Design, arts, policy: The other side of IITs

HYDERABAD: Want to study at an IIT without pursuing engineering? TOI breaks down the entrance tests, admissions, seat trends and placement records at IIT Hyderabad, IIT Tirupati and IIT Madras to help students and parents make informed choices about emerging non-engineering opportunities at the IITs.

How To Get Into Non-Engineering Courses At IITs

Entrance Exams

• BDes: Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design (UCEED)
• Most Master’s programmes: Joint Admission Test for Masters (JAM)
• Master’s in Development Studies at IITH: University entrance test (usually held in May)Master’s in Development Studies at IITH: University entrance test (usually held in May)
• MBA programmes: Common Admission Test (CAT)MBA programmes: Common Admission Test (CAT)
• MDes: Common Entrance Examination for Design (CEED)MDes: Common Entrance Examination for Design (CEED)

Mission Admission

IIT Hyderabad

Like Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University, our IITs too must be known for programmes beyond engineering. For this, they need to introduce more courses in liberal arts. At IITH, Master’s in development studies is quite popular. But we need more scholarship programmes to attract the best students.

— Aalok Khandekar, Head, Liberal Arts Department

Design students receive salaries on par with engineering students. There is huge demand for the course as students are selected and admitted through a common entrance test. Graduates can enter fields such as industrial design, manufacturing for product design, and communication design for creating logos, posters and films.

— Shiva Ji, Head, Department Of Design

IIT-T sees rising interest in math & statistics

IIT Tirupat

Popular non-engineering programmes

• MSc mathematics and statistics
• MSc chemistry
• MSc mathematics
• MSc physics
• Master of public polic

Seat intake

• 20 seats in all MSc programmes
• MSc mathematics has 10 seats

Demand trends

• All seats filled consistently over the last three academic years
• Students with AIR 10–100 in JAM opting for mathematics and statistics
• Some students leave after securing admissions abroad or job offers

These programmes offer strong pathways to advanced research. The curriculum provides a strong theoretical and computational foundation that prepares students for cutting-edge research

— Chaman Mehta, Joint Registrar, IIT Tirupati

While AI has had a moderate direct impact on traditional core disciplines, the curriculum has evolved to include modern computational and data-driven components. Courses such as ML, statistical learning, quantum computing and data visualisation help students build interdisciplinary skills

— Pantchacharam Mariappan, Faculty Of Mathematics & Statistics

IIT Madras

Popular non-engineering programmes

Undergraduate

• Science
• BS biological sciences
• BS physics
• BS chemistry
• BS mathematics

Data science and technology

• BSc programming and data science
• BS data science and applications
• BS electronic systems
• BS management and data science

Diploma programmes

• Diploma in programming
• Diploma in data science

Postgraduate programmes

Management programmes

• MBA in digital maritime and supply chain
• Executive MBA in strategic leadership and public policy
• PG diploma in management for executives in manufacturing

Humanities and public policy

• MA development studies
• MA economics
• MA english studies
• MA public policy

Core sciences

• MSc physics
• MSc chemistry
• MSc mathematics

AI, analytics and data science

• MSc data science and AI
• MSc sports analytics and AI

Sustainability and technology

• MSc sustainable energy systems
• MSc sustainable engineering
• MSc water security and global change
• MSc materials and manufacturing
• MSc offshore and maritime engineering

Demand And Occupancy

• BS online degree programmes have flexible intake and continue to expand every year, allowing students without a JEE score to get an IIT degree
• MBA programmes: 65–90 seats annually, consistently full
• MA humanities: Around 100 seats annually, consistently full
• MSc science programmes: 170 seats annually, consistently full

The demand for these courses is growing fast. Students and employers realise that solving modern problems requires a mix of technology, business, and social understanding

— Prathap Haridoss, Dean Of Academic Courses, Iit Madras