Exam Preparation Strategy
The TIFR GS Exam for mathematics has the same question paper for PhD. and integrated PhD, although the cutoff is different. As a bachelor’s student, I filled out the form for an integrated PhD in mathematics. The forms are generally out in the month of October and exams are held in the first week of December. There are mainly two centers that offer integrated Ph.D. and Ph.D. in math, one is TIFR Mumbai (the main center), and the other is TIFR CAM. The syllabus mainly focuses on analysis, algebra, and some misc. topics such as number theory. Ideally, a student appearing for this exam should have studied and solved exercises from Baby Rudin (first 9 chapters) and studied algebra from Herstein or Hungerford. If one has spent enough quality time with these books, he or she can sail through the written exams as well as interviews. In my case, I did not have enough exposure to the foreign author’s book. In my class, mainly low-standard Indian author books are followed (why call them low standard, you will understand after you have read both the Indian author books and books that are followed worldwide). Also, I would like to add that there is no solid preparation for clearing such exams as there are personal interviews/ descriptive questions around after clearing the GS Exam. The only thing that will help clear this exam is your burning desire/love for mathematics.