B.Tech in Computer Science and Master of Science in Computational Natural Sciences by Research (5 year Dual Degree)

1.About the Program: This program is about science – but it is not limited to the way science is traditionally practiced. This is also about computer science and IT – but it is not about creating IT professionals. It is about the science that is emerging in the interface of the information revolution and the challenges posed by some of the grave issues and problems in today’s world. From newer ways of acquisition and management of multivariate data on complex natural systems to newer ways of deriving knowledge from the data using novel methods of data visualization and computational simulation, the world today needs a different breed of enabled scientists who are ready to navigate this interface. This program is for those who have the inner desire to take on these grand scientific challenges.

2.Brief Objectives of the Program:Training young minds for high-quality education both in computer science and in emerging areas in computational natural sciences and eventually to ‘Computational Thinking’ empowered research in natural sciences;

1. Providing state of the art skills pertaining to application of computers and computational sciences;
2. Enabling young students to carry out research activities in several new and emerging multidisciplinary areas in sciences across the boundaries of the traditional scientific disciplines, e.g., interface of biology and nano materials, fluid dynamics, material science, networks (biological, social, epidemiology, etc.,), statistical mechanics, quantum mechanics/chemistry, structure function relationships of biological molecules, drug design, etc.; Special courses are designed to offer a multidisciplinary view in this broad research area. Students receive a basic training in all disciplines, and choose a specialization within one of these disciplines;
3. Providing an environment with coming together of computer and computational scientists with domain specialists, both theoretical as well as experimental

3.Special Eligibility Criteria:

1. Students who have been selected for training in Science or Mathematics to represent India in the International Olympiads during class XI and/or XII are eligible under the Olympiad mode without UGEE requirement. For details, see “OLYMPIAD / KVPY mode” on ugadmissions page.
2. Students with KVPY can admitted without UGEE requirement. Such applicants should have a rank of 5000 or better and may apply ONLY for the CND program. Applicants will be shortlisted (based on the rank) and called for interview.For details, see OLYMPIAD / KVPY mode on ugadmissions page.
3. All other students coming via UGEE must have an orientation towards scientific research. A high degree of interest in science is mandatory and preference will be given to winners of state or national level science project competitions, and those selected for Discovery science programs

4. Details of the program:Approximate Credit distribution for the Dual Degree program is given below.

Table-1 :  Approximate Course requirements:

Quite a few of the above listed courses involve laboratory training; a few courses cover engineering and humanities. Mandatory projects begin usually from the fifth or sixth semester; students are encouraged to take up research projects at even earlier stages.

A few novel features of the curriculum are as follows:

1. Strong research focus: students spend a significant period of the program on their own project in a research environment of internationally renowned quality; course modules are strongly related to ongoing research and are taught by research professionals;
2. Complementary curricula from computer science and natural science domains;
3. Integrated program: The program has been designed to ensure that core subjects are offered to all students irrespective of their final specialization area. Specialized depth courses are designed to enable students to get into the research mode in areas depending on their interests and strengths.

Links to research pages for Center for Computational Natural Sciences and Bioinformatics: http://cnsb.iiit.ac.in

5. Future Prospects:

India is undergoing a rapid expansion in both academic and industrial sectors in computational natural sciences. While training in CNS launches a student into a global scientific manpower market, our intention is to reinforce scientific capabilities within the country. Most of the graduating students are expected to be absorbed in the several National universities, research labs or industrial R & D divisions. For the rest, cross-disciplinary capabilities are assured to be high, as witnessed from large scale mobility of science graduates towards corporate sector and other arena in several advanced countries.