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

Team Careers360Updated on 15 Sep 2025, 06:03 PM IST

Which are the Most Preferred Programs at the IIT Madras? - IIT Madras is the top engineering institute in India. The institute has scored NIRF Ranking 1 for the last 10 years. IIT Madras offers a total of 17 programs in the Engineering field. Each Engineering department of IIT Madras saw a rise in 2025, compared to 2024. The students' choice saw a rise from 8 percent to 16 percent for the engineering courses at IIT Madras. For instance, the most preferred course was the 5-Year Aerospace Engineering, which saw a rise of 16.45% with a total of 11,069 choices among students. The B.Tech in Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics also saw a significant rise, with 2,692 more students opting for it in 2025. In this article, Careers360 will discuss the most preferred courses with choice numbers at IIT Madras.

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?

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

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 2025. 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
Select your preferred subject to view the chapters

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 ?

You can attempt the JEE Advanced exam  maximum of two times in two consecutive years. This rule also applies if you did not take the exam in the year you completed your 12th grade. If you skip the first attempt in your 12th grade year, you can only appear for the exam once, in the following year (your drop year).

Yes, JEE Advanced paper is also available in Hindi medium. When you fill the form, you will get the option to choose your language preference like English, Hindi or other regional languages allowed by NTA. If you choose Hindi, then in the exam hall you will get the paper in Hindi medium.

Website: https://jeeadv.ac.in

You can easily download IIT JEE 2025 papers in Hindi. For JEE Main, websites like Careers360 give shift-wise question papers with answers in Hindi. For JEE Advanced, you can get both Paper 1 and 2 in Hindi from the official site jeeadv.ac.in (https://jeeadv.ac.in/)

Hello Alka

For JEE Advance, the best 5 subjects through which you need to calculate your percentage is:

1. Physics
2. Chemistry
3. Mathematics
4. One language (which is English)
5. One other subject of your choice

So you will need to choose PCM + English + a 5th subject to calculate your percentage.

Hope this answer helps! Thank You!!!

Hello!

In JEE Advanced eligibility, the top 5 subjects from your board exam are considered. Usually, they are Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and any two other subjects from the main curriculum. If CMS is your optional subject and IT is an additional subject, the board will still calculate based on the 5 highest marks from your eligible subjects. Additional subjects are considered only if they replace a lower score from another subject. For example, if IT has a higher score than English or CMS, then IT can be counted. However, some boards follow strict rules where only main subjects are counted, so you must verify with your board’s official notification. The 75% criteria means your average percentage in those best 5 subjects must meet the requirement. My advice—list all your subjects, arrange them from highest to lowest marks, and take the top five as per rules.

Hope this clears your doubt!