‘I am a student of B.Sc. Chemistry Second Year. I would like to study M.Sc. Chemistry in Central University (HCU). And I would like to work in labs. So please tell me how to prepare for the entrance exam?’ This is a query posed by a student from Ahmedabad recently. Fine, there are no hard and fast methodologies for preparation for any entrance examination. You have to chalk out your own strengths and weaknesses. Old question papers of the University will help you in this process.

Hyderabad Central University, Andhra Pradesh popular as HCU, conducts objective multiple choice entrance exam and Interview for admission to M.Sc. Chemistry. Written test will consist of two parts. Questions will be asked from Chemistry and Mathematics. Chemistry questions will be in the standard of Graduation and Math questions will test basic mathematical skills of the candidates. There will be negative marking for wrong answers. So, better avoid questions which you are not sure of correct answer. The two parts of the exam are:

1. Part – I: There will be 25 questions
2. Part- II: There will be 75 questions

Try to collect as many old / previous year question papers as possible to understand the level of the examination. And also have an idea of marks distribution for various topics of the subject and prepare accordingly in the respective areas. Previous year papers are also made available on the university website www.uohyd.ernet.in

An aspiring Research Scholar asked a few days back through email: ‘I have completed my M.Sc. in Botany. I want to do Ph.D. Please tell me which Ph.D. Courses are suitable for me? What are the good institutes for me?’. Following answer will clear these doubts. Fortunately, there are plenty of reputed institutes in India for research in Basic Sciences such as Botany, Zoology, Chemistry, Physics, and Mathematics etc. Let us confine to the Botany in this post. First thing any candidate aspiring to pursue Ph.D. should remember is, clearing any exam that offers good financial support along with a seat in a reputed and recognized university or institute. There are number of national level test for this purpose. Following are these:

1. CSIR UGC- NET: This is a highly popular exam among science students as it offers excellent fellowship under JRF and SRF. Those qualified for JRF will also get research opportunities in India’s best institutes supported by CSIR. The CSIR has more than 30 world class research institutes across the country for training and research in basic and modern sciences. For more details: csirhrdg.res.in

2. ICMR: Indian Council of Medical Research is another organization which offers research opportunities for eligible students in institutes under its purview. ICMR also offer fellowships almost equivalent to CSIR- NET. Check for more info: www.icmr.nic.in

3. DBT Junior Research Fellowship Tests: Department of Biotechnology, Govt. of India offers various fellowships for candidates interested in research in sciences, particularly Biotechnology related subjects. See for details: dbtindia.nic.in

4. Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI) exams will be another best choice for you as it is specialized in plant sciences and agri-sciences. To name a few of them, National Botanical Research Institute Lucknow, Another lab is, National Institute of Plant Genome Research (formerly known as National Centre for Plant Genome Research) is a premier institution for plant genomic research. It has been established by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. For more info, see www.iari.res.in

School of Life sciences University of Hyderabad etc., If you diversify towards allied sciences like plant biotechnology, bioinformatics IARI is another excellent option. Once you clear any of these exams, choose Institutes which provides Ph.D course in plant sciences.