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IIT Madras Data Science Degree: Is It Right for You? Let’s Explore through my experience!

Indian Institute Of Technology–Madras: University in Chennai, Tamilnadu

Are you a high school student aspiring for IIT? Are you a college student disappointed not to have cracked IIT? Are you a graduate student striving for GATE and other IITs? Are you a working professional looking to earn a degree while working? Or perhaps, are you a foreigner keen on studying Data Science at IIT Madras? If any of these descriptions resonate with you, I have some exciting news that could be a game-changer.

Imagine this: By the end of this article, you’ll discover an opportunity that has already transformed the lives of over 10,000 individuals like you. Yes, you read that right — over 10,000 people have embarked on a journey that has opened doors to the world of Data Science and Programming. This remarkable opportunity is the IIT Madras online BSc degree program in Data Science and Programming. And I’ve been on this transformative journey for the past two and a half years. In this post, we will dig deep into the details of the Degree and my experience with it for the past two years.

First, we will quickly discuss a few FAQs regarding the course ( you can also get clarification on these from the official website) and then will get to the interesting part of my experience and my take on it.

Table of Contents

· What is the curriculum structure of the program?
· How long is this degree?
· Who is Eligible?
· What is the Process to apply and get Qualified for the degree?
· What is the fee structure of the program?
· Are there placements provided by IITM?
· My Two years of experience with the degree and My Take on the course
Foundation Level — Balancing with college curriculum
Diploma Level — Balancing with the Job
Doing the degree Full-time
· My Final Take on it
References:

What is the curriculum structure of the program?

The degree is divided into 4 levels, below are the courses and credits in each level:
Foundation Level: 32 credits | 8 courses
Diploma Level:
— Diploma in Programming: 27 credits | 6 courses + 2 projects
— Diploma in Data Science: 27 credits | 6 courses + 2 projects
BSc Degree Level: 28 credits
BS Degree Level: 28 credits

Through these 4 levels, you will learn in-depth Programming concepts such as Python, Java, Data Structures, DBMS, SQL, and a few other interesting subjects which will be helpful for you to get a job in the software development field. Also, Data science concepts such as pandas, machine learning algorithms from theory to practice, useful tools for data science, and other interesting subjects will help you placed as a data scientist. Along with these, you will have hands-on projects which will give you more practical knowledge rather than just theory. To be eligible for a BSc Degree Level, you need to complete all the programming courses as well as data science courses, none of them are optional!! Click here.-,Foundation%20Level,-The%20Foundation%20Level) to see the in-depth of all the courses.

Each course will have 12 weeks of content, and the content will be released weekly in the portal. You can watch them at your own pace, but there will be weekly assignments as well and they will have a weekly deadline. So, You need to finish the content in one week and submit the weekly assignment. Every month you will have one Mid-term exam offline at the exam centers ( MCQs ). So In a term, you will have two mid-term exams and if you get the expected average assignment score and if you attend at least one mid-term exam, then you will be eligible to write the final end-term exam( offline at the exam center ). Once you pass the end-term, the course is finished for you:)

How long is this degree?

Now if you like the curriculum, you must be wondering about how many years is this course. Well, It’s not a straightforward answer. Here goes, once you qualify in the qualifier, based on your CGPA Score, you will be eligible to take either 2/3/4 courses per term. Each term will be 4 months and in a year we will have 3 terms ( Jan term, May term, Sept term).

If you take 4 courses per term, it will be very difficult to manage other things. Only if you dedicate full time for the course you can manage 4 courses per term. If not, it is recommended to take 3 courses per term, nonetheless, this will also be not easy and will take a lot of hard work to manage. And it will easily take a minimum of 4–5 years to complete all courses if we go with 3 courses per term pace.

So, Remember that only if you can do rigorous hard work for the next 4–5 years you can take this. I mean, there will be days where you have to sit on weekends and work while your friends chill out, and every week you will have the weekly assignments and on some weekends you will have mid-term exams where you have to go to exam centers and take the exams.

Who is Eligible?

Now that you know the depth and hard work it takes for this course and you wanna proceed. Then, here is the eligibility, Anyone who has passed Class 12 or equivalent can apply irrespective of age or academic background. Those who qualify can join the program immediately. Just this eligibility is all it’s needed to start this degree. So Even if you are a working professional or a college student from any other college, Or Even if you are a middle-aged age person who finished class 12 even in the 1980s, guess what? You can still apply for this degree as there is no age limit. see below that even people of the 61–79 age group have applied. If you want to get a Data Science degree from IIT, then don’t tell me it’s too late for you after seeing the below!!

Different groups of people qualified in the first-ever batch in 2020

What is the Process to apply and get Qualified for the degree?

Anyone who is eligible may start applying by registering on the official website, filling in a simple application form by providing the required documents and paying the application fee. The process for registration is quite simple and you can do it pretty fast.

Once the documents are verified, then on a particular release date ( Important dates ) the course content for the first four 4 weeks for 4 subjects( Maths, Statistics, Computational Thinking, and English) will be released. Maths and statistics will be just like the 12th syllabus and computation thinking will be like introductory to coding with some pseudocode. And every week there will be assignments, for which you have to give your best. Only if you get the expected average assignment score, you will be qualified to take the qualifier exam. So, once you clear the qualifier exam, within in few days the results will be out. If you are passed, give yourself a pat on the back for achieving the dreams come true moment, you are an IITian from that point on.

What is the fee structure of the program?

The fee structure is decent and we also have fee waivers for a considerable number of students, these will help a lot if your family has a low income.

The fee structure of the degree

Are there placements provided by IITM?

This is one of the most frequent doubts for everyone, so the thing is Yes! There are placement opportunities provided by IITM. There’s a dedicated Industry Interaction Cell by iitm BSC data science team for this. You will be eligible for an internship once you finish any one of the diploma courses (6 programming courses or 6 diploma courses). And once you reach BS you will be eligible for a Full-time data science role. Once you are eligible, you will get emails regarding the internship and full-time offers. You can apply to them from then on, But you have to be exceptionally good to crack these companies. Even if you couldn’t crack them in the campus placements, if you had followed the curriculum properly, you would have built a nice profile by then with two Application Development Projects and one Machine learning End to End Project. So using these skills you can crack the off-campus jobs as well.

My Two years of experience with the degree and My Take on the course

My timetable to finish the course content and for the end-term preparation

A brief about me: I am a mechanical engineer from Sastra and a data science enthusiast who started self-learning data science in 2020. It was during this time that my cousin informed me about the newly launched IITM BSc degree. After contemplating it for a few days, I decided to enroll, and I successfully qualified for the program.

Foundation Level — Balancing with college curriculum

During the initial six months of the course, I was simultaneously enrolled in my college’s 7th semester. I was juggling the Sastra curriculum and the IIT curriculum. For that term, I decided to take on three Foundational level courses. After completing my regular college classes, I would allocate at least 4 hours to the IIT course, dedicating at least 1 hour to each subject.

This arrangement was manageable primarily because we were at home during those days due to the lockdown. However, I’m uncertain whether I would have been able to commit the same amount of time if I were residing in a college hostel. The hostel environment might have posed additional challenges to managing both sets of coursework. So, for college students considering this course, it’s crucial to assess whether you can allocate the necessary time. Perhaps having a single room would be beneficial to minimize distractions.

Diploma Level — Balancing with the Job

Eventually, I got placed in the campus placements in a startup software company, and that was the time when my diploma courses started.

Diploma courses were not easy for me, especially since I come from a non-tech background, despite having a good knowledge of Python. I decided to take three courses during this term, thinking I could balance them with my job. However, it turned out to be extremely challenging. However, I gave my best and also did a Project in the Application Development subject which gave me a hands-on to understand the intricate details of a software application.

In the initial stages of the job, there was a steep learning curve, and I often had work to do even after office hours. I dedicated at least 5 hours a day to my courses, spending about 1.5 hours on each, including note-taking and assignments. Surprisingly, even with this level of effort, I couldn’t complete all the course content, and my grades suffered as a result.

So, as I couldn’t manage it at that time, I decided I would take a term break (we can take one term break) and focus on job-related learning. I did just that, dedicating four months solely to my job responsibilities. When the next term started, I found myself assigned to a project in the office. Hoping I could now balance work and studies, I resumed the course, taking on another three courses. However, even at this point, I struggled to keep up. I often had project work to complete after returning to my room. Spending five hours on the IIT course content was challenging. I had to devote my weekends to catching up on the coursework. It’s important to remember that there will be days when your friends are enjoying trips and leisure while you must stay in your room and study. Nevertheless, trust me, all this effort will ultimately prove worthwhile. The discomfort you experience today will become your strength tomorrow.

Doing the degree Full-time

I came to a significant realization when I attempted to balance the degree with both my college courses and a job. In that scenario, I found it challenging to devote my full attention to the IIT Curriculum. Instead, I was merely going through the motions to complete the course requirements. However, that’s not why we opt for an online course like this, is it? Our goal is to enhance our skills significantly by dedicating an additional 5–6 hours each day to learning.

It became evident to me that I wasn’t fully tapping into the potential of this course by not dedicating more time to it. This realization led me to make a life-changing decision. I decided to resign from my job and commit to the course full-time. Now, I have the opportunity to delve deep into the course content and approach course projects with increased effort and intent, all while actively building my portfolio.

My Final Take on it

About the course, The course content is really good with great professors. They will dig deep into all the smaller topics and make you understand them clearly. There will be Activity assignments after each and every lecture. Then there are discussion forums where students can discuss their doubts, raise doubts to professors, and share their knowledge and understanding. There will be slides and transcripts provided for all lectures. So, If you can make use of all these, the course is worth taking and in the span of 4 years you will be an expert in your domain with some hands-on projects.

Let me offer you some final advice.
If you are someone who can commit to spending at least 5 hours a day, in addition to your regular college curriculum or job, for the next 4 years, then by all means, consider pursuing this program alongside your existing commitments. However, be ready for a demanding journey. It will require weekend work, and you must cultivate the mindset that all your efforts will eventually pay off.

On the other hand, if you don’t believe you can manage this alongside your current responsibilities but don’t want to miss this opportunity, consider taking a bold step and dedicating yourself to the course full-time. I assure you, the benefits of going full-time are substantial. You can even work as a Teaching Assistant for IITM while pursuing the course, engage in internships, participate in Hackathons, give your all to IITM Projects, and undertake personal projects. Yet, it’s important to note that even while pursuing the course full-time, you might occasionally feel lost and uncertain about your career direction, given that it’s a fully online degree. However, my advice is not to give up. Persevere, and you will gradually sense improvement.

If you are someone who couldn’t take the full-time risk or someone who couldn’t spend such long hours daily for the next 4 years, then sorry to tell you, maybe this course doesn’t work for you. However, you can still learn data science concepts through self-learning. I have a detailed article on how to Master Data Science through self-learning, take a look at it. I hope that can help you. As we embark on this challenging journey, let’s grow together.

That’s all the info I got regarding the degree and about my experience. If you have any further doubts or questions, Feel free to respond to the article or you can directly ping me on LinkedIn. If you are curious about what is Data Science and want a simple explanation, then here’s a quick read.

Do follow me for more insights into Productivity and Data Science. Thank you for reading, my friend. Happy learning and Have a good day :)

References:

  1. IITM Bsc Online Degree Official Site
  2. IITM BS Program Orientation Session



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