IIT Madras launches online BS course on Management and Data Science

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, on Saturday launched an online Bachelor of Science programme on Management and Data Science aiming to target early-or-mid-career industry professionals, civil servants or professionals working in the policymaking sphere, as well as students enrolled in completely unrelated courses.

An interdisciplinary undergraduate programme with multiple exit options, the BS in Management and Data Science will seek to equip learners with expertise in business decision making, quantitative thinking, and data-driven problem solving.

The programme is open to anyone who has completed Class XII or equivalent qualification, and there is no age limit or seat restrictions. Admission will be either through an in-house qualifier exam or through eligibility to appear for JEE Advanced.

Launching the course, V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “Entry (to the course) is relatively easy but the exit is extremely hard.” He said there were 50 million students in higher education in India today, which necessitated the democratisation of education. These online courses were a step in that direction.

Before this, IIT Madras had been running online BS programmes in Data Science and Programming, Electronic Systems, and Aeronautics and Space Technology.

Gangapriya Chakraverti, India Site Head and Managing Director, Ford Motor Company, said whether at the bank, or a retail chain, or in a manufacturing plant, the most valued asset isn’t always capital or the people; it could be the data. “But any data in a vacuum is completely useless. It requires management, requires the ability to ask the right questions, ability to lead teams, and ability to take ethical and strategic decisions,” she observed. The programme, she said, was a business degree of and for the data age.

Rajiv C. Lochan, Managing Director and CEO, Sundaram Finance, said the programme has been designed to contain audio, video, text, digital, and offline peer groups, collaboration, debate and discussion and, therefore, an opportunity for retrospection and reflection.

Giving details about the course, Prathap Haridoss, Dean, Academic Courses, IIT Madras, said, though mostly online, the BS has a hybrid mode with certain project submissions, lab activities, and all assessments requiring in-person presence.

The first batch of the course will commence from June 2026 and the last date for submission of application is May 31. Details can be accessed at https://study.iitm.ac.in/mg.