IISc - Indian Institute of Science - seems like a different world. There are many elite institutions and universities in India, but IISc is one of its kind.
The first thing every student feels after entering the serene and green campus of IISc is belongingness. Every student immediately connects to this beautiful campus. The vision of Jamsedji Tata and the advice of Swami Vivekananda, combined with the generosity of Maharaja of Mysore state Shri Krishnaraja Wodeyar lead to the formation of IISc. There is a statue of Jamsedji Tata that overlooks the main building of the institute.
Most of the students join IISc owing to a genuine interest in their respective subjects and fields. Being mainly a research institution, IISc attracts post-graduate and doctoral students across numerous fields of science and engineering streams. There are over 25 departments that belong to either pure sciences, applied sciences, or engineering streams.
The atmosphere is very calm and ideal for academics. There is hostel accommodation inside the campus. The food provided in the hostel is hygienic and is also food joints near the campus.
Students enjoy academic freedom thoroughly here. It is not uncommon to find a student of electrical engineering sitting in a class of advanced mathematics. Even professors do that. They attend classes and take notes along with the students. Students are free to sit in any lecture (though, with the permission of the advisor, who generally obliges). One can see students from different departments discussing their work, sharing ideas, and even collaborating. There are also public lectures that students can attend.
There is a placement cell, but several students, including Masters degree holders, opt to go for jobs that are inclined towards research, and not the usual high-paying corporate jobs.
Apart from research, a lot of campus activities are there. There are plenty of student clubs, such as Literary Club, IISc Cycling Club, IISc Gymkhana, etc. The institute organizes a technical and cultural fest, Pravega.
IISc Bangalore accepts students under 5 levels as regular students or researchers.
Bachelor of Science (Research) Programme:
This is a four-year UG Research Programme in Science designed especially to offer specialization in a science subject. All students take core courses in Physics, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology, Engineering, and Humanities in the first 3 semesters and later choose electives of their choice. In the fourth year, there is a research-based project under the guidance of a faculty. There are three national-level exams for this program
Masters Course:
Integrated Ph.D.:
This program is for those Bachelors who are inclined towards research and want to save time by skipping Masters. The students of this branch pursue advanced research in areas such as Biological, Chemical, Physical, and Mathematical Sciences leading to a Ph.D. degree. Exams accepted for this program are JAM and JEST
Ph.D.:
Admission to the Ph.D. program at IISc Bangalore is done on the basis of four national exams; GATE, UGC NET, UGC CSIR, and INSPIRE.
External Ph.D.:
This program does not require any kind of exam and is only for
In addition to the above 5 levels, you can also apply directly to potential faculties for the position of Post Doc, Research Assistant, or Internship.
IISc Bangalore has an excellent placement scenario thanks to its active placement cell that conducts placement drives every year. My knowledge is limited to IISc placement 2021-2022 only. The average salary package stood at INR 23 LPA and the highest salary of IISc was recorded at INR 60 LPA.
Out of the total of 528, 276 graduating students were placed, and 6 UG students and 270 PG students were also placed. The median salary for UG students was recorded at INR 13.50 LPA, INR 20 LPA for the 2 years PG students, and INR 21.69 LPA for the 3 years PG students.
Some of the past recruiters included
My friend is currently a student at IISc Bangalore and is in awe of the institute that has been her dream college forever. Being a research enthusiast, she always wanted to join IISc Bangalore and now that she has achieved her dream, she shared a few experiences that made her college life even better than expected
Overall, the staff, the students, the professors, and the institute all give off positive vibes that motivate you towards self-productivity. This is the best part of IISc. So the hype that IISc Bangalore gets is totally worth it and well-deserved.
When choosing between a computer science or statistics perspective for ML, it's important to consider your goals. Statisticians have high standards for theoretical guarantees and usually publish in journals. It may take 5-6 years after initial conception for a method to be accepted and used. On the other hand, computer science and ML move quickly with conferences as the primary venues. Methods and code quickly spread, and people start using them.
In general, computer science is considered a better choice for ML than statistics departments. If you're considering the ISI Machine Intelligence Unit, note that it's mostly made up of statisticians who research fuzzy logic and publish in stats or application-specific journals. Their papers don't usually appear in flagship ML venues like NIPS, ICML, or KDD.
When deciding between a CS or statistics Ph.D., also consider your employment options after graduation. The majority of people in top Indian labs like MSR, Google, and XRCI are CS PhDs, if not 100%. Statistics PhDs, on the other hand, typically work in actuarial firms or investment banks, which have different work objectives.
You will not find an answer to this particular query anywhere. This is because IISc Bangalore and all the IITs release score-based GATE cutoffs for admissions into the M.Tech program. These cut-offs are not rank-based.
However, the most favorable chances for you are if your All India GATE rank is above AIR 50. This is not the case for all M.Tech branches at IISc Bangalore but for most of them.
Here is the branch-wise GATE cutoff for admissions into the M.Tech program at IISc Bangalore (General Category)-
Course |
2023 Cutoff by Marks |
2022 Cutoff by Marks |
2021 Cutoff by Marks |
CSE |
675 |
675 |
680 |
Mechanical |
700 |
730 |
854 |
A.I. |
549 |
604 |
722 |
Civil Engg. |
- |
- |
720 |
Electrical Engg. |
600 |
550 |
808 |
ECE |
620 |
600 |
710 |
These are the IISc Bangalore score-wise GATE cutoffs for the most sought-after streams in M.Tech.
KVPY (SA, SX and SB) is the easiest mode of securing admission into IISc Bangalore for UG studies. It is possible to get a seat even with an ordinary rank in the exam. But it is mandatory to register for the admissions beginning February. The other modes are JEE Mains, JEE Advanced and NEET. However, the cutoff ranks for these exams are high. With time, the cutoff ranks for KVPY are also getting higher.
IITs are for those who are on the lookout for jobs and have little or no interest in research work. IISc on the other hand primarily focuses on research work.
Basically, to pursue a career in any branch of engineering, the industry-oriented Bachelor's program offered at IITs is perfect. But for a research enthusiast who is keen to pursue a career in research, IISc is the best option.
Ultimately, the better institute is one that aligns with your preferences and area of interest.
For better reference, I have compared the IISc placement statistics with the topmost IIT Bombay
Particulars |
IISc |
IIT Bombay |
Highest Salary |
INR 40 LPA |
INR 3.67 CPA |
Average Salary |
INR 10 LPA. |
INR 23.26 LPA |
Top Recruiters |
Oracle, Toshiba, Godrej & Godrej, HSBC, Intel, Mahindra, Cisco, Dell, HP, KPMG, Walmart, EY, etc. |
American Express, Honda Japan, Mc Kinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group |
You can clearly see that IIT Bombay offers much better job opportunities than IISc.
My brother got selected for IISc Bangalore and here is what his offer letter looked like
IISc Bangalore is famous for its research-oriented environment. Earlier it focused only on academic research. But in recent years, it has also started giving attention to industry placements.
Most of the reputed companies that visit IITs and BITs, also come to IISc for placements. All the IISc students end up with good packages, irrespective of their course/branch. The median CTC for IISc students was 28 LPA during 2023 placements. The placement process of IISc starts before the IITs, which is a great advantage for its students.
The MTech placements are good enough at IISc. But its grading system is very tough. You’ll have to work hard to maintain a good GPA over there. With a top GPA, you can expect at least 10 LPA as your placement package at IISc. This is applicable for all branches- CSA, SERC, DESE, ECE and EE.
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