IIT Mandi follows a semester system. Each academic session is divided into two regular semesters of approximately 18 weeks durations. The first semester starts in early August and ends by the end of November/early December. The second semester runs from February to June.
The Institute offers undergraduate programs:
1. B.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering (CSE)
2. B.Tech in Electrical Engineering (EE)
3. B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering (ME)
4. B.Tech in Civil Engineering (CE)
5. B.Tech in Data Science and Engineering (DSE)
6. B.Tech in Engineering Physics (EP)
7. B.Tech in Bio-Engineering
8. B.Tech in General Engineering
9. B.Tech in Materials Science and Engineering
10. B.Tech in Microelectronics & VLSI
11. B.Tech in Mathematics and Computing
12. Bachelor of Science (BS) in Chemical Sciences
The current annual intake (AY 2023-24) in undergraduate programme, including female supernumerary, is 520 (CE:50, CSE:80,, EE:70, ME:60, DSE: 50, EP: 30, Bio:30, GE: 30, MSE: 30, M&VLSI: 30, MC: 30, BSCS: 30). In addition to the under graduate programme,
IIT Mandi offers the following Post Graduate Programs: 1) M.Tech. in Materials and Energy Engineering 2) M.Tech in Structural Engineering 3)
M.Tech. in Communications and Signal Processing 4) M.Tech. in Power Electronics and Drives 5) M.Tech in VLSI 6) M.Tech. in Biotechnology 7) M.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering 8) M.Tech in Fluid and Thermal Engineering 9) M.Tech in Electric Transportation 10) M.Sc. in Chemistry 11) M.Sc. in Applied Mathematics 12) M.Sc. in Physics 13) Integrated-Ph.D. (I-Ph.D.) in Physics 14) M.A. in Development Studies 15) MBA in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence.
Currently, IIT Mandi has 1188 undergraduate B.Tech. students, 568 post graduate students (MA, MBA, MSc., M.Tech, I-PhD), 611 research scholars, of which 91 are doing MS/M.Tech degree (by research) and 520 are pursuing PhD. Currently, there are total 2367 students studying at IIT Mandi.
About the B. Tech Curriculum at IIT Mandi
The B. Tech curriculum is designed keeping in mind the need to produce well-rounded graduates many of whom will go on to join industry in technical or managerial roles, or to join the administrative services as technocrats, while a few may aspire to research careers. Some may even go on to become entrepreneurs. Thus, at IIT Mandi, a B.Tech. student is exposed to a broad range of knowledge and skills that builds on a
sturdy foundation of Engineering, basic sciences, humanities and social sciences. In the chosen BTech discipline, besides studying the core courses, the student will also study elective courses which will enable them to develop significant knowledge in a specialized area with exposure to research trends and developments. The category of free/open electives outside the chosen discipline will enable the student to obtain significant inter-disciplinary knowledge. A ‘Faculty Advisor’ guides the student throughout the entire duration of the program with regard to the planning of curriculum and other academic issues.
Realizing the current need of interdisciplinary skill development towards successful careers, IIT Mandi has introduced a Double Major program from 2021, by which a student of one discipline is allowed to obtain a second ‘Major’ by spending an extra one or two semesters to study approximately 12 courses of another discipline. For example, a student of Civil Engineering or Engineering Physics would be able to obtain a second major in Computer Science & Engineering. This would enable the student to sit for campus placements for CS-related companies as well!
The curriculum also allows specialization in a ‘Minor’ area, by taking a set of 3-4 courses in another discipline. For example, a Mechanical Engineering student can qualify for a minor in Applied Physics, German language, Intelligent Systems among others. A huge number of students pursue a minor in Management in preparation for admission to top MBA programs after their BTech.
The B. Tech. degree program allows a student to go on exchange visits of up to two semesters to other universities, both in India and abroad, for course work and projects. A number of B. Tech. students have already availed these opportunities to study at international institutions. IIT Mandi’s undergraduate students have visited IIT Madras and several European Union (EU) institutions under academic exchange program including the TU9 Universities in Germany, Blekinge Institute of Technology in Sweden, Aalto University in Finland and IT University in Denmark.
An important aspect of the curriculum is the integration of innovation and design into the learning process. This is achieved through signature courses of IIT Mandi’s curriculum that are extremely popular among the students. These courses include: ‘Reverse engineering’ , where student teams dismantle a common gadget/equipment, understand how it works and try to improve upon it;
‘Design Practicum’ where student teams build novel engineering products over a semester; ‘Interactive Socio-Technical Practicum’ (ISTP) which exposes students to the complex interactions of technology and society, and familiarizes them with the necessity of taking stakeholders’ needs and opinions into account while formulating technical solutions. Interestingly, every year, a group of over 20 students from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), USA, visits IIT Mandi and joins IIT Mandi students in completing ISTP projects. The course thus has an inter-disciplinary and international collaboration component. Finally, during the fourth year, the students have the option of doing a Major Technical Project (MTP) that is expected to demonstrate a high degree of technical knowledge, innovativeness and maturity. The outcome of a B. Tech Project may be an innovative product or technology that addresses a problem of society, or it may be more theoretical or exploratory resulting in an advancement in the frontiers of knowledge.
Overall, the curriculum at IIT Mandi is designed to encourage and enable the student to become well-qualified and well-rounded engineers in all respects.
Credit system
IIT Mandi follows the credit system with continuous internal evaluation throughout the semester. Grades for each course is awarded on a 10-point scale. The overall performance is measured by the weighted grade point averages. A student has to attain a fixed minimum of Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) and earned credits to pass the B. Tech degree program.
Semester Long Internship in BTech Program
Internships play a crucial role in preparing students for future careers in the real world. IIT Mandi encourages students to take the opportunity to undertake a semester long internship after a few years of coursework. This semester internship will be optional for the students and can be undertaken after obtaining due permissions from the institute. The internship can be done only in recognized and reputed industries/companies, R&D institutions or academic institutions in India and abroad. The minimum duration for this internship should be at least 14-16 weeks.
Pass/Fail grade towards the degree requirement
IIT Mandi students are provided an opportunity to explore new areas of interest by allowing them to register for courses in the ‘Pass/Fail’ mode. Although a Pass/Fail (P/F) course will count towards graduation requirements, they do not count towards the final CGPA. Such courses can be independent study courses under the mentorship of a faculty expert, research based academic or industrial projects and courses offered by online platforms supported through Government of India initiatives like SWAYAM/ NPTEL etc. At this time BTech students are allowed to register for a maximum of 9 credits (usually 3 courses).