Many IITs offer courses in design, management and other subjects for students with arts and commerce backgrounds. Here’s how you can apply for them
Getting into an IIT is the ultimate goal of every engineering aspirant in India. Everyone wants to get a chance to share the brand name of IITs but what options do students have who hail from non-technical backgrounds? Well, there are still ways for you to get into an IIT while pursuing the subject of your choice. Many IITs offer courses in design, management and other subjects for students with arts and commerce backgrounds.
Bachelor of Design (B.Des)
Bachelor of Design is a four-year undergraduate programme that teaches design principles, images and photography. Candidates can get admission to this course through Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design (UCEED). The national level entrance exam is conducted by IIT Bombay and covers subjects such as visualisation and spatial ability, design thinking and problem solving, observation and design sensitivity, analytical and logical reasoning, language and creativity, environmental and social awareness.
Currently, there are three IITs offering this course including IIT Bombay (37 seats), IIT Hyderabad (20 seats) and IIT Guwahati (56 seats). IIT Delhi has introduced BDes which will be offered in the next academic session. Additionally, the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Jabalpur (66 seats) also offer this course.
Eligibility Criteria: Any candidate who has completed class 12 and is under the age of 24 years can take up the entrance exam for admission in this course.
Master of Design (M.Des)
Master of Design is a two-year postgraduate course meant for specialisation in design courses that can be even be taken by students with humanities and commerce backgrounds. Interested applicants can seek admission in these courses at IIT through CEED into their design courses. Currently, there are six IITs in addition to the Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing, Jabalpur, offering M. Des. The course is offered at IIT Bombay, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Guwahati, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, and IIT Kanpur.
Eligibility Criteria: Any candidate who has completed a degree, diploma or postgraduate course of at least three years can apply for the course. Colleges may specify the specialisation of the said programme according to the subject they wish to opt for. Additionally, candidates who have passed the GD Arts Diploma programme are also eligible for taking up the CEED examination.
MA specialisation
The two-year postgraduate programme of Master of Arts is offered with specialisation such as language, social work, political science, sociology, geography, philosophy, and others. The subjects of these courses depend on the specialisation chosen by the candidates. Currently, there are only three IITs — IIT Gandhinagar, IIT Madras and IIT Guwahati, offering these courses. Each of these IITs conducts its own written examination and interview process for admission in MA.
Eligibility Criteria: Candidates seeking admission in MA courses offered by IITs should have completed a Bachelor’s degree from a recognised university from any discipline. Additionally, the college or programme where you apply may have minimum percentage criteria.
Master of Business Administration
Candidates seeking admission in MBA can also look for management courses offered by many IITs. Admission to these courses is given on the basis of the candidate’s performance in CAT followed by rounds of group discussion and personal interviews. Currently, MBA Programmes are offered at eight IITs including IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Roorkee, IIT Kanpur, IIT Dhanbad, IIT Kharagpur and IIT Jodhpur.
