The Joint Admission test for Masters, or IIT JAM Exam, is one of the prominent entrance exams conducted by the IITs for the applicants who are willing to take admission in MS degrees (i.e., M.Sc., M.Sc. (Tech.), MS (Research), M.Sc.-M.Tech. Dual Degree, Joint M.Sc.-Ph.D., M.Sc.-Ph.D. Dual Degree).
The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are important national institutions established in 1956 by a Parliamentary Act. Furthermore, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) is a foremost research and teaching institute established in 1909. IITs and IISc are globally renowned for providing top-notch instruction in engineering, science, social science, management, and frontier research. The JAM 2025 is being organized by IIT Delhi.
Important Dates and Events
Last date for modification or correction of application for IIT JAM exam 2025: November 18, 2024.
Admit Card: applicants can download their admit cards from January 6, 2025, until the examination date.
The 2025 IIT JAM exam will be conducted on the date: February 2, 2025 (Sunday) in two sessions as per the papers.
Result Declaration: March 19, 2025.
Download Score card: March 25, 2025 (Tuesday)
Admission opens: April 2, 2025 (Wednesday)
Exam Schedule
The IIT JAM Exam 2025 is divided into two session schedules as per the paper type.
- In the Forenoon session (9:30 AM to 12:30 PM), the chemistry (CY), geology (GG) and mathematics (MA) tests will be conducted.
- Similarly, in the afternoon (2:30 PM to 5:30 PM), biotechnology (BT), economics (EN), mathematical statistics (MS), and physics (PH) will be conducted.
Exam Pattern
The Joint Admission test for Masters conducts seven test papers in relevant subjects, including geology (GG), physics (PH), chemistry (CY), mathematics (MA), mathematical statistics (MS), economics (EN), and biotechnology (BT). Applicant can participate or choose up to one or two test papers. To avoid session clashes, the second paper of the two test papers needs to be selected carefully.
The duration of each particular test paper will be three hours, containing 60 questions in three major segments with a total of 100 marks.
Medium of exam: the exam paper will be in English only.
The exam is a computer-based test (CBT) based on Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), Multiple Select Questions (MSQs), and Numerical Answer Type (NAT) queries of the undergraduate level.
- Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs): in these types of questions, certain options are given (i.e., two or more choices are provided), out of which only one option is correct as per the query or statement.
- Multiple Select Questions (MSQs): The MSQs have one or more than one correct answer.
- Numerical Answer Type (NAT): The NAT questions have a numerical or decimal number that is required to be entered using the virtual numeric keypad on the monitor. No choices or options will be shown for NAT questions.
The below list is the detailed description of each section of the exam: Sections A, B and C. All the sections of the paper are compulsory to attend.
- Section A: The section A of the test paper covers a total number of 30 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) that involve 10 questions each of one mark and 20 questions of two marks each.
- Section B comprises a total of 10 MSQs having two marks each.
- There are 20 Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions in Section C of the test, 10 questions each of one mark and 10 of two marks each.
Marking Scheme: In all sections, if the questions are not attempted, they will be marked as zero.
Furthermore, in Section A, a wrong answer or response will result in a negative marking. Each incorrect answer to a one-mark question will result in a 1/3 mark deduction, and each incorrect answer to a two-mark question will result in a 2/3 mark deduction. Although, in sections B and C, there are no negative and no partial marking provisions.
Exam Syllabus of IIT JAM Exam
For the exam syllabus, check the links mentioned below containing detailed exam syllabus for all seven papers of IIT JAM Exam 2025
- Geology (GG): https://onlineapp3.iitd.ac.in/jam2025/pdfs/GG_Syllabus.pdf
- Physics (PH): https://onlineapp3.iitd.ac.in/jam2025/pdfs/PH_Syllabus.pdf
- Chemistry (CY): https://onlineapp3.iitd.ac.in/jam2025/pdfs/CY_Syllabus.pdf
- Mathematics (MA): https://onlineapp3.iitd.ac.in/jam2025/pdfs/MA_Syllabus.pdf
- Mathematical Statistics (MS): https://onlineapp3.iitd.ac.in/jam2025/pdfs/MS_Syllabus.pdf
- Economics (EN): https://onlineapp3.iitd.ac.in/jam2025/pdfs/EN_Syllabus.pdf
- Biotechnology (BT): https://onlineapp3.iitd.ac.in/jam2025/pdfs/BT_Syllabus.pdf
Exam centers
The IIT JAM Exam is conducted in eight zones, and in every zone, a certain exam city is provided to the applicant as their preference. Check the below information for the reference of these cities as per the zones.
IISc Bengaluru Zone: Belagavi(KA), Bengaluru(KA), Bidar(KA), Hassan(KA), Hubballi/Dharwad(KA), Hyderabad(TS), Kalaburagi(KA), Kannur(KL), Kozhikode(KL), Mangaluru(KA), Mysuru(KA), Palakkad(KL), Port Blair(AN), Shivamogga(KA), Thrissur(KL), Vatakara(KL)
IIT Bombay Zone: Ahmedabad (GJ), Ahilyanagar (Ahmednagar) (MH), Akola (MH), Amravati (MH), Aurangabad (Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) (MH), Goa (GA), Jalgaon (MH), Kolhapur (MH), Mumbai-Navi Mumbai-Thane (MH), Nagpur (MH), Nanded (MH), Nashik (MH), Pune (MH), Rajkot (GJ), Sangli (MH), Satara (MH), Solapur (MH), Surat (GJ), Vadodara (GJ).
Agra, Aligarh, Bareilly, Bhopal, Gorakhpur, Jabalpur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Prayagraj, and Varanasi are the locations of IIT Kanpur Zone.
IIT Delhi Zone hasAlwar (RJ), Bhilwara (RJ), Dausa (RJ), Faridabad (HR), Greater NOIDA (UP), Gurugram (HR), Hanumangarh (RJ), Hisar (HR), Indore (MP), Jaipur (RJ), Jammu-Samba (JK), Jodhpur (RJ), Mathura (UP), New Delhi (DL), and Srinagar (JK) exdamiantion cities.
IIT Guwahati Zone coversAgartala (TR), Dhanbad (JH), Dibrugarh (AS), Dimapur-Kohima (NL), Asansol-Durgapur (WB), Guwahati (AS), Imphal (MN), Jorhat (AS), Kalyani (WB), Patna (BR), Shillong (ML), and Siliguri (WB) exam cities.
Bhubaneswar (OR), Bilaspur (CH), Brahmapur (Odisha) (OR), Kolaghat (WB), Kolkata (WB), Kharagpur-Midnapore (WB), Raipur (CH), Ranchi (JH), Vijayawada (AP), and Visakhapatnam (AP) are exam cities of the IIT Kharagpur Zone.
IIT Madras Zone: Alappuzha (KL), Chennai (TN), Coimbatore (TN), Ernakulam (KL), Guntur (AP), Kottayam (KL), Madurai (TN), Ongole (AP), Puducherry (PY), Salem (TN), Thiruvananthapuram (KL), Tiruchirapalli (TN), Tirunelveli (TN), Tirupati (AP), Khammam (TS), Kollam (KL), and Warangal (TS).
The IIT Roorkee Zone includes the following: Ambala (HR), Dehradun (UK), Ghaziabad (UP), Haldwani (UK), Jalandhar (PB), Kangra (HP), Kurukshetra (HR), Meerut (UP), Mohali-Chandigarh (PB), Moradabad (UP), Noida (UP), Patiala (PB), Roorkee (UK), Shimla-Solan (HP).
Eligibility Criteria for of IIT JAM Exam
Education qualification: Applicants who have successfully completed their relevant undergraduate degree or in their last year of undergraduate studies are eligible to apply for the IIT JAM exam.
Additionally, the foreign nationals who hold the Indian degree are also eligible to apply for the exam, depending on the policy of the Admitting Institute.
Age Limit: There is no age restriction for the joint admission test for Masters Examination.
Application fees
For the female, SC, ST, and PwD category candidates, the application fee is Rs. 900 for one test paper. However, if the candidate wants to give two test papers, they need to pay an application fee of Rs. 1250.
For all other categories, the application fee for the IIT JAM Exam 2025 examination for one and two test papers is Rs. 1800 and Rs. 2500, respectively.
Modification fees: if the candidate wants to rectify or change the category, gender, test paper, or examination city, then they need to pay the modification fee of Rs. 300.
Document requirement
- Recent passport-size photograph.
- Upload the scanned signature.
- Certificate of OBC-NCL, EWS, SC, ST and PwD category
- Proof of DOB should be submitted
- Valid ID proof (i.e., Aadhar card, PAN card, voter ID and more).
Candidate need to submit the scanned copy of 10th standard or SSC as a proof of their DOB
The candidate must check the status of the application form, such as Received, Under review, Accepted, Defect status, Status after rectification, Rejected with legitimate grounds, and Admit card available for download.
How to Apply?
To apply for the joint admission test for the Masters examination, follow the steps mentioned below.
Candidates can apply for the Joint Admission test for Masters 2025 exam only through the IIT JAM Exam Online Application Processing System (JOAPS), available through the “Candidate Portal” button on the official website during the application window only.
- Visit the official website of the IIT JAM exam (i.e., for 2025; jam2025.iitd.ac.in).
- Connect to the JOAPS website.
- Register at the portal with the E-mail ID and mobile number.
- Login to the application form with the registered E-mail and password.
- Fill out the basic details. (Candidate’s name as per the 10th standard marksheet, DOB, email ID, country name and mobile number).
- Upload the scanned documents.
- Mention the education qualification details.
- Provide the certificates.
- Recheck the application details
- Pay the application fee for the exam and submit the application.
After successfully submitting the application form, the candidate will receive the confirmation email.
FAQS
What is the IIT JAM exam for?
The Joint Admission Test for Masters is a national exam designed to facilitate admission into a variety of postgraduate research and science programs (M.Sc., M.Sc. (Tech.), MS (Research), M.Sc.-M.Tech. Dual Degree, Joint M.Sc.-Ph.D., M.Sc.-Ph.D. Dual Degree).
What is IIT JAM eligibility?
For the examination of the IIT Joint Admission Test for Masters, candidates must attain the bachelor’s degree. Additionally, applicants who have appeared or will appear for their graduation exams in the following year of the examination are also eligible to apply.
Is IIT JAM Exam easier than JEE?
Yes, in terms of competition and scope of the syllabus, IIT JAM Exam is generally regarded as being simpler than IIT JEE. However, IIT JAM Exam focuses on in-depth knowledge of specific subjects, while JEE tests a huge range of problem-solving skills across physics, chemistry, and mathematics.
