Over 1.86 lakh candidates appear for IAT 2026; exam held for 2,343 IISER BS-MS seats

Berhampur (Odisha) : The IISER Aptitude Test (IAT) for admission to the five-year BS-MS programme in the 2026–27 academic session across seven Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) was held on Sunday, officials said.

Odisha's IISER Berhampur conducted the exam for the first time this year. The three-hour computer-based test (CBT) was held from 9 am to noon across 736 centres in the country under tight security arrangements. According to officials, more than 1.86 lakh candidates registered for the entrance examination for 2,343 seats in the BS-MS programme across IISERs located in Berhampur, Bhopal, Kolkata, Mohali, Pune, Thiruvananthapuram and Tirupati.

They said several other institutes, including the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, IIT Madras, IIT Guwahati, IIEST Shibpur and IACS Kolkata, will also use IAT scores for admissions to select programmes. The question paper comprised 60 multiple-choice questions in biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics, with 15 questions in each subject.

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"The test concluded properly," said Ashok Kumar Ganguly, director, IISER Berhampur and chairman of the IISER Admission Board (IAB)-2026. The IAT is organised each year by all IISERs through the IISER Advisory Board (IAB) and its Joint Admission Committee (JAC). This year, the IISER Admission Board (IAB-2026) is chaired by Ganguly.

The IISERs are autonomous institutions under the Ministry of Education (MoE). The integrated BS-MS programme is the flagship course of the IISERs, with multiple exit options and certification pathways. Admission to the programme is conducted through the national-level IAT.