IIT Admission without JEE Advanced: Selection Process, Eligibility and How to Apply

Some IITs offer undergraduate programs that don't require JEE Advanced. If your primary plan of cracking JEE Advanced for IIT admission doesn't work out, what are your plan B options? Let's explore alternative pathways to get into an IIT.

IIT Admission without JEE Advanced

IIT Admission without JEE Advanced: IITs, or Indian Institutes of Technology, mainly admit students to their undergraduate engineering programs based on JEE Advanced ranks. However, some IITs offer undergraduate degrees that don’t require students to take this exam. 

Most commonly, degrees like BTech (Bachelor of Technology), BSc (Bachelor of Science), BArch (Bachelor of Architecture), and a few combined degrees rely on the results of the JEE Advanced exam. In addition to these traditional degrees, students can also look into various online and offline certification courses that don’t require passing JEE Mains or JEE Advanced. While some of these courses may be less conventional, they can still help improve a student’s academic background. Additionally, there are some degree programs available at IITs that can be pursued without JEE Advanced, using other, less competitive entrance exams. For a more detailed understanding of how to gain admission to IIT undergraduate programs without using JEE Advanced, read on for more information.

Latest Update: JEE Advanced 2025 Exam Date Announced at jeeadv.ac.in; Exam on May 18

Undergraduate IIT Courses Offered without JEE Advanced

Check below the list of IIT courses available without JEE Advanced:

IIT Admission without JEE Advanced

In the following sections, we provide an in-depth analysis of the admission protocols for various IIT courses that do not utilise JEE Advanced as a criterion for selection.

Admission to Online BS Course (Foundation and Diploma) at IIT Madras without JEE Advanced

Currently, IIT Madras is offering two BS programmes without JEE Advanced: BS in Data Science and Applications and BS in Electronic Systems.

Both programmes have multiple levels, which provide flexibility to students to exit at any of these levels. Depending on the courses completed and credits earned, the learner can receive a

• Foundation Certificate from IITM CODE
• Diploma(s) from IIT Madras
• BSc/BS Degrees from IIT Madras

The candidates who opt for the foundation and diploma course level are eligible for admission without JEE Advanced. However, for admission to the BSc degree level candidates have to qualify JEE Advanced and get admission via the traditional JoSAA counselling process.

Who can apply for admission?

1. Anyone who has passed Class 12 or equivalent can apply irrespective of age or academic background.
2. School students who have appeared for their Class 11 final exams can apply irrespective of their group/stream/board. Those who qualify can join the program after passing Class 12.
3. It is expected that the applicants have studied Mathematics and English in Class 10.

No additional eligibility other than the ones mentioned above is required to apply for the qualifier process or join the foundational level courses after clearing the qualifying exam.

Admission Process

All candidates, irrespective of their backgrounds, can earn admission to the Foundation Level by successfully completing the qualifier process.

• Qualifier Process: The qualifier process includes 4 weeks of coursework based on lecture videos, assignments, and live sessions of the four foundational level courses - English I, Mathematics for Data Science I, Statistics for Data Science I, and Computational Thinking - that will be provided through our online portal. Every week an assignment must be submitted for grading in each course.
• Qualifier Exam: At the end of the 4 weeks, a qualifier exam will be conducted for eligible candidates based on the content covered in the 4 weeks of study.

Admission to Offline BS in Medical Sciences & Engineering at IIT Madras without JEE Advanced

Offline BS in Medical Sciences & Engineering is a full-fledged traditional 4-year degree course. However, unlike other traditional BSc courses in the IITs, this course does not need JEE Advanced for admission. Rather, IIT Madras considers IISER Aptitude Test (IAT) scores for admissions.

Who can apply for admission?

• Candidates should qualify in IAT
• Candidates should be 25 years of age or less. Five years of age relaxation is given to SC, ST, and PwD candidates.
• Candidates must have passed the Class XII (or equivalent) exam with the science stream in the current admission year or the previous two consecutive years.
• Candidates must have taken Mathematics as a subject and at least two subjects among Biology, Chemistry, and Physics during their Class XII (or equivalent) exam.
• Candidates belonging to SC/ST/PWD should have scored a minimum of 55% marks in aggregate or equivalent grade in their Class XII (or equivalent) exam. Candidates belonging to other categories should have scored a minimum of 60% marks in aggregate or equivalent grade in their Class XII (or equivalent) exam.

Admission Process

All applicants should register on the IISER Admissions Portal. Once registered, applicants should apply on the IIT Madras Admission Portal. Admission offers to any candidate will be given strictly based on the following factors:

1. seat availability at IIT Madras, for the BS program at the Department of Medical Sciences and Technology (MST).
2. IAT rank obtained by the candidate.
3. The category to which the candidate belongs.

Admission to Online BBA and BSc CSDA at IIT Patna without JEE Advanced

Currently, IIT Madras is offering two online courses with JEE Advanced: BSc in Computer Science and Data Analytics and BBA. Both programmes have multiple levels, which provide flexibility to students to exit at any of these levels. These levels are

• 1 year Certificate 
• 2 year Diploma module
• 3 year Degree module

Who can apply for admission?

• Candidates who have passed 10+2 in Science with a minimum of 60% (Cumulative) can apply.
• Candidates who have any one of the following can also apply:
• Valid score/rank in National/State Level Entrance (i.e., JEE Main/JEE Advanced), NEET, CUET, BITSAT, KVPY/NTSE/INSPIRE scholarship holders, State Entrance Examinations) OR
• Valid score in International Entrance Test; US (SAT-I/SAT-II), UK(BMAT) OR
• IITP-SAT entrance test followed by a virtual interview.

Admission Process

Candidates have to apply online on the official website, cet.iitp.ac.in. Based on the eligibility and scores of the candidates in various entrance exams admission offers will be made.

Admission to BDes Courses without JEE Advanced

Candidates who are interested in the design courses can be admitted to the BDes courses offered by IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, and IIT Roorkee by clearing the Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam for Design (UCEED).

Who can apply?

• Candidates should be 25 years of age or less. Five years of age relaxation is given to SC, ST, and PwD candidates.
• The candidate should have qualified, i.e., obtained a rank, in UCEED.
• The candidate should have passed all five subjects in the qualifying examination (Class XII or equivalent) in the same year as admission or a year before that.

 Admission Process

• There will be a common application form for admissions to respective BDes programmes offered by IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Roorkee and IIITDM Jabalpur. There will be a common application form for admissions to respective BDes programmes. The UCEED Office, IIT Bombay, will process the common application form and conduct the joint seat allocation process.
• Seat allocation will be based on the All-India Rank (merit order) in UCEED, reservation category and seat availability in each institute at the time of seat allocation.

Importance of Plan B for IIT Admission

JEE Advanced presents a significant challenge for many candidates, with only 22% to 28% qualifying each year to secure a place in the prestigious IITs. In 2024, 17695 seats were allotted in the IITs from a total of 17740 available.

The competition is fierce, underlining the importance of having a Plan B. A degree from IIT is a dream cherished by many, and while traditional degree courses may seem out of reach for some, there are alternative paths to achieve the same goal. By pursuing certificate courses, short-term programs, and specific degree courses from IITs that don't require JEE Advanced, candidates can seize the opportunity to fulfil their aspiration of becoming an IITian.

Read More:

• Top Engineering Colleges in India other than IIT, NIT and IIIT
• Why Engineering is Still a Highly Paid Career Stream?
• Engineering Stream Popularity Trends in Last 5 Years