Applications have been invited for the National Entrance Screening Test (NEST) 2026, the Entrance test for admission to 5-year Integrated MSc Program, 2026-31 at National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER), Bhubaneswar and University of Mumbai - Department of Atomic Energy Centre for Excellence in Basic Sciences (UM-DAE CEBS), Mumbai.

NISER and UM-DAE CEBS are autonomous institutions established by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India, started with the mandate of providing research-oriented teaching in basic sciences by faculties of practising scientists aimed at creating a national pool of human resources to lead the nation to excellence in teaching and research in basic and applied sciences. NISER, located near Bhubaneswar in Odisha, is an off-campus centre of the Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), a deemed-to-be university established by DAE. Academic programs of NISER are affiliated with HBNI. UM-DAE CEBS, located on the Vidyanagari campus of the University of Mumbai (UM), was established jointly by DAE and UM. Academic programs of CEBS are affiliated with UM.

These institutes offer unique Integrated MSc programs in Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics. The integrated MSc programs offered in these institutes are residential, stipendiary, and follow a biannual semester and credit-based course curriculum which also encourages ample exposure of students to research early in the program. The details of the Integrated MSc program, list of courses, research activities of the individual schools, institute facilities, and faculty profiles at NISER and UM-DAE CEBS may be found on their respective websites (www.niser.ac.in and www.cbs.ac.in).

The candidates admitted to the Integrated MSc program are eligible to receive an annual scholarship of Rs 60,000 through the DISHA program of the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India. In addition, the scholarship recipients receive a grant of Rs 20,000/- per annum for summer internships. Candidates selected by DST for the INSPIRE-SHE program are endorsed for the INSPIRE scholarship by NISER and UM-DAE CEBS. Students graduating with overall grades above a certain threshold are eligible to appear directly for the interview for appointment as Trainee Scientific Officer in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC).

Eligibility: Applicants should have studied at least three out of the four disciplines of basic sciences, namely, Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics, in classes XI and XII and passed the class XII examination from any recognised Board in India securing at least 60% marks in aggregate (55% in aggregate for candidates belonging to SC/ST/Divyangjan categories)/equivalent grade in class XII examination in the year 2024 or 2025 or should be appearing for the same in 2026. Those appearing for the board examination in 2026 must satisfy the eligibility criteria at the time of admission into the program. The certificate/ provisional certificate declaring the aggregate should be from a single board. Where only letter grades are available, a certificate from the concerned Board specifying an equivalent percentage of marks is required to be submitted. In the absence of such a certificate, the decision of the admissions committee of the concerned institution will be final. There is no age limit for appearing in the NEST 2026 examination and admission to either NISER or UM-DAE CEBS.

NEST 2026 Examination: NEST 2026 will be conducted as a Computer-Based Test (CBT/online exam) at major towns or cities all over India in a single session, from 2 pm to 5 pm, on June 06, 2026 (Saturday). Divyangjan category candidates are eligible for a compensatory time of 20 minutes per hour of examination duration as per GOI guidelines. Question paper will consist of 4 sections with subject-specific questions from Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics with each section having 20 objective type, Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ) with four options, with only one of them being the correct answer. Marking a correct answer will fetch 3 marks, choosing an incorrect answer will lead to a deduction of 1 mark. Each section is of 60 marks. The language of the question paper will be Hindi and English. A candidate can attempt all sections. candidate has to attempt at least three sections to be considered in the scoring process. Syllabus for NEST 2026 is given in the Information Brochure at www.nestexam.in and also at the website. NEST question papers of the last few years, are available at www.nestexam.in. Practice sessions on the computer-based test will be available for all applicants on the application portal after online registration and completion of the submission of online applications. The application portal will be accessible with the correct login credentials only. Based on the performance in NEST 2026, a merit list of candidates for both institutes will be prepared as described in the Information Brochure and posted at www.nestexam.in by June 25, 2026.

Application: Applications can be submitted online at www.nestexam.in by 11.30 pm on April 06, 2026. The application fee for the male candidates of the Unreserved (UR) and OBC categories is Rs. 1,400/-. The application fee for candidates in the Unreserved-EWS (UR-EWS) and SC/ST/Divyangjan categories and all female candidates is Rs. 700/–. Payments can be made using credit card/debit card/net–banking through an online payment gateway and is to be completed by 11.30 pm on April 12, 2026. A proposed list of about 140 centres (cities and towns of India) for the NEST examination is given in the Prospectus. Candidates must choose 3 centres in order of their preference while filling the application form. Admit Card can be downloaded from May 15, 2026.

For the Integrated MSc program 2026–31, the total number of seats at NISER and UM-DAE CEBS are 200 and 57, respectively (excluding supernumerary seats). NISER and UM-DAE CEBS follow the Govt. of India rules for reservation of seats.