National Institute of Science Education and Research

The National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) is an autonomous institute for basic sciences, aided by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Government of India. It was officially founded on 6 September 2007 after Union Cabinet approval, and its first academic programme was inaugurated on 10 September 2007 at the Institute of Physics campus. The institute has worked from its present 300-acre campus at Jatni, in Khurda district about 25 km from central Bhubaneswar, since July 2015. Its programmes are affiliated to Homi Bhabha National Institute (HBNI), Mumbai, a deemed-to-be university set up by DAE, and HBNI awards the certificates. The institute reports a student-to-teacher ratio of 8:1.

Teaching and research are organised in seven schools (biological, chemical, computer, earth and planetary, humanities and social, mathematical and physical sciences), the Centre for Medical and Radiation Physics and the Centre for Interdisciplinary Sciences. The main course is a five-year integrated M.Sc. in biology, chemistry, mathematics and physics, with minors that include computer science. Entry is through the National Entrance Screening Test (NEST), held jointly with UM-DAE CEBS, Mumbai, and NISER had 200 seats in 2026. NISER also offers a two-year M.Sc. in medical and radiological physics followed by a one-year hospital internship, an integrated M.Sc.-Ph.D. in the four basic sciences, and Ph.D. programmes in seven disciplines.