We all know the respect and prestige the IITs carry for their quality education. In many surveys these have been ranked high in global list of best educational establishments. Thousands of young students every year aspire to get into IITs by appearing in JEE. For those who wanted to do their graduation from IITs but couldn't get a chance to do so, opportunity is not lost. They may consider completing their higher education (post graduation onwards) from IITs.

IITs at Mumbai, Kanpur, Delhi, Chennai and Kharagpur are among the older establishments. In past few years new IITs have come up at Bhilai, Bhubaneswar, Gandhinagar, Guwahati, Indore, Mandi, Jodhpur, Tirupati, Ropar, Patna and Palakkad. University of Roorkee, Banaras Hindu University's Institute of Technology and Indian Institute of Mines, Dhanbad have also been converted into IITs.

Higher Education Opportunities available at IITs

Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.) in different branches of engineering) is considered the flagship programme at IITs for which there has always been a great demand. After this comes M.Tech. in various branches of engineering. But the list does not end here. IITs also offer MBA and M.Sc.programmes in many subjects. Given below are the names of various postgraduate and research programmes available at different IITs.

Two years' Master of Science in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics and Computing, Mathematics, Applied Geophysics, Applied Statistics & Informatics, Biotechnology, Economics, Statistics, Applied Mathematics, Mathematics & Statistics and Applied Geology.
M.Sc.-M.Tech. Dual Degree Programme in Mathematics - Data & Computational Sciences exclusively at IIT, Jodhpur.

Three year Master in Science (M.Sc. [Tech]) in either Applied Geology or Applied Geophysics at IIT, Dhanbad.

Joint M.Sc.-Ph.D. Programmes in Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Geology, Atmosphere and Ocean Sciences, Environmental Science and Engineering, Energy, Operations Research, Mathematics - Data & Computational Sciences, Geology, Geophysics, Medical Physics, Molecular Medical Microbiology, Nuclear Medicine.

M. Tech. in Aerospace Engineering, Bio Engineering, Nuclear Engineering, Geoinformatics, Instrumentation and Signal Processing, Biomedical Engineering, Computers and Data Processing, Medical Imaging and Informatics, Industrial Engineering, Infrastructure Design, Energy Systems Engineering, Power Electronics and Power Systems, Communication, VLSI, Water Resources and Development, Nanotechnology, Mechatronics, Climate Science, Earth Science, Transportation and Infrastructure, Production Engineering, Thermal Engineering, Polymer Engineering, Design Engineering, Environmental Engineering, Hydraulic and Water Resource Engineering, Metallurgical, Material Engineering, Clinical Engineering, Pulp & Paper Technology, Packaging Technology, Process Engineering, Steel Technology, Corrosion Science and Technology, Steel Technology, Cryogenic Engineering, Railway Engineering, Food Processing Technology, Wielding Engineering, Farm Machinery Engineering, Automobile Engineering, Aerodynamics, System Science and Automation, Integrated Electronics, Computational Science, Embedded Control and Software, Solid State Electronics.

It is easy to see that post graduate and doctoral courses in maximum branches of science and engineering are available at IITs. Programmes offered at a particular IIT, are displayed at the website of respective IIT.

Master of Business Administration (MBA) with different specializations- MBA is offered at only select IITs and admission in most cases is open to graduates in engineering or postgraduates in any discipline.

Admission Process
For admission to M.Sc., M.Sc.-M.Tech. Dual Degree Programme, Three year Master in Science and Joint M.Sc.-Ph.D. joint Programmes; admission is made through Joint Admission Test (JAM) conducted every year. Applicants should have completed graduation to apply. Candidates who are about to appear for their final year graduation may also apply, subject to conditions prescribed. It is important to note that selection of students for Integrated Ph.D. Programmes in Biological Sciences, Chemical Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, and Physical Sciences at Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISc) is also JAM based.

JAM has only one paper of three hours duration as online computer based test. The test is conducted in seven subjects viz. Biotechnology, Chemistry, Economics, Geology, Mathematics Mathematical Statistics and Physics. For each of these papers, there will be 60 questions carrying 100 marks.The paper is divided in three parts of section A, B and C. Section A will have a total of 30 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), with 10 questions of one mark each and 20 questions of there would be 10 Multiple Select Questions (MSQ) carrying two marks each. Each MCQ is similar to MSQ but with the difference that MSQ may have one or more than one correct choice(s) out of the four given choices. The candidate will get full credit by selecting all the correct answer(s) only and no wrong answers. Section-C will be of 20 Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions involving 10 questions of one mark each and 10 questions of two marks each. For such NAT type questions, the answer is a signed real number, which will have to be entered using the virtual numeric keypad on the monitor. No choices will be shown for answering questions in this section.

In Section-A (MCQ), wrong answer will result in negative marks. For each wrong answer to 1 mark questions, 1/3 mark will be deducted, and similarly, for each wrong answer to 2 marks questions, 2/3 mark will be deducted. In Section-B (MSQ), there are no negative and no partial marking provisions. There is no negative marking in Section-C of NAT.

A candidate can appear in one or two subjects. Taking more than two subjects is not permitted. Also it has to be made sure that timings of these two papers shouldn't clash.
For postgraduate and doctoral programmes in engineering at IITs, GATE score is the determining factor. GATE stands for Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering.

As per new guidelines, all Candidates studying in the 3rd year or in higher years of any undergraduate degree program or having already completed any Government approved degree program in Engineering / Technology / Architecture / Science / Commerce / Arts are eligible to appear for GATE. The GATE score card is valid for three years.

In its present structure, GATE is a computer based test of three - hour duration in which objective type questions are asked. The paper is divided into two sections. One section is comprised of questions related to general awareness and the other is of subject chosen by the candidate. A candidate may choose one or two subject papers so the maximum number of papers that can be taken is two. Wherever the candidate choses two papers, the papers must be from approved combination list as provided by examination authorities. The General Awareness paper is of 15 marks and 85 marks are allotted for subject paper.In case of two subject papers, 85 marks are distributed across papers.

In GATE, the General Aptitude paper will have questions from Verbal Aptitude, Quantitative Aptitude, Analytical Aptitude and Spatial Aptitude. Under Verbal Aptitude questions related to Basic English grammar will be asked. You may expect questions on tenses, articles of speech, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, verb-noun agreement, and other parts of speech as well as on basic vocabulary (words, idioms, and phrases) with reading comprehension and narrative sequencing. As regards Quantitative Aptitude, there may be questions on data interpretation -data graphs (bar graphs, pie charts, and other graphs representing data), 2/3- dimensional plots, maps, and tables, numerical computation and estimation ratios, percentages, powers, exponents and logarithms, permutations and combinations, and series, mensuration and geometry, elementary statistics and probability. Analytical aptitude section is likely to have questions on deduction and induction logic, analogy and numerical relations and reasoning. Under Spatial Aptitude, be ready to answer questions on transformation of shapes- translation, rotation, scaling, mirroring, assembling, and grouping, Paper folding, cutting, and patterns in 2 and 3 dimensions.

For the comprehensive syllabus of subject papers, one should refer to information brochure available on GATE official website. In certain subject papers topics are divided into two categories- Core Topics and Special topics. The corresponding section of question papers will have 90 percent questions from core topics and 10 percent questions from special topics.

Subject papers for GATE can be chosen from-Aerospace Engineering, Agricultural Engineering, Architecture, Planning, Biotechnology, Biomedical Engineering, Civil, Computer Science and Information Technology, Chemical Science, Chemistry, Electronics and Communication, Electrical Engineering, Environmental Science and Engineering, Ecology and Evolution. Geology and Geophysics, Instrumentation, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, Mining Engineering, Metallurgical Engineering, Petroleum Engineering, Physics, Production and Industrial Engineering, Textile Engineering and Fibre Science, Engineering Sciences, Statistics, Life Sciences, Humanities and Social Sciences (Economics, Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, English).

Those keen to do their MBA from IITs will do well to appear in Common Admission Test (CAT) and use its score to apply for the relevant course at the IIT where it is available.
CAT is composed of a two hours test in which there are three sections viz. Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning; and Quantitative Ability. Each section has a time of 40 minutes and candidates are not allowed to switch from one section to the other.

Preparation strategies
In many competitive examinations, syllabus is not given exhaustively but one advantage both for JAM and GATE is that detailed syllabus for subject papers is provided in the prospectus. The syllabus for JAM is based on the syllabus of 10+2+3 and the candidate can easily decide the chapters to be prepared for effective performance in the test. For GATE, syllabus for subject paper matches with what the candidates would have studied in the corresponding subject during their undergraduate study of engineering.

Whatever subjects you choose, either in JAM or GATE, you need to thoroughly go through each chapter mentioned in syllabus. For this you may use the text books which you referred to during your graduation B.A, B.Sc., B.E, B.Tech. or any other examination equivalent examination you might have taken. While reading you may take down pointed notes which may be used in advanced stage of preparation. Thus you wouldn't be required to refer to the text books again and again. During course of your studies, try to find out areas from where questions can be framed. For example in case of the chapter on alloys, possible questions may relate to content of alloys i.e. of which metals a particular alloy is made of. Similarly chemical formulae of different elements needs to be distinguish remembered.

Sample questions available for JAM, GATE and CAT are available on respective websites should give you a fair idea of the expected pattern of questions. You'll do better to attempt the questions and see how you fare both in terms of knowledge and speed.

The aspect of speed should never be ignored. If a candidate knows the correct answers to maximum number of questions but is not able to reach to the last of questions, because s/he spent relatively more time in answering rest of questions, is indeed unfortunate. Here you need time management skills. To save time you need to develop the habit of quick reading and making sense of what you read. During the entire session of the examination you've to be very swift. Once you decide to answer a question, there should be no gap in clicking the button for it. Every fraction of second counts. If you're spending too much time on few particular questions, it means that you'll have lesser time to attempt rest of the questions which may possibly be simpler to answer.

It will always be good if your preparation for JAM or GATE begins at least six month before the examination. Preparation for CAT may require longer taking into account the nature of test and severity of competition.

Planned preparation and elaborate practice will always keep you in good stead, be it JAM. GATE, CAT or any other competitive examination. To get a chance to study at a premier institution, you need to make premium efforts.

For Ph.D. programmes; IITs invite direct applications by putting notices in newspapers and on their websites.

-Employment News
Vijay Prakash Srivastava
24-10-2020