IIT Madras launches new BS, BTech, MTech courses for 2025-26; entry through JEE, GATE, IISER IAT

With an aim to prepare students for the latest advances in technology, Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has launched four new undergraduate (UG) programmes for the academic year 2025-26.

Admission to these four new courses — BS Chemistry, MTech in Electric Vehicle, BTech in Computational Engineering and Mechanics (CEM) and Instrumentation and Biomedical Engineering — will be done through IISER Aptitude Test, Graduate Aptitude Test for Engineering (GATE 2025), and Joint Entrance Examination Main (JEE Mains 2025) scores.

IIT Madras, ranked number one college in India in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) published by the ministry of education, introduced two major initiatives in the last year.

It introduced 'Fine Arts and Culture Excellence’ (FACE) admission to UG programme for this year with an objective to encourage students who have excelled in fine arts and culture.

Admission to these courses are not done through the traditional method - Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA) counselling - but on a separate portal, ugadmissions.iitm.ac.in/face/.

It also launched ‘Sports Excellence Admission’ (SEA) to encourage students who have excelled in sports to continue their higher education along with pursuing their sport.

Under both these initiatives, two seats per programme have been reserved for students enrolled in BTech and BS programmes in IIT Madras. Of these, one seat is allotted for female students.

Prathap Haridoss, Dean (Academic Courses), IIT Madras, “These new courses have been introduced keeping in mind the needs of both industry as well as academia and the aspirations of students.”

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IIT Madras launches four new courses

Programme details and eligibility criteria for the newly introduced courses at IIT Madras.

BS Chemistry - Admission for BS Chemistry will be through the IISER Aptitude Test (IAT 2025) scores. IAT 2025 was held on May 25. The course is designed by blending theoretical knowledge and practical laboratory experience to prepare learners for research, industry, and academia.

Students will given an opportunity to avail a minor degree along with BS or MS, eg. BS Chemistry with Data Science. They will also be working on projects in allied science and engineering departments of IIT-M. Additionally, students will be collaborating with other universities during the MS project.

MTech in Electric Vehicles - Admission will be through GATE scores. The industry-aligned course aims to prepare well-trained engineers and to familiarize them with the latest technologies in the EV industry.

BTech Computational Engineering and Mechanics (CEM) - This course is for students seeking digital engineering careers, in which physical systems converge with computational and artificial intelligence (AI). Learners will be prepared to solve tomorrow’s complex and real-world engineering challenges.

BTech in Instrumentation and Biomedical Engineering (iBME) - This course is designed to equip graduates with the skills to design clinically regulated, ethically sensitive solutions that address global healthcare challenges. It “prepares graduates for leadership as well as entrepreneurship roles in the medical device industry, rehabilitation technologies, and AI-driven healthcare systems, while fostering innovation in diagnostics and therapeutics”.

Both BTech programmes offer students the opportunity to upgrade to the five-year dual degree (BTech + MTech) through Interdisciplinary Dual Degree (IDDD) programmes, three of which - Computational Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Complex Systems and Dynamics - are coordinated by the faculty of the Department of Applied Mechanics and Biomedical Engineering, the IIT Madras said in a statement.