IIT Madras Admissions 2021: Know how to enroll in online BSc Data Science course without JEE Advanced

There is no system of entrance exams. Students possessing Class 10-level maths skills can enrol directly. However, after one month, IIT Madras will conduct a qualifier exam. 

Students can now enroll in the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras BSc in data science without appearing for Joint Entrance Exam (JEE). While candidates are spared the intense preparation and competition for qualifying the JEE Main for engineering and then the JEE Advanced for the IITs, completing the programme is still far from easy.

There is no system of entrance exams. Students possessing Class 10-level maths skills can enrol directly. However, after one month, IIT Madras will conduct a qualifier exam. 

Of the first batch of over 30,000 students to join the qualifier process, only 8,154 passed the qualifier exam in 2020 and were enrolled in higher levels of the programme. It must be noted that the first month fees have been kept intentionally low and covers the cost of the examination at the end of the month. As per IIT Madras, the data science programme is the world's first online BSc degree programme.

It also offers exits with lower qualifications along the way. Andrew Thangaraj in charge of the programme said: “When we constructed the programme we wanted to allow a student who has passed Class 10 with mathematics and learn what is there in the programme and slowly build everything to get out with a successful degree and become a successful programmer and data scientist.” The JEE Main and JEE Advanced together are extremely difficult and “keep 99.99% of the world out”, said Thangaraj. “We wanted to break that barrier and to show what IIT-quality education is.”

It must be noted that there is no age limit or stream to enroll in the course. However, all candidates need to be eligible for the first month of the qualifier programme is to have completed Class 12 and studied maths at least till Class 10. Once they join, students train with IIT Madras online for a week and appear for a qualifying exam. If they clear that, they are admitted to the foundation stage.

The course is being offered in three different stages - the foundational programme, the diploma programme and the degree programme. Students will have the option to exit from the program and receive a certificate, diploma or degree depending on how far they got. Interested students will be required to pay the fee for the entrance exam. The students can be based anywhere but the exam centres are currently restricted to India, UAE, and Sri Lanka. 
Read More:

• IIT Madras Courses & Fees 2021
• IIT Madras Placement 2021