Tata Institute of Social Sciences conducts TISS National Entrance Test for selecting candidates for first stage of admission process of TISS’ postgraduate courses of management. The MA programs available at the TISS colleges are in accordance with the management programs provided by India's leading MBA colleges & universities. The exam is conducted in online mode and comprises of three main sections namely English Proficiency, Maths and Logical Reasoning and General Awareness.
A candidate is eligible for the exam if he or she has secured atleast 50% marks in his or her graduation degree of atleast 3 years duration from a reputed or recognised college/university. Moreover, candidates in their final year of graduation can also take the exam. There is no particular age limit for appearing for TISSNET.
TISSNET is a computer-based exam with total marks as 100. The candidates are required to complete 100 questions in 1 hour and 40 minutes. All the questions are Multiple Choice Questions. It is conducted across 39 cities across India. The TISSNET exam pattern is as follows-
Name of Section | Total Questions | Marks per question | Total Marks |
English Proficiency | 30 | 1 | 30 |
Mathematics and Logical Reasoning | 30 | 1 | 30 |
General Awareness | 40 | 1 | 40 |
Total | 100 | 100 |
There is no negative marking for the wrong question. There is sectional cut off for the General Awareness section. The sectional cut off for this section is usually around 35% or 14 marks. Usually, the total cut off is around 74 marks. So, you should target a score of 75 or more. It will be a safe score for you. And if prepared properly, you can easily achieve this score.
There is a pattern change for candidates who are aiming to pursue the following courses-
Candidates targeting the above-mentioned courses need to appear for another exam called TISS-MAT, which will be conducted just after TISSNET. In TISS-MAT, each correct answer will fetch 1 mark and each wrong answer will result in 0.25 negative marks. The TISS-MAT exam will be for 45 marks for a duration of 30 minutes. The following will be the pattern for TISS-MAT:
Components/Sections | Comprehension | Management Data Interpretation | Business Awareness |
No. of Questions | 15 | 15 | 15 |
Total Marks | 15 | 15 | 15 |
Sectional Cut-off | Nil | Nil | Nil |
Preparation Level | Graduate | Graduate | Graduate |
Objectives | To assess the ability to read and understand management literature | To assess the ability to read and interpret data related to the economy, market, business and organization | To assess awareness and familiarity with business knowledge |
Broad Coverage (Indicative and not restrictive) | Reading a write-up on a management-related subject and answer questions related to the passage | Interpreting graphs, charts, and data across multiple sources. Performing basic operations with data collected from multiple sources. | Knowledge of contemporary events, news, related to the economy, business, human resource management, and labor studies. |
The syllabus for this exam remains more or less same as other MBA entrance exams of the country. However the level of difficulty is easier. The main topics tested are-
English Awareness- Reading Comprehension, Word Meanings, FIJs, Grammar, Sentence Completion, Parajumbles and Odd man out.
Mathematics & Logical Reasoning - Arithmetic, Simple Interest, Compound Interest, Permutations, Combinations, Probability, Geometry, Logarithms, Time & Work, Time & Distance, Number Systems, and Progressions & Series, Critical Reasoning, Analogies, Clocks & Calendars, Arrangements, and directions.
General Awareness- General Knowledge questions related to Awards, Books, Literature, Recent Happenings, Science, Films, International Affairs, Banking, Economics, History, Geography etc.