Admission to IIT Madras’ BSc Data Science Program: Now open to Class XI and XII students

CHENNAI: Admissions to Indian Institute of Technology Madras BSc in Programming and Data Science Program are now open to students of Class XI and XII. College students, working professionals, and those taking a career break are also welcome to apply.

The Institute is calling for applications for the May 2022 Term of this pioneering program, which is a first-of-its-kind initiative launched in 2020.

In an effort to take pressure off students by giving them an opportunity to secure an admission in IIT Madras while in school, IIT Madras now permits students right from Class XI to apply for the qualifier process. Students who complete Class XI by May 2022 or those currently in Class XII can apply for the May 2022 Term qualifier process and if they qualify, they can start the coursework after completing their class XII.

There is no limit on the number of seats and hence anyone who qualifies can enter the program. Learners who are eligible for the JEE Advanced 2021 exam can directly join this BSc Program in May 2022.

The last date to apply for the May Term of this Data Science Program is 20th April 2022. Interested students can apply through the website – https://onlinedegree.iitm.ac.in.

Highlighting the changes in the application process, Prof. Andrew Thangaraj, Professor In-Charge, BSc in Programming and Data Science, IIT Madras, said, “Through this program, we wish to ensure that high-quality education is accessible to anyone who dreams to study at an IIT or build a career in Programming and Data Science. This program, we hope, will be a game changer in the field of education paving the way for many other large scale programs to be offered by us and other institutes.”

More than 60,000 applications have been received for the BSc qualifier process so far and currently, more than 12,500 students from all over India and outside India are pursuing the BSc program. The diversity of the learners in the program in terms of student age (18-65yrs), role (students from different educational backgrounds – commerce, arts, science, engineering, management, medicine and law, among others, working professionals from different industry sectors) and learners being from more than 25 countries is one of the highlights of the program.

Further, Dr. Vignesh Muthuvijayan, Professor In-Charge, BSc in Programming and Data Science, IIT Madras, said, “The BSc Program opens the door to the world of data science and programming where the demand for skilled resources is very high to anyone from any background and of any age group. This tailor-made program now admits students who qualify to write JEE Advanced, providing them with an option to fulfil their dream of studying from an IIT and ensuring their hard work and toil is rewarded.”

Scholarships are available for eligible students making this program affordable for everyone. The program is highly flexible keeping the convenience of the learner in mind, where weekly content is released on a portal for anytime access, while all examinations have to be attended in person at designated centres in more than 130 cities across India that ensures credibility of the learning assessment. IIT Madras provides fee waivers of up to 75 per cent based on annual family income, along with additional scholarships through CSR partners.

The application process includes four weeks of training, which includes video lectures, weekly assignments, discussion forum and live interactions with professors and course instructors. Applicants have to write the qualifier examination in person which is based only on these 4 weeks of content and if they get more than the minimum cut-off, they can join the foundation level of the BSc in Programming and Data Science.

Sharing her feedback on the overall experience with the program, Ms. Sayantani Ghosh, a BSc student said, “I have greatly benefited from the program so far. The content that is provided is excellent. It has certainly improved my coding skills as well as made me look deep into the subjects and increased my problem-solving ability.”