ENGINEERING A RENAISSANCE

IITs ARE EXPANDING THEIR HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES PROGRAMMES. A LOOK AT HOW THE ARTS FIT INTO THE ENGINEERING OUTLOOK

- NACHIKET KELKAR

If you are looking to pursue an MA, India’s best-ranked arts colleges would surely be among your top priorities. But, the Indian Institutes of Technology, too, are now becoming feasible options. IIT Madras, for instance, where the sought-after courses include aerospace engineering, computer science and electrical engineering, will offer a two-year MA, starting this July, in development studies, economics and English studies.

In 2022, IIT Guwahati launched a master’s in liberal arts programme— courses range from essentials of political theory to foundational linguistics and historical studies. To be clear, several IITs have had humanities and social sciences departments for years. But, many more IITs are now expanding their programmes in this space.

“IITs are known for their rigour,” said Prof Jyotirmaya Tripathy, head, department of humanities and social sciences, IIT Madras. “That applies to the departments of humanities and social sciences as well. Since universities were struggling to offer quality education in arts and the need for quality graduates in the same subjects were rising in teaching, corporate consultancy and industry, IITs took the plunge and filled the vacuum.”

IIT Guwahati’s master of liberal arts programme aims to offer “training in theoretical analysis and abstract thinking with practical application”. The institute’s website says that the challenges of today call for a “holisitc approach, lateral thinking abilities and non-traditional problem-solving skills” and that the programme would allow students to make “informed judgments” with “a sense of the ethical implications”.