# Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal (IISERB or IISER Bhopal) is a prestigious autonomous research institute in Bhauri, Bhopal district, Madhya Pradesh, India. It was established by the Ministry of Education (India), Government of India in 2008 in order to incorporate research in fundamental science at undergraduate and graduate level, with equal emphasis on higher education for research and education in science. It is an autonomous institution awarding its own degrees.

## History

Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) were created in 2006 through a proclamation of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, under the category of institutes of national importance, to promote quality education and research in basic sciences. Soon after the announcement, two of these institutes at Pune and Kolkata, respectively, were started in 2006. This was followed by institutes at Mohali (2007), Bhopal and Thiruvananthapuram (2008), Tirupati (2015) and Berhampur (2016). Each IISER is a degree granting autonomous institution with a prime focus to integrate science, education and research.

## Departments

Natural Sciences Stream
* Department of Biological Sciences
* Department of Chemistry
* Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
* Department of Mathematics
* Department of Physics
Engineering Sciences Stream
* Department of Chemical Engineering
* Department of Data Science and Engineering
* Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Humanities and Social Sciences Stream
* Department of Economic Sciences
* Department of Humanities and Social Sciences

## Academics
### Academic Programmes

IISER Bhopal offers Bachelor of Science - Master of Science (BS-MS) Dual Degree, Bachelor of Science (BS), Bachelors of Technology (B.Tech), Master of Science (M.Sc.), Integrated PhD and PhD programmes.

#### Bachelor of Science – Master of Science (BS-MS) Dual Degree

The five year BS-MS (Dual Degree) programme is offered in Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, and Earth & Environmental Sciences (EES).
The first year of the programme consists of mandatory, common courses (core courses) from Natural and Engineering Sciences as well as interdisciplinary courses from Humanities and Social Sciences. The second year of the programme enables students to choose thee pre-major disciplines that guide them to make an informed choice of major/minor discipline in the third year. Third year onwards, students register for professional courses consisting of discipline dependent mandatory and elective courses. During the final year, students are required to register for MS thesis with a faculty supervisor, relevant to their major discipline.
In addition to majoring in one of the disciplines, students can also minor in another discipline by fulfilling criteria specified by individual departments.
The Institute encourages and rewards academic excellence exhibited by its students. To this end, Professor C. N. R. Rao Education Foundation Prize, with a prize amount of ₹ 5000/- per semester is awarded to the student scoring the highest CPI during the first year (first and second semesters) of the BS-MS (Dual Degree) programme.
In addition, the Institute awards the President's Gold Medal for the best academic performance in the graduating class in all disciplines of the BS-MS programme. Proficiency Medals are the awarded for the best academic performance in each discipline of the BS-MS programme to the graduating class. The Director's Gold Medal is awarded for outstanding all-round achievement and leadership in the graduating class amongst all disciplines.

#### Bachelor of Science (BS) in economics

The BS programme consists of core courses in basic sciences and introductory courses in Economics during the first year. After spending four years in the BS Programme, the students have the option to obtain BS-MS (Dual Degree) in Economics by spending an additional year devoted to courses and a research project. Moreover, the students of the BS Programme in Economics can also earn a ‘minor’ degree in other disciplines after fulfilling the criteria laid down by the respective department.

#### Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech)

Starting from 2025, IISER Bhopal is offering a B.Tech in
* Chemical engineering
* Data science and engineering
* Electrical engineering and computer science
Master of Science (M.Sc.)
The two years M.Sc. Programme is offered for students with bachelor’s degree in relevant discipline. The programme is currently offered in the Departments of Biological Science, Chemistry and Mathematics with an aim to integrate classroom learning with research and provides ample scope for multidisciplinary interactions. The training during the programme enables students to pursue a career in academia, R&D institutes, and science-based industries.

#### Integrated Doctoral Programme (Integrated PhD)

The Institute offers Integrated PhD programme in Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics. All admitted students will receive a fellowship of ₹ 10,000/- per month. Subsequently, upon successful completion of PhD candidacy requirements, a revised fellowship will be provided as per the Ministry of Education (MoE) norms/guidelines.

#### Doctoral programme (PhD)

Admission to the doctoral programme is after a master's degree in science. Besides the students of the Integrated Master's programme, postgraduate students with a master's degree in science from other Universities/Institutes are also admitted to the doctoral programme.
The institute also offers PhD programmes in all disciplines. All selected candidates not receiving external fellowship are awarded an Institute fellowship. Currently, the institute offers PhD programmes in the following disciplines: Biological Sciences, Chemistry, Chemical Engineering, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science, Mathematics, Physics and English. All doctoral students are also expected to participate in the undergraduate teaching programme of the Institute as a part of their training. The programme involved course work, a qualifying examination, a state-of-the-art seminar, thesis work, open seminar and a thesis examination, leading to the award of a PhD degree.

#### Postdoctoral Studies

Postdoctoral studies are possible in Biology, Chemistry, Earth and Environmental Sciences, Mathematics, Physics, Chemical Engineering, Electrical Engineering & Computer Science.

### Ranking

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal ranked 78th by the National Institutional Ranking Framework in overall ranking in 2024.

### Admissions
#### BS-MS (Dual Degree)

Students are admitted to the programs only though IAT (IISER aptitude test). The process of admissions in all IISERs for bachelors is managed by the Joint Admissions Committee (JAC), headed by a chairman and having members from all IISERs. The details regarding admissions in all IISERs can be obtained at IISER admissions website
Reservation IISERs follow Government of India rules regarding reservation for seat allocation in Central institutes of higher education.

#### Integrated PhD (I-PhD)

Admission to the Integrated PhD programme will be made once a year during May/June. Advertisement would be floated between March/April. Candidates must have a bachelor's degree. A written or oral exam will be conducted at the campus. A prospective candidate should have completed a graduate programme (BSc/BTech/B.E.) in a discipline relevant to his/her choice of Integrated PhD programme. Candidates seeking admission in Chemistry should have a valid JAM score. Candidates seeking admission in Physics should have a valid JEST rank

#### PhD

Applications are invited twice a year. A prospective candidate should have completed a postgraduate programme (M.S./MSc/MTech/MBBS) in a discipline relevant to his/her choice of PhD programme along with qualifying a national entrance exam. Students should have a valid rank in the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) and/or have qualified the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)/University Grants Commission (UGC)/National Eligibility Test – Junior Research Fellowship (NET-JRF), or other equivalent examinations. All selected candidates not receiving external fellowship will be awarded an Institute fellowship.

## Student life
### Students Activity Council

Students Activity Council (SAC) is a union of the students for organisation of extracurricular activities in the Institute and to address their concerns. It is totally managed, organised and maintained by the students themselves. SAC contains 8 different Activity Councils:
* Computing and Networking Council.
* Cultural Council.
* Fine Arts and Literary Council.
* Science Council.
* Sports Council.
* Student Development Council.
* Environmental and Social Initiative Council.
* Representatives' Council.
* Centre for Science and Society
IISER Bhopal hosted the 4th Inter IISER Sports Meet (IISM 2015), 9 institutes participated in this event ( 6 IISERs, IISc, NISER, CBS Mumbai). The institute also organised a Summer Outreach Camp from 15th May- 21st May, 2022. Roughly 95 students had attended the camp from all over India for the same.
IISER Bhopal hosts two annual festivals. Enthuzia is the cultural festival of IISER Bhopal. It was started in 2010. Enthuzia '19 witnessed Zakir Khan, the Indian comedian, as one of the performers. Singularity is the annual science festival of IISER Bhopal. Singularity'16, the third edition, witnessed K. Radhakrishnan as keynote speaker.