IIST is Asia's first Space Institute and the first in the world to offer the complete range of undergraduate, post graduate, doctoral programmes with specific focus to space science, technology and applications.IIST functions as a autonomous body under the Department of Space, Government of India.

IIST ,till 2012, had its own entrance examination,ISAT. As per the decision taken by the MHRD that universities should use JEE MAIN(erstwhile AIEEE) as the entrance examination for admission into under graduate engineering programmes,IIST being a Centrally Funded Technical Institute(CFTI) has decided to discontinue its admission test,ISAT from 2013.

IIST has announced that admissions to the under graduate courses it offers is through the All India Rank list of JEE MAIN 2013 (which would be prepared by CBSE). IIST has also announced that there would additional eligibility criteria for the B.Tech admissions which would be specified at a later date.