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Overview of study at IITs- 15-Feb-2014
Among the Institutes of National Importance, Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) stand out as premier institutions offering quality education in science, technology, research and management.
The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are a group of autonomous techincal institutes in India, governed by the Institutes of Technology Act, 1961 that declares them as "institutions of national importance", the IITs have their own powers, duties, framework for governance etc.
Each IIT is an autonomous institution, linked to the others through a common IIT Council, which oversees their administration. The IITs award degrees starting from B.Tech to Ph.D.
IITs have a common admission process for undergraduate admissions through Joint Entrance Examination in 2013. Earlier, admission was carried out through IIT-JEE.
M. Tech. admissions are based on the basis of Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE).
IITs also award other graduate degrees such as M.Sc. in Engineering, Maths, Physics and Chemistry, MBA, PhD and more. Admission to these programs are through Common Admission Test (CAT), Joint Admission Test to M.Sc. (JAM) and Common Entrance Examination for Design (CEED).
All the IITs provide on-campus residential facilities to the students, research scholars and faculty. Students in all IITs have an option to choose between National Cadet Corps (NCC), National Service Scheme (NSS) and National Sports Organisation (NSO) in their first years.
All the IITs have grounds for various sports like basketball, cricket, football (soccer), hockey, volleyball, lawn tennis, badminton, and athletics; and swimming pools for aquatic events.
UG at IITs:
Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) degree is the most common undergraduate degree in the IITs in terms of student enrollment. The B.Tech course is based on a 4-year program with eight semesters.
PG & PG Diplomas at IIITs:
IITs offer a number of postgraduate programs including Master of Technology (M.Tech.), Master of Business
Administration (MBA) and Master of Science (M.Sc.). But, some IITs offer specialised graduate programmes such as the Post Graduate Diploma in Information Technology (PGDIT), Master in Medical Science and Technology (MMST), Master of City Planning (MCP), Master of Arts (MA), Postgraduate Diploma in Intellectual Property Law (PGDIPL), Master of Design (M.Des.), and the Postgraduate Diploma in Maritime Operation & Management (PGDMOM).
Some of the IITs offer an M.S. (by research) program; the M.Tech. and M.S. are similar to the US universities' non-thesis (course based) and thesis (research based) masters programs respectively.
Several IITs have schools of management offering masters degrees in management or business administration.
Dual degrees at IITs:
Apart from offering conventional B.Tech. and M.Tech., IITs too offer integrated educational program called "Dual Degree". It integrates undergraduate and postgraduate studies in selected areas of specialisation that is completed in
five years as against six years in conventional B.Tech. (four years) followed by an M.Tech. (two years).
Similarly, IITs too offer Integrated Master of Science programs that is inclusive of Undergraduate and Postgraduate
studies in Science streams in a single degree program against the conventional University system.
Doctoral studies at IITs:
Further more, IITs also offer the Doctor of Philosophy degree (PhD) as part of their doctoral education programme. In it,
the candidates are given a topic of academic interest by the professor or have to work on a consultancy project given
by the industries. Generaly, duration of the program is unspecified and depends on the specific discipline.
PhD candidates have to submit a dissertation as well as provide an oral defence for their thesis. Teaching
Assistantships (TA) and Research Assistantships (RA) are often provided.
List of IITs that are functional at present:
1Indian Institute of Technology, Institution of Engineers Building, Guwahati.
2Indian Institute of Technology, Hauz Khas, New Delhi.
3Indian Institute of Technology, Powai, Mumbai.
4Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai
5Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur.
6Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee.
7Indian Institute of Technology, Hyderabad.
8Indian Institute of Technology, Jodhpur.
9Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar.
10Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi.
11Indian Institute of Technology, Indore.
12Indian Institute of Technology, Patna.
13Indian Institute of Technology, Ahmedabad.
14Indian Institute of Technology, Bhubaneswar.
15Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
16Indian Institute of Technology (Banaras Hindu University), Varanasi.
More details regarding specifiic courses are available on their official websites.
