IITM BS for NRI and International Students: Exams and Fees

Yes, you can do the IITM BS from outside India. The admissions pages say the programme is open to learners from all around the globe. If you live in the UAE, Sri Lanka, Bahrain, Kuwait or Oman, you write your exams in person at a centre in one of the listed cities. In any other country, you take remote proctored exams. You pay an exam facilitation fee on top of the normal fees, and fee waivers do not apply to students outside India.

Where you write your exams

If you live in one of these countries, you must use these centres. Learners in every other country can still enrol and take remote proctored exams. The admissions pages say you should expect an in-person exam roughly once a month.

How many learners are outside India?

The Data Science (DS) admissions page says 780 learners outside India have taken its exams so far. The largest groups (as shown in September 2026):

Remote proctoring and your location

The exam centre policy in both handbooks (updated 15 July 2025) has a section for students appearing from outside India:

• You must confirm your location during the verification step.
• If you fail to declare that you are in India, or you give a false location, you cannot take the exam.
• That case is treated as malpractice.

Learners in India write in person at centres. So if you will be in India on an exam day, for a holiday or a family visit, ask support before registration how to handle it. Do not try a remote exam from India. See IITM BS malpractice rules.

Fees for students outside India

The handbooks do not list separate course fees for students outside India. Instead, they add a facilitation fee for students who write exams overseas:

With 4 courses, that is Rs 8,000 a term. The fee can differ by country: the handbooks give Rs 3,000 for Kuwait and Bahrain. A separate facilitation fee also applies if you write the qualifier at a centre outside India.

Other money rules:

• No fee waiver. The DS and ES academics pages both say fee waivers do not apply to students outside India.
• Dropping all courses. IITM keeps all of the Quiz 1 facilitation fee and refunds half of the Quiz 2 and end term facilitation fees.

The full breakdown is in applying from outside India.

Eligibility with a foreign school board

The accepted Class 12 equivalents include GCE A levels (London, Cambridge or Sri Lanka) and the International Baccalaureate Diploma. They also include any foreign board exam that the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) treats as equal to 10+2. DS expects Maths and English in Class 10. ES needs Physics and Maths.

If your schooling does not fit neatly, for example 10 years of school plus 2 years of university, write to the international team before you pay. The DS page gives ge@study.iitm.ac.in (opens in a new tab) and the ES page gives ge-es@study.iitm.ac.in (opens in a new tab).

Electronic Systems means trips to Chennai

The ES admissions page says all lab courses are done in person at the IIT Madras campus at least twice a year. The ES FAQ adds that you arrange your own stay. From abroad, that means flights and leave twice a year. Read ES campus visits before you choose ES.

A short checklist (our advice)

1. Check that your school board counts as Class 12 or equivalent.
2. Choose DS or ES with the travel in mind.
3. Budget the facilitation fee for every term, not just the course fee.
4. Mark exam days early. The handbooks do not say how exam times map to your time zone, so ask support.
5. Always declare your real location.

Common questions

Do NRIs pay higher course fees?

The handbooks do not list a separate course fee for NRIs or foreign nationals. What changes is the extra facilitation fee for overseas exams. Check the amounts at registration.

Can I get a fee waiver if my family income is low?

No. Both academics pages say fee waivers do not apply to students outside India.

Can I take exams from home if I live in the US?

Yes, through remote proctoring, because the US is not on the centre list. You still verify your location each time. See can you take exams from home.

I live in Dubai. Can I choose remote proctoring instead?

No. The admissions pages say learners living in the listed countries must write exams at the designated centres.