The Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) are rewriting the rules of engineering education. In a major academic overhaul, IITs are phasing out their traditional five-year dual degree programmes — once a staple for students pursuing a combined BTech and MTech — in favour of customisable, interdisciplinary courses that reflect today’s career landscape.
Why the Shift?
With more students aiming to hit the job market early, the classic five-year model is losing appeal. Most prefer the standalone BTech, which opens the door to internships and campus placements as early as the third year. In contrast, dual degree students often graduate later — missing out on the first wave of career opportunities.
Institutes like IIT Bombay have already scrapped the old programme, citing a high dropout rate by the fourth year, as students exit early to avoid missing job offers.
The New Model: Freedom to Choose, Power to Combine
Rather than ditching the dual degree entirely, IITs are reimagining it:
Mid-course flexibility: Students can now opt into a Master’s after the fifth semester.
Interdisciplinary edge: Study Mechanical Engineering + Robotics or Physics + Data Science in a single programme.
Career-aligned: The structure now supports industry-ready skill sets and encourages innovation at the crossroads of tech, design, and science.
Institutions like IIT Delhi continue offering the dual-degree route, but only to students truly inclined toward research and academic excellence.
What It Means for the Future
This evolution is more than just curriculum reform — it marks a paradigm shift in India’s engineering education. IITs are aligning with global trends that favour depth, diversity, and real-world application over rigid academic silos.
As students explore careers in AI, climate tech, space, and fintech, this flexible approach could redefine what it means to be an engineer in the 21st century.
