VISITING STUDENTS RESEARCH PROGRAMME [VSRP] - 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answer : The Visiting Students' Research Program (VSRP-2026) is for students who will complete their M.Sc., Integrated M.Sc. or 4-year-B.Sc. degrees (in Physics, Astronomy, Applied Mathematics or Electronics) or their B.E./B.Tech. degrees (in any stream) in 2027. The VSRP-2026 is not for students who have already completed the B.Tech. B.E. or M.Sc. degrees, nor for students who have not completed the B.Sc. degree or who are in the third year of an Integrated M.Sc. programme. The VSRP-2026 is also not for students who will be completing their degrees in 2026; only students who will complete one of the above degrees in 2027 are eligible for the programme. Ineligible applications will be rejected immediately, regardless of their quality, so please do not apply if you are not eligible for the programme.
Answer : The selection for the VSRP-2026 is based on a combination of the candidate's statement of research interests, referee reports, evidence of motivation for research (e.g. research or learning activities outside your regular coursework), and grades.
Answer : The statement of research interests is a critical part of your application; we urge applicants to put in some effort into this. Applicants with a poor statement of interest are unlikely to be selected for the VSRP-2026. We also emphasize that the use of sentences lifted from the Internet and the use of ChatGPT or similar Large Language Models are unacceptable; all such applications would be immediately rejected.
Answer : Only online applications and referee reports will be accepted; we will not accept postal or e-mail applications.
Answer : A referee is a member of the academic community who can provide a fair assessment of your academic career. The best referees are typically supervisors on earlier research projects, teachers at your academic institution, and faculty members with whom you have discussed science issues. Do not choose family members or fellow students as referees; such referee reports will be ignored and will adversely affect your application.
Answer : While your application will be screened without referee reports, it will be given a lower weight than other applications. Not having referee reports will definitely hinder your chances of getting selected for the VSRP-2026 programme.
Answer : Yes. You can update your application until the application deadline, using your Online ID and Password. We will begin screening applications on February 24, 2026.
Answer : We appreciate that the VSRP-2026 dates (May 11 - July 10, 2026) may clash with examinations at some institutions. In such cases, we will do our best to accommodate requests for a shift in dates, typically by up to 3 weeks. If you are concerned about a clash of dates, do go ahead and apply for the VSRP-2026 but mention any date constraints in the application form, in the "Statement of Interest".
Answer : Yes. All students selected for the VSRP will be provided with accommodation during the VSRP. The VSRP students will also be paid a stipend of Rs. 7000/- per month
Answer : >There are two likely reasons for your referees not receiving our e-mail: (1) you have entered an incorrect e-mail address in your online application, and (2) our mail has, for some reason, been placed in the SPAM folder of your referee's mailbox.
If your referees have not received our e-mail within a day of your submitting the application form, check that their e-mail addresses in the online application form are correct; if there's an error here, correct the addresses and re-submit the application form. If the addresses are correct, ask your referees to check their SPAM folders. If neither of these solves the problem, click the button to re-send the e-mails to the referee. Note that our referee e-mails are sent by an automatic procedure and we have tested the system extensively to make sure that it works. Individual failures are certainly possible, but these should be solved by simply clicking the button to re-send the referee e-mails.
Answer : The most likely cause is that the candidate has updated his/her application form with changed referee details (e.g. different name or e-mail address), but has not send password to the updated e-mail ID of the referee. This registered e-mail ID is used for logging in to the confidential assessment form. In this situation, the referee will be unable to log in to the referee page. If you change any of referee details, please be sure to send password to the referee using 'Send Password' utility which you can access after logging in to your profile with your OnlineID and Password.
Answer : Yes, you are eligible for the VSRP, with the same eligibility criteria as for Indian students. However, all foreigners require clearance from the Indian government to visit NCRA-TIFR. Selection for the VSRP will hence be subject to this clearance.
Answer : If your College/University follows a grading system but without a standard formula to convert the grade into a percentage, please enter your grade in the "Grade" column and enter 100 x (your_grade/maximum_grade) in the percentage column. We will then only use the grade during the evaluation.
