The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi, in a first-of-its-kind course, has launched a Master in Arts (MA) programme in culture, society, and thought. This is considered to be an exceptional move as none of the technology and engineering colleges in the country provide the course, as per a PTI report.
What will the programme include?
A two-year full-time programme, the course will focus on the thematics of culture and society and thought through the core disciplines of sociology, literature, and philosophy. The programme will train students in a variety of fields, including research, academia, social work, media, policy-making, government and non-governmental organisations, research institutes, social entrepreneurship organisations and others.
Application process and other requirements
Students should note that the application process for admissions to the newly launched programme begins on March 20 for the academic year (2024-25) starting from July, and the last date to apply for the programme is April 4, according to PTI.
Interested candidates with a bachelor's degree in any discipline with a minimum 55 per cent or equivalent Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) in Bachelor of Arts (BA) and first division for all other degrees can apply for the MA course.
The admission procedure further includes shortlisting through an entrance examination or the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) 2024 score, followed by an interview of the shortlisted candidates in May.
The students graduating will also be offered the opportunity to join the doctoral programmes offered by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences at the IIT Delhi, or other international doctoral programmes.
HoD of the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences says...
"The new MA programme explores aspects of contemporaneity and interdisciplinarity across disciplines in humanities and social sciences. Its location at IIT Delhi gives it a unique vantage point to generate a new corpus of knowledge, populate new kinds of archives, and develop critical methodologies to give new directions to humanities and social science research from the Global South," said Farhana Ibrahim, Head of Department (HoD), Humanities and Social Sciences at IIT Delhi.
He further adds that the programme would offer a unique opportunity for students to explore several opportunities across traditional disciplines, and to forge new synergies across existing master's programmes offered by the department, including cognitive science and economics.
Ibrahim further added that an open house will also be conducted on March 15 for candidates to learn more about the structure of the programme's fees, faculty members, scholarships, accommodation, and academic and career prospects among others.
