Optics, Quantum Mechanics, Thermodynamics & Statistical Physics, and Electronics are among the disciplines tested. The curriculum is the same as in prior years.
The Exam authorities distribute the JEST 2024 mock test or demo test after the online applications are completed, along with the admission card. The official mock test contains nine questions. Aspirants may also solve the JEST Sample Papers provided on the page. JEST Practice exams would students with an overview of the types of questions, themes, difficulty level, and so forth. After completing and analysing the JEST 2024 mock tests, aspirants will have a better understanding of their strengths and limitations, as well as areas of Progress, and will be able to build an exam-taking plan based on this.
Candidates should pay an application fee of INR 800. The application fee for SC/ ST/ Male applicants is INR 400 & Non-SC/ST Female Applicants. However, the application fee is waived for female applicants belonging to SC/ST. One should pay the application fee using debit/credit cards and net-banking.
Because JEST is a Paper-pencil based examination (PBT), the exam authorities will provide the Question Paper on the day of the exam. After the exam, applicants will be permitted to take the JEST Question Paper with them. Aspirants wishing to take the JEST exam next year might practice by collecting prior years' question papers from former exam takers or students from participating Institutes. Solving Previous year's question papers in essential for exam success.
On March 16, the JEST 2024 admission card will be made available on the official website. JEST 2024 admit cards must be acquired from the official website using their registration number and password. Candidates who registered for the Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) 2024 can download their admit card from the official site.
Candidates' names roll numbers, contact information, photographs and signatures, exam date and time, exam centre address, and exam day instructions would be included. The JEST 2024 Admit Card or hall ticket is a required document to be brought to the exam centre.
Candidates need to know that the JEST admit card 2024 will be available only on the official website. The official website reads that no separate JEST admit card 2024 would be sent to candidates via email/post.
Candidates should start their preparation by exploring the sample papers available on the official website. We have published the sample papers for both Physics and Theoretical Computer Science (TCS). The sample question papers will assist aspirants in familiarising with the test format besides knowing the weightage of the topics.
SERB has announced the list of JEST 2024 test cities, as well as the notification and information booklet. JEST is expected to be held in 38 test cities across thecountry.
Ahmedabad | Aligarh | Allahabad |
Amritsar | Bangalore | Bardhaman |
Bhopal | Bhubaneswar | Kozhikode |
Chandigarh | Chennai | Delhi |
Goa | Guwahati | Hyderabad |
Indore | Jaipur | Kanpur |
Kharagpur | Kochi | Kolkata |
Madurai | Mangalore | Mumbai |
Nagpur | Nainital | Patna |
Pune | Raipur | Roorkee |
Sambalpur | Silchar | Siliguri |
Srinagar | Trivandrum | Udaipur |
Visakhapatnam | Vijayawada (Subject to availability) |
The JEST Preparation Process must be rigorous and disciplined. The JEST preparation process takes a least six to eight months. Because JEST in a PhD-level exam, candidates must have extensive topic expertise. Some examples of JEST 2024 preparation are provided below:
Candidates must focus on clearing the concepts
They must refer to the appropriate preparation literature and keept it to a few, as excessive knowledge cramming may lead to more perplexity.
Aspirants should take as many practice tests as they can, as well as solbe previous years' question papers.
Candidates should create a sound exam taking approach when taking mock exams in order to successfully complete the question paper.
Because the JEST 2024 examination has yet to begin, candidates can refer to the JEST 2023 Exam analysis:
Some candidates who took the JEST 2023 examination thought it was easy to moderate, while others thought it was moderate to challenging. The majority of candidates thought the exam level was moderate. It was discovered that the majority of the questions asked in the examination were of master's or post-graduate level. Many questions from quantum physics and wave optics were asked in the JEST 2023 examination. The questions were also asked about the hamiltonian air perturbation matrix, the lagrangian idea, the magnetic field, and flux. From the virtual ground concept, some direct questions were also posed.
The JEST 2024 answer key is likely to be provided by the examination conducting authority SERB in the first week of April 2024. Canddiates can use the official JEST answer key 2024 to estimate their results. Candidates must log in to the official website and submit their registration credentials to download the JEST 2024 Answer keys.
The JEST 2024 Score Card is scheduled to be released in the fourth week of April, 2024. Candidates who took the JEST 2024 exam could access their results via the official website. Candidates can also verify their JEST 2024 results by entering information such as their roll number and date of birth on the exam's official website. The JEST 2024 result or scorecard would include information such as sectional and total scores, as well as candidates' All India Rank (AIR).
Because the JEST 2024 Examination has yet to begin, candidates can view the JEST 2023 cut-off list here:
The JEST 2023 Cut-off is the minimal number of points required to advance to the next phases of the admission process.
The table below shows the JEST Cut-off scores for each program last year. The JEST 2023 Cut-off is projected to remain along the same lines. When the JEST 2023 cut-off is announced on the official website, it will be posted here.
Programme | JEST 2023 Cut-Off Score (Expected) |
PhD | 88 |
Integrated M.Sc-PhD | 80 |
The JEST 2024 Counselling process will be handled separately by the participating Institutes. Each JEST 2024 participating institute released a shortlisted of candidates for interview based on the cut-off marks , and they were then required to attend the interview rounds. The interview dates and location will be announced by the participating institutes, along with the shortlisted candidates, and will be communicated via email and SMS. The Institute officials evaluated candidate's topic expertise, academic rigour, and aspirants during the interview stages.
The JEST test is a mechanism for aspirants to get admission to PhD and integrated PhD Programs. Examine the list of JEST participating colleges provided below.
Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital | Indian Institue of Astrophysics (IIA), Bangalore |
Bose Institute, Kolkata | Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore |
Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai | Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER), Bhopal |
Harish-Chandra Research Institute (HRI), Allahabad | Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER), Kolkata |
International Centre for Theoretical Sciences (ICTS)-TIFR, Bangalore | Indian Institute of Science Education & Research (IISER), Thiruvananthapuram |
The Institute of Mathematical Sciences (IIMSc), Chennai | National Brain Research Centre (NBFC), Manesar |
Institute of Physics (IOP), Bhubaneswar | National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA)-TIFR, Pune |
Institute of Plasma Research (IPR), Gandhinagar | National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar |
Inter-University Centre for Astronomy & Astrophysics (IUCAA), Pune | Physical Research Laboratory (PRL), Ahmedabad |
Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), Bangalore | Raja Ramanna Centre for Advanced Technology (RRCAT), Indore |
Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bangalore | TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences (TCIS), Hyderabad |
Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics (SINP), Kolkata | Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), Mumbai |
Satyendra Nath Bose National Centre for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS), Kolkata | UGC-DAE Consortium for Scientific Research (UGC-DAE CSR), Indore |
Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre (VECC), Kolkata | TIFR Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences (TIFR-TCIS), Hyderabad |
Notifications
The National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA) and Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR) has announced the exam dates for the Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) 2021.
Candidates can apply online for the exam from January 11 to February 14, 2021, at jest.org.in. The written exam will be held on April 11, 2021.
JEST is an entrance exam is conducted for admission to PhD or Integrated PhD programmes in Physics, Theoretical Computer Science, and Neuroscience.
7 December 2020
The organising authority, Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR), has released the JEST result 2020. Candidates who have appeared for the written test held on February 16 can visit the official website to check their result. One should use their login credential to download the JEST result 2020. Earlier, JEST answer key 2020 was released and provided an option to challenge it.
A total of 717 candidates have appeared for Computer Science examination and 196 candidates stand out. A total of 13,489 candidates have appeared in the JEST 2020 Physics exam. 390 out of 6226 candidates have obtained qualifying marks (26) for MSc/Integrated Ph D. 705 out of 7263 candidates have obtained qualifying marks (32) for PhD.
11 March 2020
The online registration process started for JEST 2020 examination from November 11. Interested candidates can apply online for the JEST exam until December 14, 2019. Aspirants should have a valid email ID to start the registration process.
Candidates should pay the application fee amount of Rs 400 to complete the registration process. The application fee is Rs 200 for female and SC/ST candidates. The JEST 2020 exam will be held on February 16.
11 November 2019
The admit cards for the Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) 2019 examination have been released on the official website. Candidates who have registered for the JEST 2019 examination can download the admit card from the website – jest.org.in. The JEST exam will be conducted on February 17, 2019.
Aspirants should visit the official website of JEST to access their admit card. One should use their email or username and password to download the JEST admit card. After logging in, candidates can download the JEST admit card and take a printout of the same.
Click here to download JEST admit card 2019
The JEST is an entrance examination conducted for admission to PhD and integrated PhD programmes in physics, theoretical computer science, neuroscience, and computational biology. The JEST score will be valid for one year. The examination will be conducted across 36 test centres in the country.
22 January 2019
The registration for Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) 2019 has started. Candidates who are seeking admission to a PhD/Integrated PhD programme in Physics or Theoretical Computer Science or Neuroscience or Computational Biology in one of the participating institutes can apply for the same until December 15, 2018.
Candidates who are working in SERB (Science & Engineering Research Board) programmes and have qualified the National Eligibility Test (NET) can also apply for the enhanced fellowship. However, the eligibility criteria can vary from one institute to another. To check the detailed eligibility requirements, click here.
Only online applications are accepted for the JEST 2019. To apply online, candidates must create an account using a valid email-id and the same email-id will be used for all communications with the candidates. Check the steps to apply online for the JEST 2019 here.
The JEST is going to be conducted on February 17, 2019. The admit cards for the exam will be available from January 20, 2019. However, the results will be declared in the month of March. To know more about the JEST 2019 important dates, click here.
12 November 2018