Updated on Oct 12, 2026 15:02 IST
JEE Advanced is the only exam that leads to admission to the IITs. Candidates need to pass the JEE Advanced cutoff to be eligible for JoSAA counselling. JoSAA counselling is a centralised counselling process for admission to IITs, NITs, IIITs and CFTIs. Know which are the most popular courses in IITs here.

23 IITs offer around 130+ courses every year for admission. Out of these courses which courses are the most sought after, let’s check out here.

Top 10 Most Sought BTech Courses in IITs

JEE Advanced 2025: Top 10 Most Sought BTech Courses in IITs

Top 10 Most Sought BTech Courses in IITs: The candidates who qualify JEE Advanced get to choose their IIT and courses for admission. Last year 23 IITs offered a total of 133 courses. Of the 133 courses, 77 were four-year BTech courses, and 56 were five-year academic courses. 17,385 seats were available across 133 courses offered by the 23 IITs last year and 48,248 candidates qualified JEE Advanced.

JEE Advanced is the only exam that leads to admission to the IITs. Candidates need to pass the JEE Advanced cutoff to be eligible for JoSAA counselling. JoSAA counselling is a centralised counselling process for admission to IITs, NITs, IIITs and CFTIs.

Let's analyse the courses across the 23 IITs that were most in demand last year.

Table of contents
  • Top 10 Preferred Courses and Institutes in 2026
  • Top 10 Most Sought BTech Courses in IITs
  • Demand for Computer Science and Engineering in IITs
  • Demand for Electronics and Communication Engineering in IITs
  • Demand for Electrical Engineering in IITs
  • Demand for Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering in IITs
  • Demand for Artificial Intelligence in IITs
  • Demand for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence in IITs
  • Demand for Mechanical Engineering in IITs
  • Demand for Electronics and Electrical Engineering in IITs
  • Demand for Mathematics and Computing in IITs
  • Demand for Electronic Engineering in IITs
  • On What Factors the Demand of a Course in the IITs Depend?
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Top 10 Preferred Courses and Institutes in 2026

Based on JoSAA counselling 2026 and student preferences among top JEE Advanced 2026 rank-holders, the top 10 most sought-after and competitive courses at the IITs are:

Course Name (BTech/BS)

IITs Offering the Course

Approx Closing Rank

1. Computer Science and Engineering (CSE)

IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur

1 to 150

2. Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (AI & DS)

IIT Hyderabad, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Jodhpur, IIT Patna

500 to 3,000

3. Mathematics and Computing

IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, IIT Guwahati

100 to 800

4. Electrical Engineering (EE)

IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee

300 to 900

5. Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE)

IIT Roorkee, IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Indore

600 to 2,200

6. Engineering Physics

IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee

1,000 to 4,500

7. Mechanical Engineering

IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur

1,500 to 4,500

8. Aerospace Engineering

IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kharagpur

2,000 to 5,500

9. Chemical Engineering

IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Guwahati

2,500 to 6,500

10. Economics / Financial Engineering

IIT Delhi, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Roorkee

2,000 to 6,000

Top 10 Most Sought BTech Courses in IITs

As per last year, these are the courses that were most in demand among the candidates in the IITs:

Sr. No.

BTech Course

1

Computer Science and Engineering

2

Electronics and Communication Engineering

3

Electrical Engineering

4

Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering

5

Artificial Intelligence

6

Data Science and Artificial Intelligence

7

Mechanical Engineering

8

Electronics and Electrical Engineering

9

Mathematics and Computing

10

Electronics Engineering

Q&A Icon
Commonly asked questions
Q:   Will there be any spot round of seat allocation at any of the IITs after the completion of the 6th round of seat allocation?
A: 

No, there will be no spot round of seat allocation at any of the IITs after the completion of the last round of JoSAA seat allocation.  

Q:   What is the cutoff for JEE Advanced 2026?
A: 

The JEE Advanced 2026 cutoff will be released with the results of JEE Advanced 2026. Until then, candidates can check below the JEE Advanced cutoff from the previous years:

The JEE Advanced 2025 cutoff of the common rank list is 20.56%; 18.50% for the GEN-EWS rank list and OBC-NCL rank list; 10.28% for SC, ST, and PwD rank lists across all categories; and 5.14% for Preparatory course rank lists.

All those candidates who score above the cutoff marks in their respective categories can register for JoSAA counselling to participate in the IIT seat allotment process. Note that qualifying the JEE Advaced cutoff will not guarantee a seat in the IITs. Various factors are at play while allotting seats in the IITs. These factors include the demand for a course and IIT, the number of seats on offer, the reservation criteria, etc.

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Demand for Electronics and Communication Engineering in IITs

Electronics and Communication Engineering has been the second most sought-after course across the IITs. Check below how many candidates showed interest in the Electronics and Communication Engineering course while registering their choices in JoSAA counselling across the IITs:

Institute

Number of candidates opted Electronics and Communication Engineering course as a choice

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

19331

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati

17999

Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad

13752

Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar

13,190

Indian Institute of Technology Patna

11859

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Demand for Electrical Engineering in IITs

Electrical Engineering has been the third most sought after course across the IITs. Check below how many candidates showed interest in Electrical Engineering course while registering their choices in JoSAA counselling across the IITs:

Institute

Number of candidates opted Electrical Engineering course as a choice

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

19064

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

18929

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

18618

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

18261

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

18153

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

17917

Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad

16779

Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi

15599

Indian Institute of Technology Indore

14846

Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar

13180

Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad

12892

Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar

12,153

Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur

12022

Indian Institute of Technology Ropar

11899

Indian Institute of Technology Mandi

11674

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

10798

Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati

10045

Indian Institute of Technology Goa

9654

Indian Institute of Technology Dharwad

9375

Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad

9310

Indian Institute of Technology Bhilai

9237

Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar

7496

Indian Institute of Technology Jammu

7359

Demand for Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering in IITs

Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering has been the fourth most sought after course across the IITs. Check below how many candidates showed interest in Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering course while registering their choices in JoSAA counselling across the IITs:

Institute

Number of candidates opted Electronics and Electrical Communication Engineering course as a choice

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

17421

Demand for Artificial Intelligence in IITs

Artificial Intelligence has been the fifth most sought after course across the IITs. Check below how many candidates showed interest in the Artificial Intelligence course while registering their choices in JoSAA counselling across the IITs:

Institute

Number of candidates opted Artificial Intelligence course as a choice

Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad

16900

Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar

13326

Demand for Data Science and Artificial Intelligence in IITs

Data Science and Artificial Intelligence have been the sixth most sought-after course across the IITs. Check below how many candidates showed interest in the Data Science and Artificial Intelligence course while registering their choices in JoSAA counselling across the IITs:

Institute

Number of candidates opted Data Science and Artificial Intelligence course as a choice

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

16673

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati

15673

Indian Institute of Technology Bhilai

9176

Also Read: IITs Offering BTech in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science: Admission via JEE Advanced

Demand for Mechanical Engineering in IITs

Mechanical Engineering has been the seventh most sought after course across the IITs. Check below how many candidates showed interest in the Mechanical Engineering course while registering their choices in JoSAA counselling across the IITs:

Institute

Number of candidates opted Mechanical Engineering course as a choice

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

16456

Indian Institute of Technology Bombay

16304

Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur

16170

Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee

16092

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

16074

Indian Institute of Technology Madras

15490

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati

14763

Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad

14241

Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi

13804

Indian Institute of Technology Indore

12791

Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar

11349

Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad

11256

Indian Institute of Technology Bhubaneswar

10,691

Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur

10486

Indian Institute of Technology Ropar

10242

Indian Institute of Technology Mandi

10090

Indian Institute of Technology Patna

9928

Indian Institute of Technology Tirupati

9011

Indian Institute of Technology Goa

8905

Indian Institute of Technology Palakkad

8478

Indian Institute of Technology Dharwad

8454

Indian Institute of Technology Bhilai

8441

Indian Institute of Technology Jammu

6868

Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi

6866

Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar

6131

Demand for Electronics and Electrical Engineering in IITs

Electronics and Electrical Engineering has been the eighth most sought after course across the IITs. Check below how many candidates showed interest in the Electronics and Electrical Engineering course while registering their choices in JoSAA counselling across the IITs:

Institute

Number of candidates opted Electronics and Electrical Engineering course as a choice

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati

15373

Demand for Mathematics and Computing in IITs

Mathematics and Computing has been the ninth most sought after course across the IITs. Check below how many candidates showed interest in the Mathematics and Computing course while registering their choices in JoSAA counselling across the IITs:

Institute

Number of candidates opted Mathematics and Computing course as a choice

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

15309

Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad

13770

Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati

13662

Indian Institute of Technology Indore

12018

Indian Institute of Technology Delhi

10528

Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur

10520

Indian Institute of Technology Ropar

9795

Indian Institute of Technology Patna

9352

Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi

8638

Indian Institute of Technology Goa

8222

Indian Institute of Technology Dharwad

7776

Indian Institute of Technology (ISM) Dhanbad

7395

Indian Institute of Technology Jammu

6144

Demand for Electronic Engineering in IITs

Electronic Engineering has been the tenth most sought after course across the IITs. Check below how many candidates showed interest in the Electronic Engineering course while registering their choices in JoSAA counselling across the IITs:

Institute

Number of candidates opted Electronic Engineering course as a choice

Indian Institute of Technology (BHU) Varanasi

13965

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On What Factors the Demand of a Course in the IITs Depend?

As per the AISHE report, the core engineering branches are still the most popular choices among engineering candidates. Mechanical Engineering, Electronics Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Electrical Engineering are the top 5 engineering streams with the maximum number of enrollments at the undergraduate level over the past few years. But, slowly this trend is declining. With Information Technology (IT) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) entering our everyday lives the demands for streams like computer science, Data Science, AI, etc have increased. The same is evident as per the date above.

Steadily, the engineering streams that are growing in popularity are Information Technology, Chemical Engineering, Agriculture Engineering and Aeronautical Engineering. One of the major factors of demand for a course among the candidates is the job market. Also, as per the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) report, Computer Engineering is one of the most popular engineering streams.

Factors that define the demand for a course are:

  • Job prospects
  • Career scope
  • Placements
  • Future prospects
  • Salary prospects
  • Interest of the candidate

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Answered Yesterday

The JEE Advanced last round closing rank was 1434. Students with a valid JEE Advanced rank need to participate in the JoSAA round for admission to BTech in CSE course.

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You are not eligible for JEE (Advanced) 2027 because your first appearance for Class 12 was in 2025. For JEE (Advanced) 2027 candidates must have taken their Class 12 (or equivalent) examination for the first time in either 2026 or 2027. Since your first appearance was in 2025 you fall outside this

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Answered 2 months ago

The IIT GANDHINAGAR JEE Advanced closing ranksfor the General (open) female only category in 2026 ranked from roughly 5,437 for computer Science and engineering up to 20270 for civil engineering.

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mohan babu

Beginner-Level 1

Answered 2 months ago

IIT BHU CSE cutoff 2026 ranged from 1436 in the first round to 1439 in the last round for the General category under the All India quota. Hence, a rank of at least 1439 is needed to qualify for admission to the CSE course. Check the table below to know the overall cutoff range for other categories.

CategoryIIT BHU CSE cutoff 2026
General1436 - 1439
OBC601 - 601 (R1)
SC313 - 373
ST161 - 170
EWS245 - 245 (R1)
PWD66 - 66 (R1)

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Neerja Rohatgi

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