IIT JAM

Overview

JAM (Joint Admission Test for Masters) is a national entrance exam for admission to MSc and other postgraduate science programmes at the IITs, run jointly by IIT Bombay (the organising institute for JAM 2026) with IISc Bengaluru and other IITs. It is the main route into roughly 3,000 postgraduate science seats across 89 programmes offered by 22 IITs for the 2026–27 academic year.

Who can apply

Candidates who have completed, or will complete, their bachelor's degree — or who are appearing in the final year of the qualifying degree in 2026 — are eligible to apply. The undergraduate degree must be completed before the admitting institute's admission date, and candidates must be able to submit proof of having passed with the required eligibility. The exact Minimum Educational Qualification (degree and marks) for each test paper is set individually by each admitting institute, so candidates should check the specific institute's requirement for the programme they are targeting. There is no upper age limit.

Exam pattern

JAM 2026 is a computer-based test (CBT) of 3 hours, offered as seven separate test papers: Biotechnology (BT), Chemistry (CY), Economics (EN), Geology (GG), Mathematics (MA), Mathematical Statistics (MS) and Physics (PH). Each paper has 60 questions worth 100 marks, split into three sections.

Syllabus

Each of the seven test papers has its own subject-wise syllabus published on the official JAM website, covering topics from the corresponding undergraduate degree programme.

Marking and results

Scores are normalised where a paper is held across multiple sessions, and the JAM score/rank is used both for admission and, at some institutes, for stipend or scholarship eligibility.

Important dates

For JAM 2026: registration ran from 5 September to 12 October 2025, admit cards were released from 5 January 2026, the exam was held on 15 February 2026 in two shifts (9:30 am–12:30 pm for CY, GG and MA; 2:30 pm–5:30 pm for BT, EN, MS and PH), and the result was expected around 20 March 2026.

Fees

For JAM 2026, the application fee for one test paper was ₹2,000 (₹1,000 for Female/SC/ST/PwD candidates), and for two test papers was ₹2,700 (₹1,350 for Female/SC/ST/PwD candidates). Fees are non-refundable.

How to apply

Applications are submitted online through the JOAPS portal linked from the official JAM website for the year (jam2026.iitb.ac.in for the 2026 cycle), where candidates register with a valid email and mobile number, fill in personal and academic details, upload photograph and signature, choose test paper(s), and pay the application fee.

After the exam

Admission is managed through the same JOAPS portal used for registration. Seats across participating institutes are allocated in rounds based on the JAM score/rank, category, and each institute's Minimum Educational Qualification criteria, with additional or final rounds of seat allocation held later in the admission cycle (for JAM 2026, an additional/final round was conducted in early July 2026). Qualifying JAM does not guarantee admission or a scholarship at a specific institute.

Preparation tips

Since each JAM paper is built around a specific undergraduate degree syllabus, thorough revision of that subject's core undergraduate topics matters more than generic aptitude practice. Because Section A carries a negative marking penalty for wrong MCQ answers while Sections B and C do not, it helps to attempt MSQ and NAT questions more liberally than MCQs where the answer is uncertain.