The School of Physical Sciences (SPS) is one of the leading departments of India in terms of research and teaching in physical sciences. The SPS faculty has made significant contributions to novel interdisciplinary areas interfacing physics, chemistry and mathematics, in addition to the more traditional areas of physics. The School has well-developed computing facilities and well-equipped laboratories. The research emphasis is on topics of Chemical Physics, Computational Physics, Condensed Matter Physics, Disordered Systems, Granular Materials, Mathematical Physics, Nonequilibrium Statistical Mechanics, Nonlinear Dynamics, Quantum Chaos, Quantum Optics and Statistical Nuclear Physics. Experimental areas include Complex Fluids, Materials Science, Superconductivity, Magnetism, Nonlinear Optics, Semiconductors, Polymers and Nanoparticle Physics.

The research and teaching contributions of SPS have been acknowledged in many ways. The SPS graduates (Ph.D. and M.Sc.) have found subsequent positions with great ease. Many of the faculty members are frequent speakers at national and international conferences. The work of the faculty has received extensive citations in the scientific literature. Some faculty members have received prestigious national awards and been elected fellows of important scientific academies. SPS was recognized as a Centre of Excellence under the UGC-DRS scheme in 1994. The grant was upgraded to a higher level in 1999 and has been augmented by the COSIST scheme for 2000-2004. SPS also received a research grant under FIST from the DST. The School offers a Ph.D. (Physical Sciences) and an M.Sc. (Physics) degree programme.