IITM BS Degree Office, 3rd Floor, ICSR Building, IIT Madras, Chennai - 600036                           support-es@onlinedegree.iitm.ac.in

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This document was last updated on 11 Sep 2023.

Table of Contents

A)   Program Overview        6

1. Highlights of the program        6

2. Flexibility        7

3. Structure of the program        7

4. Fees for the entire program        8

4.3 For students who are outside India:        10

5. Admission to the program        11

5.1 Regular Entry into Foundation level        11

5.1.2 Admissions through Regular entry        12

5.1.3 Eligibility to appear for the qualifier exam (regular entry):        13

5.1.4 Criteria for passing the Qualifier exam        14

5.1.5 Validity of the qualifier score        14

5.1.6  Communication about qualifier exam results        15

5.1.7 Second attempt: If a candidate was absent or failed the first attempt of qualifier exam        15

5.1.8 Candidates who did not become eligible for Qualifier exam        15

5.1.9 Options to register to courses once qualified        16

5.2 JEE-based entry into Foundation Level        16

5.3. Credit Clearing Capability        16

6. Course registration - steps involved        17

7. No Direct Entry into Diploma programme        18

8. Courses in various levels of program        18

9. Credit Transfer        20

9.1 Credit Transfer for NPTEL Courses        20

9.2 Credit Transfer from On campus courses        23

9.3 Comprehensive Exam courses        24

9.4 Important Advisory for Credit Transfer Courses        25

10. Learning Process        25

11.Timeline for original certificate:        27

11.1 Exit form window and senate date :
[Updated on Nov 28, 2025]        27

11.2 Photo Collection for Final certificate:        28

12. Alumni Details        28

12.1 Eligibility and Payment        28

12.2 Alum Card and its Benefits :        29

12.2.1 Alum Card Benefits        29

12.2.2 Importance of the Alumni Card        29

12.2.3 Exclusive Benefits        29

12.2.4 Event Participation        30

12.2.5 Additional Benefits        30

12.3 Discourse Forum Access        30

13. Certificates and Mark transcripts        30

13.1 Design of Certificates        30

BS in Electronic Systems        30

Diploma in Electronic Systems        31

Foundation in Electronic Systems        31

13.2 Mark transcripts        34

14. Academic Documents for students        34

14.1 Types of documents        34

14.2 Procedure to Apply for Official Transcript & Bonafide Certificate        35

15.  Academic aspects        35

15.1  Academic calendar        35

15.2 Course structure suitable for online delivery        36

15.3 Evaluation and grading of courses in every term        36

15.4 Exam Center Policy        37

15.5 Exam Date Clashes between Programs :        38

15.6 Pass criteria for each course        38

15.7 Repeating a course        39

15.7.1 Registering for Courses: Term 2 Onwards        40

15.7.2 Repeating a Course - WA, WQ, U or I grade        41

15.7.3 Repeating a Course for Improvement        41

15.7.4 Make Up Exams        41

15.8 Dropping a course        43

16. Learning paths available        44

1. Submission of Worked-Out assignments for Select Courses        48

17. Prerequisite course requirements

Foundation courses        48

Diploma level courses        49

Degree level courses        50

Core courses at the Degree Level:        50

Department Elective:

The following courses are proposed as Department/Open Electives at the degree level.        50

Courses proposed from the BS-DS program for the category of open electives:        51

Apprenticeship        51

18. New Rules for Foundation & Diploma Level Completion        52

18.1 Foundation level checkpoints:        52

18.2 Change in CCC at the foundation level:        52

18.3 Increasing the maximum number of terms for completing the diploma level        52

18.4 Checkpoints in the Diploma level        53

18.5 Improvement Term Limit        53

19. Eligibility Criteria Prize        53

20. Pathways to get admission to Masters programs at IITM        55

Upgrade to the on-campus MS program        55

21. Apprenticeship in the BS level of IIT Madras’ BS in Electronic Systems        56

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vMO-iVOtYSrADaNa8q8o3WRb1_vahhp05ojhUtDkthQ/edit?usp=sharing        57

22. Foundation Level Lab Registration – Eligibility Policy (Effective May 2026)        57

Eligibility Requirement        57

Policy Details        57

Implementation        58

23. Software and Hardware Requirements - Mandatory System Specifications        58

Hardware        58

Software/Applications        58

Laboratory Kit        59

Internet Bandwidth        59

For OnlineProctored Examinations        59

System compatibility test        59

Other References        59

25. Mandatory POSH Training for All Students        60

26. Student Escalation Matrix        60

Step 1: Raise a Support Ticket        60

Step 2: Follow Up on the Existing Ticket        61

Step 3: Escalation        61

Level 1 Escalation        61

Level 2 Escalation        61

Level 3 Escalation        61

Level 4 Escalation : Dean (Academics)        61

Level 5 Escalation : Director, IIT Madras        61

27. Introducing the Student Performance Leaderboard        62

28. Glossary : Click here        62

29. Common FAQ’s        62

BS in Electronic Systems -  from IIT Madras

___________________________________________________

A)   Program Overview

IIT Madras has launched the BS in Electronic Systems in the month of March 2023. This is a non-campus program where the course contents are delivered online and can be studied from anywhere, while the monthly quizzes and final semester exams will have to be attended in-person at designated centres.

The lab courses will be hybrid where students will have to do experiments at home based on the process videos shared and mandatorily come in person to IIT Madras to demonstrate the same and complete the lab course requirements. These visits will be thrice a year generally between Dec - Jan, May-July and Sep- Oct with the duration of visit being about 1-2 weeks.  

Depending on the number of courses completed, learners can earn

• Foundational level certificate in Electronic Systems
• Diploma in Electronic Systems
• BS degree in Electronic Systems

1. Highlights of the program

Courses are taught by faculty of IIT Madras/ other reputed institutes as well as experts from the industry.

Unlike many competitive exams which work on the philosophy of elimination and selection and admit a very limited number of learners into various programs based on their performance relative to that of others, in this program there are specific qualifying criteria, and a significantly large number of learners can enter.

The candidate applying for the program should have passed Class 12 (or equivalent) with Mathematics and Physics as part of Class 12. There is no age limit to join the program. There are no restrictions on geographical location. The in-person visits for lab courses are mandatory and students who apply should be prepared for this travel.

2. Flexibility

There are three exit points, with students being able to exit with either the foundational certificate or diploma or the degree. Students can choose their pace of study every semester.

Being predominantly an online program, there is no geographical barrier to learning from this program. However, learners only need to travel to exam centres for the quizzes and final exams. Students should come to IIT Madras for lab sessions twice a year depending on the courses taken during the term.

Important: It is important to note that qualified students who clear each stage will receive the certificate corresponding to that stage alone. The sample certificates are shown in section Certificates and Mark transcripts

So, for example, after the Qualifier, the student should be aware that he/she is being admitted only to the Foundation level courses, and not to a degree program. The diplomas or degrees are obtained by the student only when the requisite number of credits are accrued by completing the courses prescribed. Admission to any level does not automatically entitle the student to exit the program with the Diploma or the degree.

3. Structure of the program

The BS in Electronic Systems program comprises three levels:

1. Foundation
2. Diploma and
3. BS degree

Each level comprises a set of courses (both theory and laboratory) and each theory course is divided into weeks. Generally a 4 credit course consists of 12 weeks, with pre-recorded videos every week. Students must learn by watching those videos and reading any materials provided or suggested by the course team.

Credit system: 

The credits here are based on the UGC system of counting 14 hours of learner engagement as one credit. One credit mentioned here would be equivalent to 3 credits in the current (new) IITM Credit system.

The number of credits required to graduate with the BS is 142.

The structure of the program is as follows:

Number of credits for each component in each level:

4. Fees for the entire program

• First year fees kept low to enable learners to try out the programme
• Entry fee for Qualifier exam: Rs. 4000 (non-refundable) - with suitable waivers
• Fee waivers for learners belonging to certain categories and economic backgrounds

Fee/credit in each level *

* General Category. For students belonging to SC/ST/PwD categories and those with family income < 5 Lakhs per Annum (LPA), additional fee scholarships from IITM are available.

Fee waivers depend on the category of learner and family income

Fee Waiver Verification Process WEF Jan 2026 term
[updated on Feb 18,2026]

The BS committee has asked to implement additional verification of the income documents before providing the institute fee waiver to students whose total family income is less than ₹5 LPA. This fee is applicable to students in the diploma and degree levels who wish to avail the fee waivers based on economic criteria.

As part of this process, learners will be required to submit the relevant Income Tax Return (ITR) and/or Form 26AS of themselves, their parents, and/or spouse, as applicable. These documents will be collected separately from the students. This additional verification is based on the observation that a significant number of students have not submitted adequate or appropriate income documents while claiming fee waivers based on the total family income.

Along with the documents, a fee of ₹1,000 will be collected to enable the verification. This fee is non-refundable, irrespective of the outcome of the verification.

Upon completion of the verification

• If the submitted documents are approved, the applicable fee waiver will be granted.
• If the submitted documents are rejected, the fee waiver will be withdrawn, and the student must pay the course fees as per their economic category.  

Note: This additional income verification is applicable for Diploma and Degree level students only

SBI Loan Process:

Please contact Martina/Angelin Ph No 9444020900/8608076093, for any help.

Rate of interest starts from 8.10% with no collateral security and  simple interest till course completion

· Loan is given to students along with any one parent, Father or Mother.

· A student is known as Borrower and the parent who is taking out a loan with the student will be known as Co-borrower.

· Student and co borrower both should have EITHER JOINT ACCOUNT IN SBI (any branch) or Separate accounts in SBI.

· We will provide you with an Application form which needs to be filled digitally. Once filled, you need to take coloured print and sign the documents wherever needed. Also attach the documents as per LIST OF DOCUMENTS given below.

· Application Print, and documents must be sent to the following address using INDIA POST courier. 1st Cross Road, CAMPUS, Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai 600036

4.3 For students who are outside India:

Facilitation fee for exams is in addition to the above for candidates writing exams overseas - as fixed up with the local exam partner there. These are subject to periodic changes depending on the local exam partner identified.

Facilitation Fee

Quiz1 [irrespective of num of courses] = Rs.2000/-

Quiz2  [irrespective of num of courses] = Rs.2000/-

End term [per session] = Rs.2000/- [one course it is Rs.2000/- & more than one course it is Rs. 4000/-]

E.g If you opt for 4 courses

Quiz1 = 2000, Quiz2 = 2000, EndTerm = 4000

Totally 8000 to be paid as a facilitation fee

*Facilitation fee may vary based on country. Eg: Kuwait & Bahrain it is Rs. 3000/-

Lab work: For labs, in-person visits to IIT Madras are mandatory for lab courses. Also students are expected to obtain access to the lab kit recommended by IIT Madras to be able to perform experiments of lab courses at home. The details of the kit along with the costing will be provided to the students who register.

5. Admission to the program

5.1 Regular Entry into Foundation level

To enter the Foundation level, applicants have to pass the Qualifier Exam. The Qualifier Exam is a 4-hour exam to be attended in person.

The Foundation courses allow for interested applicants with a variety of educational backgrounds to be trained in the basics (Maths for Electronics 1, Electronic System Thinking and Circuits, Introduction to C Programming and English 1) required to take up the Diploma level of Electronic Systems program.

• Entry: Via the Qualifier Exam into the Foundation level
• Exit 1: Foundation course certificate
• Exit 2: Diploma in Electronic Systems
• Exit 3: BS in Electronic Systems

Qualifier Exam:

At the end of the four weeks of content, the qualifier exam will be conducted for eligible candidates based on the content covered in the four weeks of study. The qualifier exam is a 4-hour exam for the four subjects combined, to be attended in person at designated exam centers.

    Eligibility to apply for the Qualifier Exam

• Anyone who has passed Class 12 (or equivalent) with Physics and Mathematics in class 12 can apply. Those who qualify can join the program immediately. View list of accepted class 12 equivalents.
• For Class XII passed students without Maths & Physics - Students passing Maths and Physics separately in NIOS or any equivalent are permitted to apply for the program.
• School students who have appeared for their Class 11 final exams (with Physics and Mathematics as their subjects of study) or completed Class 11 exams can apply. Those who qualify can join the program only after passing Class 12.

Anyone in one of the two categories above can apply  irrespective of age, any other academic background, any role or geographical location can apply. No additional eligibility other than the ones mentioned here are required to apply for the qualifier process or join the foundational level courses after clearing the qualifying exam.

• The candidate has to pay the fees for the Qualifier exam - currently set as Rs 4000/- (non refundable) for General category with suitable waivers for candidates from the SC/ST, EWS and PwD with 40% disability backgrounds.
• Currently there is no waiver for any other group of students.
• This fee is non-refundable once the last date for cancellations has passed.

    Qualifier Exam Fee

Note:

1. For students opting to write Qualifier Exam in an Exam Centre outside India, an exam facilitation Fee will apply in addition to application fee
2. The qualifier fee will not be refunded once the last date for cancellation has passed.

5.1.2 Admissions through Regular entry

All regular entry applicants must go through the Qualifier Process to earn admission to the Foundation Level. The week 1 content is available to all candidates to sample on the website: https://study.iitm.ac.in/es/ and view.

The candidate has to fill the application form available on the website https://study.iitm.ac.in/es/ and pay the fees for the Qualifier exam - currently set as Rs 6000/- (non refundable) for General category with suitable waivers for candidates from the SC/ST, EWS and PwD with 40% disability backgrounds. Currently there is no waiver for any other group of students. This fee is non-refundable once the last date for cancellations has passed.

Qualifier Preparation:

1. Once the learner registers for the qualifier exam, access to 4 weeks of content for the four Foundation level courses - Mathematics 1, Electronic System Thinking and Circuits, Introduction to C Programming and English 1 - will be provided when the semester starts.
2. The content is released week wise with an assignment for each of the four weeks in each subject. The content will be made live with an announcement on the portal, and an alert sent through email.
3. Every week an assignment must be submitted for grading in each course within the deadline that is specified. Each assignment will be graded out of 100 and any assignment that is not attempted will be marked as 0.

5.1.3 Eligibility to appear for the qualifier exam (regular entry):

In each course, the average of the best two out of the first three weekly assignment scores will be calculated.

Only those who get the minimum required average assignment scores in all four courses (as given below) will be allowed to appear for the Qualifier Exam and will be issued the hall ticket.

At the end of the first four weeks of the semester, the qualifier exam will be conducted for eligible candidates based on the content covered in the four weeks of study. The qualifier exam is a 4-hour exam for the four subjects combined, to be attended in person at designated exam centers.

Note:

Relaxations in pass criteria indicated for various categories of learners is applicable ONLY for the qualifier process. There will be no relaxations in terms of grades / pass criteria once registered into the program.

5.1.4 Criteria for passing the Qualifier exam

In the qualifier exam comprising four subjects, the learner should obtain marks >= individual subject cut-off as shown below. The total of all subject marks should be greater than the total cut-off. The cutoff marks are clearly specified for the different categories of learners in the table below.

The following points must be noted:

• When the results are released, the qualifier exam marks will be displayed within the login on the portal along with an email alert sent to the candidates about this.
• The fees paid to attempt the Qualifier exam will not be refunded in either of the two situations  - for those who were absent for the qualifier exam and for those who did not pass it.

5.1.5 Validity of the qualifier score

The qualifier marks will be valid for the 3 terms that come subsequent to the qualifier exam date for the learner to register to the Foundation level. This score will be invalid after this period and the learner will have to go through the entire qualifier process (the 1 month of weekly assignments) and retake the qualifier exam, if they wish to join the programme.

For students in std XII who take the qualifier exam, the validity is for 3 terms from when they pass std XII.

5.1.6  Communication about qualifier exam results

Those who have qualified as per the above process will be intimated through email and whatsapp and within their login on the portal - if they are eligible to register further. An admission letter will also be generated and provided to each qualified candidate.

Once a candidate has qualified, they will not be permitted to apply again until their score is valid, which is for the next 3 subsequent terms. After this they will be eligible to reapply again.

The fees paid to attempt the Qualifier exam will not be refunded in either of the two situations  - for those who missed writing the qualifier exam and for those who did not pass it.

5.1.7 Second attempt: If a candidate was absent or failed the first attempt of qualifier exam

There are two attempts within any term currently. In every term, qualifier exams are conducted at the end of 4 weeks and at the end of 8 weeks.

Eligibility to apply for Reattempting Qualifier exam within the same term:

• A learner who became eligible for the hall ticket in the qualifier process of a term but was absent for the final exam
• failed in the first attempt

Such candidates do not have to repeat the assignments as they have already become eligible.

This re-attempt application form will open up immediately after the qualifier results are announced. The fee for this is as follows:

**The fee mentioned in the table is revised from Jan 2026 term onwards.

5.1.8 Candidates who did not become eligible for Qualifier exam

There are no limits on the number of times a candidate can attempt the qualifier process.

The candidate can attempt again the subsequent terms.

They have to pay the full fees as per the fee norms applicable for their category. (and additional exam facilitation fee in case of candidates outside India)

This will be considered like a fresh application and they have to redo the 4 weeks of course work and weekly graded assignments and become eligible to get the hall ticket for the qualifier exam

5.1.9 Options to register to courses once qualified

• Candidates who qualify in the first attempt within a term

• have the option to register for courses and continue with completing them in the same term. In this case, the qualifier score is treated as a Quiz1 score to calculate the Final score.
• Have the option to register to courses in the next 2 terms till when the qualifier score is valid.

• Candidates who qualify in the second attempt within a term can ONLY register from the subsequent term till the qualifier score is valid.

In a learner’s first term immediately following the qualifier exam, the qualifier exam scores and assignment scores in the subjects registered will be considered as Quiz 1 score and first 4 assignment scores of the corresponding subjects.

5.2 JEE-based entry into Foundation Level

There is a direct entry into the Foundation level of the program for students who have qualified for the JEE Advanced Exams. Currently the validity of this is for the 3 terms following the release of the JEE Advanced Eligibility list.

For eg: Candidates who qualified to appear for JEE Advanced 2023 can directly join our program in the Sep 2023/Jan 2024/May 2024/Sep 2024/Jan 2025 Terms

The process will be as follows:

Apply to the Qualifier process, saying Yes to the question on eligibility to JEE Advanced level. Upload a valid proof for the same.

• If the proof is found to be valid:

• The candidate will be declared eligible to join the Foundational level courses.
• They will be issued the admission letter.
• Such candidates can directly register to courses in the foundation level with CCC as 4.

• If the proof document submitted is found to be not valid, the student will be moved into the category of non-JEE and will be treated as a regular entry candidate to the foundation level and have to go through the qualifier process.

5.3. Credit Clearing Capability

The value S used to determine the maximum number of courses that the learner is permitted to register in a term is calculated as shown below.

• Term 1: decided by qualifier marks
• Term 2: decided by average of marks of all courses taken in Term 1 in which the learner has passed
• Term n (n>2): M = average marks of courses passed in the previous two terms Term n-1 and Term n-2  (This will be calculated using marks of subjects in which the candidate has passed, not those which he/she has not passed or is not completed yet); (n-1 and n-2 terms must be terms where the learner status is Active - defined in section 11.  Learner Life Cycle

The credit clearing capability CCC will be decided as follows:

• If a learner has passed at least one course in term n-1, then the CCC of term n will be calculated based on the marks as given in the above table.
• If a learner has failed all courses the learner has appeared for in term n-1, CCC of next term n will be 2.
• If a learner is absent for final exam of all courses, thus not completing their courses and not getting grades, CCC of next term = CCC of the learner’s last term

CCC is kept as 4 by default for

• everyone who chooses to register to courses in the same term as the qualifier exam
• For all JEE candidates in the first term
• For everyone in the Diploma and Degree levels

6. Course registration - steps involved

Learners who are continuing with the program will go through the following steps to sign up for the courses:

• Within the registration window, learners will select the courses they want to take in the coming semesters with the maximum being four theory courses.
• Learners go through the steps of picking two cities among the choices provided for their quizzes and exams for that term.

• They have the freedom to choose a different set of cities than the ones they opted for in the previous semesters.
• Also they can choose a different set of cities for every quiz/final exam while registering for the courses so that accordingly booking may be done with the Exam vendor for slots in these cities.

• Learners pay only for the number of credits they are signing up for. Registration will be approved only if the documents are verified. Only after registration, students can proceed to pay the fees for courses they choose to register for.
• Learners can register to courses for which the prerequisite is completed. e.g. in order to sign up for Math-2, the learner must have cleared Math-1

7. No Direct Entry into Diploma programme

Students cannot register for Diploma directly. All students who wish to join for the program must start from Foundation level only.

View Admission to the program section to know how to join the program at the Foundation level.

8. Courses in various levels of program

The courses in each level is given below:

Diploma courses:

Only those students who complete courses till semester 2 will be permitted to proceed with registration of courses from Semester 3 and higher. Students who complete all the foundation level courses will be issued the Foundational level certificate.

Registration for BS degree courses:

Only those students who complete all the diploma level courses will be permitted to register for BS Level courses. Students who complete all the diploma levels will be issued the provisional Diploma in Electronic Systems if they choose to continue with the program.

9. Credit Transfer

9.1 Credit Transfer for NPTEL Courses

The following process is to be followed for credit transfer from NPTEL:

1. An NPTEL course of duration 4/8/12 weeks carries credit equivalence of 1/2/3 credits in the BS degree program.
2. The learner must  register for the NPTEL exam using the @ds.study.iitm.ac.in Email ID.
3. The learner has to register for NPTEL exams, pay the exam fee, and complete the NPTEL course.
4. An NPTEL course can be transferred for credit only once and only to one program. The learner has to give an undertaking that they are submitting this course for credit transfer only to the IITM BS Degree program.
5. The NPTEL courses will be added in PASS/FAIL mode and counted towards the credits with no letter grade and will not be included in the CGPA calculation.
6. The fee for credit transfer from NPTEL courses is fixed as Rs 1000/- per credit. Hence, Rs 1000/-, Rs 2000/-, Rs 3000/- should be remitted as fees if a learner opts for credit transfer from NPTEL courses of duration 4/8/12 weeks. This fee is to be paid to the BS degree program, and is separate from the fee to be paid to NPTEL to complete the course.
7. The learner can complete NPTEL courses any time after joining the Foundation Level (using the official IITM email) and apply for the course credit transfer in the BS levels.
8. Refer the below table to know which term NPTEL courses can be transferred to which term in BS
9. Students are required to pay the RKA fee if they are only doing a credit transfer in a term.

Table 2: SWAYAM NPTEL Courses Applicable for Department/Free Electives

The NPTEL courses given in the below can be credited at the BS level. Any course can be credited only once in this programme. Also, the same NPTEL course cannot be credited twice - within your college for another academic programme and this BS programme. It should be credited only in either of the above. 

SWAYAM NPTEL Approved Dep/Free Elective course list:

Note that the list of courses is subject to periodic revision.

Table 3: SWAYAM NPTEL courses Applicable under HS/MG category for crediting in the BS level

Upto a maximum of 4 credits can be credited under the HM category in the BS degree level, which can be done from NPTEL or courses within the program.

(Refer Credit Transfer for NPTEL Courses)

SWAYAM NPTEL Approved HS/MG course list:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSJXV0JECyoQvgWvBlVxO13G0KRm5a1qNCRBa7rAw8GDY4e0cfm1KiVCwIgs_ed80ObtzQ1rfx_JWIR/pubhtml?gid=1418834182&single=true

Note that the list of courses is subject to periodic revision. From the NPTEL course URL, please select the SWAYAM Certification courses. Only these are eligible for Credit Transfer

Enrollment for NPTEL courses for the July - Dec 2025 semester

https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQCTUr1s9DY3DSiQ4Wsd2BP4FtDuejCv6zUUgatGxH9g4lP27TJZq9VvTTRxNuYgi3SkZoMq2pxA0th/pub

9.2 Credit Transfer from On campus courses

(**This will be in effect from January 2024**)

• The on campus courses are offered by the participating institutes (like IITM) for the respective semester.
• The courses offered by the respective institutes will be collated by the IITMBS Degree team and the students will be informed on the same.
• Students who have completed the foundation and the 2 diplomas and have cgpa of >=8 will be eligible to earn credits from campus courses.
• IITM BS students can apply to courses they are interested in and their acceptance will be based on the availability of seats for the course.
• Students can choose a maximum of 4 courses from the same institute as the students have to travel to the respective campus and they have to study in person.
•  A maximum of 24 credits can be earned from any on campus courses.
• 24 Graded [from on campus courses of IITM], 24 non graded credits allowed [apprenticeship, other institute, NPTEL]. MS (approve / reject) 28 credits  [Theory (16 credits) + Apprenticeship (12 credits) ] allowed.
• 3 campus credits (only from IITM) = 1 BS credit.
• IITM Campus courses will be calculated towards CGPA , while other campus courses will be only for credit transfer purposes.
• The maximum number of credits that can be taken at the BS level will be 8. These credits are to be obtained from the Engineering, Science or Management departments.
• Students who have completed 114 credits in the IITM BS program and completed the BS level with a cgpa of >=8 will be permitted to credit 24-x credits at the BS level where x is the number of credits they have earned in the BS level from IITM campus courses. A maximum of 8 credits can be transferred from the HS category to the BS level, including the HS category credits earned through NPTEL.
• The fees for transferring the credits from each on-campus course will be Rs 2500/- per credit of IITM BS program. The fee to be paid to the institute will be apart from this and will be as per the institute norms.
• Students will have to attend the class in person unless a hybrid mode of accessing the classes is available. The on-campus courses credited by the BS students will be listed in the transcript along with the corresponding grades. The credits transferred from the on-campus courses into the BS program will be counted towards the CGPA of the student.

9.3 Comprehensive Exam courses

3 new 2-credit courses (Level 4) introduced as Electives in the degree level

1. EE4105 Comprehensive Exam - Electronic Circuits

1. write the GATE-EC exam
2. are in the top 1 percent of all students who appeared in the GATE-EC paper that year
3. can credit this course by submitting the proof of the Rank they have earned

2. EE4106 Comprehensive Exam - Electronic Instrumentation

4. write the GATE-EI exam
5. are in the top 1 percent of all students who appeared in the GATE-EI paper that year
6. can credit this course by submitting the proof of the Rank they have earned
   

3. EE4107 Comprehensive Exam - Electrical Engineering

7. write the GATE-EE exam
8. are in the top 1 percent of all students who appeared in the GATE-EE paper that year
9. can credit this course by submitting the proof of the Rank they have earned

GATE Score will be valid for 2 years and these courses can be credited in BS level.

9.4 Important Advisory for Credit Transfer Courses

We strongly recommend planning your credit transfer courses in the term prior to your level completion term. This is because result release dates often don't align with course registration timelines.

For instance, if you take a credit transfer course in Jan 2026, results will likely be published after May 2026 course registration. Consequently, credits will only be transferred in Sep 2026, resulting in a 2-term delay.

Please note that no intermediate credit transfers will be allowed.

Applicable for the student who completed 142 credits:

Once a student completes 142 credits in term X and has not started any CGPA or credit-earning courses in or before Term X, they will not be permitted to register any further in the program and their BS degree certificate will be processed.

Case 2: If a student completes 142 credits in Term X and has started any CGPA or credit-earning courses in or before Term X, they will have two options:

Case 2a: If the student chooses to complete the BS in term X and receive the certificate, the CGPA or credit-earning courses will not be listed on the BS transcript.

Case 2b: If the student opts to receive the BS certificate only when the additional components such as apprenticeship or other campus courses are completed, then the BS transcript will include the credits for these also and the BS certificate will be generated after this.

Note: IITM Campus Courses are counted towards CGPA while apprenticeships and on-campus courses from other institutes are counted only for credits and not CGPA.

10. Learning Process

Once a learner clears the qualifier, he/she will be eligible to register for the Foundation level. Using their personal email id, they register to as many courses as permitted by CCC and make the payment. After approval of the uploaded documents, the learner is given a roll_number@es.study.iitm.ac.in email id.

Henceforth all interactions on the portal right from login to accessing the learner dashboard and courses will be via this email id.

There will be 5 statuses for any learner in the programme : On the rolls/Active, On Academic Probation, Struck off the rolls, Alumnus, Quit the programme

• On the rolls/Active - When a learner is registered in any term for one or more courses after paying the course fees, the status will be “On the rolls” or Active.
• On academic probation/Not registering to any course in a term:

After joining the programme, a learner may skip up to 2 terms consecutively without taking any courses. In the two terms where the learner does not register for any course, the learner status will be marked as “On Academic Probation”. The learner email ID will still be kept alive while the learner is on academic probation.

• The learner can actively inform us about not registering to courses by paying the “Registration keep alive fee (RKA)” of Rs 1000/- per term. In case of registering for courses in the next term, the learners have to only pay the course fees.
• The learner may not pay the RKA and have it as pending to be paid. Pending RKA will include 10% extra over regular RKA when re-registering back.

• To register to courses in the next term if not paid the RKA: The learner will have to pay the pending dues = (which will be Rs 1100/- or Rs 2200/- (Rs 1000 RKA +10% as penalty for each term where no courses are registered). The learner has to select the courses and pay the course fees. Once they do this, the learner status is changed to "On the rolls".

• Struck off the rolls: If a learner with status “On Academic Probation” for 2 consecutive terms does not register for courses in the next term too, the learner’s status is changed to "Struck off the rolls". The official email id is suspended.
• Once struck off the rolls, to reactivate the registration, they will have to apply through a separate process as defined:
• If the RKA for the previous 3 terms has already been paid, they have to request for reactivating the email id on payment of Re-admission fee of Rs 2500/-. Once done, they can register for the courses in the upcoming term.
• If the RKA for the previous 3 terms has not been paid, the learner has to apply to activate his/her account by paying the pending dues which will be Rs 5800/- = Rs 2500 (Readmission fee) + Rs 3300/- (Rs 1000 RKA x 3terms+Rs 300 (10% as penalty)). On receipt of the payment, the official email id is activated again and they are permitted to register using this id. Once they do this, the status is changed to "On the rolls".
• Any learner who is struck off the rolls 2 times, is removed from the programme.
• Quitting the programme: There will also be an option inside the candidate dashboard which says "I quit the programme". Once the learner applies for this midway through a level, we suspend the official email account and activate the personal email account to access the dashboard. No reactivation for continuing the program is possible.
• Alumnus: Learners who complete the BS level and quit the program, at the end of it, we again suspend the official email id and activate the personal email account to access the dashboard. Their status will be changed to “Alumnus”.

Students completing the foundation or diploma level and quitting the programme will have status as “FL certified” and “Diploma certified” but will not be awarded the Alumnus status.

11.Timeline for original certificate:

11.1 Exit form window and senate date :
[Updated on Nov 28, 2025] 

Senate approval is required before the original certificate can be generated. IIT Madras Senate meetings are held three to four times a year. Please refer to the timeline below for the certificate issue date.

Note: Students who have completed the BS degree and wish to take their original certificate have to mandatorily register with the IITM alumni association, pay the fees of Rs 6000/- and confirm to the BS team. Only after this step is completed will the original certificate be processed.

[Updated on Nov 28, 2025]
        

Important Points to be remembered:

Original certificate will be processed only if the below criteria is satisfied.

1. Required credits must be completed with all the Mandatory courses in Degree Level.
2. Students must complete a minimum of 4 years (12 terms) for a B.S. degree, starting from their first term in the program.*
3. Exit form has to be mandatorily filled by the student; a professional photograph with a white/blue background and the Class X or XII certificate should be uploaded in the form. No other documents are acceptable.

Applicable only for BS completed students - Alumni card

• For students exiting the program with a B.S. degree, an IITM Alumni Card is mandatory.
• After you submit your exit form, we will verify your details and send you the alumni registration process. This must be completed to process your original certificates.
• A fee of Rs. 6000 + GST is required for the Alumni Card registration.
• Once your registration is complete, we will process your Alumni Card along with your original certificates. They will be dispatched via post or handed over to you, based on the delivery method you selected in the exit form.

11.2 Photo Collection for Final certificate:

Students must submit a formally dressed photograph for their final certificate during their first term in the degree program. Details regarding the photo submission will be provided by the program team.

12. Alumni Details

[Updated on 19-05-2025]

12.1 Eligibility and Payment

• Only Degree Level students who have completed all the credit requirements for the BS levels are eligible to apply for an IITM Alumni card.
• Once the credit requirements are verified, students will be notified to register in the IIT Madras Alumni Association (IITMAA) portal.
• A one-time Payment of Rs. 7080 has to be made to IITMAA - https://iitmaa.org/ as a processing fee to avail the alum benefits.
• The above fee will be collected as follows: When a student advances to the Degree Level, 50% to be paid in the first term and 50% in the following term.
• After completing your registration, please allow at least 30 days for your alumni card to be delivered to your address, and subsequently, expect 2-3 weeks to gain access to the IITMAA website.

12.2 Alum Card and its Benefits :

12.2.1 Alum Card Benefits

The IITM BS alumni card serves as the official identification for alumni of IIT Madras, symbolizing their affiliation with the institute and instilling a sense of pride.

12.2.2 Importance of the Alumni Card

The alumni card is essential for various purposes, including:

1. Access to IITM Campus: Required for entry whenever needed.
2. Guest House Booking: Necessary for booking the Taramani Guest House.
3. Transcript Applications: Required to apply for your academic transcript.
4. Library Membership: Needed to apply for library membership and access library facilities.
5. Gymkhana Membership: Required to apply for Gymkhana membership to utilize its facilities.
6. Swimming Pool Membership: Necessary for applying for swimming pool membership.

12.2.3 Exclusive Benefits

Having an alumni card grants access to numerous programs and benefits, such as:

1. Participation in Free Programs:

1. Mentor in CLIC (Career and Life Coaching for Students)
2. Mentor in YAARI
3. Lifelong Learning Sessions
4. WE CARE Events
5. GURU Talks
6. Alumni Expert Series
7. Alumni Discussion Groups

2. Voting Rights: Eligible to vote in IITMAA elections.
3. Discounts and Offers:

1. Discounts from alumni companies
2. Discounts from IITMAA business sponsorships

4. Job Portal Access: Utilize the job portal for career opportunities.
5. Volunteer Opportunities: Get involved in various initiatives.
6. Membership in IITMAA EC: Be a part of the IITMAA Executive Committee.

12.2.4 Event Participation

The alumni card also allows participation in various events and programs, including:

1. Travel Opportunities: Join IITMAA holidays around the world.
2. Reunions: Attend reunions on campus or at various locations.
3. Global Chapter Events: Participate in events organized by global chapters.

12.2.5 Additional Benefits

1. Group Insurance Policies: Enroll in group insurance plans.
2. Discounts at IITM Gift Shop: Enjoy discounts when shopping at the IITM gift shop.

This comprehensive list underscores the significance of obtaining and maintaining your IITMAA alumni card, ensuring you stay connected with the institute and fellow alumni while enjoying numerous benefits.

12.3 Discourse Forum Access

Alumni students will now have access to the Discourse Discussion Forum. You can retain your existing forum account by updating your registered email address to your alumnus email.

13. Certificates and Mark transcripts

13.1 Design of Certificates

The design has been finalized for the three levels of certificates, as shown on the website.

BS in Electronic Systems

Diploma in Electronic Systems

Foundation in Electronic Systems

Design for Credit Completion Letter:

Effective Jan 2026 term : (updated on Jan 13th,2026)

After a review of all documents by the Academic section of the institute,it was recommended to change the format of these to letters stating the requisite credits for the level have been completed.

Going forward we will be providing a credit completion letter when students complete the required credits for the particular level.It will be signed by the Coordinators of the program.

and accepted everywhere - companies and academic institutions alike.

The students who filled the exit form and are awaiting the original certificate can request a provisional certificate, which will be signed by the AR/DR of the Academic section of IITM. To obtain a provisional certificate students should write to academic.documents@study.iitm.ac.in.

There is no change in the format of the original certificates which will be issued. They will be the same as shown on the website.

13.2 Mark transcripts

There will be two types of mark cards that will be made available.

1. Semester wise Progress card

This document will list all the courses taken by the learner semester wise.

The values for every course will be course code, course name, level, grade obtained.

Note that the transcript will show all attempts and grades obtained in each of the attempts.

2. Grade Card

This will have the courses at each level listed only once. The best score obtained among all attempts for each course is what will be shown here.

      GPA will be calculated for the courses in a particular semester of the program.

GPA=(GPi*Ci)/Ci

Where GP = grade point of a course and Ci is the number of credits assigned to that course and Ci is the total number of credits of all courses in the semester, including those with U or W or I grades.

The CGPA will also be computed for all unique courses completed until this point in time with the best grade being considered in case a course is attempted multiple times.

Procedure to apply for official Transcript & Bonafide Certificate:

Students who are interested in applying for a transcript / bonafide certificate should follow these steps. Note that these certificates will be issued every Thursday. Students have to plan suitably and contact us.

1. Send an email to support-es@study.iitm.ac.in obtain a Google form link
2. We will accept the Google form responses received till 12.00 PM IST every Thursday for that week and will issue the certificate.
3. Responses received after 12:00 PM IST will be processed only on next Thursday, the following week.

14. Academic Documents for students

14.1 Types of documents

There will be 2 types of documents that will be made available automatically.

1. Term wise Progress card

This document will list all the courses taken by the learner term wise.

The values for every course will be course code, course name, level, grade obtained.

Note that the transcript will show all attempts and grades obtained in each of the attempts.

2. Grade Card

This will have the courses at each level listed only once. The best score obtained among all attempts for each course is what will be shown here.

      GPA will be calculated for the courses in a particular term of the programme.

GPA=(GPi*Ci)/Ci

Where GP = grade point of a course and Ci is the number of credits assigned to that course and Ci is the total number of credits of all courses in the term, including those with U or W grades.

The CGPA will also be computed for all unique courses completed until this point in time with the best grade being considered in case a course is attempted multiple times.

14.2 Procedure to Apply for Official Transcript & Bonafide Certificate

Students who are interested in applying for a transcript/bonafide certificate have to follow these steps. Note that these certificates will be issued every Thursday. Students have to plan suitably and contact us.

Please refer the link to know the criteria for official documents given to students: https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQnn2cFan5BqTTAByCoqtue-0XSmFXQPT91bADDL_i33tHMh8C0ZJepvFBwze4E5zJbGiBMdQa59VeT/pub

15.  Academic aspects

15.1  Academic calendar

1. There will be 3 terms every year - Jan-Apr, May-Aug and Sep-Dec.
2. All the foundation, diploma level courses, the mandatory courses of the BS level will be offered in every term.

* While 36 months (3 years/9 terms) is time permitted for completion of any level, 96 months (8 years/24 terms) is the time permitted for the entire programme.

15.2 Course structure suitable for online delivery

All courses of 4 credits will be of duration 12 weeks.

The recorded content which is released every week will be for a total of about 2-4 hours, split into multiple lectures which includes the theory and tutorial videos. All videos are copyrighted to IIT Madras but will be available on YouTube as a public playlist for anyone to access and view.

Self test assessments for every video lecture, a practice assignment for the week with solutions will also be released apart from text transcripts and any related notes.

The weekly graded assignment will also be released along with the above content.

15.3 Evaluation and grading of courses in every term

Each course has 3 types of assessments - online weekly assignments, monthly in-person proctored quizzes and an in-person end term exam.

1. Online assignments:

• A 12 week course will have one or more weekly assignments to be submitted online within the due date specified.
• The average score of the best 5 out of the first 7 weekly assignments given during the course run should be >= 40/100 to be eligible to write the final exam and get the hall ticket for the same.
• This will also contribute to the Final score and course grade.(Score in any unattempted assignment will be counted as 0).
• May change from course to course - check the grading document for actual details

2. Two proctored Quizzes - to be attempted in person in the city chosen

Two quizzes will be conducted at the end of Weeks 4 and 8 based on the content of Weeks 1-4 and 1-8 respectively.

• Will be a single session exam with 4 hrs to attempt 4 subjects, 3 hrs to attempt 3 subjects and 2 hrs to attempt 2 or 1 subject.
• The Qualifier score will be counted as Quiz 1 score for the courses registered in the Foundation level only in the subsequent term of the qualifier exam, unless the candidate attempts Quiz 1 again in which case the better of the 2 scores will be used for calculations.
• The score of a quiz not attempted will be taken as 0. No make-up quiz will be provided.
• At least one of the 2 quizzes has to be mandatorily attended by the candidate else he/she will not be eligible to write the final exam. (check grading document for changes)

3. Final end term exam at the end of the course

• At the end of a term, there will be an end term exam of 1.5 hours duration for each course. (This will ensure exams can be conducted only on Sundays and exams for 4 courses completed in 2 sessions of 3 hrs each throughout the program.)
• Eligibility to write the End sem exam: Pls check the grading document for details.
• The final exam score accounts for 50% of the Total Course Score T - called End Semester Score (E)

Exam City Details (we have added few new cities form Sept 2024 term): https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vT6KKXyQjldD7sUVpinTd9oW1dpaDhkm3cq1b2RM5wqGNHrComOQbXR3C9jh14arLmxhnxc9jNUbC8O/pubhtml

15.4 Exam Center Policy  

[Updated on Jul 15, 2025]

1. For Students Appearing for Exams Within India
   Students must report only to the exam center assigned to them, as mentioned in their hall ticket.
   Reporting to any center other than the assigned one is strictly not permitted . Students arriving at an unauthorized center will not be allowed to enter or appear for the exam under any circumstances .
2. For Students Appearing from Outside India (Remote Proctoring)
   Students appearing for the exam from outside India via remote proctoring must verify their location during the verification process.
   If a student fails to declare that they are in India or misrepresents their location , they will not be allowed to take the exam and the incident will be treated as a case of malpractice .

15.5 Exam Date Clashes between Programs :

Exam Date clashes NPTEL, IITM's non-campus BS programs, and web-enabled MTech programs

[Updated on Jul 18, 2025]

The exam dates for IITM's non-campus BS programs, web-enabled MTech programs, and some NPTEL courses will fall on the same day.  It is solely your responsibility to ensure that there are no exam date clashes before registering for any additional courses or programs. IITM CODE Office will not be responsible for making any special arrangements to resolve such conflicts.

15.6 Pass criteria for each course

Total Course Score (T) will be the sum of all assessment components in every course as defined in the Grading document of that term.

A candidate is deemed to have passed a course IF Total Course Score (T) >=  40/100

This criteria is the same for all learners in the course.

An absolute grading system, as described in the following table, will be followed:

15.7 Repeating a course

1. For improvement

[Updated on Aug 19,2025]

As per the new policy, the students can improve the grades obtained in courses of a level as long as they are within the same level and have not progressed to the next level. For eg: if a student completes the 8 courses of the foundation level and wishes to improve any course grade, they have to do it in the terms that are available within the maximum permissible terms. The student will not be allowed to take any foundation level improvement course once they start the Diploma Level.

The cgpa will be frozen once they move to a new level.

The fee for repeating the course for improvement will be twice the regular course fee and the learner will have to submit all the weekly assignments, appear for the quizzes and final exams. The highest score amongst all attempts for a course will be used for calculating the CGPA. 

2. If learner was not eligible to attempt the end term exam (grade=WA/WQ) or if the learner did not pass the course (Grade = U) 

If average assignment score < 40/100 or no quiz attended or T<40/100, the learner has to repeat the entire course. This includes submission of assignments and redoing all the subsequent quizzes and the end term exam. Fees for repeating the course is the same as the course fees.

3. If the learner was absent for the final exam alone (grade = I): The learner has 2 options:

1. Reappear for the final term exam - Makeup exam: They can attend only the end term exam whenever it is conducted in the subsequent term.

• The fee to repeat an end term exam will be Rs.1000 for each course of the foundational level and Rs. 2000 for each course of the diploma / degree levels. 
• If the learner reattempts the course in the immediate next term, then the average Quiz Score Q will be carried over and the learner does not have to resubmit the quizzes or the assignments.
• If the learner wishes to skip the immediate next term and attempt the course in subsequent terms, then the entire course will have to be repeated including the weekly assignments and quizzes. 
• A learner can reappear for the makeup exam  only once. If the learner misses the makeup exam, then the learner has to repeat the entire course in the term thereafter, by paying the full course fees and repeating all assignments, invigilated quizzes and the end term exam.

2. Repeat the entire course: They can choose to repeat the entire course. 

• The fee to repeat the course will be the same as the regular course fees.
• The learner must complete all assignments, invigilated quizzes and the end term exam.
• Registering to this course will be counted as one of the courses permitted as per the CCC of the learner.

15.7.1 Registering for Courses: Term 2 Onwards

• Maximum number of final exams (full course+makeup exams) <= 4
• Maximum number of new + repeat full course (if failed/absent if reqd/improvement) <= CCC
• Registering for new courses is subject to fulfilment of all rules and prerequisites.
• If a student passes all/some courses then CCC is calculated on the average of passed courses.
• If a student fails all courses, then CCC is set to 2.
• If a student is absent for all courses then CCC of the previous term is carried forward.
• Make up exam will be permitted as an option only once in the subsequent term.

15.7.2 Repeating a Course - WA, WQ, U or I grade

Applicable for courses with WA, WQ, U or I grade.

You can choose to repeat courses in a single term or across multiple terms. You can also register for new courses in the term. The total number of courses must be within the CCC limit. Learners with an Incomplete (I) grade in a course can take a Make Up Exam instead of repeating the course.

15.7.3 Repeating a Course for Improvement

Applicable for courses with A, B, C, D or E grade.

You can choose to repeat courses to improve the grade in the course. The highest grade will be recorded in the transcript. The total number of courses must be within the CCC limit. Course fee Repeat for Improvement courses will be double the normal fee.

[Updated on Aug 28th,2025]

As per the new policy Effective from Jan 2026 - , It is proposed that students can improve the grades obtained in courses of a level as long as they are within the same level and have not progressed to the next level. For eg: if a student completes the 8 courses of the foundation level and wishes to improve any course grade, they have to do it in the terms that are available within the maximum permissible terms. The student will not be allowed to take any foundation level improvement course once they start the Diploma Level.

The cgpa will be frozen once they move to a new level.

15.7.4 Make Up Exams

Applicable for courses with I grade.

You can choose to take a Makeup Exam for a course with Incomplete (I) grade. Learners will only be required to reappear for the Final Exam for that course. The Makeup Exam does not count towards CCC, but a student can appear for a maximum of FOUR final exams in a term. If you have already registered for 4 courses, you do not have any more final exam slots available.

Note: The grading pattern for make-up exams will be as follows: the pattern used will be as per the formula used in the term the course work was done and not as per the term the makeup exam was taken.

Quick Reckoner Table

Repeating OPPE:

• OPPE will not be applicable for the students who registered for repeating ET alone.
• ET will not be applicable for the students who registered for repeating OPPE alone.
• Students who registered for repeating OPPE & ET will have to appear for OPPE1, OPPE2 & ET.

Repeat_OPPE Criteria
(w.e.f from Jan 2026 term) [updated on Jan 05, 2026]

Students who were OPPE eligible and received an I_OP in the September 2025 term, and have registered as Repeat OPPE for the January 2026 term, will continue to be considered eligible for OPPE in January 2026. However, students who were marked OPPE Ineligible with I_OP or I_Both and have registered for the respective course as Repeat OPPE or Repeat OPPE & End Term must regain OPPE eligibility in the January 2026 term by submitting the required assignments and OPPE SCT. If OPPE eligibility is not attained, the OPPE will not be scheduled and a U grade will be awarded for the January 2026 term.

15.8 Dropping a course

(This is not applicable for the students who are continuing after qualifying in the same term)

Once the registration window closes in any term, adding courses will not be allowed. Dropping a course will be allowed within 4 weeks of the term start date and not beyond. Rs 2000 will be deducted if a Foundation level course is dropped and Rs 4000 will be deducted if a Diploma/Degree level course is dropped.

1. If the learner decides to drop out of the programme completely using the “I quit the programme” option, the course fee paid minus the deduction will be refunded to the learner and the learner will be removed from the programme, cancelling his official email id access. The status will also be changed to “Quit the programme”.
2. If the learner drops one/a few of the courses registered to in a term, the refund will be made as given in the table below but the email id will be kept active so that he/she can continue with other ongoing courses and the programme. Status will be “Active”.
3. If the learner opts to drop all courses registered in a  term, the refund will be done as per the table given below and the email id will be kept active so that the learner can come in and register in the next term. But this will be counted as a term with 0 courses. Status will be changed to “Academic probation”.
4. The fee receipt will be generated post these 4 weeks after term start when drop is permitted so that all the courses and fees are tallied and confirmed.
5. Learners writing exams outside India would have paid Exam facilitation Fee while registering for the courses. For such learners:

1. If they drop from all courses in a term, 100% of the facilitation fee for Quiz 1 will be retained while 50% of the facilitation fee for quizzes 2 and final exam will be refunded.

Please note, The amount to be refunded will be added to your student wallet and NOT refunded to the bank account. This amount can be used when you register for courses in the next term and deducted from the fees to be paid then.

**Admin charges will remain the same for the revised fees for those who will be joining in Jan 2026 term also.

16. Learning paths available

Here are some suggested learning paths

1. Foundation course certificate
2. Diploma in Electronic Systems
3. BS Degree in Electronic Systems

Note: The learning path for the BS degree level will be mentioned in the due course of time.


We are introducing new practices this term that require your attention (from Jan 2025 Term):

1. Submission of Worked-Out assignments for Select Courses

For the following Foundation-level and Diploma courses:

• Foundation Level: ESTC, EEC, Digital Systems, Maths 1
• All Diploma Courses

Requirement:

• You must upload a scanned copy of your worked-out sheets along with your assignment submission.
• These sheets do not need to be neat; you can simply photograph your work and compile it into a PDF.

Why is this required?

• While these will not be graded or evaluated for partial marks, we will perform random sampling.
• Post the graded assignment deadline, you can discuss mistakes and improve your understanding.

17. Prerequisite course requirements

Foundation courses

• Till Electronics laboratory courses should be completed before the candidate can register for the Diploma level course.
• Students when they register for Diploma level courses for the first time, the CS2101, CS2109 foundation level course should be included in the same term or completed in the previous term, otherwise they are not eligible to register for diploma level courses.
  

Diploma level courses

The student who has completed all the foundation and diploma level courses will be permitted to register for Degree Level Courses. Students who complete all the above courses will be issued the provisional Diploma in Electronic Systems if they choose to continue with the program.

Degree level courses

Students would have completed 86 credits at the end of the Diploma Level and need 56 credits more to earn the BS degree. The committee approved the following courses to be offered at the degree level. In addition, the students can also transfer credits from NPTEL and courses done at IITM or other institutes as given below.

Core courses at the Degree Level:

The following courses are proposed as core/mandatory courses at the Degree Level.

Department Elective:

The following courses are proposed as Department/Open Electives at the degree level.

5 courses have to be taken from this list of 9 courses given here to satisfy the 5 department electives (20 credits).

Courses proposed from the BS-DS program for the category of open electives:

Apprenticeship

18. New Rules for Foundation & Diploma Level Completion

18.1 Foundation level checkpoints:

These conditions shall be applicable to the students admitted to the foundation level from May 2026. These are not applicable for students who have entered in the May 2026 term or before that. But completing the foundation level in 9 terms is applicable for all. 

Students will be removed from the program if they do not complete

1. at least 4 courses within 4 terms.
2. at least 6 courses within 6 terms.
3. the 9 foundation courses + 5 labs within 9 terms.

The student will be issued warnings about insufficient progress and about complying with these conditions starting from term 3.

18.2 Change in CCC at the foundation level:

This is for ALL students in the foundation level.

Currently, the CCC is calculated based on the courses passed in the last 2 terms by the students and enforced too, deciding the number of courses that students can take in a given term in the Foundation Level.

In view of the conditions imposed above leading to exit from the program if not satisfied, it was proposed that the CCC will only be a recommendation and not enforced. This will enable students to make up for term breaks and meet the proposed course completion criteria.

18.3 Increasing the maximum number of terms for completing the diploma level

The Diploma level can now be completed in a maximum of 12 terms instead of 9 terms as has been the case till now. This extension of 12 terms as the maximum limit to complete the Diploma level shall be applied for all learners, starting from the first batch, who started the Diploma Level in May 2024.

The maximum duration for the BS levels shall remain unchanged at 9 terms. The total duration permissible for the BS degrees shall also remain at 6 and 8 years, respectively.

18.4 Checkpoints in the Diploma level

These conditions below shall be applicable to the students admitted to the Diploma level from May 2026. These are not applicable for students who have entered in the May 2026 term or before that. But completing the diploma level in 12 terms is applicable for all. 

To ensure continuous progress and steer students towards completing courses on time, the following intermediate checkpoints were also proposed. The student must complete

1. at least 3 courses in the first 3 terms from starting the Diploma level - if not, they will be put on academic probation and given a warning. This warning is intended for students to structure their study plans suitably. Students can still register for courses in the subsequent terms; but they must be mindful that they have to complete 6 courses and 2 projects within 6 terms from the time they started the Diploma level.
2. at least 6 courses and 1 project in the first 6 terms from starting the Diploma level - if not, they will be removed from the program.
3. at least 9 courses and 2 projects in the first 9 terms from starting the Diploma level - if not, they will be removed from the program.
4. All 11 courses and 2 projects in 12 terms from starting the Diploma level - if not, they will be removed from the program

The student will be issued sufficient alerts and warnings about these checkpoints.

18.5 Improvement Term Limit

[Updated on Aug 28,2025]

As per the new policy from Jan 2026 Term, the students can improve the grades obtained in courses of a level as long as they are within the same level and have not progressed to the next level. For eg: if a student completes the 8 courses of the foundation level and wishes to improve any course grade, they have to do it in the terms that are available within the maximum permissible terms. The student will not be allowed to take any foundation level improvement course once they start the Diploma Level.The cgpa will be frozen once they move to a new level.

We don't recommend taking improvement courses in the Sep 2025 term itself.

19. Eligibility Criteria Prize

The Direct admission to the Diploma, where students exit with the Diploma, comprises 8

courses and 2 projects (35 credits).

Eligibility for Prizes:

1. Certificate of Merit

Awarded to students at 2 levels: completing Foundation+ Diploma (86 credits),

completing the BS degree (142 credits)

Criteria: CGPA between 9.00 and 9.50 at the end of Foundation+Diploma or when

graduating with a BS.

2. Certificate of Academic Distinction

Awarded to students at 2 levels: completing Foundation+ Diploma (86 credits) or

completing the BS degree (142 credits)

Criteria: All students with CGPA greater than or equal to 9.50 at the end of Foundation+ Diploma

or when graduating with a BS.

3. Certificate of Academic Excellence

Awarded to students at 2 levels: completing Foundation+ Diploma (86 credits) or

completing the BS degree (142 credits)

Criteria: The students with the highest CGPA at the end of Foundation+Diploma or

when graduating with BS will be identified and awarded. The actual number of students

will be decided by the Steering committee.

The students under the above three categories will be awarded a medal along with the certificate.

The following will be the process followed for identifying the students eligible for the awards:

a. The list of students completing the foundation+ diploma or the BS degree in a

calendar year January-December will be consolidated and considered to finalize the

prizes.

b. Certificates will be awarded for all the 3 categories (Certificate of Merit , Certificate of Academic Distinction , Certificate of Academic Excellence) with medals being given for the students for the respective category.

Prize Eligibility Criteria for Improvement Courses

For the prizes awarded after the diploma level, we will consider the CGPA only till the term when the student completes the diploma. Improvements in foundational/diploma courses done after completion of diploma will not be considered for the diploma-level prizes. For example, if a student had repeated a foundation/diploma course for improvement in September 2023 but had completed diploma in May 2023, then the CGPA secured in May 2023 will be considered for diploma-level prize. Diploma-level prizes will not be given retrospectively.

Certificate of Merit and Distinction Policy

Students eligible for a Certificate of Merit or Distinction must maintain a clean academic and disciplinary record. Any instance of academic malpractice or disciplinary violation in a student's history will result in disqualification from receiving the certificate, irrespective of academic performance.                                                       [Updated on April 14,2025]

20. Pathways to get admission to Masters programs at IITM  

[Updated on August 12,2025]

Upgrade to the on-campus MS program

Eligibility to apply for MS Upgrade:

● Students who complete the Foundation and Diploma Level (102 credits) and the 4 core

courses in degree level

● Should have a cgpa >= 8.0 at the end of 102 credits

Process proposed:

● Students can apply for this upgrade in the months of April/October every year.

● They will go through the regular process of test/interview as per the host department

rules.

● If selected, they will complete 28 credits on campus - 20 credits of course work and 8

credits project work (apprenticeship) over a duration of 2 semesters (1 year).

● These credits will be transferred to the program for completion and award of the BS

degree.

● MS eligibility: Min CGPA of 8.00 in the campus courses + project or a valid GATE score,

acceptance by a guide.

● Fees to be paid for the MS program as stipulated by the institute.

21. Apprenticeship in the BS level of IIT Madras’ BS in Electronic Systems

The program provides the students in the BS level of the program to pursue an apprenticeship with companies and research projects and earn up to 12 credits in this level. Doing an apprenticeship is optional.

Steps involved in the Apprenticeship program:

1. Approval for the company/research project where the student can work as an apprentice

If the student applies and is accepted by any of the companies that are preapproved by IITM for this purpose, the apprenticeship will be directly approved.

Else the student will have to submit the details of the company/organization and the Apprenticeship  committee will decide based on the details submitted.

2. Reporting Manager

Once the apprenticeship is approved, the student has to submit the details of the Reporting Manager in the Organization to IITM.

3. Logging the weekly work report

Students have to file the work log to the IITM BS office every week.

4. Review after first 4 weeks

After 4 weeks, based on the student’s performance,  the reporting manager has to confirm if they would like to continue with the student as an apprentice for the next 7 months. This confirmation letter should be submitted to the IITM BS Program’s Office.

5. Possible exit after 4 months

After the completion of 4 months, the student or the company can choose to discontinue the apprenticeship. A letter from the company has to be submitted outlining the work done by the student and whether it was satisfactory to obtain partial credits.

6. After the completion of 8 months of internship

A letter from the Reporting Manager should be submitted to the IITM BS program on the company’s letterhead stating the work done by the student and whether it was satisfactory.

The following will be norms with respect to pursuing an apprenticeship:

1. Number of courses that can be taken along while pursuing the apprenticeship

It is recommended that students pursue a maximum of 2 courses each term during the duration of the apprenticeship to be able to do well in both.

2. Duration of the apprenticeship that can be credited - 8 months, full time
3. Academic Credits

1. <4 months: 0 credits.
2. 4<duration<8 months: 4 credits
3. 8 months: 8 credits

4. Stipend: This is mutually agreed upon between the student and the company when finalizing the apprenticeship.
5. Mode of apprenticeship: Remote or On-site: This will depend on the company’s policy.
6. Pre-placement Offer: On successful completion of the apprenticeship, companies will have the option to give a pre-placement offer to the students.
7. Payment of fees:

The fee for credit transfer is fixed as Rs 5000/- per credit for Apprenticeship. When  students opt to credit this at the BS level, they have to pay the credit transfer fee at the time of registration.

Please refer the link to know more about Apprenticeship:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1vMO-iVOtYSrADaNa8q8o3WRb1_vahhp05ojhUtDkthQ/edit?usp=sharing

22. Foundation Level Lab Registration – Eligibility Policy (Effective May 2026)

Updated on Jul 1, 2026

1. Objective & Overview

To optimize student travel and academic progression, this policy structures the completion of all 5 Foundation Level Labs so that students need to visit the IIT Madras campus a maximum of two times.

The 5 Foundation Level Labs:

1. C Programming Laboratory
2. Electronic Systems Thinking & Circuits Lab
3. Linux Systems Laboratory
4. Electronics Laboratory
5. Embedded C Programming Laboratory

2. Lab Prerequisites & Course Pairings

Core Prerequisites

• Electronics Laboratory: Requires successful completion of ESTC Lab as a prerequisite.
• Embedded C Programming Laboratory: Requires successful completion of C Programming Lab as a prerequisite.

3. Allowed Campus Visit Tracks

To ensure students visit campus only twice during the Foundation level, lab registrations must follow one of the approved grouping tracks:

Option A: Standard 2-Visit Progression

• Visit 1 (Term 1):

• C Programming Laboratory
• ESTC Lab

• Visit 2 (Term 2):

• Linux Systems Laboratory
• Electronics Laboratory
  (Note: Embedded C Programming theory and lab can be taken concurrently during your Diploma level studies).

Option B: Accelerated / Combined Visit

• Visit 1 (Term 1):

• C Programming Laboratory
• ESTC Lab

• Visit 2 (Term 2):

• Linux Systems Laboratory
• Electronics Laboratory
• Embedded C Programming Laboratory

4. Minimum Registration & Attendance Rules

Important — Single Lab Restriction:

Registering for only one lab in a given term is strictly prohibited. Students are not permitted to attend in-person lab sessions at IIT Madras for a single lab.

• Consequence of Single-Lab Registration: If a student registers for only one lab in a term, they will not be allowed to visit campus for that term and will automatically receive an 'I' (Incomplete) Grade for that course. The lab must then be carried forward and completed alongside another lab in a subsequent term.
• Planning Mandatory: Students are expected to plan their course sequence carefully each term to ensure they register for permissible lab combinations.

23. Software and Hardware Requirements - Mandatory System Specifications

The following are the essential requirements that are recommended to pursue the BS Degree program from IIT Madras^[1]. Please note that there will be updates in some of the specifications with changes happening in technology.  

Hardware

To enroll and study in the program, every student is required to have a laptop or desktop with the minimum configuration being as follows:

1. RAM Size - 8 GB or higher (The ability to install more memory is desirable).
2. Processor - Intel 8th Generation or AMD 4th Generation or upwards or its equivalent (The latest processor configuration is always recommended)
3. Storage - Minimum of 500 GB, Desirable of 1 TB. Having an SSD storage is desirable.
4. Screen size and resolution - Minimum of 13” for laptop and Minimum of 15” for desktop with 1080p
5. Webcamera, a mic and speaker or an earphone/headphone with mic.

Software/Applications

1. Operating System - Minimum requirement of Windows 10 or Ubuntu LTS Version 20.04 (or any equivalent) or Mac OS Mojave. Having the capability of dual boot is desirable. If there is no capability for dual boot, then the operating system must support virtualization software like VirtualBox using which Ubuntu 20.04 can be emulated. The System Commands course in Semester 4 will be taught primarily on Ubuntu 20.04.
2. Browser - Latest version of Chrome with Google Account signed in
3. Basic familiarity with Google Suite of tools (Docs, Sheets and Slides), specifically collaboration features.
4. Any other software that is specified within the course

Laboratory Kit

1. A laboratory kit is required to perform experiments as part of the lab courses
2. In-campus Lab work: Students are required to visit IIT Madras for lab work.
3. This kit has to be purchased separately from IIT Madras.
4. The cost for it will be finalized and announced to the students. The cost of this kit is not covered as part of the course fees prescribed.
5. The Electronic kit will be a learning tool that will be used over the course of several terms, especially in the hardware related courses that have a lab component e.g. Digital systems, Electrical and Electronic Circuits etc. It can be used to measure and source currents and voltages to functionally test the circuits that you will build in the lab courses. It is a USB powered instrument that can be used as a function generator and oscilloscope. We expect that it will support Windows and Linux environments.

Internet Bandwidth

Minimum of 2 MBPS connection is required to attend sessions without disruptions. However we strongly recommend broadband connections with much higher bandwidth for the best learning experience.

For OnlineProctored Examinations

1. Browser - Latest version of Chrome is desirable
2. Mobile with a front camera and good internet connection (at least 4G)
3. Mic and speaker to be able to speak to and listen to the person at the other end
4. Any applications as required to be installed for the interactions/examinations

System compatibility test

All students have to mandatorily attend the system compatibility test and ensure that the system you have conforms to the above requirements and student has to participate in this on the dates mentioned by the Admin team to get this completed.

Other References

Some more helpful links that will help you in understanding possible system configurations:

1. https://towardsdatascience.com/20-necessary-requirements-of-a-perfect-laptop-for-data-science-and-machine-learning-tasks-7d0c59c3cb63
2. https://www.practicaldatascience.org/html/buying_datascience_computer.html
3. https://www.umass.edu/it/support/hardware/recommended-minimum-computer-configurations-windows
4. https://www.du.edu/it/support/how-to/students/laptops
5. https://wmich.edu/cs/laptop-requirements

24. Rules for non-campus BS students applying for the Nirmaan pre-incubation

Click here to view

25. Mandatory POSH Training for All Students

IIT Madras BS Degree has mandated that all students of all programs should mandatorily complete the POSH – Becoming Gender Sensitive training course, as part of the institute’s commitment to maitain a safe and respectful learning environment for everyone.

Module Link: https://seek.onlinedegree.iitm.ac.in/courses/ns_posh?id=14

Please access the course from your student mail id.

Students who do not complete the POSH training will not be permitted to proceed with course registration in the subsequent term, starting from when access to the course is provided.

26. Student Escalation Matrix

Step 1: Raise a Support Ticket

All queries, requests, and issues must first be submitted through the Student Support Portal by raising a support ticket.

Please wait for at least 24 hours after raising the ticket for the support team to review and respond.

Step 2: Follow Up on the Existing Ticket

If you have not received a response within 24 hours, you may follow up on the same ticket instead of creating a new one.

Step 3: Escalation

If you have already raised a support ticket, waited for 24 hours, and followed up on the ticket, but have still not received a response or are not satisfied with the resolution provided, you may escalate the matter as per the escalation matrix below.

Level 1 Escalation

Email: victoria@study.iitm.ac.in , kavitha_g@study.iitm.ac.in , nkavitha@code.iitm.ac.in

Level 2 Escalation

Email: bharathi@study.iitm.ac.in

Students are requested to contact the above email IDs first. If the issue remains unresolved or the response received is not satisfactory, it may be escalated further as per the hierarchy below.

Level 3 Escalation

BS Degree Program Coordinators

• Prof. Andrew Thangaraj
• Prof. Vignesh M

Level 4 Escalation : Dean (Academics)

Level 5 Escalation : Director, IIT Madras

27. Introducing the Student Performance Leaderboard

The Leaderboard portal provides students with insights into their academic performance through subject-wise rankings, level completion rankings, and course-wise performance analytics.

Important: The Leaderboard can be accessed only using your registered student email ID. This ensures that each student can view only their own academic performance and rankings.

ES Student Leaderboard Link

User guide : Click here

28. Glossary : Click here

29. Common FAQ’s

1. After exiting at the Diploma level, will I receive alumni status, along with an alumni card?

No, alumni status is only if you complete BSc or higher.

2. If I plan to exit, do I still need to pay the RKA fee for the upcoming term before filling the exit form?

Not required.

3. Will I be eligible for any placement support, until I receive my certificate, considering that I already hold another degree?

Please write to iic@study.iitm.ac.in for this.

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