Know this. Check the minimum educational qualification table for each IIT programme before choosing papers; many programmes require specific subjects for two years of your degree, and a good JAM rank cannot override that.
- Run by
- The IITs and IISc, organised by one IIT each year (IIT Bombay for 2026)
- Admits you to
- M.Sc, M.Sc (Tech), MS (Research), Joint M.Sc–Ph.D, M.Sc–Ph.D dual degree and integrated Ph.D programmes at the IITs, with counselling coordinated by the organising IIT. IISc, IISERs, NITs and other institutes also use JAM scores for their own master's admissions.
- Who can sit
- A completed undergraduate degree, or final-year students who can show proof of passing within the admitting institute's deadline. There is no age limit and no minimum aggregate for sitting the exam; each programme then applies its own minimum educational qualification (subjects studied, and in some cases a CGPA or percentage).
- Pattern
- Computer-based test, 3 hours, in seven papers: Biotechnology, Chemistry, Economics, Geology, Mathematics, Mathematical Statistics and Physics. Questions are MCQ, multiple-select (MSQ) and numerical-answer (NAT). You may take one or two papers in different sessions.
- When
- Registration September–October; exam on a Sunday in early-to-mid February; results in March; IIT counselling rounds from April to June.
- Limits
- No age or attempt limit is stated.
Courses it leads to
- M.ScA master's in one science subject — physics, chemistry, mathematics, statistics, biotechnology, microbiology, zoology, botany, environmental science…2 years
- PhD (Doctor of Philosophy)A PhD is a research degree: you spend several years answering one original question under a supervisor, and write it up as a thesis that outside…3–6 years
Sources, checked 2026-09-28: jam2026.iitb.ac.in · jam2026.iitb.ac.in · jam2026.iitb.ac.in · jam2026.iitb.ac.in