IISER Admission – Dates, Exam Pattern, Syllabus, Admission Process, Fee

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research offers admission to 5-year BS-MS (Bachelor of Science – Master of Science) dual degree programme and 3-year BS programme at its 7 different campuses spread across India. Candidates seeking IISER admission 2021-22 can apply through three different channels, namely,

• State Central Board (SCB)
• Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) 
• IIT-JEE (JEE Advanced)

IISER Aptitude Test (IAT) is applicable to ONLY those candidates who apply for admission through the SCB channel. IISER will conduct the three-hour IAT on August 12, 2021 in online mode. On the other hand, candidates applying through KVPY and IIT-JEE shall be assessed on the basis of their performance in KVPY Scholarship Test & JEE Advanced respectively. 

As per the eligibility criteria of IISER admission 2021-22, candidates (irrespective of channel) need to satisfy the board-wise IISER cutoff (already published). The IISER cutoff basically mentions the class 12th marks requirement (out of 500 marks) for different state & national level education boards. Read this article further to gain more insights into the entire procedure of IISER admission 2021, including application form, eligibility, IAT pattern, result, etc.

Latest Update – The last date to apply for IISER admission 2021via SCB and KVPY channel has been extended till July 22. Moreover, the application form for IISER via IIT-JEE channel shall be released on August 1, 2021.

IISER Admission – Key Highlights

1. Indian Institute of Science Education and Research administers the IISER admission process
2. IISER conducts the admission process for candidates seeking five-year BS-MS degree and three year BS degree admissions 
3. The IISER campuses have an overall seat intake capacity of 1662 seats for five-year BS-MS programme and 115 seats for three-year BS course
4. The three-year BS degree programme is available at IISER Bhopal campus only
5. Candidates applying for IISER through SCB channel have to appear for an entrance test i.e. IISER Aptitude Test (IAT) 
6. Candidates who apply for IISER through IIT-JEE and KVPY channels will get the provisional allotment on the basis of their performance in KVPY Scholarship Test & JEE Advanced respectively
7. IISER Aptitude Test is a Computer-Based Test (CBT)  
8. IISER charges a non-refundable application fee of Rs. 2,000 (Rs. 1,000 for PwD/SC/ST) from candidates applying through any channel

IISER Admission – Important Dates

Candidates can keep track of the IISER admission schedule for all the three channels with help of the table below. 

IISER Admission Schedule 2021

IISER Admission – Courses Offered

The table below mentions the campus-wise courses available at IISER.

Campus Wise Courses offered at IISER 

IISER Admission – Eligibility Criteria

IISER holds the right to cancel the application of ineligible candidates at any stage of admission. Hence, it is always wise to check the eligibility criteria before applying for IISER.

Eligibility Criteria for IISER Admission 2021-22, Irrespective of Channel

1. Educational qualification – 10+2 or equivalent
2. Stream in 10+2 – Science
3. Year of Passing – 2019 or 2021

Candidates seeking admission in the BS programme at IISER Bhopal must have studied Mathematics as a mandatory subject in class 12th. 

Eligibility Criteria for IISER Admission 2021-2022 through KVPY

1. KVPY Scholarship commencement year – from 2021-21 academic session
2. Nationality – Indian nationals including OCI/PIO cardholders
3. Marks in class 12th board examination – as per the IISER board-wise cutoff (released by IISER)

Eligibility Criteria for IISER Admission through IIT-JEE

1. Minimum Rank requirement as per the JEE Advanced CRL – 10,000
2. Nationality – Foreign and Indian nationals including OCI/PIO cardholders
3. Marks in class 12th – as per the IISER board-wise cutoff. Additionally, for engineering courses at IISER, candidates must obtain the following scores in class 12th: 
   • GEN/EWS/OBC-NCL – 75%
   • SC/ST/PwD – 65%

Eligibility Criteria for IISER Admission through SCB

1. Marks in the qualifying exam – Strictly as per the board-wise cutoff (defined by IISER)
2. Nationality* – Indian nationals only

*OCI and PIO candidates are also considered as Indian nationals and have to undergo the selection process (IAT) as specified for Indian nationals only

IISER Admission – Board-Wise Cutoff

Candidates can check the table below to know the board-wise cutoff list defined by IISER.

Board-Wise IISER 2021 Cutoff List

Click here to check the category-wise and board-wise cutoff list

What if your board does not appear in the board-wise IISER cutoff list?

1. Such candidates cannot apply through SCB channel for IISER admission
2. For KVPY and JEE channel, IISER will assess their eligibility as per the CBSE board cutoff OR
3. Candidates can produce a certificate issued by their class 12th board stating that their score is within the top 20 percentile scores of the respective board

IISER Admission – Application Process

Candidates can complete the IISER application form submission process by following certain steps given below.

Common IISER Application Process (irrespective of the channel)

1. Visit the official website (iiseradmission.in) to apply for the IISER admission and click on ‘Apply Now’ tab
2. Enter your details including name, date of birth, gender, mobile number and email ID for completing the ‘One time registration’
3. Validate the OTP and proceed to enter the case sensitive captcha to generate your unique USER ID & PASSWORD
4. Log in using your user ID and password and fill your personal and qualification details in the IISER application form
5. Upload photograph and signature in the prescribed format
6. Enter the case sensitive captcha and hit the ‘I Agree’ checkbox for accepting the terms and conditions

Channel Specific IISER Application Process

After completing the common procedure for IISER application form, the channel-specific fields need to be filled as follows: 

1. Choose the specific tab for the channel through which you wish to get admission
2. For SCB channel, enter details including five test centre preferences and combination of courses, and IISER campus in order of preference 
3. For KVPY channel, enter details including your stream of KVPY, rank in KVPY scholarship exam, seat number (as per KVPY hall ticket), KVPY application number and the combination of course and campus preferences
4. For JEE channel, enter your AIR rank, JEE Advanced roll number, JEE Advanced application number and the combination of course & campus preferences
5. After entering the details, proceed to pay the application fee

IISER 2021Application Fee

Candidates have to pay the application fee on the basis of the category they belong to. The category-wise application fee for IISER admission is as follows.

Application Fee for IISER 2021

Note – The application fee for IISER will be non-refundable.

IISER Admission – Admit Card for IAT

As stated above, candidates applying for IISER via SCB channel have to appear for the IAT. The admit card for IISER Aptitude Test 2021 shall be made available for download from July 23 to August 13. Candidates need to carry the hard copy of the admit card on the examination day as it is a mandatory document to get an entry inside the examination hall. Moreover, candidates must note that the IISER Aptitude Test admit card will not be sent via post or email.

Downloading IISER Aptitude Test Admit Card

1. Firstly, visit the official website of IISER admission, and click the relevant link to download admit card in the ‘Latest Updates’ section
2. Enter your login credentials including the User ID and password
3. Now, hit the ‘Login’ button 
4. Download the IAT admit card from the IISER login dashboard

IISER Admission – IAT Examination Centres

While filling the SCB application, candidates can enlist up to five test city preferences for IAT. The list of exam cities designated for the conduct of IISER Aptitude Test is as follows.

IISER Aptitude Test Cities 

IISER Admission – Syllabus for IISER Aptitude Test

Candidates must study as per the official syllabus defined by IISER. Check the IISER Aptitude Test syllabus below before you start your preparation for this test.

Section-Wise IAT Syllabus 2021

IISER Aptitude Test – Exam Pattern

Apart from the IISER Aptitude Test syllabus, candidates must gain complete information about the test structure. The exam pattern for the IISER Aptitude Test is as follows.

• Mode of Examination – Computer-Based Test (CBT)
• Type of Questions – Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)
• Language of the Question – English as well as Hindi
• Exam Duration – 180 minutes
• Number of Questions – 60
• Number of Sections – 4
• Marking Scheme – 
  • + 3 for each correct response
  • – 1 for every incorrect response
  • No marks for unattempted questions
• Section-wise distribution – The distribution of questions and marks in all the four sections of the IISER Aptitude Test is as follows:

IISER Admission – Preparation Tips for IAT

Candidates must adopt a good preparation strategy for the IISER Aptitude Test to nail this exam. Check some vital tips to prepare for IAT below:

1. Acquire the comprehensive knowledge of IISER Aptitude Test syllabus and exam pattern
2. Make a study plan depending upon the number of days left for the exam. Ensure you follow the plan religiously without any signs of procrastination
3. Practice previous years’ IISER question papers and the official model test papers to optimize your speed and accuracy
4. Practice the mock test to get acquainted with the user interface of IAT as well as the structure of the question paper.
5. Make topic-wise short notes for easy revision
6. Drink plenty of water and follow a healthy lifestyle for mental as well as physical strength 

IISER Admission – Recommended Books for Preparation of IAT

Candidates can check the table below to know the books they can rely on to prepare for the IISER Aptitude Test 2021.

Best Books for IAT Preparation

Sample Papers for IISER Aptitude Test

The table below mentions the direct links to the official model test papers of IISER Aptitude Test in English as well as Hindi. 

IISER Aptitude Test – Sample Papers

IISER Admission – Answer Key of IAT

The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research will release the IISER answer key in two stages. Candidates are allowed to file their objections against the first IAT answer key (provisional answer key). After considering the challenge and making necessary rectifications (if any), the final answer key of IAT is released. 

Candidates can raise objections against the official IAT answer key (only provisional) by following the steps mentioned below:

1. Access the login portal at the official website (iiseradmission.in) using your application number and password
2. Click on the ‘objection’ button available against each question
3. Upload relevant proof to support claim of your challenge

IISER Admission – Result

The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research will release the IISER result (commonly known as the IISER seat allotment result) in multiple rounds. Candidates eligible for a particular round of counselling will be able to view their roll number of IAT or the application sequence number in the seat allotment list(s) to be released on the official website. Shortlisted candidates are eligible to participate in the further counselling process for IISER admission 2021. 

The IISER will shortlist the candidates based on their campus-course preferences, performance as per their particular channel, reservation policy and the seat intake capacity at IISER campuses. 

IISER Admission – Channel Wise Shortlisting Criteria

Candidates can apply for admission at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research using three different channels. Shortlisting criteria in each channel of IISER is as follows

1. Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) Channel – Allotment on the basis of KVPY scholarship exam
2. IIT-JEE Channel (JEE Advanced) – Allotment on the basis of JEE Advanced AIR (All India Rank)
3. State Central Board (SCB) Channel – Allotment on the basis of IISER Aptitude Test (IAT)

IISER Admission – Counselling

All the candidates who find their names in the IISER result (seat allotment list) of a particular round will be eligible to participate in the IISER admission counselling. The admission counselling requires a candidate to go through a certain selection process including the SAF (Seat Acceptance Fee) payment, choice making of freeze/float options, reporting at allotted institute, etc. 

The counselling process for IISER admission is as follows

1. Payment of Seat Acceptance Fee (SAF) – Candidates have to pay the SAF before the specified date. Category wise SAF amount is as follows
   • General/EWS/OBC-NCL – Rs. 35,000
   • SC/ST/PwD/KM – Rs. 22,500
2. Freeze and Float options – Candidates have to select freeze or float options if they want to accept the offer (freeze) or wish to be considered for the next round of allotment (float). Option availability depends upon the channel of admission and the counselling round
3. Reporting at the allotted institute – Candidates have to get the following documents verified at the time of reporting:
   • Admit card of JEE/KVPY/IAT
   • Matriculation Certificate (Class 10th) as a date of birth proof 
   • The class 12th mark sheet and certificate
   • Printout of the provisional offer letter
   • SAF transaction receipt
   • Scorecard of JEE Advanced 2021/ KVPY scholarship exam
   • Passport size photograph
   • Category certificate (if claiming reservation against the same)
   • Conduct certificate
   • Transfer certificate
4. Payment of admission fee – The IISER fee varies as per the selection of campus and course. SAF paid by the candidates will be adjusted in the admission fee.

IISER Admission – Channel Wise Seat Allotment

There is a specific percentage of seats that is allotted to candidates applying via each of the three channels. Check the table below to know the channel-wise seat weightage at IISER

Seat Weightage for IISER Admission through Different Channels

*Candidates must note if the seats are left unoccupied after conducting the counselling for KVPY and JEE channels, the same will be merged into the seats under SCB channel

IISER Admission – Campus-wise Seat Intake Capacity

The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research has a total of 7 campuses across India. Check the table below to know the campus-wise seat intake capacity at IISER.

Institute-wise Seat Intake for BS-MS Dual Degree

Seat Intake Capacity for BS Degree at IISER Bhopal

IISER Admission – Reservation Criteria

The Indian Institute of Science Education and Research has the following reservation policy for providing admissions.

Reservation Policy for IISER Admission

IISER Admission – FAQs

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