M.Sc. Nursing Prospectus for the July 2026 Session, Batch 2026–27, issued by the National Institute of Nursing Education (NINE), PGIMER Chandigarh.

1. Course at a glance

Particular	Details
Institute	National Institute of Nursing Education (NINE), PGIMER, Chandigarh
Course	M.Sc. Nursing
Session	July 2026
Batch	2026–27
Duration	2 academic years
Admission	Once a year
Selection	All-India basis through Computer Based Test (CBT)
Course commencement	16 July every year, as stated in the prospectus
Medium of entrance paper	English
Entrance test	100 MCQs
Exam duration	90 minutes
Negative marking	0.25 mark for each wrong answer

The prospectus explains that NINE was upgraded from the College of Nursing and has an emphasis on nursing education, clinical practice, administration and research.

2. Important dates

According to the prospectus:

Event	Date
Online registration starts	13 April 2026
Last date for application	9 May 2026
Correction window	10 May 2026
CBT entrance examination	31 May 2026
Expected result	13 June 2026
Document verification & counselling	24 June 2026
Admission closes	31 July 2026
Medical Surgical Nursing sub-specialty choice	By 31 August 2026

The prospectus specifically states that the dates are tentative and may be changed, with updates to be displayed on the PGIMER website.

3. Number of seats

The prospectus lists 31 total M.Sc. Nursing seats. The overall category distribution shown is:

General: 12
SC: 4
ST: 2
OBC: 7
PGI staff: 6
PwBD reservation: horizontal reservation as applicable

PwBD seats are adjusted against the candidate’s respective category rather than being treated as a completely separate vertical category.

Specialty-wise seats

Specialty	PGI Staff	Others	Total
Community Health Nursing	—	6	6
Mental Health/Psychiatric Nursing	1	2	3
Child Health/Pediatric Nursing	2	4	6
Obstetric & Gynecological Nursing	1	4	5
Medical Surgical Nursing	2	9	11
Total	6	25	31

Medical Surgical Nursing has the following sub-specialties:

Cardio Vascular & Thoracic Nursing
Critical Care Nursing
Gastroenterology Nursing
Nephrology & Urology Nursing
Neurology & Neuro Surgical Nursing
Oncology Nursing
Orthopaedic & Rehabilitation Nursing

Important: Specialty allocation is according to entrance-test merit and is changed/decided during counselling. For Medical Surgical Nursing, the candidate has to opt for a sub-specialty by 31 August 2026.

4. Eligibility criteria

A candidate must satisfy the eligibility conditions by the last date of submission of the online application, i.e. 9 May 2026 for this session.

Educational qualification

The candidate must have either:

B.Sc. Nursing — 4 years, or
B.Sc. Nursing (Post-Basic)

from an institution recognized by the concerned State Nursing Registration Council.

Minimum required aggregate:

55% marks.

Nursing registration

The candidate must be:

Registered Nurse, and
Registered Midwife,

as approved by the State Nursing Council.

For male candidates, the prospectus specifies substitute registration applicable to candidates fully qualified for nursing of men, women and children.

5. Work experience requirement

This is an especially important eligibility condition.

The candidate should have a minimum of one year of work experience after registration as Registered Nurse & Registered Midwife by 9 May 2026.

The accepted experience includes:

Bedside nursing in a hospital having a minimum of 100 beds for private hospitals
Public Health Nursing
Nursing Educational Institutions recognized by the State Nursing Council

The required experience must be appropriately after nursing registration, and experience obtained before registration is not counted.

Experience certificate

For private-hospital experience, the certificate should:

Be on the hospital’s letterhead
Clearly mention the number of beds
Be approved/recognized by the appropriate State/Central Government authority as specified in the prospectus.

Candidates who are likely to complete the required experience by the application closing date must produce the experience certificate during document verification and counselling. The prospectus says that an extension for submitting this certificate will not be entertained.

6. Entrance examination pattern

The examination is a Computer Based Test (CBT).

Main pattern

100 MCQs
Four options per question
100 marks
Duration: 90 minutes
Language: English
Objective type
One shift
Negative marking: −0.25 for every incorrect answer

Subject-wise distribution

Subject	Questions	Marks
Medical Surgical Nursing	15	15
Community Health Nursing	15	15
Obstetric & Gynaecological Nursing	15	15
Child Health Nursing	15	15
Mental Health Nursing	15	15
Nursing Foundations	10	10
Nursing Research	10	10
General Knowledge	5	5
Total	100	100

What this means for preparation

The five major nursing subjects together account for:

75/100 questions = 75% of the paper.

Therefore, Medical-Surgical, Community Health, Obstetric & Gynaecological, Child Health and Mental Health Nursing should receive the greatest preparation time.

Nursing Foundations + Nursing Research contribute another 20%, while General Knowledge contributes 5%.

7. Negative marking strategy

The prospectus specifies 0.25 marks deduction for every wrong answer.

Therefore:

Correct answer = +1
Wrong answer = −0.25
Unanswered = no marks stated as being deducted

For example:

80 correct, 10 wrong → 80 − 2.5 = 77.5
70 correct, 20 wrong → 70 − 5 = 65

So blind guessing should be avoided.

8. Examination cities

The prospectus lists these tentative examination cities:

Chandigarh (Tricity)
Delhi (NCR)
Ambala
Amritsar
Bathinda
Dehradun
Kangra
Shimla

The city is allotted on a first-come-first-served basis, subject to availability. Once the examination city has been allotted, the prospectus states that requests for changing it will not be entertained.

The prospectus also warns that a centre may be cancelled for technical, logistical, natural-disaster or other reasons, in which case candidates may be shifted to another nearby city.

9. Examination-day restrictions

The prospectus states that:

Electronic/metal items and ornaments are not allowed.
Shoes/footwear with thick soles are not permitted.
Garments with large buttons are not permitted.
Candidates should follow the instructions on their admit card.

It also contains strict provisions against cheating, forgery, impersonation and other unfair means; candidates found guilty may have their examination cancelled and may face further disciplinary/legal action.

10. Cut-off and selection

The merit list is prepared based on marks obtained in the online entrance examination.

Separate merit lists are prepared for:

General
SC/ST/OBC
PwBD
PGI in-service candidates

Minimum qualifying percentile

Category	Qualifying percentile
General	50th percentile
SC/ST/OBC/PwBD	45th percentile

The prospectus says that an overall merit list based on percentile is prepared irrespective of category, followed by selection according to the respective merit lists.

Important: These are qualifying percentiles, not a guaranteed admission score. Actual admission depends on merit, category, available seats and counselling.

11. Tie-breaking rule

If two or more candidates obtain the same percentile, the prospectus gives the following order:

First

The candidate who took more attempts to pass B.Sc. Nursing ranks junior.

Therefore, fewer attempts are advantageous.

Second

If attempts are equal, the candidate with higher B.Sc. Nursing marks ranks senior.

Third

If both attempts and B.Sc. Nursing marks are identical, the older candidate ranks senior.

12. Document verification and counselling

Candidates are called for physical document verification and counselling at PGIMER, Chandigarh according to merit.

Original documents are required.

The prospectus states that approximately three times the number of seats in each category may be called from candidates fulfilling the cutoff criteria. Attendance at document verification and interview/counselling is compulsory for candidates called.

Very important

If selected during counselling, the candidate must pay the required amount on the spot. Failure to do so results in cancellation of the selection and the seat can be offered to the next candidate on the waiting list.

13. Admission payment

For counselling/admission, the prospectus specifies:

₹2,650 — course fee through DD/Banker’s Cheque
₹10,000 — security amount

The DD/Banker’s Cheque is to be in favour of Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Chandigarh.

14. Course fees

The prospectus lists the following annual fees, while noting that fees are tentative and subject to revision:

Fee	Amount
Tuition Fee	₹350
Library Fee	₹50
Laboratory Fee	₹900
Games Fee	₹30
Amalgamated Fund	₹720
Registration Fee	₹500
Security/Caution Money	₹10,000 refundable
Migration Fee	₹100

The prospectus separately requires ₹2,650 as the course-fee DD/Banker’s Cheque and ₹10,000 as security at counselling.

15. Penalty for leaving the course

A significant condition is that a student leaving the M.Sc. Nursing course after joining and before completing the course is liable for:

₹50,000 penalty.

Additionally, the prospectus states that the course fee, security deposit and other amounts will not be refunded after leaving the course in between after joining and before completion of studies.

16. Medical examination

Medical fitness is a pre-condition for registration.

Candidates are medically examined by a Medical Board constituted by PGIMER Chandigarh to determine medical fitness.

17. Hostel facility

This is an important practical point for students coming from outside Chandigarh.

The prospectus states:

No hostel facility is presently available for M.Sc. Nursing candidates.

Students coming from outside Chandigarh therefore have to arrange their own accommodation.

18. Library and health facilities

The prospectus states that the Institute has a well-equipped library and that NINE also has a nursing library containing professional books and journals.

Students can access services of Nehru Hospital for illness through Staff Clinic/OPD according to PGI rules.

19. Objectives of the M.Sc. Nursing programme

The prospectus describes the objectives of the Institute as preparing nurses for:

Bedside and family-care nursing
Nursing supervision
Nursing administration
Teaching in nursing colleges and university-level nursing institutes
Nursing research related to delivery of nursing care
Development of nursing literature

20. Reservation

SC/ST/OBC

PGIMER provides reservation according to Government of India instructions.

For OBC candidates, the prospectus specifically requires:

Central Government prescribed OBC-NCL certificate
Certificate should not be older than one year from the application closing date
Required declaration that the candidate does not belong to the creamy layer

Failure to satisfy these conditions means the OBC reservation claim will not be accepted.

PwBD

The prospectus provides 5% horizontal reservation for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities, as per the cited provisions of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

21. Application fee

Category	Application fee
SC/ST	₹1,200 + applicable transaction charges
Other categories	₹1,500 + applicable transaction charges
PwBD	Exempted

Payment is through:

Debit card
Credit card
Net banking

The prospectus specifically says UPI payment will not be accepted.

22. In-service candidates

PGIMER in-service candidates are required to obtain the appropriate NOC from the concerned establishment before/while applying as specified.

Other in-service candidates who want to apply under sponsored/study-leave/service-based arrangements must initiate the NOC process with their employer/cadre-controlling authority in advance. The prospectus warns that failure to upload the required NOC can result in rejection of the application.

23. Foreign candidates

Foreign national candidates have a separate procedure. They must apply online, take a printout of the application and route the application with necessary documents through the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, through the prescribed diplomatic channel.

They are also required to appear in the entrance examination.

24. Anti-ragging policy

PGIMER has a strict anti-ragging policy.

The prospectus states that ragging is completely banned inside and outside the PGIMER campus and that offenders may face severe disciplinary/legal action, including expulsion and imprisonment/fine as described in the prospectus.

25. Most important points for an aspirant

If you are preparing specifically for PGIMER M.Sc. Nursing, remember these points:

Eligibility checklist

✅ B.Sc. Nursing 4-year or Post-Basic B.Sc. Nursing
✅ Minimum 55% aggregate
✅ Registered Nurse & Registered Midwife
✅ Minimum 1 year qualifying experience after registration
✅ Experience requirement fulfilled by the application closing date
✅ Valid category certificates where applicable

Exam checklist

✅ 100 MCQs
✅ 100 marks
✅ 90 minutes
✅ English
✅ −0.25 for each wrong answer
✅ 75% of questions from the five major nursing subjects
✅ 20% from Nursing Foundations + Research
✅ 5% General Knowledge

Selection checklist

✅ General qualifying percentile: 50th
✅ SC/ST/OBC/PwBD: 45th
✅ Final selection is merit-based
✅ Tie-breaking starts with number of B.Sc. Nursing attempts
✅ Physical document verification/counselling is compulsory
✅ Original documents required
✅ Payment required if selected during counselling

Practical checklist

✅ No hostel currently available for M.Sc. Nursing candidates
✅ Arrange accommodation independently if coming from outside Chandigarh
✅ Medical fitness required
✅ Be prepared with admission payment
✅ Do not rely on old/incorrect certificates
✅ Keep checking PGIMER notifications because the prospectus dates are expressly tentative.

Most Important – For the PGIMER/NINE M.Sc. Nursing 2026 entrance, the biggest competitive focus should be the 75-question core nursing component: Medical-Surgical, Community Health, Obstetric & Gynaecological, Child Health and Mental Health Nursing. The examination is only 90 minutes for 100 questions, with 0.25 negative marking, so speed plus accuracy is important. The prospectus also makes the 55% B.Sc. Nursing requirement and one year of qualifying post-registration experience particularly important eligibility checkpoints.

If your goal is PGIMER M.Sc. Nursing preparation, I can also turn this prospectus into a complete study guide with subject-wise syllabus/topics, high-yield topics, a 30/60/90-day study plan, expected MCQ areas, and a daily timetable.