The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, has a dream offering for all—a B.Sc. degree in programming and data science, where you don’t require to clear any entrance exam to get in, you can exit at any time with at least a certificate, no age limit for admission and no time limit for getting the degree. 

The admission cycles begin in January, May and September. If you quit at the end of year one, you get a certificate; 2nd year a diploma. You have an option of doing a 4th year — one year after getting the degree — and you would get a Honors. One may, however, do the course at his or her own pace — for example, complete the degree in five years.  

Since the B.Sc. course began on June 30, 2020 — as an experiment, during the pandemic — 60,000 applications have been received and 15,000 admitted into the course. Out of them, 12,432 are pursuing the course, of whom three are above 70 years of age and 10 above 60. 

Furthermore, CSR funding is pouring in for students who cannot pay the ₹2.40 lakh for the degree (₹1.20 lakh for the diploma). Over 2,000 students have been supported by CSR funding, IIT-M’s Director, Dr Veezhinathan Kamakoti, told a press conference here today. 

In an earlier interview to BusinessLine, Dr Kamakoti had said that it was his vision to see 50,000 students get the institute’s B.Sc. degree annually.  

The courseware comes in the form of both live and recorded videos, but students have to write the examination at a centre. 

India’s demand for data scientists is about 5 lakh a year, as such there are huge employment opportunities, Kamakoti said.

He further said the institution is planning to offer B.Sc. in Applied Electronics, in view of high demand for the course.

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