JNU Life Sciences – M.Sc, M.Phil and Ph.D Admissions

The School of Life Sciences (SLS) of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU – www.jnuonline.in) is offering M.Sc, M.Phil and Ph.D. Programmes in the discipline of Life Sciences. SLS is the first of its kind in adopting multidisciplinary teaching and research in the conventional and advanced areas of Life Sciences. Another unique feature of the School is it integrates physical sciences with biology. The M.Sc. programme consists of molecular, cellular and organismal biology. M.Sc. programme is designed to encourage students to take up research courses. The school conducts Entrance Tests for admission to all the programmes. The School of Life Sciences has advanced laboratories with modern equipment. Following are details of programmes in LIfe Sciences, eligibility requirements, nature of entrance exam, previous question papers and application procedure:

1) M. Sc. in Life Sciences: This is a two year teaching programme. Selection will be based on the performance in national level entrance examination. The program offer theoretical and practical knowledge in all the basic and advanced areas of life sciences. Candidates from both biological and physical science backgrounds are encouraged to apply. Eligibility for Admission to M.Sc. is Bachelor’s (B. Sc. or B Tech or equivalent) in Biological, Physical or Agricultural Sciences under the 10+2+3 pattern of education. They should have secured at least 55 percent marks. Interested candidates can obtain previous question papers of Life Science Entrance exams from the admissions section of the University.

2) M. Phil. and Ph. D. (Life Sciences): Students will be admitted in categories for these courses. These are described below:

a) Category I: Applicants with M. Sc. or equivalent degree comes under this category. They must appear in the written examination conducted by the JNU usually in the month of May. Short listed candidates from the written test will have to appear for an interview. Final selection will be on the basis of merit in written test and the interview.

b) Category II: These are direct admissions for the candidates who have qualified in CSIR / UGC National Eligibility Test (NET) – JRF, DBT-JRF, or ICMR-JRF for pursuing research with a fellowship. They can apply separatley without appearing for the Entrance test. Candidates who qualified for only Lectureship are not eligible under this category and they should appear for the written test. Those awaiting for the results also can apply but their admission will be confirmed after submitting evidence of the qualification.

Candidates with M.Sc. Bioinformatics degree or appearing for the final examination or those students already qualified and awarded a research fellowship after clearing the BINC (Bioinformatics National Certification) Examination of DBT) can also apply. Both M.Phil and Ph.D. candidates have to attend for course work and submit a dissertation / thesis in the prescribed manner. Important research groups for Ph.D. in JNU are:

1) Plant Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, and Photobiology.
2) Molecular Biology and Biochemistry of Pathogenes and Diseases.
3) Cell Biology, Immunology and Developmental Biology.
4) Neurobiology and Behavioral Biology.
5) Radiation and Cancer Biology.
6) Genetic, Genomics, Gene Regulation and RNA Biology.
7) Molecular Biophysics, Biophysical Chemistry and Structural Biology.

Eligibility for M.Phil./Ph.D.: Applicants should have M.Sc. or equivalent degree with minimum 55 percent marks. Candidates with MBBS or M. Tech. or M. Sc. (Agriculture) or M. Sc. (Veterinary Sciences) degree with at least 55 percent marks are also eligible to apply. Students with M. Sc. in any one of Life Sciences related subjects such as Biochemistry, Biotechnology, Botany, Biophysics, Microbiology, Pharmacology, Genetics, Zoology, Physiology, Chemistry or Physics also can apply. For more information about JNU Life Sciences course, see
http://www.jnu.ac.in/main.asp?sendval=LifeFaculty or www.jnu.ac.in.