IIT Kharagpur scraps branch change option; introduces double majors, semester away programme

NEW DELHI: As part of a curriculum revamp, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has scrapped the branch change option and introduced double major, minor specialization, and a semester away programme (SAP) in the undergraduate programmes starting from the 2024-25 academic session.

The institute also announced that admission to all UG programmes will be for four-year, BTech and BS levels only while students will get the opportunity to choose five-year dual degree programmes after the second or third year. IIT Kharagpur explained that students can opt for a dual degree programme in their parent department based on their interest and suitability, or they can also go for the Interdisciplinary Dual Degree Programmes (IDDP) offered by several schools and centres of the institute.

“This will also create interesting possibilities such as a BS (Hons) in Economics with MTech in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning or a BTech (Hons) in Civil Engineering with MTech in Financial Engineering etc. These changes will facilitate the students to make informed choices after spending a few semesters at IIT Kharagpur for dual degree, instead of making the choice before they join the institute,” the institute said.

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The reason behind the institute's move to abolish the option to change branch at the end of the first year of a UG programme is to reduce student stress. As per IIT Kharagpur, not even 10 percent of students manage to change their branch and the rest go through depression and other mental health issues alongside poor performance.

Double majors, SAP, micro specialization

UG students taking admissions in the upcoming academic session will get the option to earn double majors along with BTech (Hons) and BS (Hons) in their chosen departments. Students will be able to apply for it after the first year of their studies.

For instance, the institute explained, a student pursuing BTech (Hons) in Mechanical Engineering can opt for a “Double Major” in economics or a student pursuing BS (Hons) in Physics can opt for a “Double Major” in electronics and electrical communications engineering or artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Further, under SAP, a UG student can spend one semester either in another reputed national or international institute or in an industry or research laboratories and earn full credits equivalent to the semester credits. If required, the UG students can also combine their mandatory summer internship of eight weeks along with the semester-long SAP programme, thus getting an opportunity to spend almost 8 months in another reputed organization or industry anywhere in the world.

Moreover, IIT Kharagpur will make it mandatory for the students to study at least one artificial intelligence or machine learning elective along with others which include linguistics, happiness and well-being, Indian Knowledge Systems, and performing arts.

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Commenting on the curriculum reforms, professor V K Tewari, director, IIT Kharagpur, “The Double Major programme is expected to attract a large number of brilliant students to pursue studies in an area of their interest apart from the basic programme in which they take admission. It is hoped that they can do this without much mental stress as they can complete their BTech (Hons)/BS (Hons) programme along with Double Major in 4 to 5 years depending upon their course completion plan.”

“Once the branch change is abolished, the first year curriculum need not be common across all branches, and the departments have the opportunity to introduce relevant, department-specific subjects from 1st year onwards. The students can also get exposure to top organizations in the world through SAP, while the organizations can utilize the talent of the exceptionally brilliant IIT students to solve the challenging problems of the organization/industries,” he added.

Depending upon the nature of the host organization, the IIT students also have an opportunity of getting Pre-Placement Offers (PPOs) from them along with offers for master’s or doctoral research in national and international universities or institutes.