IIT Madras Admission 2026-27: UG, PG & PhD Eligibility, Selection & JoSAA Schedule

Undergraduate Admissions: Programmes, JEE Advanced and JoSAA Allocation

Undergraduate education at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) spans four-year Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech.), four-year Bachelor of Science (B.S.), and five-year integrated Dual Degree (B.Tech. + M.Tech. or B.S. + M.S.) programmes. Admissions to all standard undergraduate engineering and science programmes are governed strictly through the Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) and coordinated centrally by the Joint Seat Allocation Authority (JoSAA).

The undergraduate catalogue covers core and emerging disciplines across engineering, physical sciences, and healthcare technology. Traditional departments include Aerospace Engineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Electrical Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, and Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering. In response to technological shifts, the institute has introduced specialized curricula such as B.Tech. in Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics, B.S. in Medical Sciences and Engineering, and B.S. in Chemistry. From the 2025-26 academic year, the Department of Applied Mechanics & Biomedical Engineering launched two interdisciplinary programmes: B.Tech in Computational Engineering & Mechanics (CEM) and B.Tech in Instrumentation & Biomedical Engineering (iBME).

Admission to these programmes requires candidates to clear a two-tier national testing process. Candidates first appear for JEE (Main) conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). To qualify for JEE (Advanced) 2026, candidates must rank among the top 2,50,000 successful candidates across all categories in the B.E./B.Tech. paper of JEE (Main) 2026. The shortlisted pool is distributed strictly by category: 10% for GEN-EWS, 27% for OBC-NCL, 15% for SC, 7.5% for ST, and the remaining 40.5% is OPEN for all, with a 5% horizontal reservation for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) within each category.

Beyond securing the requisite JEE Main cutoff, candidates must satisfy four additional statutory criteria:

1. Age Limit: Candidates in the OPEN, GEN-EWS, and OBC-NCL categories must be born on or after October 1, 2001. A five-year relaxation applies to SC, ST, and PwD candidates, who must be born on or after October 1, 1996.
2. Number of Attempts: A candidate can attempt JEE (Advanced) a maximum of two times in two consecutive years.
3. Appearance in Class 12: Candidates must have appeared for their Class 12 (or equivalent) examination for the first time in either 2025 or 2026, with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics as compulsory subjects.
4. Prior IIT Admission Bar: Candidates must not have been previously admitted to an IIT under any academic programme listed in JoSAA business rules, regardless of whether they continued or withdrew after reporting.

To secure an allotted seat at IIT Madras during JoSAA counselling, candidates must additionally meet the Class 12 performance benchmark. Candidates must secure at least 75% aggregate marks in five subjects in their Class 12 board examination, or place within the top 20 percentile of successful candidates in their respective examination boards (relaxed to 65% aggregate for SC, ST, and PwD candidates).

Seat allocation follows the online centralized rounds of JoSAA 2026. Qualified candidates must register, fill programme preferences, and lock their choices on the JoSAA portal (josaa.nic.in / josaa.admissions.nic.in). Upon receiving an allotment, candidates must complete online reporting by choosing their willingness (Freeze, Float, or Slide), uploading mandatory verification certificates, and remitting the Seat Acceptance Fee (SAF: ₹30,000 for General/OBC/EWS; ₹15,000 for SC/ST/PwD). Failure to complete online reporting within the round window results in automatic seat cancellation.

IIT Madras operates a flexible credit system where electives constitute nearly 50% of the undergraduate curriculum. Students can enroll in courses outside their parent department, complete minor streams, or upgrade to a five-year Inter-Disciplinary Dual Degree (ID-DD) across 14 areas, including Data Science, Robotics, Electric Vehicles, Computational Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Energy Systems, Quantum Science and Technology, Cyber Physical Systems, and Tech MBA. Furthermore, students maintaining a Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) of 8.5 or higher on a 10-point scale with no backlogs can opt for B.Tech (Honours) from their fifth semester by completing additional advanced coursework and a project.

Sports Excellence Admission (SEA): Supernumerary Quota and Merit System

To foster athletic distinction alongside academic rigor, IIT Madras introduced the Sports Excellence Admission (SEA) scheme. Under this route, IIT Madras reserves two supernumerary seats per undergraduate programme: one Gender-Neutral seat and one Female-Only seat. Because these seats are supernumerary, they are created over and above the regular sanctioned seat intake, ensuring that general and reserved quotas allocated through JoSAA remain completely unaffected.

Admission through SEA requires candidates to satisfy a dual qualification mandate:

1. Academic Threshold: Candidates must qualify in JEE (Advanced) 2026 and appear in the Common Rank List (CRL) or a category-wise rank list.
2. Athletic Achievement: Candidates must have obtained at least one medal within the preceding four years in recognized National or International level sports competitions.

Candidates are ranked on a dedicated Sports Rank List (SRL) established via an objective point scoring framework:

• National Level Competitions: Gold medal awards 60 points; Silver medal awards 50 points; Bronze medal awards 40 points. Participation alone receives no points.
• International Level Competitions: Gold medal awards 100 points; Silver medal awards 90 points; Bronze medal awards 80 points; participation receives 50 points.

SEA is administered directly by the JEE Office at IIT Madras through the dedicated portal (ugadmissions.iitm.ac.in/sea/) rather than the regular JoSAA counselling portal. Eligible applicants submit their sports achievement certificates for preliminary verification, submit their branch preferences, and receive seat allotments over three distinct admission rounds. Candidates admitted through SEA are integrated into regular academic batches while gaining access to institute athletic facilities, including synthetic tracks, the Olympic-standard swimming pool, and the Sitara indoor sports complex.

Postgraduate Admissions: M.Tech and M.A. Selection, COAP and Assistantships

Postgraduate engineering and humanities education at IIT Madras includes four-semester, two-year Master of Technology (M.Tech.) and Master of Arts (M.A.) programmes. Both programmes operate on a semester credit structure designed to support advanced industrial application and academic research.

Regular admission to M.Tech programmes is based primarily on Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) scores. Candidates holding a recognized Bachelor's degree in Engineering, Technology, Architecture, or a 4-year B.S./B.Sc., or a Master's degree in relevant science disciplines with qualifying marks can apply using valid scores from GATE 2024, GATE 2025, or GATE 2026.

As an institutional exception, graduates who completed their B.Tech degree from any Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) with a CGPA of 8.0 or above on a 10-point scale are exempted from the GATE score requirement. These candidates can apply directly for M.Tech admissions, with selection determined through departmental academic reviews and suitability interviews.

The Department of Humanities and Social Sciences offers a two-year Master of Arts programme across four specialized streams:

• Development Studies
• Economics
• English Studies
• Public Policy

Admission to the M.A. programme is restricted to GATE-qualified candidates. Each stream maintains a cohort of 25 seats for Indian students, with additional supernumerary seats allocated for foreign nationals. Students complete a minimum of 200 credits, with options to upgrade to doctoral research based on departmental recommendations.

Applications for both M.Tech and M.A. programmes must be submitted online through the IIT Madras postgraduate admissions portal (mtechadm.iitm.ac.in). Prior to applying on the institute portal, candidates must register on the Common Offer Acceptance Portal (COAP: coap2026.iitr.ac.in). The COAP registration number is a mandatory field on the IIT Madras application form. The application fee is ₹300 for SC, ST, PwD, and female candidates, and ₹600 for all other applicants.

Indian nationals admitted under the regular Half-Time Teaching Assistantship (HTTA) category receive financial assistance of ₹12,400 per month for up to 22 months. In exchange, HTTA scholars contribute eight hours of work per week assisting departments with laboratory demonstration, tutorials, assignment evaluation, or research activities. Certain programmes also provide non-HTTA seats that do not carry a stipend.

Seat allocations are processed centrally through COAP across sequential rounds starting in May. Candidates who receive an offer must choose to "Accept & Freeze", "Retain & Wait", or "Reject & Quit". Candidates choosing "Accept & Freeze" must pay the initial Institute Fee online: ₹66,402 for M.Tech candidates and ₹61,402 for M.A. candidates in General, EWS, and OBC-NCL categories, and ₹41,402 for SC, ST, and PwD candidates across both degrees. Admitted students who choose to withdraw must submit requests by July 05, 2026, incurring a ₹5,000 processing fee deduction (with refunds processed after August 15, 2026). No refunds are granted for offers accepted after July 05. Admitted students must join the institute and produce degree completion certificates on Monday, July 20, 2026.

Management Admissions: DoMS MBA Selection Process, CAT Cutoffs and Weightage

The Department of Management Studies (DoMS) at IIT Madras offers a two-year, full-time Master of Business Administration (MBA) programme focused on technology management, operations, finance, data analytics, and marketing.

To be eligible for DoMS MBA admission, applicants must hold a Bachelor's degree in any discipline from a recognized university with a minimum of 60% aggregate marks or 6.5 CGPA on a 10-point scale (relaxed to 55% aggregate marks or 6.0 CGPA for SC, ST, and PwD candidates). Final-year undergraduate students are also eligible to apply provisionally, provided they complete all graduation requirements before the commencement of classes and submit provisional completion certificates by September 30.

Applicants must possess a valid score in the Common Admission Test (CAT) conducted by the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs). Foreign and NRI candidates apply using GMAT scores. Two key exemptions from the CAT requirement apply:

1. IIT graduates who completed an undergraduate degree with a CGPA of 8.0 or higher on a 10-point scale.
2. Defense personnel applying under the sponsored category through official government channels.

Applications are submitted exclusively through the DoMS online portal (doms.iitm.ac.in/admission/). The non-refundable application fee is ₹1,600 for General, OBC, and Foreign/NRI candidates, and ₹800 for SC, ST, and PwD applicants.

The DoMS selection framework follows a two-stage evaluation methodology:

• Stage 1: Shortlisting for Personal Interview: Candidates are evaluated using a Composite Score incorporating CAT performance, past academic records (Class 10, Class 12, and undergraduate percentages), professional work experience, gender diversity, and academic background diversity.
• Stage 2: Final Selection Process: Shortlisted candidates participate in an in-person Personal Interview (PI) and a Reflective Writing assessment. Interviews are conducted across five designated zonal cities: Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, and Mumbai. Final merit lists are established by combining the interview and writing evaluation, composite score, and notable co-curricular achievements.

Alternative Degree Pathways: BS Online Programmes, M.Sc and Research Degrees

In addition to traditional on-campus undergraduate and postgraduate programmes, IIT Madras provides multiple distinct admission pathways for non-JEE undergraduate aspirants, master's candidates in pure sciences, and doctoral research scholars.

Non-JEE Undergraduate Pathways: BS Degree Programmes

Through its digital education division (study.iitm.ac.in), IIT Madras offers four-year Bachelor of Science (B.S.) degrees that eliminate JEE Advanced as a barrier:

• BS in Data Science and Applications: Open to anyone who has completed Class 12 (or an equivalent recognized diploma) regardless of age, stream, or board background, provided they studied Mathematics and English at the Class 10 level. Students currently in Class 11 can apply provisionally.
• BS in Electronic Systems: Open to candidates who completed Class 12 with Physics and Mathematics.

Admission does not depend on competitive test cutoffs. Instead, applicants undergo a four-week Qualifier Process. Enrolled learners access four weeks of foundational video lectures, assignments, and live tutorials taught by IIT Madras faculty. At the conclusion of four weeks, candidates must appear for an in-person, proctored Qualifier Exam held at designated test centres across India. Candidates who score above the qualifying cutoff receive direct admission into the Foundation Level. Candidates who qualified to appear for the most recent JEE (Advanced) exam are fully exempt from the qualifier process and can register directly for the Foundation Level. The programme features flexible multiple-exit milestones: Foundation Certificate, Diploma, B.Sc. degree, and a full 4-year BS degree, with opportunities for eligible students to complete in-person lab courses and campus immersion.

Master of Science (M.Sc.) via IIT JAM

The departments of Chemistry, Mathematics, and Physics offer two-year Master of Science (M.Sc.) degrees. Admissions are conducted through the Joint Admission test for Masters (IIT JAM) and coordinated via the JAM Online Application Processing System (JOAPS). Candidates must have completed a relevant Bachelor's degree (B.Sc. or equivalent) with at least 55% marks or a 5.5 CGPA (50% marks or 5.0 CGPA for SC, ST, and PwD candidates) and qualify in the corresponding JAM test paper: CY for Chemistry, MA for Mathematics, or PH for Physics. Department-specific minimum educational qualifications (MEQs) mandate minimum semester study requirements in the respective subjects.

Doctoral and Research Degrees: M.S. and Ph.D.

IIT Madras conducts research admissions twice a year (July and January cycles) through its research portal (research.iitm.ac.in). Academic departments offer Master of Science by Research (M.S.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) programmes. Selection involves departmental written tests and technical interviews. Applicants must hold a qualified score in GATE, UGC-NET, CSIR-JRF, or equivalent national competitive examinations, or possess exceptional undergraduate credentials from Centrally Funded Technical Institutes (CFTIs) with a CGPA of 8.0 or above. Selected scholars receive Institute Research Assistantships and pursue specialized investigations within the institute's cutting-edge laboratories and the IIT Madras Research Park.

Physical Reporting, Document Verification and Fee Settlement Guidelines

Following online seat allocation through JoSAA or institute portals, incoming undergraduate students must complete physical reporting, document verification, and orientation at the IIT Madras campus in Chennai.

Physical Verification Timetable (2026 Batch Entry)

Physical reporting and admission formalities take place at designated campus venues (including the Student Activity Centre) under a strict departmental schedule:

• 23 July 2026 (09:00 am to 1:00 pm): Aerospace Engineering, Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics, Chemical Engineering, Computational Engineering and Mechanics, Instrumentation and Biomedical Engineering.
• 23 July 2026 (02:00 pm to 5:00 pm): Naval Architecture, Metallurgical and Materials Engineering, Biological Engineering, Biological Science, Civil Engineering.
• 24 July 2026 (09:00 am to 1:00 pm): Computer Science and Engineering, Physics, Mechanical Engineering, Engineering Design.
• 24 July 2026 (02:00 pm to 5:00 pm): Electrical Engineering, Engineering Physics, Mathematics.
• 25 July 2026: Institute Orientation (Forenoon: All undergraduate students; Afternoon: Parents; 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm: Departmental visits for parents).
• 25 July to 29 July 2026: Student Immersion Program.
• 29 July 2026 (2:00 pm onwards): Departmental Orientation.
• 30 July 2026: Official Commencement of Academic Classes.

Important Notice on Preparatory Candidates: All preparatory course students allotted to IIT Madras must report to IIT Palakkad as per their institutional schedule, rather than Chennai.

Mandatory Documents Required at Verification

Candidates must present the following original documents along with two sets of self-attested photocopies:

1. JoSAA Documentation: Provisional Seat Allotment Letter, Admit Card of JEE (Advanced) 2026, and candidate photo identity card.
2. Date of Birth Verification: Class 10 Certificate or Birth Certificate.
3. Academic Records: Class 10 and Class 12 mark sheets and pass certificates confirming the 75% aggregate or top 20 percentile criterion.
4. Category and Reservation Proof:
   • OBC-NCL / GEN-EWS: Certificate issued by the competent authority in the Government of India format, dated on or after April 1, 2025.
   • SC / ST: Caste/Tribe certificate issued in the standard central format.
   • PwD: Unique Disability ID (UDID) card or certificate confirming at least 40% permanent physical impairment.
5. Medical Fitness Certificate: Medical report in the prescribed format signed by a registered medical practitioner.
6. Government Photo ID Proof: Aadhaar Card, Passport, Voter ID, or School ID.
7. Photographs: Recent passport-size photographs matching those uploaded during registration.

Fee Settlement and Balance Remittance

Financial clearance is integrated between JoSAA and the institute:

1. SAF Adjustment: The Seat Acceptance Fee (SAF: ₹30,000 for General/OBC/EWS; ₹15,000 for SC/ST/PwD) paid during JoSAA rounds is remitted to IIT Madras, net of ₹5,000 JoSAA administrative charges, and credited toward first-semester dues.
2. Balance Institute Fees: Net payable institute fees (covering tuition, one-time admission dues, refundable caution deposit, and semester amenities) must be remitted in a single transaction via the IITM Integrated Fee Payment Portal (IFPP: fees.iitm.ac.in). Login credentials are dispatched to the student's JoSAA registered email address.
3. No Installments & Late Penalties: Institute regulations strictly prohibit payment in installments. Failure to clear semester dues before the announced deadline incurs a late fine of ₹2,500.
4. Hostel Dues: Hostel room seat rent (₹7,500 per semester) is included within the institute semester fee bill, while hostel caution deposit, establishment charges, and advance dining charges are billed separately by the Council of Wardens (CCW: ccw.iitm.ac.in) upon room allocation.