8°40′56.13″N77°8′11.51″E / 8.6822583°N 77.1365306°E /8.6822583; 77.1365306

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research Thiruvananthapuram

Type	Public university
Established	2008; 17 years ago (2008)[1]
Officer in charge	Robinson George (Registrar)
Dean	Joy Mitra Utpal Manna Hema Somanathan K. George Thomas R. S. Swathi[2]
Director	Jarugu Narasimha Moorthy (2019–)[3] Eluvathingal Devassy Jemmis (Founding Director)[4]
Academic staff	100[5]
Students	1,080[5]
Undergraduates	828[5]
Doctoral students	252[5]
Location	Vithura,Thiruvananthapuram , Kerala , 695551 , India
Campus	200 acres[1]
Language	English
Website	iisertvm.ac.in

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Vithura, Thiruvananthapuram (IISER Thiruvananthapuram orIISER-TVM) is an autonomouspublic university established by theMinistry of Human Resource Development,Government of India, to bridge the gap between research and basic sciences' education at the undergraduate level.The campus is located inVithura,Kerala, India, 40 kms fromThiruvananthapuram. The institute is one of the sevenIISERs All IISERs are declared asInstitutes of National Importance by theParliament of India in 2012 through the NIT Amendment Act.^[6]

IISER Thiruvananthapuram awardsBachelor of Science andMaster of Science (BS-MS) dual-degrees, andDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and biology. IISER TVM is to offer five new BS-MS programmes (i² Sciences) and new two-yearM.Sc programmes in 2021.^[7][8]

Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISERs) were established in 2006 through a proclamation of theMinistry of Education,Government of India to promote quality collegiate education and research in basic sciences. Each IISER is a degree-granting autonomous institution with a prime focus to integrate science education and research. IISERs receive generous funding from theGovernment of India.

Soon afterMHRD's announcement in 2006, two of these institutes were established atPune andKolkata in 2006. This was followed by another institute atMohali in 2007, and two more atBhopal andThiruvananthapuram in 2008.^[9] More recently, two more IISERs were established atTirupati andBerhampur in 2015 and 2016 respectively.

IISER TVM campus is located in the foothills of theWestern Ghats and spans about 200 acres inVithura, approximately 40 km fromThiruvananthapuram, Kerala. The campus hosts academic buildings, research facilities, student hostels, and residential areas for faculty and staff.

The institute has extensive sports infrastructure including a multi-sport indoor stadium, a tennis court, two basketball courts, two volleyball courts, four badminton courts, cricket practice nets, and a football ground. Many outdoor facilities, including the football and basketball courts, are equipped with floodlights. Dedicated areas are provided for kabaddi and kho-kho as well.

Indoor recreational and sports amenities include table tennis, chess, carrom, and a fully equipped gymnasium. The campus features two dining halls (Central Dining Halls, CDH( 1 and 2)) that cater to students, research scholars, and faculty. Additional amenities include a central library, health centre, bank and ATM facilities, cafeterias, student activity spaces, and regular shuttle transport within the campus. The natural surroundings of the Western Ghats provide opportunities for nature walks and outdoor student activities.

The institute is administered by a board of governors with Madhavan Nair Rajeevan as chairperson,S. Murty Srinivasula as deputy director, a 13-member Senate, and the director, Prof.Jarugu Narasimha Moorthy.^[10][11] The deans are M. P. Rajan (Academics), Ramesh Chandra Nath (Students Affairs), Hema Somanathan (Research and Development) and Anil Shaji (Planning and Development).^[2] Previously, the board of governors was chaired byTessy Thomas.

• Dual-degree Bachelor of Science & Master of Science (BS-MS): The 5-year dual degree BS-MS program is the flagship program of all IISERs. The first two years of this program involves coursework in all subjects (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Biology, Humanities and Interdisciplinary courses). For the next two years, the students choose courses in a 'Major' and a 'Minor' subject as per their research interests. The final year is solely spent on a research project in their Major subject.^[18] Admissions to the BS-MS program is highly competitive, with only the following students eligible to apply:

1. Kishore Vaigyanik Protsahan Yojana (KVPY) Basic Science Stream: Students who possess KVPY scholarships (in SA / SX / SB streams) in the current admission year
2. Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced): Students who secure a place in the common rank list ofJoint Entrance Examination (Advanced) for admission to Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs)
3. State and Central Boards (IISER Aptitude Test): Students who secure a specified cut-off percentage (published each year) in their Higher Secondary (Class 12) Board Exams may be considered for admission after clearingIISER Aptitude Test. This is currently done in co-ordination with the otherIISERs through a Joint Admission Program.^[19]

• Doctoral of Philosophy (Ph.D.): Admission to the doctoral program is after amaster's degree inscience. Besides the students of the dual-degree BS-MS program,postgraduate students with a master's degree in science from other universitiesor institutes can also be admitted to the doctoral program. The program will involve mandatory course work, a qualifying examination, thesis research under the guidance of a faculty member, an open seminar and a dissertation defense examination, leading to the award of a Ph.D. degree. The quantum of course work will vary depending on the background of the student. Besides individual research, students will be involved in severalprofessional activities such as seminars, workshops, presentations and review meetings. All doctoral students will assist faculty members inteaching during the course of the doctoral program.
• Integrated Doctor of Philosophy (Int. Ph.D.): Admission to this program is after aB.Sc. degree in any of thebasic sciences subjects. Students of this program start by attending classes with third year students of dual degree BS-MS program. After completing the specified graduate coursework and clearing a comprehensive exam, the students begin their Ph.D. research under the guidance of faculty members.^[20] The duration of this program ranges from 6 to 7 years, depending on the required coursework and nature of research.

Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Thiruvananthapuram was ranked in the 151-200 band in India by theNational Institutional Ranking Framework in overall ranking in 2024.^[22]

Nature Index rankedIISERs as a whole at 4th in the World's 'Top 30 academic institutions under 30' in high-quality research output.^[23] It also ranked IISERs at 37th in its overall list of World's Top 200 rising academic institutions.^[24]

According to theNature Index institutional profile,^[25] IISER Thiruvananthapuram is among India’s leading research institutes in the natural sciences.

Subject-wise rank in India (Nature Index 2024–2025):

Research output (1 September 2024 – 31 August 2025):

Five-year Nature Index Share:

• 2020 — 17
• 2021 — 19
• 2022 — 31
• 2023 — 28
• 2024 — 31

• IISER Thiruvananthapuram provides separate residential facilities for male students in Anamudi A Block, Anamudi D Block, Agasthya, Eravimala, Mukurti, and Ponmudi (B Wing).^[26]
• Female students are accommodated in Anamudi B Block, Anamudi C Block, Anamudi E Block, Ponmudi (A Wing), Pushpagiri, and Sispara.^[27]

Ishya is the annual cultural festival of IISER Thiruvananthapuram, established in 2010. The festival is typically held in March, coinciding with the advent of spring. Organized entirely by the student community, it features a wide range of events fostering artistic and cultural expression.^[28]

• The literary and oratory events include JAM (Just A Minute), Mushaira (poetry symposium), Bon Mot, and creative writing competitions in English, Hindi, and Malayalam, alongside the "Put Funda" open quiz.^[29]
• Performing arts competitions feature Drama, Monodrama, Mime, Dance Battle, Recreation Dance, the "Rawaaz" fashion show, and the "Mudra" inter-collegiate dance contest.^[30]
• Musical events include "Aawaz" (solo vocals), "Unplugged", and "Tarang", while Fine Arts categories cover Painting, Pencil Drawing, Live Sketching, Calligraphy, and Mehendi.^[31]
• The festival's "Pro-Shows" have featured performances by notable artists and bands includingMasala Coffee,Agam,Gowry lekshmi, Anand Bhaskar Collective,When Chai Met Toast, and DJ Shaan, etc.^[32]

• The Gravitational Wave Group at the School of Physics (part of theIndian Initiative in Gravitational-wave Observations (IndIGO) comprising scientists from nine institutions working under theLIGO) Scientific Collaboration (LSC), IISER TVM also contributed to historic discovery ofgravitational waves.^[33][34]
• IISER TVM students builds an affordable radio telescope.^[35][36]

• Indian Strings Meeting (ISM), 2018^[37]
• Chromosome Stability 2016^[38]
• All India Cell Biology Conference^[39]
• Cryo Electron Microscopy and 3D Image Processing of Macromolecular Assemblies and Cellular Tomography (CEM3DIP)^[40]
• Workshop on High Performance Scientific Computing^[41]
• International Symposium on Clusters, Cluster-Assemblies and Nanomaterials (ISCAN)^[42]
• Indo-UK Workshop on Stochastic Partial Differential Equations and Applications^[43]
• 8th Asian Photochemistry Conference 2014^[44]
• GW@ASI2014: Satellite workshop on Gravitational Wave Astronomy at the ASI Meeting^[45]

• List of autonomous higher education institutes in India
• List of universities in India
• IRINS profile
• IISER Admission
• ISER Comprehensive overview

• Official website

• Arts and Science colleges in Kerala
• Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research
• 2008 establishments in Kerala
• Research institutes in Thiruvananthapuram
• Physics research institutes
• Research institutes established in 2008

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