Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) are a group of premier public research institutions in India. The institutions primarily focus on integrating and promoting interdisciplinary science education and research. IISERs also put a strong emphasis on enabling students to invent and implement sustainable solutions for societal problems through science and research. Established by the government of India, there are now seven IISERs around the country: IISER Kolkata in West Bengal, IISER Pune in Maharashtra, IISER Mohali in Punjab, IISER Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh, IISER Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, IISER Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, and IISER Berhampur in Odisha. All IISERs were declared Institutes of National Importance and receive direct support by the government to propel them into havens of scientific research. All IISERs offer faculties of international repute and campuses with well-equipped labs to their students. The institutions have produced an incredible amount of intellectual property in the form of publications and patents in a short span of time and emerged as the leading institutes for scientific research in India.The BS-MS dual degree is the flagship programme of all the IISERs. The course has been structured to promote interdisciplinarity with significant research as a component. The core part of the program provides comprehensive training in all fundamentals of sciences during the first two years. Students are expected to choose a subject to major in for the remaining three years where the curriculum is divided between mandatory courses, subject electives and open electives. Open electives can be taken in any subject and allow students to customise their programs. Apart from courses in specific subjects, some inter-disciplinary courses are also offered regularly. These courses are in areas that are useful to multiple branches of science or are in distinct areas like Astronomy, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Computational sciences, etc. Courses in humanities & social sciences are also offered. Students have no dearth of choices with more than 80 elective courses to choose from.
The students are expected to work on research projects during summer vacations, either at IISER campuses or at research laboratories and institutes elsewhere. Each year, several students make use of scholarships for performing summer research in other countries. The institute also has a student exchange program with some universities and research institutes in different parts of the world to facilitate visits by students. Research by students has already led to several publications authored by them. The students spend most of their time during the final year on a research project. Some of the projects have been published in peer-reviewed journals, giving the students exposure to all stages of a research project at an early stage of their career.
Currently, there are three channels to get admission to the BS-MS dual degree programme. Students with a valid KVPY fellowship are eligible to apply. Students who secure a rank within 15,000 in JEE Advance are also eligible for the programme. The institutes also conduct a national entrance examination called the IISER Aptitude Test (IAT) every year for students interested in applying at IISERs. For further information, please click here
