The Indian Institute of Technology Madras has proposed to launch three masters programmes from 2023-24 academic year.
The two-year programmes to be offered by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences include Development Studies, English Studies, and Economics. The M.A. programmes will be offered instead of the current five-year integrated M.A.
A total of 25 seats have been allocated for Indian students in each stream. The programmes will be open to international students on a supernumerary basis. Applications will be issued in March-April 2023 and classes will commence from July. Admission will be through an entrance test.
Institute director V. Kamakoti said the restructuring was done to make the programme more accessible. Students from any discipline may apply to the M.A. courses. “Such type of humanities and social science exposure is very much needed for the next generations of students to face and address different challenges posed by the modern world. This expanded list of M.A. programmes will open new avenues for placement and employability as the students will be trained as domain specific experts with international readiness and national focus,” he explained.
The new programmes would include evidence-based policy analyses; role of technology in shaping socio-economic development; data science and governance; engagement with contemporary issues, such as climate change, sustainability, urbanisation, among others.
The course curriculum of the M.A. programmes would be restructured to include more contemporary subjects, such as Economics of Innovation, Urban Planning and Development, Health Policy, Environmental Humanities, Climate Economics, Technology and Policy, and Computational Linguistics.