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.
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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.
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 |
15848 | 14165 | |
10770 | 9627 | |
26547 | Aproxx 24,000 | |
22,443 | 20,000 | |
Aproxx 18,000 | Aproxx 16,588 | |
Aproxx 17,000 | Aproxx 16,000 | |
15,000 | Aproxx 14,000 | |
19,652 | Aproxx 17,546 | |
Aproxx 5,675 | Aproxx 6,234 | |
Aproxx 12,000 | 10,000 | |
Aproxx 17,000 | Aproxx 16,000 | |
15,000 | 14,000 |
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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.
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 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.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The most preferred branch at IIT Madras is Computer Science and Engineering, with 26547 students opting for it in 2025.
The B.Tech branch, Naval Architecture and Ocean Engineering, has the highest closing rank of 7433 in 2025.
Students need to score at least 75% marks in their 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics.
On Question asked by student community
Hello Dear Student,
A Preparatory rank of 137 in JEE advanced 2026 does not directly guarantee admission to an IIT. preparatory course seats are offered to certain category candidate who made the eligibility condition prescribed by the IIT's. Admission depends on your category, availability of preparatory seat and the counselling
Hi there,
Considering your JEE Advanced 2026 rank of 1510, it looks like both ECE at IIT Kharagpur and Mathematics & Computing (MnC) at IIT Roorkee are great options.
The choice is a matter of your career prospects, rather than Institute prestige, as both IITs are among the top engineering
Hello,
With COMEDK rank 510 , JEE Main rank 40,989 , and JEE Advanced rank 28,900 , your best strategy is:
COMEDK first priority – You have a very good rank and can target top colleges like RVCE, BMSCE, and MSRIT.
JoSAA counselling – Fill NITs, IIITs, and GFTIs according
Hi,
You can use the following link to predict your college options. https://engineering.careers360.com/jee-advanced-college-predictor
Hope it helps!
Hello,
With a CRL rank of 5,13,695 and SC rank of 38,157 , getting top NITs or popular branches may be difficult. However, you can still consider some GFTIs and lower-demand branches in newer NITs.
You may look at:
Assam University
Sant Longowal Institute of Engineering and Technology
Some newer
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