Information
For Junior Research Fellows at IMSc

Welcome to Matscience. This document describes the academic program that you will follow in the institute and also contains some other information that you may find useful. To start with here is the

Academic Calendar for 2008-2009.

Academic Calendar for 2009-2010.

Contents:

  1. Latest additions
  2. Academic Program
  3. Computing Facilities
  4. Library
  5. Medical Facilities
  6. Leave Rules
  7. Fellowship

Latest additions (29 September 2007)

The program relating to HBNI and the associated information is temporarily available here for Physics, Mathematics and Theoretical Computer Science. This information is in addition to what follows below and will be followed for all students joining 2006 August onwards.

Academic Program

Courses

Ph.D. students at IMSc go through a course work program for the first three semesters (and in some disciplines for four semesters). Each academic year is broken into two semesters. The first semester courses start in the first week of August and the courses and their assessments are over by the 31st of December. The second semester courses start in the first week of January and they (including their assessment) end by the 15th of June.

Assessment

The assessment for each course is continuous and, at a minimum, consists of several written assignments of problem sets which will be graded and returned to the students promptly. Every course will hold a final exam with a written component covering the entire course material. A course may also have a midterm exam and any other form of evaluation at the discretion of the instructor. The students will be told clearly at the beginning of the course how they will be evaluated. Feedback (particularly if there is anything negative) will be given to the students well before the end of the semester to enable them to improve their performance by the end of the semester.

Grades

Each course is graded on a 4-point scale:
S=4 pts (outstanding), A=3 pts (Very Good), B=2 pts (good/fair), C=1 pt (barely satisfactory) and U (fail). If the U appears in any of the first year courses, the fellowship will be terminated at the end of the first year and the student will have to leave the Institute. To continue as a JRF in the Institute after the first year, the student will have to maintain a Grade Point Average of at least 2 (B) computed over all the courses taken in the first two semesters.

After Course Work

Registration for Ph.D. degree

JRFs entering the institute with a Master's degree undergo an oral comprehensive examination before the end of the third semester, upon successful completion of coursework in the first three semesters. They are required to choose a thesis supervisor among the institute faculty and register for their Ph.D. by the end of the second year. Students who enter the integrated Ph.D program i.e. following a bachelor's degree, have an additional semester of coursework, which includes a project. Integrated Ph.D students are also required to qualify in the oral comprehensive examination before they are permitted to register for the Ph.D. degree. Students at IMSc are awarded degrees by the HBNI (Homi Bhabha National Institute).

Registration Procedure

All students are required to register with the HBNI prior to their being allowed to register for the Ph.D. degree. A form which is available at the office must be completed and handed over to the Dean, HBNI in the appropriate subject.

Monitoring Committee

A monitoring committee is set up for every JRF as soon as he/she joins the program. This committee consists of the Dean, HBNI as well as faculty members chosen from those involved in teaching during the first two semesters. Once the student chooses his/her supervisor, the monitoring committee is replaced by a doctoral committee appointed by the Dean, HBNI together with the prospective advisor. The monitoring committee will evaluate the progress of the students at least once every semester.

Each student should know the members of his or her Monitoring/Doctoral committee.

Half-Yearly Report

Every student, once he or she enters the Ph.D program is evaluated once every 6 months by the Doctoral Commitee.

Student Seminars

Students are encouraged to to give a seminar on a topic of their research once every year beginning from the second year.

Curriculum

The Programme will consist of Core courses, elective courses and Project Work.

Courses

Please refer to the booklet titled "Courses and Syllabi" for details of the courses and the semester in which they are offered.

Project Work

The Project Work shall be carried out under the supervision of a Faculty member.

Computer Usage and Accounts

 A lot of communication within the Institute (regarding courses etc) does take place by email, so getting an account for yourself is not an option but a necessity. To get an account on the system, contact the System Administrators Dr.G.Subramoniam or Mr. Raveendra Reddy. Give him your full name, preferred login name, and your discipline (physics/maths/tcs). He will create an account for you. The first thing you should do upon logging in is to set your password. This should be a string of characters sufficiently cryptic so that others cannot easily guess it. Passwords protect your account from inadvertent or mischievous tampering by other users, so it is in your own interest to use a good password and keep it secret.

There are several Do's and Dont's regarding the system. As you become frequent users, you will slowly get to know them all. Meanwhile, use the system with care, and get computer-literate as fast as you can!

Library

 The Institute has a well stocked computerised library. It is recognised by the National Board of Higher Mathematics as a Regional Center for the southern region. The books are kept in the ground floor of the library building. The bound volumes and current issues of journals and the photocopying machines are in the first floor. There are no library cards. Books and journals can be issued by during office hours by entering your name in the book card in the inner cover of the book/journal and giving the card to the person at the circulation counter.

Information on all the books and journals in the library is available online. The home page also allows you to access and search the library catalogue.

Entry to the library outside office hours and on institute holidays is restricted to institute members only. Members need an access control card to enter the library outside office hours and on institute holidays. Please contact the librarian to get your card.

Medical facilities

 All the research students are covered by a "Comprehensive health care scheme" with the VHS Hospital which is about a kilometer from the institute. Under this scheme you can get treatment in this hospital free of cost. In addition there is a doctor who visits the hostel regularly. You could consult her for minor ailments. The institute will reimburse the cost of the medicines prescribed by this doctor.

Leave rules

 Research students are entitled to 45 days of academic leave and 45 days of personal leave in a year. Personal leave can be carried over to the next year subject to a maximum of 90 days. Not more than 30 days of this can be taken at the end prior to the completion of the fellowship. Maternity leave at half pay can be taken normally upto a period of three months.

Fellowship

 A fellowship amount is currently Rs. 12,000/- per month for the first two years and Rs. 14,000/- per month after that. Students also get a contingency grant of Rs. 10,000/- per year.