Academic Eligibility for IAS Exams
- A degree of any of the Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be a Deemed University under the UGC Act, 1956, or an equivalent qualification.
- Candidates who have appeared or intend to appear for the qualifying examination and are awaiting results are also eligible to appear for the Preliminary Examination. All such candidates who qualify to appear for the Civil Services Main Examination must produce proof of having passed the said examination along with their application for the Main Examination.
- The UPSC may in exceptional cases treat a candidate without the foregoing requisite qualification as an eligible candidate if he / she has passed an examination conducted by other institutions, the standard of which justifies his / her admission in the opinion of the Commission.
- Candidates with professional and technical qualifications recognised by the Government as equivalent to professional and technical degrees.
- Candidates who have passed the final year of MBBS or any Medical Examination but are yet to complete the internship can also appear for the Main Examination. However they must submit along with their Main Examination application, a certificate from the concerned authority of the University / Institution that they have passed the final professional medical examination. At the Interview stage they must then produce a certificate from a competent authority that they have completed (including internship) all the requirements for the award of the Medical Degree.
Academic Eligibility for IAS Exams / UPSC Examination Degree Needed
Other Eligibility Conditions for IAS Exams
(1) Nationality
i. Only Indian nationals are eligible for IAS and IPS.
i. For other services a candidate can be either of the following:
- a. a citizen of India,
b. a subject of Nepal,
c. a subject of Bhutan,
d. a Tibetan refugee who came over to India before January 1, 1962 with the intention of permanently settling in India, or
e. a person of Indian origin who has migrated from Burma, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Uganda, United Republic of Tanzania, Vietnam, Zaire or Zambia with the intention of permanently settling in India. Candidates belonging to either categories of b., c., d. or e., must produce an eligibility certificate issued by the Government of India. Those who belong to either of b., c., or d., categories are not eligible for appointment to the Indian Foreign Service.
