Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram is one of the top technical institutes in the country as it has been consistently ranked among the top BTech Colleges in India by NIRF and other ranking bodies. The institute bagged the 43rd rank in NIRF 2022 rankings for its BTech program. The admissions to its flagship course, i.e, BTech are granted on the basis of JEE Advanced merit followed by counselling. However, a candidate's academic merit and JEE Main performance are also taken into consideration during the final selection. 

IIST Trivandrum is one of the finest space research institutes in the country. The research on a number of projects in various disciplines ranging from Aerospace Engineering to Physics is ongoing. 

IIST Thiruvananthapuram Quick Facts

  • IIST Thiruvananthapuram is one of the best engineering institutes in the country and is featured among Top Engineering Colleges in India. 
  • The institute offers UG, PG, Doctoral and Postdoctoral courses, i.e, BTech, BTech+MTech/MS, MTech, MS, PhD etc in areas with a special focus on space sciences, space technology and space applications. 
  • Admissions to all courses are entrance based. The institute accepts JEE Advanced for UG courses and GATE for PG courses whereas it conducts its own written test for PhD programs.
  • IIST Thiruvananthapuram charges a total of INR 5.53 Lakhs for its BTech course. Candidates can also avail scholarships and bank loan facilities as per the eligibility criteria.
  • The institute has a total of 98 faculty members currently which are highly qualified, well experienced and strongly dedicated. IIST Thiruvananthapuram Faculty
  • The institute offers high-class infrastructural facilities such as research laboratories, library and information blocks, computer centre, administrative area, senate cum convocation area, residential area etc.
  • IIST Thiruvananthapuram has an excellent placement record as every year many top recruiting companies including ISRO, Mercedes Benz, Robert Bosch, Quantela etc visit the campus for recruitment purposes. The average domestic CTC offered to date is INR 12.5 LPA whereas the highest domestic CTC offered is INR 14.5 LPA.

IIST Thiruvananthapuram Ranking

  • Ranked 43 for B.Tech by NIRF 2022
  • Ranked 40 for B.Tech by NIRF 2021
  • Ranked 33 for B.Tech by NIRF 2020
  • Ranked 30 for B.Tech by NIRF 2019
  • Ranked 23 for B.Tech by NIRF 2018

IIST Thiruvananthapuram Courses & Fees

Tabulated below are the courses offered by IIST Thiruvananthapuram along with eligibility and selection criteria details:

Program Program Details Selection Basis
BTech
  • Duration: 4 Years
  • Specializations: Aerospace Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering
  • Fees: INR 5,52,600
  • Eligibility: 10+2 or equivalent from any recognized institute with 75% (65% for reserved category) aggregate marks
 JEE Advanced 
BTech+MTech/ BTech+MS
  • Duration: 5 Years
  • Fees: INR 6,88,500
  • Eligibility: 10+2 or equivalent from any recognized institute with 75% (60% for reserved category) aggregate marks
MTech
  • Duration: 2 Years
  • Specializations: VLSI and Microsystems, Power Electronics, Materials Science & Technology, Earth System Science, GeoInformatics, Machine Learning and Computing, Optical Engineering, Solid State Technology, Thermal and Propulsion, Structures and Design, Control Systems, Digital Signal Processing, RF and Microwave Engineering, Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics
  • Fees: INR 1,71,800
  • Eligibility: BE/BTech/M.Sc or equivalent from a recognized institute in relevant discipline with 60% aggregate marks
 GATE followed by counselling
MS
  • Duration: 2 Years
  • Specializations: Astronomy and Astrophysics
  • Fees: INR 1,71,800
  • Eligibility: BE/BTech/M.Sc or equivalent from a recognized institute in relevant discipline with 60% aggregate marks
PhD
  • Duration: 3 Years
  • Specializations: Aerospace Engineering, Avionics, Chemistry, Earth and Space Science, Physics, Humanities, Mathematics
  • Fees: INR 54,700
  • Eligibility: Master’s Degree in Engineering/Technology/ Science with minimum 65% aggregate marks
 Written Screening Test followed by Interview

IIST Thiruvananthapuram Cut-Off

In order to be eligible for a PhD, the minimum GATE cutoff score is 500 for the general category, 450 for OBC/ EWS category and 350 for SC/ST/PD category candidates. Candidates with JEST scores must have obtained at least 300 marks.

JEE Advanced Qualifying Cutoff 2022 (Expected)

Tabulated below is the qualifying expected cutoff for JEE Advanced 2022 of IIST Thiruvananthapuram:

Rank List Minimum Percentage Of Marks In Each Subject Minimum Percentage Of Aggregate Marks
Common rank list (CRL) 6 63
OBC-NCL rank list 5 56
GEN-EWS rank list 5 56
SC rank list 3 31
ST rank list 3 31
Common-PwD rank list (CRL-PwD) 3 31
OBC-NCL-PwD rank list 3 31
GEN-EWS-PwD rank list 3 31
SC-PwD rank list 3 31
ST-PwD rank list 3 31
Preparatory course (PC) rank lists 0 9

GATE 2022-23 Cutoff:

Tabulated below is the category-wise GATE cutoff of IIST Thiruvananthapuram:

Specializations Category
General OBC-NCL/ EWS SC/ST/PD
Aerodynamics and Flight Mechanics 450 405 225
Structures and Design 450 405 225
Thermal and Propulsion 450 405 225
Control System 450 405 225
Digital Signal Processing 425 382 212
Power Electronics 450 405 225
RF and Microwave Engineering 425 382 212
VLSI and Microsystems 450 405 225
Materials Science and Technology 400 360 200
Astronomy and Astrophysics 425 382 212
Earth System Science 425 382 212
Geoinformatics 425 382 212
Machine Learning and Computing 450 405 225
Optical Engineering 425 382 212
Solid State Technology 425 382 212

CCMT 2024 Cutoff:

You may check the round-wise cutoffs for the open category below:

Course Name Round 1 Round 2
Master of Science in Astronomy and Astrophysics 420 350
Earth System Science 462 NA
Digital Signal Processing 444 434
Power Electronics 446 NA
Manufacturing Technology 404 351

IIST Campus Tour

IIST Thiruvananthapuram Placements

IIST Thiruvananthapuram is one of the best institutes in terms of placements. A total of 951 graduates and 21 postgraduates have been recruited by ISRO alone in the past 9 years. The institute also offers internships at various reputed firms both in India and abroad. The highlights of 2021 placement drives are as below:

  • Among the participated recruiters, ISRO was the top recruiter.
  • The general package range offered to students was between INR 5 LPA - INR 11.5 LPA.
  • The highest CTC range offered was INR 10 - INR 11.5 LPA by TCS and Iquantela Technologies.
  • The lowest CTC was INR 5 LPA, offered by Mantra Softech Pvt Ltd.

Some of the top campus recruiters participating in placement drives of IIST are ISRO, ISAC Bengaluru, Tata Consultancy Services, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, Viz Experts, Analog Devices, and Mercedes Benz etc.

The table below shows the specialization-wise number of MTech students placed in different companies along with the CTC range in 2021 placement drives:

Specialization No. of Students Placed CTC Range  Average CTC
Avionics 6 5 - 11.5  INR 8.8 LPA
Aerospace Engineering 5 6 - 8.9 INR 7.6 LPA
Chemistry 2 - -
Mathematics 3 - -

Placement Statistics:

Tabulated below are the MTech placement statistic of the past few years:

Year No. of Students Placed CTC Range
2018 21 INR 4.5 LPA - INR 13 LPA
2019 22 INR 4.5 LPA - INR 14.5 LPA
2020 13 INR 5 LPA - INR 11.5 LPA
2021 16 INR 5 LPA - INR 11.5 LPA

IIST Thiruvananthapuram Scholarships

IIST Thiruvananthapuram offers financial assistance and tuition fee waivers to meritorious and needy students on the basis of their financial background, academic merit etc parameters. SC/ST/PD students are exempted from payment of tuition fees. 

Scholarship for BTech Candidates:

Category Income Limit Tuition Fee Waiver
UR/EWS/OBC-NCL More than INR 5 LPA INR 62,500
Less than or equal to INR 5 LPA INR 20,850
Less than INR 1 LPA NIL

Scholarship for MTech Candidates:

  • AICTE Scholarships for MTech students with valid GATE scores
  • MS students are provided scholarships by IIST itself.

Scholarship for PhD Candidates:

  • Research scholars with master’s in basic science and NET or equivalent qualifications will receive a fellowship of INR 31,000 per month.
  • Based on their academic merit, the fellowship amount will be increased to INR 35,000 per month after two years.

IIST Thiruvananthapuram FAQs 

Ques. When will the PG admissions for the academic year 2022-23 for IIST, Thiruvananthapuram?

Ans. IIST Thiruvananthapuram has closed for the application process for the academic year 2022-23 in August 2022.

Ques. Is admission to IIST Thiruvananthapuram through JoSAA?

Ans. No, the admissions to IIST are through the IIST Online Admission Portal only. It is not mandatory to attend JoSSA for BTech and Dual Degree admissions. Candidates have to register online if they are desirous for admissions to IIST.

Ques. Is it required to fill in all the three branches of BTech in order of preferences during the time of registration at IIST Thiruvananthapuram?

Ans. No, the candidates during the time of registration need to fill in only for those branches that they are interested in and hence there is no need to mandatorily fill in all the three branches in order of preferences.

Ques. Is change of category from that entered for JEE Advanced 2022 Examination allowed?

Ans. No. The category of a candidate as entered in the JEE Advanced 2022 database will be final and remain the same for IIST registration and IIST rank list. A candidate will not be allowed to change his/her category during the admission process.