Integrated PhD in IISc

Integrated Ph D Program

3.1 The Institute offers exciting opportunities to motivated and talented Bachelor’s degree holders with a keen sense of scientific enquiry for pursuing advanced research in frontier areas of Biological, Chemical, Physical and Mathematical Sciences leading to the Ph D degree of the Institute. Experience shows that students entering this program save nearly on an average of one year compared to those who go for a 2 years Master's degree programs elsewhere and then join the Institute for Ph D program. Each year, the Institute admits 42 students (12 in Biological Sciences, 12 in Chemical Sciences, 10 in Physical Sciences and 8 in Mathematical Sciences) under this program. The program consists of a flexible course work, an internship-type laboratory training (wherein ample opportunities exist for the candidate to acquire basic experimental skills and familiarity with advanced techniques for research), research project to demonstrate attainment of a high degree of scientific ability followed by advanced research leading to Ph D thesis on a specific topic.


3.2 Eligibility

3.2.1 Candidates with Bachelor’s degree in any branch of Biology/ Chemistry/Physics/Mathematics under 10+2+3 system are eligible to apply for admission to Integrated Ph D program. And also candidates with BE/ B Tech are eligible to apply to Mathematical Sciences discipline.

Please note that candidates with M Sc qualifications are not eligible for admission to this program.

See Section 3.3 for requirements for admission to individual departments

3.2.2 Additional notes

(a) The minimum requirement for admission to Integrated Ph D program is a FIRST CLASS or equivalent Grade in Bachelor’s degree (as declared by the University) as indicated against each Department. See Section 3.3 for more details.

(b) The minimum requirement of FIRST CLASS in the qualifying examination is relaxed to PASS CLASS in respect of SC/ST candidates.

(c) Some departments have specific requirement of subjects at Bachelor’s or 10+2 levels as indicated in Section 3.3. Candidates have to ensure that they meet these requirements and this should be clearly reflected in the Academic profile of the Application Form to be enclosed with the data sheet.

(d) Those in the final year of their qualifying examination and awaiting results are also eligible to apply. But they should have completed all the requirements for the award of the qualifying degree, including all examinations, dissertation projects, viva-voce, etc., by the time of joining, i.e., by the 31st of July 2007.
Basic qualification
First Class (as declared by the University) B Sc or equivalent degree in Physical, Chemical or Biological Sciences (including Pharmaceutical, Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences.

All candidates who apply to Integrated Ph D program should qualify in IISc Entrance Test 2007. The short-listing of candidates for interview is done based on performance in the IISc Entrance Test. Interviews are held during June 11-13, 2007. Selection will be based on the combined performance in the Entrance Test and in the Interview.

3.4.2 IISc Entrance Test 2006- Time Table
Date
Time
Entrance Test papers
Sunday, 29th April 2007
2.00 PM to 5.00 PM
Biological Sciences (BS)
Chemical Sciences (CS)
Physical Sciences (PS)
Mathematical Sciences (MS)
Candidates have to choose any one of the following papers for the Entrance Test depending on the discipline(s) to which they seek admission.

Discipline
Entrance Test Paper to be answered
Physical Sciences
Physical Sciences
Chemical Sciences
Chemical or Biological or Physical Sciences
Biological Sciences
Chemical or Biological or Physical Sciences
Mathematical Sciences
Mathematical or Physical Sciences

IISc Entrance Test Paper codes are listed in Table 6.7(page no.90) and Centre codes are listed in Table 6.8(page no. 91).

3.4.3 Notes
(a) Candidates short-listed for interview will be intimated about 2 weeks ahead of the dates of interview. Lists of such candidates will also be available on our Website www.iisc.ernet.in/admissions .

(b) Candidates called for interview have to make their own arrangements for travel and accommodation etc.

(c) Candidates called for interview should bring with them originals of all the transcripts (marks cards from SSLC or equivalent onwards, degree certificate of the qualifying examination, etc.) and produce them before the interview committee, failing which, they will not be interviewed.

(d) Candidates belonging to SC/ST category should bring the original caste certificate, issued by the competent authority for purposes of verification.

(e) Candidates belonging to Physically-handicapped and Kashmir-Migrant categories should produce the original of the appropriate certificate, issued as per Government of India rules.

(f) Candidates selected for admission will be intimated about 2 weeks in advance. There will be no separate communication for those candidates who are not selected. Please check our website www.iisc.ernet.in/admissions for the list of candidates selected for admission.

(g) The candidates admitted to Integrated PhD program should report to the Institute for completing admission formalities on 31.07.2007. The session commences on 01.08.2007.

(h) By the time of joining, candidates should have completed all the requirements for the award of the qualifying degree including all examinations, dissertation project, viva-voce, etc.

(i) Only candidates who produce all the mark sheets and degree certificate (original or provisional) issued by the Head of the Institution/University Authority will be given regular admission and are eligible for award of the scholarship.

(j) Candidates who are awaiting results but completed all formalities for the award of degree should produce at the time of joining, a Course-Completion Certificate, issued by Head of the institution (The Principal/Registrar). Such candidates will be given only provisional admission, which will be regularized on their producing all the marks sheets and (original, or provisional) degree certificate etc., issued by the Head of the Institution/University Authority on or before 31 October 2007, failing which, the provisional admission stands cancelled.

(k) Candidates who are given provisional admission are eligible for Scholarship only on regularisation of admission (on production of the required documents). They will be paid scholarship with retrospective effect, i.e., from the date of joining.
BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
Biological Sciences question paper will be fully of objective type. There will be negative marking for negative answer.
SYLLABUS General Biology
Taxonomy and physiology, Pro-and eukaryotic organisms; cell organelles and their function; multicellular organisation; energy transformations; internal transport systems of plants; respiration; regulation of body fluids and excretory mechanisms; cellular reproduction; Mendolian genetics and heredity; biology of populations and communities; evolution; genesis and diversity of organisms; animal behaviour; plant and animal diseases.
Basics of Biochemistry, Biophysics, Molecular Biology
Buffers; trace elements in biological systems; enzymes and proteins; vitamins; biological oxidations, carbohydrates and lipids and their metabolisms; digestion and absorptioin; detoxifying mechanisms; plant and animal hormones and their action, neuromuscular systems, nucleic acids, nature of gene and its function, Genetic code, synthesis of nucleic acids and proteins.
Structure of biomolecules; intra and intermolecular forces; thermodynamics and kinetics of biological systems, principles of x-ray diffraction, IR and UV spectroscopy and hydrodynamic techniques.
Microbiology and Cell Biology
Classes of microorganisms and their characterization, nutrient requirements for growth; laboratory techniques in microbiology, pathogenic microorganisms and disease; applied microbiology; viruses, Microbial genetics.
Cell theory : Cell architecture; methods of cell fractionation; cell division; types of chromosome structure; biochemical genetics-inborn errors of metabolisms; viruses and fungi; principles of processes of development.
MODEL QUESTIONS
The fluctuation test carriesout by Luria and Delbruck showed that }
(A) Mutations are sponteneous
(B) Mutations are induced by the virus upon exposure
(C) Bacteria fluctuate between sensitivity and residence
(D) Viruses are living entities
In a test of an Aa heterozygous parent with an aa homozygous parent what are the number of classes of genotypes exoected in the progency ?
(A) 2 .
(B) 1 .
(C) , 3
(D) 4
Attenuation in bacterial operon regulation at the transcription level depepds on
(A) Operator sequence
(B) tRNA structure
(C) Special sigma factors
(D) Charged tRNA levels
Codon-anticodon interaction occurs primarily through

(A) Hydrogen bonds
(B) Covelant bonds
(C) Phosphodiester bonds
(D) Disulfide linkages
Among angiosperms, dicots are distinguished by their:
(A) netted leaf venetion
(B) Single embryonic leaf
(C) Scattered vascular bundles in the stem
(D) Flower parts in multiples of three
The distribution and abundance of fungi is usually measured in terms of
(A) Number of individuals per unit area or volume of habitat
(B) Surface area per unit area or volume of habitat
(C) Height of an individual
(D) Mass per unit area or volume of habitat
7. Maximal quantity of progesterone is produced by
(A) Corpus luteum
(B) Placenta
(C) Foetal adrevals
(D) Corpus luteum during pregnancy
8. In C4 plants (e.g. maize) the initial carbon dioxide fixation occurs in leaf mesophyll cells containing
chloroplasts. This reaction involves the enzyme.
(A) Ribulous 1,5 bisphophate carboxylase
(B) Pyruvate carboxulase
(C) Phosphoenol Pyruvate carboxulase
(D) Malate enzyme
9. In an enzyme assay in which the substrate concentration, [S] is much lower than Km, the rate of the
enzyme catalized reaction
(A) approaches Vmai
(B) shows zero order kinetics
(C) is proportional to [S]
(D) is independent of enzyme concentration
10. The secondary structure of a protein cannot be determined by :
(A) NMR spectroscopy
(B) shows crysallography
(C) Fluorescence spectroscopy
(D) Circular Dichroism
SUGGESTED READING
1. Stryer L, Biochemistry, published by W.H. Freeman and company.
2. Madigan MT, Martinko JM & Parker J. BROCK Biology of microorganisms; published by Prentice
Hall Internation Inc.
OR
Pelczar MJ, Chan ECS, Krieg NR. Microbilogy. Published by McGraw Hill
3. Odum EP, Fundamentals of Ecology.