Currently, IIIT Hyderabad offers 5 dual degree programs:

• CSD (B. Tech & MS by Research in CSE)
• ECD (B. Tech & MS by Research in ECE)
• CND (B. Tech in CSE and MS by Research in CNS)
• CLD (B. Tech in CSE and MS by Research in CL)
• CHD (B. Tech in CSE and MS by Research in CH)

Admission to the above programs is through an exam conducted by IIIT called UGEE. It is a two-stage exam:

• Stage I – Written exam
• Stage II – Interviews

More information can be found here.

Other than UGEE, students could also join dual degree programs through Olympiads.

• CSD can be joined using IOI
• CND can be joined using KVPY and NTSE
• CLD through IOL.

Admission through the olympiad mode is a one stage process i.e. interviews. More information here.

Disclaimer: This doc is compiled by current students of IIIT Hyderabad to help prospective students make informed choices. Please note that it is NOT an official document and in case of any discrepancy please follow the instructions/information provided by IIIT.

Dual Degree in Computer Science (CSD)

IIIT Hyderabad’s dual degree program is a unique – probably the only program in India that allows you to take up a Bachelor’s degree with Honours in CS/CSE and a research-based master’s degree instead of the popular course-based program.

At IIIT Hyderabad, we have world-class research labs in the areas of Computer Vision, Computer Graphics, Natural Language Processing, Information Retrieval, Speech Recognition, Cognitive Sciences, Data Sciences, Databases, Robotics, Internet of Things, Spatial Informatics, Quantum Computing, Theoretical Computer Science, Information Security, Computer-aided Drug Discovery, Bioinformatics, Systems Biology, High-energy Physics, Human-centered AI, Theoretical Machine Learning, Real-time Systems, Flexible Electronics, Computational Neuroscience, Software Engineering, Cloud Computing, Music Research, Hardware Acceleration among many others.

Kohli Center of Intelligent Systems at IIIT Hyderabad is the largest AI research group in India. Most of our research groups are among the top labs in Asia.

• Robotics Research Center is ranked the second-best robotics lab in Asia by csrankings.org based on research outputs.
• LTRC is the largest group in India working on language technologies – working on natural language.
• CVIT is one of the leading research labs in the world in the field of visual information processing.
• Spatial Informatics lab is the only lab in India that works on geospatial research at systems and applied levels.
• CCNSB is a well-recognized lab working in the intersection of computer science and applied sciences.

The same goes for each and every research group here. Our professors are well-known in India and abroad, and one among the leading experts in India. IIIT gives an opportunity to all undergraduate students to work closely with the professors – which is not the case in other premier engineering institutes.

Our dual degree students are exposed to research at a very young stage – after the second year in undergraduate studies. They get the necessary research skills through a series of workshops conducted throughout their undergraduate studies. The faculty-advisor, after research lab allocation in the second year summer, guides the student in selecting the problem they are going to address, continuously monitors your progress, gives constructive feedback, and helps you to grow throughout your time at IIIT. Most students get an opportunity to work closely with a senior research student including Ph.D. students in the initial days and that provides a solid boost to start your research journey. Discussions with fellow-students, seniors, and juniors may give you a new perspective of research. Apart from your research group, you get to interact with researchers from different fields across the world who visit IIIT Hyderabad.

A research degree doesn’t restrict you to take up a research career. Many of our students who wish to work in the industry get placed in leading companies like Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Samsung, GE among others in India and abroad. Some may take up software development positions while some may take up research-based engineering positions. Some go on to work in startups that work in niche research areas. There are some others who go on to create deep-tech startups. Some startups by IIIT students are DreamVu, InterviewBit, etc.

Some students opt for higher education. They go on to pursue Ph.D. in top universities and groups across the world – CMU, MIT, Stanford, GeorgiaTech, MILA, INRIA, UC, Oxford, Imperial College, University of Toronto, Princeton, ETH Zurich, EPFL, Max Planck, NUS to name a few. Some take up academic positions – notable ones are Pawan Kumar at Oxford, Karteek Alahari at INRIA, Praveen Paruchuri, and Ravi Kiran at IIIT. After a Ph.D., many work in industrial research labs. Some may start their own startups.  Industrial research is booming right now and students at IIIT have access to the best resources. Students in the past have been placed in Google Brain (purely research team at Google), MSR, etc.

Our dual degree students (also, single degrees) are very well-received at both the industry and higher education institutes. We have heard praises about our student’s abilities and working style from senior leaders from the companies. Our students are well equipped to handle real-world problems – thanks to the rigorous, research-based, and industry-friendly curriculum at IIIT. When our students go for Ph.D., their working style and research skills are well-appreciated by their advisors. Many professors even ask for more students from IIIT to join them – thanks to unique undergraduate research culture here.

An important factor that differentiates our students is the exposure they get in the campus – research-based curriculum, highly industry-friendly course structure, flexible and up to date syllabus, world-class faculty, excellent peer-group, and a close-knit community. The focus on research by the institute gives you an opportunity to work with state-of-the-art technologies.

PJ Narayanan(Director) said, “IIIT Hyderabad prepares you not for your first job, but for your last job”.

Our proud alumni are truly leading the current information and AI revolution across the world in diverse areas.

Video Resource – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RKHXptyAOE

Dual Degree in Electronics and Communications (ECD)

This program is different from the ECE as it provides a Master of Science degree in addition to the B.Tech in Electronics and Communications Engineering. It is meant for students interested in having a career in research in the field. We start on our research right from the end of our 2nd year when we are assigned to different labs.

Some of the research labs offered for ECE primarily are:

1. Centre for VLSI & Embedded Systems Technologies (CVEST)

The aim here is to build low-cost indigenous technologies, through research and development, in the areas of VLSI design and Embedded Systems. The work is done here also involves Flexible electronics, Embedded systems, and IoT, Analog and Mixed-Signal Design, Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) Design, Low-Power VLSI Design, etc.

2. Signal Processing and Communication Research Centre (SPCRC)

This center is actively involved in theoretical and applied research in the broad areas of Wireless Communication, Signal Processing / Statistical signal processing, Coding for Information-Flow Networks, Wireless networks (Sensor, Adhoc, and cellular), Cognitive radio, Robust optimization, and Internet of things (IoT).

3. Robotics Research Centre (RRC)

The lab aims to work on research problems and innovative projects that extend the state of the art in robotics. The center’s research focuses on the areas of Mobile and Aerial Robotics, Robotic Vision, Mechanism Design, and Multi Robotic Systems. The lab is well equipped with robot platforms and advanced sensors and has been publishing in top international conferences like ICRA, IROS, IJCAI, AAMAS. Following is an interesting  blog about Prof. Madava Krishnan (Head of RRC) – https://blogs.iiit.ac.in/madhav/

4. Centre for Visual Information Technology (CVIT)

CVIT focuses on basic and advanced research in image processing, computer vision, computer graphics, and machine learning. This center deals with the generation, processing, and understanding of primarily visual data as well as with the techniques and tools required to do so efficiently. The activity of this center overlaps the traditional areas of Computer Vision, Image Processing, Computer Graphics, Pattern Recognition, and Machine Learning.

The above-mentioned centers have collaborations with many reputed colleges and universities around the world which provide great opportunities for further studies like Ph.D. We are also eligible as well as well-equipped to work at software engineering firms like Facebook, Google Microsoft, etc. Many students have been recruited by these companies for high paying jobs. We also get more lucrative job offers over when applying for electronics-based companies like Nvidia, Qualcomm, Intel, etc. due to our research experience.

Video Resource – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RKHXptyAOE

Computational Natural Sciences Dual Degree (CND)

CND Program awards two-degree upon successful completion: B.Tech in Computer Science & MS by Research in Computational Natural Sciences(CNS). It is a dual degree course and you will get both degrees: B.Tech and an MS degree together and after completion of course. This program aims at preparing scientists and researchers with a good knowledge of Computer Sciences and computing; The first 5 semesters of the course will cover basic courses in physics, chemistry, biology and bioinformatics, and some core courses in Computer Sciences.

Science courses include Introduction to Biology, Electromagnetism & Optics, Physical Chemistry, Modern Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Organic Chemistry, etc.

Computer Science includes courses like Algorithms, Data Structures, Formal Methods, DB, Computer Programming, Operating Systems, etc. along with a few courses in Mathematics.

Typically as you move through the semesters, courses relating to CNS will increase and relating to CS will decrease and by the end of the second year, the number of science courses will at least be equal if not more than that of CS courses and later on, you will have the liberty to choose courses depending on your interest or correlation with your research area.

You can see the exact curriculum at the college website: Curriculum CND | IIIT Hyderabad (https://www.iiit.ac.in/academics/curriculum/undergraduate/cnd/)

In CNS we have to select a problem existing in the field of Natural Sciences and try and understand and solve it using mathematical models, computation and computer programming. It is to gain a higher understanding mainly through the analysis of mathematical models implemented on the computer.

After deciding the area you want to do research in, you have to choose a professor as your mentor/guide in accordance with the research area and thereafter the mentor guides you on how you should move forward to face and solve the problem and hence complete research and thesis.

Some of the application of computational natural sciences include:

Reconstruction to understand various natural events/phenomena.

Prediction of future events or unobserved situations.

Optimization of known techniques in engineering or sciences.

In the fields of:

• Quantum Information Theory
• Theoretical Chemistry
• Bioinformatics
• Nanosciences
• Chemoinformatics
• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Particle physics
• Biophysics
• Metabolomics
• High energy physics
• Machine Learning

Most of the graduating students are expected to be absorbed in several National universities, research labs, or industrial R & D divisions. For the rest, cross-disciplinary capabilities are assumed to be high, as witnessed from large scale mobility of science graduates towards the corporate sector and other arenas in several advanced countries.

Since you have a B.Tech in CS, you always have the option to follow the herd and get a job in the IT sector. Please do remember that you are treated at par with any CS student across the country for job interviews at any company.

In the batches that have graduated so far, it has been observed that about half the students continue with research and the other half takes up programming jobs. Those who go for research have gone to some of the most prestigious national and international universities for further studies. Programming enthusiasts from CND with their excellent CS knowledge take software engineering jobs, at par with their computer science peers.

It would be appropriate to say that CND is a great program that helps students get good research exposure in the field of sciences and a good knowledge of computer science. That being said, the professors and the institute would highly recommend that only the students who are interested and motivated in research applications for the course, give the degree the respect it deserves and not treat it as a typical B.Tech degree with the research prospect as a mere option for them. One thing to note is that research in CND is mostly theoretical with a few profs doing experiment oriented research.

At the time of joining there is a lot of apprehension among students that the degree may have them do ‘biology’ or ‘chemistry’, while this is partially true, and there are courses to introduce to these topics, but research done in IIIT does not involve studying plants or animals. There is a reason why the two different sounding fields are offered together. In very-very broad terms, we can say that any high-level research involves dealing with a lot of data and using complicated mathematics to analyze them. This requires being able to write programs and fluency in coding. Therefore, even while doing the science-based research, students would be writing programs to build models, running calculations on computer clusters, and again writing programs to analyze the results.

Video Resource – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuJc3pEWroo

Computational Linguistics Dual Degree (CLD)

Computational Linguistics is a field of Applied Linguistics, in the domain of Computer Science, and technology in general. Linguistics is essentially the study of Languages. Consider this example, “He plays football”. You can’t say “He football plays”, while in Hindi you can say both “Woh khelta hai football” and “Woh football khelta hai”. These differences and structures in languages are learned in Linguistics and are applied for translation. When Facebook, Google shows your ads, they go through your search and look for keywords in the same way. Netflix, Youtube also use NLP (Natural Language Processing) to show you videos to watch. NLP is at the intersection of Computational Linguistics and Machine Learning (ML) and is these days one of the path-breaking areas in the field of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

If you are interested in searching a bit more, you could try The Linguists (2008) or Arrival (2016) for movies on Linguistics. This book was written by someone who made Dothraki (for the Game of Thrones) and Dark Elvish (for Thor: The Dark World), and is an amazing technical reference for making languages and is a great resource for beginners. This subreddit is entirely automated and made using NLP techniques. This subreddit, however, is all memes on Languages. Feel free to go through these above resources, even if you are not taking CLD.

The B.Tech in Computer Science and Master of Science in Computational Linguistics by Research is better known as CLD in IIIT, Hyderabad. This course aims to create strong undergraduate researchers who are proficient in the fields of Computer Science and Natural Language Processing. The researchers are affiliated with the Language Technologies Research Center(LTRC).

There are a variety of Linguistics and Computational Linguistics courses introduced in the first few years, some of which are: Introduction to Linguistics, Semantics, Computational Linguistics I & II, Language and Society, Introduction to NLP.

All CLD students are required to study basic computer science courses with the rest of the Computer Science undergraduates and some of these courses are Introduction to Computer Programming, Data Structures, and Algorithms, Introduction to Software Systems, Operating Systems.

The entire curriculum can be found here.

A lot of research in the LTRC happens on Indian languages and in many of your assignments you will be asked to implement existing pieces of technologies for your choice of language or apply linguistic rules to solve real-life problems related to Indian languages. The LTRC has 4 labs – MT-NLP lab, Anusaaraka lab, Information  Retrieval and Extraction lab, and the Speech lab. More information is available here.

As far as jobs are concerned, there are lots of specific jobs for Computational Linguists, in various top companies. Also, you learn ML/AI as they’re the core essence of NLP, and you can work in those domains as well. Most importantly, you get to explore a scientific study of an “art”, so you get specific experience in Human-Computing interactions as well. At the end of it all, you’re learning all major software courses, so you can always go ahead and work as a software engineer, but with a wide knowledge about how language works, and how you can apply them in your own trade.

Video Resource – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzMd8Sbz8SI

Computational Humanities (CHD)

CHD is a dual degree course designed for five years and you are awarded both degrees: B.Tech in Computer Science and Master of Science in Computing and Human Sciences by Research together after the completion of the course.

You may also go through these links for an introduction:

https://www.iiit.ac.in/admissions/undergraduate/chd/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffBvi4FUB3A&feature=youtu.be

Computer Science includes courses like Algorithms, Data Structures, Formal Methods, DB, Computer Programming, Operating Systems, etc. along with a few courses in Mathematics.

Human Sciences includes courses mainly dealing with philosophy, literature, history, and sociology like Making of the Contemporary World, Making of Contemporary India, Thinking and Knowing in the Human Sciences, Classical Text Readings, Science Technology Society, and other diverse courses.

You can see the exact curriculum at the college website:

Curriculum CHD | IIIT Hyderabad https://www.iiit.ac.in/acad…/curriculum/undergraduate/chd/

For a more detailed curriculum and syllabus archive, including electives, you may visit:

https://github.com/sarthaka1310/IIIT_syllabus20

The CHD program is different from other dual degree courses as it does not give you an “MS for computational human sciences”. Research in any of the Human Sciences on its own, without any computational confluence, is also encouraged. You are given freedom in research as long as it has some (if not all) confluence with human sciences. You could:

• Study the effect of technology on society
• Use computational tools to solve problems in human sciences
• Do research purely in human sciences, involving no computer science

There is freedom in your field of research in human sciences as well, namely history, sociology, anthropology, political science, economics or any other fields and you need not choose only one! This is a pioneering course and hence has a lot of scope for research.

Some professors’ works:

• One of Prof. Aniketh’s previous research work:

http://blogs.iiit.ac.in/spiti-valley/…

• Nimmi’s work on AI and Humanities, HCI, etc.

https://sites.google.com/…/dr-nimmi…/current-research

• Twitter Analysis by Prof. Radhika Krishnan: https://www.thehindu.com/…/general…/article26072967.ece

CHD students are affiliated with the Human Sciences Research Group (HSRG). However, you can collaborate with any other labs. This course was introduced in the academic year 2019–20 first and is different from the EHD course offered previously by the institute.

Video Resource – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ffBvi4FUB3A

Hello!

A lot of people have many misconceptions about the CND course offered by IIITH. We hope this helps you to know what this course offers you.

—————-

CND Program awards two-degree upon successful completion: B.Tech in Computer Science & MS by Research in Computational Natural Sciences(CNS). It is a dual degree course and you will get both degrees: B.Tech and an MS degree together and after completion of course. This program aims at preparing scientists and researchers with a good knowledge of Computer Sciences and computing; The first 5 semesters of the course will cover basic courses in physics, chemistry, biology and bioinformatics, and some core courses in Computer Sciences.

Science courses include Introduction to Biology, Electromagnetism & Optics, Physical Chemistry, Modern Physics, Quantum Mechanics, Organic Chemistry etc.

Computer Science includes courses like Algorithms, Data Structures, Formal Methods, DB, Computer Programming, Operating Systems, etc. along with a few courses in Mathematics.

Typically as you move through the semesters, courses relating to CNS will increase and relating to CS will decrease and by the end of the second year, the number of science courses will at least be equal if not more than that of CS courses and later on, you will have the liberty to choose courses depending on your interest or correlation with your research area.

You can see the exact curriculum at the college website: Curriculum CND | IIIT Hyderabad (https://www.iiit.ac.in/acad…/curriculum/undergraduate/cnd/)

In CNS we have to select a problem existing in the field of Natural Sciences and try and understand and solve it using mathematical models, computation and computer programming. It is to gain a higher understanding mainly through the analysis of mathematical models implemented on the computer.

After deciding the area you want to do research in, you have to choose a professor as your mentor/guide in accordance with the research area and thereafter the mentor guides you on how you should move forward to face and solve the problem and hence complete research and thesis.

Some of the application of computational natural sciences include:

Reconstruction to understand various natural events/phenomenon.

Prediction of future events or unobserved situations.

Optimization of known techniques in engineering or sciences.

In the fields of:

• Quantum Information Theory
• Theoretical Chemistry
• Bioinformatics
• Nanosciences
• Chemoinformatics
• Supramolecular Chemistry
• Particle physics
• Biophysics
• Metabolomics
• High energy physics
• Machine Learning

Most of the graduating students are expected to be absorbed in several National universities, research labs or industrial R & D divisions. For the rest, cross-disciplinary capabilities are assumed to be high, as witnessed from large scale mobility of science graduates towards the corporate sector and other arenas in several advanced countries.

Since you have a B.Tech in CS, you always have the option to follow the herd and get a job in IT sector. Please do remember that you are treated at par with any CS student across the country for job interviews at any company.

In the batches that have graduated so far, it has been observed that about half the students continue with research and the other half takes up programming jobs. Those ones who go for research have gone to some of the most prestigious national and international universities for further studies. Programming enthusiasts from CND with their excellent CS knowledge take software engineering jobs, at par with their computer science peers.

It would be appropriate to say that CND is a great program which helps students get good research exposure in the field of sciences and a good knowledge of computer science. That being said, the professors and the institute would highly recommend that only the students who are interested and motivated in research applications for the course, give the degree the respect it deserves and not treat it as a typical B.Tech degree with the research prospect as a mere option for them.

At the time of joining there is a lot of apprehension among students that the degree may have them do ‘biology’ or ‘chemistry’, while this is partially true, and there are courses to introduce to these topics, but research done in IIIT does not involve studying plants or animals. There is a reason why the two so different sounding fields are offered together. In very-very broad terms, we can say that any high-level research involves dealing with a lot of data and using complicated mathematics to analyse them. This requires being able to write programs and fluency in coding. Therefore, even while doing the science-based research, students would be writing programs to build models, running calculations on computer clusters, and again writing programs to analyse the results.

P.S. an important note: The degree would be awarded only after successful completion of course credits and thesis credits; along with a thesis presentation and defence which might take longer than 5 years depending on the time a student devotes to complete research and write the thesis.

Regards,
Apex’20

Credits: Navya Khare & Ekansh Purohit (IIIT Hyderabad)

Hey everyone! We have got multiple queries about the different dual degree branches at IIIT-H. Our students have prepared the following document with a description of the different branches, the opportunities available to the students and more. We hope this helps you clear your concerns!

Regards,

Apex ’20

Credits: Naren Akash R J, Pavani Chowdary, Astitva Ranjan, Tejasvi Chebrolu, Mayank Goel, Sarthak Agrawal

Link to the doc:

Official Link for College Semester details Link: https://www.iiit.ac.in/academics/curriculum/undergraduate/cnd/?fbclid=IwAR0fOpKGiWeWOQc33vJbJvA3Ed1-16Rw4xowlt1GuxYB2rKdbJsycm4L7j4