The NEST 2027 syllabus covers Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics and Physics from NCERT Class 11 and 12. The NEST 2026 syllabus followed the CBSE 2025-26 curriculum, and Class 10 science may also help. NISER and UM-DAE CEBS will publish the official NEST 2027 syllabus with the brochure, expected in January 2027.
NEST 2027 Syllabus
This page lists the NEST topics subject by subject, based on the NEST 2026 syllabus, with the exam pattern and preparation tips.
What is in the NEST Biology syllabus?
NEST Biology covers the NCERT Class 11 and 12 Biology units listed below.
- Diversity of living organisms: living world, classification, plant and animal kingdoms
- Structural organisation in plants and animals: morphology and anatomy of flowering plants
- Cell structure and function: cell, biomolecules, cell cycle and division
- Plant physiology: photosynthesis, respiration, plant growth and development
- Human physiology: breathing, circulation, digestion, excretion, locomotion, neural and chemical control
- Reproduction: flowering plants, human reproduction, reproductive health
- Genetics and evolution: inheritance, molecular basis of inheritance, evolution
- Biology and human welfare: human health and disease, microbes in human welfare
- Biotechnology: principles, processes and applications
- Ecology: organisms and populations, ecosystem, biodiversity and conservation
What is in the NEST Chemistry syllabus?
NEST Chemistry follows the NCERT Class 11 and 12 chapters below.
- Class 11: basic concepts of chemistry, structure of atom, periodicity, chemical bonding
- Class 11: thermodynamics, equilibrium, redox reactions
- Class 11: organic chemistry basic principles and techniques, hydrocarbons
- Class 12: solutions, electrochemistry, chemical kinetics
- Class 12: d and f block elements, coordination compounds
- Class 12: haloalkanes and haloarenes, alcohols, phenols and ethers
- Class 12: aldehydes, ketones and carboxylic acids, amines, biomolecules
What is in the NEST Mathematics syllabus?
NEST Mathematics covers the NCERT Class 11 and 12 units below.
- Sets, relations and functions, trigonometric functions
- Algebra: complex numbers, quadratic equations, linear inequalities, permutations and combinations, sequences and series
- Coordinate geometry: straight lines, conic sections, introduction to 3D geometry
- Class 11 calculus (limits and derivatives), statistics and probability
- Class 12: relations and functions, inverse trigonometric functions, matrices, determinants
- Class 12 calculus: continuity and differentiability, applications of derivatives, integrals and their applications, differential equations
- Vectors, three-dimensional geometry, linear programming, probability (including Bayes’ theorem)
What is in the NEST Physics syllabus?
NEST Physics follows the NCERT Class 11 and 12 chapters below.
- Units and measurements, motion in a straight line and in a plane, laws of motion
- Work, energy and power, rotational motion, gravitation
- Mechanical properties of solids and fluids, thermal properties of matter
- Thermodynamics, kinetic theory of gases, oscillations, waves
- Electric charges and fields, electrostatic potential and capacitance, current electricity
- Moving charges and magnetism, magnetism and matter, electromagnetic induction, alternating current
- Electromagnetic waves, ray optics, wave optics
- Dual nature of radiation and matter, atoms, nuclei, semiconductor electronics
What is the NEST 2027 exam pattern and marking?
Each of the four subjects is a 60-mark section of 20 MCQs, and your best three qualifying sections make up the merit score. Wrong answers cost 1 mark each.
| Feature | Details (as per NEST 2026) |
|---|---|
| Mode | Computer-based test (CBT) |
| Duration | 3 hours (2:00 PM to 5:00 PM in 2026) |
| Sections | Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics |
| Questions | 20 MCQs per section, 80 in all |
| Marks | 60 per section, 240 in all |
| Marking | +3 correct, -1 wrong, 0 unanswered |
| Merit score | Best 3 qualifying sections (out of 180) |
| Language | English and Hindi |
Where can I download the official NEST syllabus PDF?
The official syllabus is in the information brochure and under the Syllabus / Brochure / Archive tab on nestexam.in. The NEST 2027 version is expected with the brochure in January 2027; until then the NEST 2026 brochure is the latest.
- PDFNEST 2026 Information Brochure and Syllabus (latest) (12 January 2026)Official site · nestexam.inOpen
- LINKNEST official website (nestexam.in)Official site · nestexam.inOpen
How should you prepare for NEST 2027?
Start with the NCERT Class 11 and 12 textbooks, which NEST names as the base, and download them free from ncert.nic.in.
- Pick your three strongest subjects and make them solid; only three sections count.
- Still prepare a fourth subject as a backup, since a section counts only if it clears the cut-off.
- Practise without a calculator or log tables; only a basic on-screen calculator is given.
- Avoid guessing: each wrong answer costs 1 mark.
- Solve the NEST previous year papers in 3-hour timed sessions.