IIT Delhi to offer M.Sc. in Biological Sciences through JAM

New Delhi: The Kusuma School of Biological Sciences at IIT Delhi has launched a new academic programme, M.Sc. in Biological Sciences. The programme will commence from the academic year 2024-25.

Admissions to the two-year Masters course will be through the Joint Admission Test for Masters (JAM 2024). There are 20 seats under the new academic programme.

IIT Delhi said that it is a rich example of an academic environment where students routinely cross disciplines to address scientific questions. The existence of over 30 academic entities in various areas of science and engineering and the active collaborative environment between these units has created a vibrant ecosystem, which is ideal for fostering conceptual understanding as well as education in modern, interdisciplinary biology.

The HoD of the school, Prof Bishwajit Kundu said: “This programme is a highly selective opportunity for bright, enthusiastic students who wish to study interdisplinary biology at the postgraduate level."

Prof Manidipa Banerjee, Programme In-charge (M.Sc. in Biological Sciences), said: “We have ensured a balance of coursework to prepare students for employment in the modern biotechnology market, as well as to provide a strong foundation towards higher studies and discovery research in interdisciplinary biological sciences.”

The unique features of this programme, compared to other M.Sc. programmes in this domain in the country are unique. This curriculum will have a strong emphasis on quantitative biology as a core topic to fill the gap in big data analysis and presentation in the current job market. Students will have an open basket of electives to choose from, official added.

IIT said that this programme will have a strong emphasis on “learning by doing”, not by instruction. All core courses in the programme have a practical or analytics-based component, not a single pure theory course is proposed. Students will be encouraged to undertake projects/internship in academic laboratories, as well as in start-up/industry settings in the last semester, which will increase their real-world exposure and eventual employability.