Eligibility to appear for the qualifier exam (regular entry):
Important Dates
Mandatory Requirements to Enroll and Learn
Access to good internet connection as well as a laptop/desktop device will be a key requirement to learn effectively from our courses. For a complete list of software and hardware requirements, please refer to this document - Mandatory System Specifications.
Learner should be able to travel to assigned exam centres for quizzes and exams, each term. Check the list of exam cities where our exam centres are currently located.
Kit: Some of the courses are accompanied by lab sessions to be done at home with the use of electronic kits as suggested. The cost of the kit will be communicated and updated in the student handbook.
It is mandatory that students travel to IIT Madras campus to demonstrate the lab experiments specified and complete the lab exams in person at the campus. These are planned currently in the months of May-July and November-January and can change based on other constraints. The tentative duration for the in person component at IIT Madras is expected to be one week every semester. Hostel accommodation is not guaranteed and students must make their own travel and accommodation arrangements for the same. The charges for this must be borne by the student.
Eligibility to Apply
Anyone who has passed Class 12 or equivalent with Physics and Mathematics can apply irrespective of age. View list of accepted class 12 equivalents.
School students who have appeared for their Class 11 final exams can apply. Those who qualify can join the program after passing Class 12.
The committee approved that students who have passed Maths and Physics separately through NIOS or any other equivalent organization be permitted to apply to the BS in Electronic Systems program, having fulfilled the minimum eligibility requirement.
Application Process
Applications for the batch starting January 2024 is now open. Apply Now
Anyone who is eligible may start applying by filling in a simple application form and paying the application fee.
| Category of applicant | Application fee |
|---|---|
| General Category / OBC / EWS Applicant | ₹6000 application fee |
| SC / ST / PwD (>= 40% disablity ) Applicant | ₹3000 application fee |
| SC / ST Applicant who is ALSO PwD (>= 40% disablity ) | ₹1500 application fee |
An additional exam facilitation fee will apply for learners opting to write the Qualifier Exam in an Exam Centre outside India.
Application will be considered only when, after payment, applicant also fills in further details and submits required documents for verification. Applications without details & documents, even if paid, will not be considered valid.
Admission to the Foundation Level
Regular entry: All eligible candidates, irrespective of their backgrounds, can earn admission to the Foundation Level by successfully completing the qualifier process. See details below
JEE-based entry: A student who has qualified for JEE Advanced 2023 is automatically eligible for admission and can register for courses in the foundation level of the BS program. See details below
Regular Entry
All regular entry applicants must go through the Qualifier Process to earn admission to the Foundation Level.
Qualifier Preparation:The qualifier process includes four weeks of coursework based on lecture videos, assignments, and live sessions of the four foundational level courses - English I, Math for Electronics I, Electronic Systems Thinking and Circuits, and Introduction to C Programming - that will be provided through our online portal. Every week an assignment must be submitted for grading in each course.
Qualifier Exam: At the end of the 4 weeks, a qualifier exam will be conducted for eligible candidates based on the content covered in the 4 weeks of study.
In each course, the average of the best 2 out of the first 3 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.
| Minimum Average Assignment Score required in each course | |
| General Learner | 40% |
| SC / ST / PwD with 40% disability | 30% |
| PwD with 40% disability & SC / ST | 30% |
| OBC-NCL / EWS | 35% |
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.
Qualifier Exam and Passing Criteria (regular entry):
Only learners who are eligible to appear for the qualifier exam will receive the hall ticket for it.
The in-person Qualifier Exam at the end of 4 weeks of coursework is of 4 hours duration and covers all 4 courses.
To pass the Qualifier Exam, the learner has to get a minimum Average Qualifier Exam Score and a minimum Qualifier Exam Score in each course individually. Refer table:
| Min. Req. Qualifier Exam Score in each course | Min. Req. Average Qualifier Exam Score | |
| General Learner | 40% | 50% |
| SC / ST / PwD with 40% disability | 30% | 40% |
| PwD with 40% disability & SC / ST | 30% | 40% |
| OBC-NCL / EWS | 35% | 45% |
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.
Only those who pass the Qualifier Exam will be eligible to register for the Foundation Level courses.
Validity of the Qualifier Exam result:
For candidates who have already
cleared class 12
board exams, the qualifier marks will be valid for the two semesters that come after the
qualifier exam date
(the continuing semester and the next one) for the learner to register to the Foundation level.
For students who attempt the
qualifier exam while in school, doing their std XII, the qualifier marks
will be valid for four semesters to continue with the foundation level.
Though everyone who passes the Qualifier Exam will be allowed to register for Foundation Level, there will be limitations on the number of courses a learner will be allowed to register for in their first term based on the Average Qualifier Exam Score (M).
| Average Qualifier Exam Score (M) | Number of courses allowed to register for |
| Minimum required <= M < 50% | up to 2 courses |
| 50% <= M < 70% | up to 3 courses |
| M >= 70% | up to 4 courses |
Re-attempt Qualifier Exam (regular entry)
Learners who were eligible to appear for the qualifier exam, but did not clear the qualifier exam or were absent for it, will be eligible to re-attempt the qualifier exam in the same term (refer important dates) without having to repeat the assignments.
Anyone who is eligible may apply by filling in the re-attempt application form that opens up immediately after the qualifier results are announced and paying the re-attempt fee.
| General Category / OBC-NCL / EWS Applicant | ₹2000 re-attempt fee |
| SC / ST Category / PwD (>= 40% disablity ) Applicant | ₹1000 re-attempt fee |
| SC / ST Category Applicant who is ALSO PwD (>= 40% disablity ) | ₹500 re-attempt fee |
For candidates who have not passed the first attempt and reattempt within the same semester, the best of the two scores in each subject of the qualifier exam will be considered for deciding the result of the Qualifier exam.
If an applicant was not eligible to receive the hall ticket for the qualifier exam in the first
attempt:
(1) They can only attempt in the next semester and have to apply as a fresh candidate, paying
the full fees as
per the fee norms applicable (and in case of candidates outside India, an additional exam
facilitation fee to be
paid)
(2) They will have to redo the four weeks of course work and weekly graded assignments and
become eligible to
get the hall ticket for the qualifier exam
JEE-based Entry
Candidates who have qualified to attempt JEE Advanced in the current year are deemed to have directly qualified and can register for courses in the Foundation level and start the program.
Such students will first register to the program paying the registration fees of Rs 6000/- with suitable waivers for students in the category of SC/ST/PwD with >40% disability and then once the documents are verified and their registration is approved, they will proceed to pay the fees for courses they choose to register for.
The registration of students, applying through this category, who do not appear for Quiz 1 AND Quiz 2 in the first semester will stand canceled.
International Students
Are you a learner outside India interested to join this program?
This program is open to learners from all around the globe. You can study from IIT Madras and earn the BS in Electronic Systems irrespective of the country you are from.
IIT Madras is setting up modalities to conduct in-person exams in as many countries as possible.
Currently, we
conduct in-person exams in the following cities outside India:
UAE - Dubai, Sharjah, Abu Dhabi
Sri Lanka - Colombo, Jaffna
Bahrain -
Manama
Kuwait
- Salmiya
Oman - Muscat
Students residing in these countries must write exams in the designated exam centres. Students have to appear for in-person exams roughly once a month.
Learners residing in any other country, apart from those shown above, can also enroll for this program and appear for remote proctored exams. If you have any queries, please write to ge-es@study.iitm.ac.in and our team will get in touch with you and guide you on the next steps.
Please note that all lab courses are to be done in person at IIT Madras campus atleast twice a year and you will have to travel for this.