Even though, IIT JEE and IIT JAM will look similar, there are certain key differences between these two exams. IIT JEE is conducted for 12th passed candidates who are interested to seek admission for B.E/B.Tech/Integrated M.Tech in IIT’s. IIT JAM, on the other hand, is conducted for science graduates who would like to have admission to M.Sc courses in IIT’s. IIT JEE is conducted in two stages where as IIT JAM is conducted as a single paper test.

Details on IIT JEE

Indian Institute of Technology Joint Entrance Exam (IIT –JEE) is conducted for admission to B.E/B.Tech and integrated M.Tech courses in specific disciplines. It is essential to pass 12th class with at least 60% marks (50% SC/ST candidates) to attend this entrance exam. Applicants must have completed HSC in Science to submit applications for IIT-JEE. The exam comprises mainly of two sections –

Section 1 – IIT JEE (Main) – The IIT JEE (Main) examination contains two different papers of 3 hours duration -

• Paper I – Online based test focusing on subjects Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics.
• Paper II – Objective model test comprising questions from topics like aptitude test, mathematics and drawing aptitude test.

Section 2 – IIT JEE (Advanced) – It is compulsory to qualify IIT JEE (Main) and come under top 1, 50,000 candidates (all categories) to attempt the second section of this exam. IIT JEE (Advanced) will again comprise of 2 objective model papers. Each of the paper will include separate set of questions on subjects like Physics, Mathematics and Chemistry. Apart from this, reasoning, comprehension and analytical skill based test included in this paper.

Details for IIT JAM

Candidates can attain admission for M.Sc, Joint M.Sc –PhD courses by qualifying Indian Institute of Technology Joint Admission Test (IIT JAM). Those candidates who have passed graduate courses in science subjects with 60% marks can apply for IIT-JAM. For Biotechnology and Computer Applications subjects, there will be objective type questions only. For all other subject branches, both objective and descriptive type of questions will be included. It is compulsory for candidates to attain a good rank in IIT JAM to get selected for post graduate courses in specific streams.

Key differences between IIT JEE and IIT JAM

12th pass is the basic eligibility for IIT JEE where as graduation in science is essential to attend IIT JAM exam.

Candidates by qualifying IIT JEE can get admission for B.E/B.Tech/Integrated M.Tech courses. On the other hand, IIT JAM is organized to select candidates for M.Sc, Joint M.Sc –PhD courses in specific streams.

IIT JEE is conducted in two stages involving an IIT JEE (Main) and IIT JEE (Advanced). Only on qualifying the main exam, candidates can attend the second level. For IIT JAM candidates can directly get admission on clearing the main exam.