JEST 2026: Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) 2026

Joint Entrance Screening Test

Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST) 2026

JEST 2026
[Joint Entrance Screening Test 2026]
conducted by IISER Tirupati
Admission to Ph.D. and Integrated Ph.D. Programs in Physics, Theoretical Computer Science, Neuroscience and Computational Biology, 2026

Date for JEST 2026 Examination: 12 April, 2026
Application Portal will be active during: 26 February, 2026 to 23 March, 2026

JEST is a premier national level examination conducted annually in PHYSICS and THEORETICAL COMPUTER SCIENCE at various exam centers. The JEST score is used by the participating institutes of JEST together with their respective eligibility criteria to shortlist candidates for Ph.D., Integrated Ph.D., and M.Sc. programs in Physics; Ph.D. and Integrated Ph.D. programs in Theoretical Computer Science; and PhD program in Computational Biology. The examination will be at the level of MSc, or an advanced BSc in Physics and Computer Science.

The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF), previously known as the Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB) (statutory body established through an Act of Parliament), recognizes JEST as a National Eligibility Test (NET) in their office Memo vide OM No.SB/S9/Z-01/2015. Fellows working in SERB programs and qualified in NET are eligible to get appropriate fellowship.

The non-refundable application fee for JEST 2026 examination is:
• Rs. 600/- for SC/ST and PwD applicants
• Rs. 1,200/- for all other applicants

Eligiblity

There are no specific criteria to appear for JEST. JEST is a screening test for admission to PhD, Integrated PhD, and MSc programs of various participating institutes in physics and theoretical computer science. For the results of JEST to be useful, the candidates must qualify additional eligibility criteria, which depends on the institutes where they would like to apply.

Listed below are tentative eligibility criteria for admission to MSc, PhD, and Integrated MSc / MTech - PhD programs in the participating institutes, which use JEST results for screening. Kindly confirm these with the most-updated eligibility criteria by visiting websites of the respective institutes. For their websites, please visit the page "Participating Institutes".

Program	Qualification	Institute
Ph.D. in Physics	M.Sc. in Physics	All participating Institutes
	M.Sc. in Mathematics / Applied Physics / Applied Mathematics / Optics and Photonics / Instrumentation / Electronics	IIA
	B.E. or B.Tech.	IISc, IMSc, ICTS-TIFR, IUCAA, NCRA-TIFR, TIFR-TCIS, RRI, IISER Mohali, IISER Pune, and IISER Thiruvananthapuram
	M.Sc. in Physics / Electronics / Astronomy / Applied Mathematics	IUCAA and NCRA-TIFR
	M.Sc. in Physics, Engineering Physics or Applied Physics	IPR
	M.Sc. in Physics, Chemistry, Applied Mathematics, Biophysics or Biochemistry	SNBNCBS
	B.Tech. Engg Phys	TIFR and NCRA-TIFR
	ME / M.Tech. in Applied Physics	NISER
	M.Sc. in Physics / Astronomy / Optics / Photonics / Biophysics/ Mathematics or ME / M.Tech. in Engineering	RRI
Ph.D. in Theoretical Computer Science	M.Sc. / ME / M.Tech. in Computer Science and related disciplines, and should be interested in the mathematical aspects of computer science	IMSc
Ph.D. in Computational Biology	M.Sc. / ME / M.Tech. / MCA in any engineering or science discipline, with good mathematical skills and strong interest in biological problems	IMSc
Integrated M.Sc. / M.Tech. - Ph.D. Program in Physics	B.Sc. in Physics (Major / Hons), or in Physics and Mathematics (Physics cannot be an allied / subsidiary / minor subject)	SNBNCBS
	B.Sc. (Physics)	IMSc, IISER-Pune, ICTS-TIFR, NCRA-TIFR, and TIFR-TCIS
	B.Sc. (Physics / Mathematics) / B.E. / B.Tech. in Electrical / Instrumentation / Engineering Physics / Electronics and Communications / Computer Science and Engineering / Optics and Photonics	IIA
	B.Sc. (Physics) or B.E. / B.Tech. in Engineering Physics, with a minimum of first class marks	NISER
	B.Sc. (Physics / Mathematics / Computer Science / Electronics) / B.E. / B.Tech.	Bose Institute
Integrated Ph.D. in Theoretical Computer Science	B.Sc. / B.E. / B.Tech. / MCA in Computer Science or related disciplines and should be interested in the mathematical aspects of computer science	IMSc
Integrated M.Tech. - Ph.D.	M.Sc. (Physics / Applied Physics) / Post-B.Sc. (Hons.) in Optics and Optoelectronics / Radio Physics and Electronics	IIA
Integrated Ph.D.	B.Sc. (Physics) or B.E. / B.Tech. in any discipline	IISER Kolkata and IISER Thiruvananthapuram
M.Sc.	B.Sc. (Physics) or B.E. / B.Tech. degree in any discipline	HRI

Important Dates

Starting date for Online Application	26/02/2026
Last date of Online Submission of Application	23/03/2026
Release of Hall Ticket	06/04/2026
JEST 2026 Examination Date	12/04/2026

Exam Centers for JEST 2026

Ahmedabad Aligarh Amritsar Bangalore Bardhaman Bhopal Bhubaneswar Chandigarh Chennai Coimbatore Delhi Goa Guwahati Hyderabad	Indore Jaipur Kanpur Kharagpur Kochi Kolkata Kozhikode Madurai Malappuram Mangalore Mumbai Nagpur Nainital Patna	Prayagraj Pune Raipur Rajkot Ranchi Roorkee Sambalpur Silchar Siliguri Srinagar Thiruvananthapuram Tirupati Udaipur Vijayawada Vishakhapatnam

Participating Institutes

CONTACT
022 6108 7560, jest2026tcs@labs.iisertirupati.ac.in (Tech Support)
0877 2500 912, jesthelpdesk2026@labs.iisertirupati.ac.in (JEST Helpdesk)

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Published By: Sahadeb

Published On: 04 Mar 2026

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