IIT Madras joins IIT Kanpur's B.Cyber programme; admissions through common hackathon

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has become the second IIT to offer the Bachelor of Cybersecurity (B.Cyber.) programme, joining the initiative launched by IIT Kanpur earlier this year. For the 2026–27 academic session, both institutes will admit students through a common hackathon-based selection process. However, the programme will be taught separately at their respective campuses.

IIT Kanpur Director Manindra Agrawal made this announcement on X. He also announced that IIT Kanpur will reimburse the application fee, excluding processing charges, to applicants who were not shortlisted.

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He earlier said that the institute reviewed all applications again, resulting in only a few additional candidates being shortlisted. According to him, many applicants who claimed cybersecurity experience were not selected because their submissions were limited to basic vulnerability analyses or course completion certificates.

IIT Kanpur had launched the Bachelor of Cybersecurity programme in June as a first-of-its-kind undergraduate course offered by the Wadhwani School of AI and Intelligent Systems. Unlike conventional IIT admissions, the programme does not require Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Advanced. Candidates are shortlisted based on their JEE Main scores and evidence of cybersecurity-related work before participating in an on-campus hackathon.

The four-year programme combines two years of classroom and laboratory training with two years of internships at government security organisations. The programme aims to prepare graduates for real-world cybersecurity roles. Earlier this week, IIT Kanpur released a shortlist of 121 candidates for the next stage of admissions.