Indian Institute of Science Education and Research – [IISER], Kolkata Overview

Founded in the year 2006, by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) - Government of India, the Indian Institute of Science Education And Research, Kolkata is an autonomous university situated in Nadia district, West Bengal.

Spread over an area of 201 acres, the college is home to 1,204 students and 106 faculty members. It is one of the seven IISERs established in the country and was one of the first to be set up along with IISER Pune.

IISER Kolkata provides various UG and PG programmes in branches of Science consisting of courses like BS + MS, MS By Research, Integrated PhD, PhD and Post-Doctoral Research. Admission to these courses is conducted on the basis of performance in Entrance Exams organised by KVPY, IIT JEE Advanced or the IISER Entrance Test. IISER Kolkata offers a total of five Bachelor’s degree courses and one Master’s programme.

Today IISER Kolkata holds a rank of 40 among the top research colleges in India according to NIRF rankings. The college was previously among the top 20 research colleges ranked by Edu Rand and also had an all-time best rank of five awarded by the Outlook Magazine.

The faculty here is considered to be highly qualified, with most professors holding a PhD degree in their respective field of study. The teachers are helpful, friendly, welcome queries with enthusiasm and make sure that the students are taught the entirety of the subject. Candidates can know more about how is IISER Kolkata on its official website.

IISER Kolkata Courses offered and Fee Structure

IISER Kolkata courses are offered in branches of Science offering Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in the same along with options for doctoral programmes. Following is a brief discussion of the academic structure of the IISER Kolkata courses and IISER Kolkata fee structure.

IISER Kolkata Course Highlights

• IISER Kolkata offers a 5-year long Bachelor Of Science (B.S) + Master Of Science (M.S) programme. Aspiring candidates need to clear their senior secondary examination conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), State Board or any other equivalent board. IISER Kolkata fees for the B.S + M.S degree is Rs. 3.58 lakhs.
• The institute provides a Master Of Science (M.S) + PhD programme for a period of 5 years along with a fee of Rs.3.58 lakhs. Candidates need to have a B.Sc, B.E./B.Tech, M.B.B.S. or any other equivalent degree to be eligible for this course.
• IISER Kolkata PhD programme is offered with a fee of Rs. 1.41 lakhs over a period of two years. Willing candidates need to have a master’s degree from a recognised university.

IISER Kolkata Admission Process

Admission to the different level of programmes at IISER Kolkata is made on the basis of the merits of the students. The selection process mainly consists of a qualifying exam, counselling and personal interview. However, in the case of BS and MS admission, no personal interview is conducted and in PhD admission, personal interview score creates a good impression.

The IISER Kolkata admissions of 2019 for specific courses are as follows -

• B.S + M.S admission - IISER Kolkata admission at this level is based on the Entrance Exam organised by the Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY), IIT JEE Advanced or the IISER Entrance Test. For final selection performance in 10+2 is also taken into account.

• M.S + PhD admission - IISER Kolkata admission 2019 for the course students have to go through the registration process first. After registration is complete applicants are called for a personal interview. Final selection is done on the basis of graduation marks and performance in the personal interview. To know about IISER Kolkata admissions notifications please visit its official website.

IISER Kolkata Placements

IISER Kolkata placement does not provide any on-campus placement facilities. Most students prefer to enrol themselves in PhD programmes, generally outside India, in countries like America, Canada and Japan. They eventually get placed in top universities like Cambridge, MIT, Caltech, Princeton, Oxford, UCDavis, University of Amsterdam etc.

Some students also opt for the MBA degree and a few have even made it to IIM-C, IIM-B, IIM-I, XLRI etc. Some pass-outs also sit for the UPSC examinations. The IISER Kolkata alumni can be found offering their contributions in various industries and research fields like Bioinformatics, Specialty and Fine Chemicals, Synthetic Chemistry, Exploration & Mining, Statistical Modeling, Polymers, Optics etc.

IISER Kolkata summer internship also helps its students to get better placements. To know more about IISER Kolkata summer internship 2019 and IISER Kolkata recruitment process, visit its official website.

IISER Kolkata Result and Cut-off

Aspiring candidates need to score above the specified cut off, in their entrance exams, to get admitted into their desired streams at IISER Kolkata. IISER Kolkata cutoff list is prepared on the basis of the score obtained in IISER Aptitude Test or the KVPY examination.

Seats are allotted on the basis of the merit list, the number of seats available and preference of candidates. Mentioned below is the IISER Kolkata cut off for 2018 admissions:

IISER Kolkata Alumni Network

The IISER Kolkata Alumni Association was founded quite recently in December 2016 and is hence relatively young compared to other institutions but is still a very high-spirited and active community aiming to build a dynamic and mutually beneficial relationship between the IISER-K students and their alma mater.

The association maintains a social platform that allows the college alumni and students to register online and henceforth connect, reminisce, celebrate, recruit, support and interact with the members of the community. 

IISER Kolkata Scholarships

Scholars, who are admitted through the Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana to IISER Kolkata are offered a fellowship according to the KVPY norms. In addition to that, the Department of Science and Technology awards a certain number of ‘INSPIRE scholarships’, which offer a sum of INR 5,000 every month to candidates who take admission through JEE and SCB channels, if they reach the conditions and regulations set by DST. Students admitted to the Bachelor of Science programme in Economics or Engineering are not entitled to the scholarship.

IISER Kolkata Campus Facility

Following are a few of the facilities available at IISER Kolkata campus.

How is the IISER Kolkata?

Like most colleges, IISER Kolkata address is easily communicable and well-connected via railway and air routes with the rest of the country. The college has basic facilities like canteens, cafeterias, health centres and guest-rooms.

• Library: The Library at IISER Kolkata has a rich collection of over 29,500 books out of which 16,500+ are in print and 13,000+ are available in electronic format. The library has a subscription to several e-resources such as online databases, e-books, e-journals etc, which help to facilitate the research of students and the teaching of the college faculty. It also buys various journal archives of famous publications. 

• Hostel: IISER Kolkata hostel has residential facilities for both boys’ and girls’ within the campus and charges a monthly fee somewhere between INR 4,500 and 5,500. Both hostels can accommodate around 400 students each.

• Labs: A few of the many laboratories present in the college include a Computer Lab, Biology Teaching Lab, Biology Research Lab, Structural Biology Lab, Mineralogy and Petrology Lab, Light-Matter Lab, Dog Lab, Ant Lab, Catalysis Lab and a FleXtal Lab.

• Location: The official IISER Kolkata address is Indian Institute of Science Education And Research Kolkata, Mohanpur, Nadia (West Bengal). The college is 44 km from the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport and 56 km from the Sealdah Railway Station.