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    What Are the Most Preferred Programs at IIT Madras? - Top Courses & Cutoff Trends

    What Are the Most Preferred Programs at IIT Madras? - Top Courses & Cutoff Trends

    Kanak MukhijaUpdated on 18 May 2026, 11:35 AM IST

    Which are the Most Preferred Programs at the IIT Madras? - IIT Madras is the top engineering institute in India. IIT Madras continues to secure the NIRF rank 1 for 10th consecutive year. The institute, IIT Madras offers a total of 17 engineering courses across various specialisations. IIT Madras has also seen a significant rise in student preferences for several engineering courses in 2026. The demand for engineering programmes at IIT Madras increased notably, reflecting the growing interest among aspirants in emerging and core technology fields.

    This Story also Contains

    1. Student Program Choices at IIT Madras: 2024 vs 2025
    2. Analysis of Student Choices at IIT Madras
    3. IIT Madras Closing Ranks
    4. IIT Madras Application Process
    What Are the Most Preferred Programs at IIT Madras? - Top Courses & Cutoff Trends
    What Are the Most Preferred Programs at IIT Madras?

    Among the most preferred courses, the 5-Year Aerospace Engineering programme recorded a major rise in student choices. Similarly, B.Tech in Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics also saw increased preference among candidates during the 2026 admission process. In this article, Careers360 analyses the most sought-after engineering courses at IIT Madras along with the latest choice trends and student preference data for 2026.

    Student Program Choices at IIT Madras: 2024 vs 2025

    Department

    Number of students Opted in 2025

    Number of students opted in 2024

    5-Year Aerospace Engineering

    11,069

    9,505

    B.Tech in Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics

    23,015

    20,323

    4-Year Aerospace Engineering

    15848

    14165

    B.Tech in Physics

    10770

    9627

    Computer Science and Engineering

    26547

    Aproxx 24,000

    Electrical Engineering

    22,443

    20,000

    Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering

    Aproxx 18,000

    Aproxx 16,588

    Biological Engineering

    Aproxx 17,000

    Aproxx 16,000

    Civil Engineering

    15,000

    Aproxx 14,000

    Mechanical Engineering

    19,652

    Aproxx 17,546

    Biological Science

    Aproxx 5,675

    Aproxx 6,234

    Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

    Aproxx 12,000

    10,000

    5-Year Engineering Design

    Aproxx 17,000

    Aproxx 16,000

    Chemical Engineering

    15,000

    14,000

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    Analysis of Student Choices at IIT Madras

    There is a significant rise across all the engineering departments of IIT Madras. The 5-Year Aerospace Engineering program witnessed a 16.45% increase. The 4-Year Aerospace Engineering program also rose with 11.8% from 14,165 to 15,848 choices. The other branches, like Computer Science Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Mechanical Engineering, also showed a consistent increment in 2026. Only the branch of Biological Science showed a slight increment of approximately 800 students. This all highlights the preferred choices among the students. This is because of IIT Madras' consistent ranking, growth opportunities, industrial placements, and exposure.

    IIT Madras Closing Ranks

    To get admission into IIT Madras, a candidate must have a rank between 200 and 7,000, depending on the branch. Candidates seeking admission to Evergreen's engineering branches must have a rank of 200 for CSE, 900 for EE, 300 for AI and Data Science, and 2500 for ME. Candidates should also score at least 75% in their 12th class with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics. Students should refer to the table below to get an overall idea of the ranks and their chances of admission if they got similar closing ranks. Below are the ranks of the last round in the open category.

    Department

    Category

    Gender

    Closing Ranks

    Computer Science and Engineering

    OPEN

    Gender-Neutral

    171

    Civil Engineering

    OPEN

    Gender-Neutral

    6112

    Electrical Engineering

    OPEN

    Gender-Neutral

    849

    Mechanical Engineering

    OPEN

    Gender-Neutral

    2468

    4-Year Aerospace Engineering

    OPEN

    Gender-Neutral

    3211

    Chemical Engineering

    OPEN

    Gender-Neutral

    4116

    B.Tech in Physics

    OPEN

    Gender-Neutral

    1441

    Biological Engineering

    OPEN

    Gender-Neutral

    5261

    B.Tech in Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics

    OPEN

    Gender-Neutral

    306

    Metallurgical and Materials Engineering

    OPEN

    Gender-Neutral

    5499

    Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering

    OPEN

    Gender-Neutral

    7433

    IIT Madras Application Process

    IIT Madras has a straightforward process. To be eligible, candidates need to have a valid score of JEE Advanced and 75% in their class 12th with PCM. Candidates must upload documents, pay the required application fee, and qualified students are required to participate in counselling and choice filling rounds.

    JEE Advanced Syllabus: Subjects & Chapters
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    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Q: Which is the most preferred branch at IIT Madras?
    A:

    The most preferred branch at IIT Madras is Computer Science and Engineering, with 26547 students opting for it in 2025.

    Q: Which B.Tech branch has the highest closing ranks in 2025?
    A:

    The B.Tech branch, Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, has the highest closing rank of 7433 in 2025.

    Q: What percentage of marks do candidates need to score in class 12th?
    A:

    Students need to score at least 75% marks in their 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics.

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    Questions related to JEE Advanced

    On Question asked by student community

    Have a question related to JEE Advanced ?

    Hello Dear Student,

    With around 145 marks in JEE Advanced , your expected OBC-NCL rank may roughly fall around 1.5k–3k , depending on paper difficulty and normalization.

    This is a strong score and you can have good chances in many IITs for branches like:

    • Mechanical

    • Civil

    • Chemical

    • Electrical in some

    With 83 marks in JEE Advanced (OBC-NCL) and 95.3 percentile in JEE Main with ~22.9k OBC rank, your chances are roughly like this:

    • In JEE Advanced, 83 marks is likely around the qualifying range for OBC-NCL this year.
    • IIT chances are possible mainly in newer IITs or lower-demand