IITM BS Minors: Full List, Courses and Rules (DS and ES)

By Editorial TeamLast reviewed 24 Sept 2026

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A minor in the IIT Madras BS programme is a fixed set of three courses. If you finish all three, IIT Madras gives you a separate document saying you completed that minor. The courses count inside the 142 credits you already need for the BS degree, so a minor does not add extra credits. You can earn a minor only with the BS degree.

How minors work

The first four rules apply to both DS and ES.

No extra credits. Minor courses are counted within the 142 credits of the BS degree. In practice, they fill your elective slots.
BS degree only. In Data Science, you cannot get a minor if you exit with the BSc degree.
Separate document. IIT Madras issues a separate document for the minor. Your transcript and your degree certificate do not change.
More than one is allowed. You can earn two or more minors, as long as you complete every course of each one.
One course, one minor. If a course appears in two minors, it can count for only one of them. If you finish two such minors in the same term, you choose where the shared course goes. If the course was already used for a minor in an earlier term, it will not count again.
Prerequisites are checked at the end. When a minor has a prerequisite, the office checks that you have completed it at the time the minor is given. The order in which you did it does not matter.

The last two rules are written in the DS handbook (updated 4 January 2026). The ES handbook does not repeat them.

Data Science minors

Each course below is 4 credits in the DS course table, except Sequential Decision Making, which is not in that table.

Minor	Courses	Prerequisite
Economics and Finance	Corporate Finance, Managerial Economics, Game Theory and Strategy	None listed
Computer Systems	Computer Systems Design, Operating Systems, Computer Networks	Programming in C
Generative AI	Large Language Models, Deep Learning Practice, Mathematical Foundations of Generative AI	None listed
Cloud Computing for AI	Deep Learning Practice, Introduction to Big Data, MLOps	None listed
Algorithmic Decision Making	Reinforcement Learning, Algorithms for Data Science, Sequential Decision Making	None listed
Multimodal AI Systems	Deep Learning for Computer Vision, Speech Technology, Large Language Models	Deep Learning Practice

Economics and Finance is listed on its own in the handbook. The other five are listed as available from the September 2025 term.

Electronic Systems minors open to DS students

On 4 September 2026 the DS handbook added three minors that come from the ES programme.

Minor	Courses	Prerequisite
VLSI Design and Testing	Digital IC Design, Electronic Testing and Measurement, Semiconductor Devices and VLSI Technology	Digital Systems (EE1102)
Internet of Things (IoT)	Communication Systems, Internet of Things, Computer Networks	None listed
Digital Design	Computer Organisation, Digital System Design, Digital IC Design	None listed

Minors for Electronic Systems students

The ES handbook lists four minors, two from DS and two from ES. The course codes are in our post on Electronic Systems minors.

Minor	Comes from	Courses
Application Development	DS	DBMS, Modern Application Development I, Modern Application Development II
Machine Learning	DS	Machine Learning Foundations, Machine Learning Techniques, Machine Learning Practice
VLSI Design and Testing	ES	Digital IC Design, Electronic Testing and Measurement, Semiconductor Devices and VLSI Technology
IoT	ES	IoT, Communication Systems, Computer Networks (DS)

Courses shared between minors

These overlaps matter if you plan two minors, because of the one course, one minor rule.

Course	Appears in
Deep Learning Practice	Generative AI, Cloud Computing for AI, and as the prerequisite of Multimodal AI Systems
Large Language Models	Generative AI, Multimodal AI Systems
Digital IC Design	VLSI Design and Testing, Digital Design
Computer Networks	Computer Systems, IoT

The handbook gives Deep Learning Practice as its example and says it is in four minors. In the current list it is a course in two minors and a prerequisite in a third. The handbook also does not say which course replaces a shared one. If you want two minors that share a course, ask the support team before you plan around it.

Planning a minor in Data Science

After Software Engineering, Software Testing, AI, Deep Learning and Strategies for Professional Growth (20 credits), you have about 36 credits of electives across the BSc and BS levels. See the full list of DS electives. That is room for nine 4-credit courses, fewer if you take an apprenticeship. One minor uses three of those slots. Two minors use six.

Pick your minor early. Some courses are not offered every term, and the BS level also has its own rules on which courses you must take. Our guide to the BS degree level explains those rules.

Common questions

Do I pay anything extra for a minor?

The handbooks do not mention a separate fee for a minor. You pay the normal course fee for each course, the same as any other elective.

Will the minor be printed on my degree certificate?

No. The handbook says the transcript and degree certificate stay the same. You get a separate document from IIT Madras that confirms the minor.

Can an ES student take the Generative AI minor?

The ES handbook lists only four minors for ES students: Application Development, Machine Learning, VLSI Design and Testing, and IoT. It does not list the DS AI minors, so ask the ES support team if you want one of them.

Do I need to finish the prerequisite before the minor courses?

For the minor itself, no. The prerequisite only has to be done by the time the minor is given. But single courses can have their own prerequisites in the course table. For example, Large Language Models lists Deep Learning as a prerequisite, so check each course before you register.