Academics
Learn more about the IIT Madras BS Degree Program structure, term structure, course structure, assessments, exam cities, fee structure, foundation level courses, diploma level courses and degree level courses.
Overall Structure
There are six levels in the IIT Madras Degree program and to get the BS Degree in Data Science and Applications from IIT Madras, a learner has to successfully complete the first four levels.
There is also the flexibility to exit at any level. Depending on the courses completed and credits earned, the learner can receive a Foundation Certificate from IITM CODE (Centre for Outreach and Digital Education) or Diploma(s) from IIT Madras or BSc Degree in Programming and Data Science from IIT Madras or BS Degree in Data Science and Applications or PGD in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning or M.Tech in Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning from IIT Madras.
Those who are interested in pursuing an exclusive Diploma Program in Programming or Data Science can also check out our Diploma Program website.
Courses and Credits in Each Level:
Foundation Level: 32 credits | 8 courses
Diploma Level:
• Programming: 27 credits | 6 courses + 2 projects
• Data Science: 27 credits | 6 courses + 2 projects
BSc Degree Level: 28 credits
BS Degree Level: 28 credits
PG Diploma Level: 20 credits | 3 core + 2 electives
MTech Level: 20 credits | MTech Project
Total credits to be earned to get:
BSc Degree: 114 credits • BS Degree: 142 credits
PG Diploma in AI & ML: 162 credits (BS + PG Diploma)
MTech in AI & ML: 182 credits (BS + PG Diploma + MTech)
Completion time: upto 8 years
Based on learner’s preferred pace and performance in assessments. Expected learner engagement: ~10hrs/course/week.
Foundation Level: 1-3 years • Diploma Level: 1-2 years each • BSc/BS: 1-2 years each • PG Diploma: 1-2 years • MTech: up to 8 years from starting of Foundation.
Term Structure
Every year is divided into three terms of four months each — January Term, May Term and September Term.
Every year is divided into three terms of four months each — January Term, May Term and September Term.
Each term of four months has 12 weeks of coursework (video lectures and assignments), 2 in-person invigilated Quizzes and End Term Exams. Depending on the course, assessments may include programming exams, mini projects, vivas, take home assignments, etc.
Course Registrations
In any term, a learner can register for a maximum of 4 courses. Maximum number of courses a student can register for in a term is based on Credit Clearing Capability (CCC) of the student.
Credit Clearing Capability (CCC)
In the foundational level, qualifiers may register for up to 4 courses in the initial term. In subsequent terms, the allowed course limit is governed by the learner's past performance and course completion rate.
Level Sequence & Prerequisites
All Foundation courses must be completed before starting Diploma courses. Prerequisites for individual courses must be cleared before registering for the course.
Assessments
There are 3 types of assessments for each course:
- Weekly Assignments which are online
- Monthly in-person Quizzes
- In-person End Term Exam
In addition, assessments may include programming exams, mini projects, vivas, take home assignments, etc.
Exam Cities
The Invigilated Quizzes and End Term exams are conducted in a number of cities spread across India. The map shows our current Exam Cities List.
Students residing/physically present in India on exam day
All students residing in India or physically present in India on the day of an in-centre exam must write exams at one of the exam centres in India.
Learners based outside India
We also conduct in-person exams in Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and UAE.
Learners based out of other countries will be allowed to take up remote proctored exams. On exam day, students writing such internet based exams will be asked to pin the location exam is being taken from.
If any overseas students are planning to be in India on exam day, it is the student's responsibility to notify us ahead of time so that we can arrange for you to write the exam(s) in one of the exam centres in India; hall tickets will also be issued suitably. If any of these norms are violated, it will be considered as malpractice. Exam results may be withheld pending investigation and findings of the exam committee.
Note: Additional Exam Fee applies for all learners opting to write exams outside India.
If you reside outside India and cannot find a centre in your city / country, please write to ge@study.iitm.ac.in for assistance.
Fee Structure
For details about application fees, check Application Process in Admissions page.
Each term, pay only for the courses you register for in that specific term.
The fee structure has been revised for the students who will be joining the program at Foundation level from the January 2026 Term onwards.
| Goal | Total Credits | Total Fees INR |
|---|---|---|
| Foundation Only | 32 | ₹48,000 |
| Foundation + One Diploma | 59 | ₹1,29,000 |
| Foundation + Two Diplomas | 86 | ₹2,10,000 |
| BSc Degree | 114 | ₹2,86,000 - ₹3,10,000 |
| BS Degree | 142 | ₹3,86,000 - ₹4,50,000 |
| PG Diploma in AI & ML | 162 (BS + PG Diploma) | ₹4,86,000 - ₹5,90,000 |
| MTech in AI & ML | 182 (BS + PG Diploma + MTech) | ₹6,86,000 - ₹7,90,000 |
Existing Fee Structure for those students who joined the program till September 2025 term : Click here
The IITM BS program strives to secure scholarships from CSR and Alumni donations for its students from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds to cover the full program fees. Click here for details on industry CSR scholarships.
As intermittent support till such donations are secured, IIT Madras covers part of the fees for the BS program students from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
The fraction of IIT Madras' fee support depends on the learner's category and family income and is given below:
| Category | Family Income > 5 LPA | Family Income > 1 LPA and ≤ 5 LPA | Family Income ≤ 1 LPA | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fee Support | Docs Required | Fee Support | Docs Required | Fee Support | Docs Required | |
| General | N/A | NIL | 50% | EWS + Family Income | 75% | EWS + Family Income |
| OBC | N/A | NIL | 50% | OBC-NCL + Family Income | 75% | OBC-NCL + Family Income |
| SC / ST | 50% | SC / ST | 50% | SC / ST | 75% | SC / ST + Family Income |
| PwD | 50% | PwD | 50% | PwD | 75% | PwD + EWS / OBC-NCL + Family Income |
| SC / ST + PwD | 75% | SC / ST + PwD | 75% | SC / ST + PwD | 75% | SC / ST + PwD |
*Fee waiver is not applicable for the students outside India
Please note: At the Diploma and degree Levels of the program, a nominal fee may be charged towards additional verification of documents for those wishing to avail program fee waivers or CSR support.
Family income certificate is not required while applying for the Degree program, but will be required to avail IITM fee support when joining the program.
Download Family Income Certificate format
OBC-NCL / EWS certificate, if applicable, need to be obtained in following format while applying:
Download OBC-NCL Certificate format
Download EWS Certificate format
Note: If a learner does not pass a course in the term they registered for, they will need to repeat the entire course in a later term with re-payment of full course fee. If a learner completed all course requirements, but couldn't attend the end term exam alone, they can choose to repeat just the end term exam in the next term with the payment of an end term exam fee (₹1000 for foundation level courses; ₹2000 for diploma / degree level courses).
Foundation Level
The Foundation Level comprises courses in Mathematics, Statistics, Basics of Programming and Python, and English. These courses have been chosen to ensure that the learner who passes these successfully is well prepared to proceed to the Diploma Level courses.
Requirements for registration
The learner should apply for and clear the Qualifier Process.
Options on successful completion
Learners have the following two options when they successfully complete all 8 Foundation Level courses:
Exit: The learner may exit with a Foundation Certificate from Centre for Outreach and Digital Education (CODE), IIT Madras.
Proceed to next level: The learner can join the Diploma Level.
| Course Name | Credits | Code | Prerequisites | Corequisites | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Computational Thinking | 4 | BSCS1001 | None | None | |
| Mathematics for Data Science II | 4 | BSMA1003 | None | None | |
| Statistics for Data Science II | 4 | BSMA1004 | None | None | |
| Programming in Python | 4 | BSCS1002 | None | None |
Diploma Level
There are two sections in the Diploma Level with courses for Diploma in Programming and courses for Diploma in Data Science. Each of these diplomas comprises 5 core courses, 2 projects and 1 skill enhancement course.
Requirements for registration
The learner should have cleared all 8 Foundation Level courses.
Options on successful completion
Learners have the following options based on the courses completed in this level:
If a learner has completed all the courses and projects in Foundation Level and both Diplomas, they can proceed to the BSc Degree Level.
OR they may exit with a Diploma in Programming from IIT Madras.
OR they may exit with a Diploma in Data Science from IIT Madras.
OR they may exit with both Diplomas from IIT Madras.
12 Courses + 4 Projects
54 Credits Total
1 - 3 Years
~15 hrs / course / week
Fee Structure
Refer Fee Structure
Courses for Diploma in Programming
The Diploma in Programming lays a sturdy foundation in databases and programming concepts with data structures and algorithms. The learner goes on to apply these in the building of a web application by the end of the diploma.
| Course Name | Credits | Code | Prerequisites | Corequisites | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | BSCS2001 | None | None | ||
| 4 | BSCS2002 | None | None | ||
| 4 | BSCS2003 | None | BSCS2001 | ||
| 2 | BSCS2003P | None | BSCS2003 | ||
| 4 | BSCS2005 | None | None | ||
| 4 | BSCS2006 | BSCS2003 | None | ||
| 2 | BSCS2006P | BSCS2003P | BSCS2006 | ||
| 2 | BSSE2001 | None | None |
Courses for Diploma in Data Science
The Diploma in Data Science exposes the learner to the holistic approach of gathering, analysing, and interpreting data for a variety of problems. The courses on Business Data lays down the context and the need for the data, while the Machine Learning courses equip the learner to use and analyse this data towards impactful conclusions.
Diploma in Data Science Pathway
Once the student is in the Diploma level, they will have 2 options to complete the Diploma in Data Science. Students can gain 27 Credits in 2 ways:
5 Mandatory Courses + 1 Project
Choose one of two options (Option 1 or Option 2)
Business Analytics + BDM Project
Introduction to Deep Learning and Generative AI + Project
- This is effective for students in the Diploma level from the September 2025 Term onwards.
- Students have to complete the mandatory 5 courses (19 credits) + 1 Project (2 Credits).
- The remaining 6 credits can be earned by choosing any one of the two options comprising a theory course and a project.
| Course Name | Credits | Code | Prerequisites | Corequisites | Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | BSCS2004 | None | None | ||
| 4 | BSMS2001 | None | None | ||
| 2 | BSMS2001P | None | BSMS2001 | ||
| 4 | BSCS2007 | None | BSCS2004 | ||
| 4 | BSCS2008 | BSCS2004, BSCS2007 | None | ||
| 2 | BSCS2008P | None | BSCS2008 | ||
|
OPTION 1
Business Analytics
|
4 | BSMS2002 | BSMS2001 | None | |
| 2 | BSSE2002 | None | BSCS2004 | ||
|
OPTION 2
Introduction to DL and GenAI
|
4 | BSDA2001 | None | BSCS2008 | |
| 2 | BSDA2001P | BSCS2007 | BSCS2008, BSDA2001 |
BSc Degree Level
For BSc in Programming and Data Science from IIT Madras.
Requirements for registration
The learner should have cleared all 8 courses in Foundation Level and all 12 courses + 4 projects in Diploma Level.
Options on successful completion
Once the learner successfully completes overall 114 credits including credits earned in all previous levels:
they can proceed to the BS Degree Level.
OR they may exit with a BSc Degree in Programming & Data Science from IIT Madras.
BSc Degree Level
28 Credits (Total 114 Credits)
1 - 3 Years
~15 hrs / course / week
Fee Structure
Refer Fee Structure
BS Degree Level
For BS in Data Science and Applications from IIT Madras.
Requirements for registration
The learner should have earned 114 credits and completed the BSc Degree Level to enter the BS Degree Level.
Options on successful completion
Once the learner successfully completes 142 credits and the course requirements:
They can exit with a BS Degree in Data Science and Applications from IIT Madras.
OR they can proceed to the PG Diploma Level (if they meet the eligibility criteria of minimum CGPA of 8.0).
BS Degree Level
28 Credits (Total 142 Credits)
1 - 3 Years
~15 hrs / course / week
Fee Structure
Refer Fee Structure
Degree Level Courses
Core and elective curriculum covering advanced artificial intelligence, distributed systems, deep learning, mathematical modeling, and domain specializations.
Core Courses
There are two pairs of core courses in the degree level and one mandatory course. It is mandatory for the learner to complete all five core courses.
Elective & Degree Courses
In the BSc and BS level, up to 8 credits can be transferred from NPTEL and up to 12 credits via industry apprenticeship.
| Course Name | Credits | Code | Prerequisites | Corequisites | Actions |
|---|
PG Diploma & M.Tech Level
For PG Diploma in AI & ML / M.Tech in AI & ML from IIT Madras.
Requirements for registration
Students must have completed all core course requirements at the Degree level and must complete the CGPA requirements (minimum CGPA of 8.0) at the time of applying for the upgrade.
Options on successful completion
Once the learner successfully completes the course requirements, they can either continue to MTech Level for an additional 20 credits (MTech Project) and complete the MTech degree, or exit with a PG Diploma in AI & ML from IIT Madras.
PG Diploma in AI & ML
20 Credits (3 Core + 2 Electives)
1 - 2 Years
~15 hrs / course / week
Fee Structure
Refer Fee Structure
PG Diploma Level Courses
There are three core courses in the PG Diploma level (mandatory for all learners) and a selection of specialized electives.
Sample Certificates
Official degree certificates and diplomas issued by the Indian Institute of Technology Madras. Click any sample to expand high-resolution preview.
M.Tech in AI & ML
IIT Madras
PG Diploma in AI & ML
IIT Madras
BS Degree in Data Science & Applications
IIT Madras
BSc Degree in Programming & Data Science
IIT Madras
Diploma in Programming
IIT Madras
Diploma in Data Science
IIT Madras
Advanced Certificate in Programming
IIT Madras
Advanced Certificate in AI & ML
IIT Madras
Foundation Certificate
IITM CODECheck the Current Academic Calendar
Access detailed schedules for quiz dates, assignment deadlines, and end-term exam timetables.