Who is this degree for?

If you are interested in data science and artificial intelligence, this degree program from IIT Guwahati offers a great way to launch or advance your career in these fields. The comprehensive curriculum spans entry-level to specialised topics, ensuring you gain current knowledge and practical applications of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI). This flexible degree program is tailored to accommodate your work, family, and other commitments, allowing you to study online at your own convenience and pace.

• High school graduates (from science or non-science backgrounds) who want to build a career in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence (AI), or are interested in understanding the working of advanced language models.
• Students who are looking to pursue two parallel degrees and enhance their qualifications by earning a second degree from a prestigious institution.
• Working professionals with demanding schedules looking for a self-paced learning approach.
• Young entrepreneurs who want to upskill while maintaining their lifestyle and schedule.
• Anyone looking to transition into a new professional career or acquire valuable knowledge in the field.

Key Dates

Eligibility criteria:

To be eligible to apply for this degree program, you need to meet the following eligibility criteria:

• You must have passed the Class 12 (senior secondary) examination or equivalent with a minimum score of 60% (overall / aggregate) from your country’s or province’s education board or a recognised University.

APPLICANTS WITHOUT JEE (ADVANCED) ELIGIBILITY

• Applicants are required to undertake an online qualifier test to qualify for the admission process. An preparatory online course - Mathematics Essentials has been specifically designed to help applicants prepare for this test.
• You can also refer to this Masterclass recording to learn more.
• Applicants will be ranked based on a composite score, which includes Class X marks, Class XII marks, and the qualifier test. Admissions will be offered accordingly.
• Applicants will be notified their rank within 72 hours of taking the qualifier test.

APPLICANTS WITH JEE (ADVANCED) ELIGIBILITY

• Applicants will be eligible to receive a direct admission into the program if they were eligible to appear in Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) in any year.
• In this case, applicants are not required to undertake the Mathematics Essentials online, and the qualifier test.
• Applicants will receive an offer of admission after review of their application.

The Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) is conducted by the Joint Admission Board (JAB).

Curriculum:

• The BSc (Hons) in Data Science and AI degree comprises a total of 299 credits, which includes fundamental and industry-oriented courses, an industry internship or term project, and a capstone project.
• The mandatory capstone project spans three trimesters in the final year.
• The credit load per trimester ranges from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 43 credits.
• The curriculum structure and subjects can be found here.
• Detailed course-wise syllabus is available below:
  • View Syllabus
  • Download Syllabus

Key features:

• The degree’s course structure is tailored to accommodate busy professionals or students pursuing two degrees simultaneously.
• Each course, excluding the capstone project, spans 12 weeks and the program requires about 18-20 hours of student effort per week.
• Dive into 36 hours of learning with engaging videos, insightful case studies, hands-on projects and live lectures by renowned faculty and industry experts.
• Enhance your analytical and problem-solving skills through interactive group discussions, industry case studies, and group assignments.
• Options for campus visits and internships will also be available.
• Continuous Assessments throughout the trimester will consist of practice assignments, graded assignments, quizzes and term projects.
• Summative Assessment at the end of each course in online or offline mode.
• Provision of supplementary examinations if student fails any course.
• Degree courses will have lectures from accomplished industry professionals helping you develop a well-rounded outlook of the Data Science and Artificial Intelligence industry.
• You will also get invited to exclusive virtual sessions- The ChAI talk series featuring eminent international researchers and professionals from the fields of Data Science & AI. These sessions are organized by the Mehta Family School of Data Science & Artificial Intelligence of IIT Guwahati.

Specialise in cutting-edge topics This online degree program offers a wide range of beginner and advanced courses, covering both foundational and advanced topics in Data Science and Artificial Intelligence. You will have the opportunity to specialise in cutting-edge subjects while staying informed about the latest developments. Develop proficiency in handling and manipulating large datasets with core courses on Data Modelling and Visualization, Data Mining and Warehousing, Deep Learning Essentials, and Big Data Analytics. You will also be able to apply your theoretical expertise to capstone and term projects to gain practical exposure.

Internship or Term Projects:

• Internships can be completed in online or offline mode, while projects will be online only. Students may visit the campus during project or internship work.
• Internships or Projects can be done in collaboration with tech companies or corporates.
• Internships can begin from the third year onwards, after completing courses up to the 6th trimester.
• Internships/term projects have a total of 18 credits. Students must complete these 18 credits in the form of internships or term projects in three parts, worth 6 credits each.
• Projects and internships can be pursued alongside regular trimester courses.

Capstone Project Gain hands-on experience with real-world projects, such as building NLP models, developing product recommendation systems, and designing machine translation solutions, which prepare you for diverse career paths. Enhance your data science expertise while collaborating with peers and researchers on innovative data analysis and statistics projects.

• Capstone projects can begin only in the fourth year, after completing all courses up to the 9th trimester.
• The total credits for capstone projects is 36 and students can undertake a single project or multiple small projects
• Both internships/term projects and capstone projects are mandatory for a BSc (Hons) degree

Supplementary examination: Following options are provided to candidate who fail a course.

• Register for the course again, whenever it is offered next, and participate in the continuous assessments, OR
• Register only for the continuous assessments in that particular course, with optional attendance for the online classes and live sessions , OR
• Opt for the Supplementary Examination (if available).

Programming Languages, Tools, Libraries & Repositories:

Program length:

• This 4-year bachelor’s program follows a trimester-based system and offers you the flexibility to complete the program in up to 8 years, if needed.
• Each term includes a minimum of 12 weeks of instruction.
• Terms are separated by approximately 2 weeks.
• Each trimester features 4 courses, with the exception of the final year’s trimesters.
• Expect to dedicate an average of 18-20 hours per week to this program.

• You can choose the early exit option at the end of each year:

  • First year: Advanced Certificate in Data Science and AI with 80 credits.
  • Second year: Diploma in Data Science and AI with 159 credits.
  • Third year: BSc in Data Science and AI courses with 229 credits.
  • Fourth year: BSc (Hons) in Data Science and AI with 299 credits.

Multiple early exit options:

Although the program’s entry point is the same for all students, you may choose to exit at different stages by earning the corresponding certificate upon successful completion of the required coursework. The following multiple early exit options will be available to students:

Rejoin when you’re ready:

Students who exit the program after completing a Certificate, Diploma, or B.Sc can rejoin at the appropriate stage after a one-year gap.

Breakup of Fee at Various Exit Points

Annual Tuition Fee Breakup

• All fees are non refundable.
• Fees will be charged per credit (INR 1,100/ credit). Students will have the flexibility to select courses basis their workload.
• Additional fee may be incurred in case of repetition of courses.

Flexibility to pause learning when you need to:

• You have the option to learn at your own pace and can also register for fewer courses than prescribed in a given trimester.
• There is no minimum credit requirement each trimester, however, if you plan to not register for any credit in a trimester, you need to maintain your active enrollment by paying a Program Continuation Fee of Rs. 6,000 per trimester.

Career outcomes

This program is meticulously designed to prepare students to meet the demands of the industry. Upon completion, you will be well-equipped with essential qualifications, skills, and resources to pursue various roles in the technology sector.

The program opens up diverse career opportunities in computational and mathematical roles across various industries, including business, finance, education, medicine, engineering, and science. Engaging in hands-on projects exposes you to cutting-edge industry developments, ensuring you’re ready to tackle real-world challenges.

With this degree, you will be prepared to pursue roles such as:

• Data Scientist: Apply statistical analysis and machine learning techniques to derive insights from large datasets and make data-driven decisions.
• Machine Learning Engineer: Develop and deploy machine learning models and algorithms to automate processes and enable predictive capabilities.
• Data Analyst: Collect, analyse, and interpret data to identify trends, patterns, and insights that can drive business strategies and decision-making.
• AI Engineer: Design and develop artificial intelligence systems, including natural language processing, computer vision, and deep learning applications.
• Business Intelligence Analyst: Create and maintain business intelligence solutions, including data visualisation and reporting tools, to support decision-making processes within organisations.
• Data Engineer: Build and maintain data infrastructure and pipelines, ensuring efficient and secure data storage, integration, and retrieval.
• Big Data Engineer: Manage and process large volumes of structured and unstructured data using distributed computing frameworks like Hadoop and Spark.
• AI Research Scientist: Conduct research and develop innovative algorithms and models to advance the field of artificial intelligence and machine learning.
• Data Architect: Design the overall structure and organisation of data systems to ensure efficient data storage, retrieval, and integration across different platforms and technologies.
• Data Consultant: Provide expert advice and guidance to organisations on data-related strategies, technologies, and best practices to optimise their data-driven initiatives.

When you graduate, you’ll be able to:

• Analyse and interpret complex data sets as a data scientist to make informed data-driven decisions.
• Develop predictive models as a machine-learning engineer and make accurate predictions.
• Master the creation and deployment of data-driven visualisations as a business intelligence analyst to communicate insights effectively.
• Employ data manipulation and database management techniques as a data engineer for efficient storage and retrieval of information.
• Develop natural language processing and computer vision models as an AI Engineer.
• Work efficiently as a research scientist in multidisciplinary teams to solve complex data-driven problems.

Join IIT Guwahati’s alumni network

Your journey with IIT Guwahati’s BSc (Hons) in Data Science and AI doesn’t end with graduation. You will join a dynamic community of over 20,000 global technology leaders, business pioneers, researchers, and innovators, unlocking countless networking and career growth opportunities. As an IIT Guwahati graduate, you will have exclusive access to the Student Alumni Interaction Linkage (SAIL), a voluntary cell operated by the students.

Career Services

As an IIT Guwahati graduate, you can interact under the aegis of SAIL and:

• Get the support you need to build your profile and excel in interviews
• Identify your strengths and weaknesses, and set career goals through 1:1 career-counselling sessions with your peers.
• Get hands-on interview preparation support, including resume reviews, mock interviews and group discussions with hiring managers.
• Develop professional skills and get hands-on training through interactive workshops led by industry veterans.
• Engage with experienced IIT Guwahati faculty to acquire in-demand skills to enhance your career prospects.
• Learn effective networking strategies and job search techniques.

Coursera Hiring Solutions:

• With this degree program, you also get to be a part of Coursera Hiring Solutions.
• A skills-based recruitment service that matches industry-trained, job-ready talent with companies filling entry-level digital roles.
• You can learn more here

Get mentorship and access to jobs on adplist.org

• Access free mentorship sessions with more than 16,000 mentors worldwide.
• Apply for product, tech, and design roles at companies like Uber, Meta, Spotify, and VISA. Degree program students receive exclusive badges for verified talent visibility on adplist.org. ADPList is a third-party service provider, and the program is administered solely by ADPList.