NPTEL Credit Transfer in IITM BS: Rules and Course List

You can earn some IITM BS credits by finishing approved NPTEL courses on SWAYAM and transferring them. A 4, 8 or 12 week NPTEL course counts as 1, 2 or 3 credits. These credits are pass or fail, so they never change your CGPA. You pay Rs 1,000 per credit to the BS programme, on top of the NPTEL exam fee.

How NPTEL credit transfer works

The rules are almost the same in the Data Science (DS) and Electronic Systems (ES) handbooks.

• Register for the NPTEL exam with your official student email. That is your @ds.study.iitm.ac.in ID in DS or your @es.study.iitm.ac.in ID in ES.
• Pay the exam fee to NPTEL and complete the course.
• You can take NPTEL courses any time after you join the Foundation level. You claim the credit later: at the BSc or BS level in DS, and at the BS level in ES.
• One NPTEL course can be transferred only once, and only to one programme. You sign an undertaking that it is going only to the IITM BS degree. If your college already counted the course, you cannot count it here too.
• The course is added in pass or fail mode. It adds to your credits, gets no letter grade, and stays out of the CGPA.
• If you are only doing a credit transfer in a term, you still pay the RKA fee for that term.

How many credits and what it costs

This transfer fee is separate from the exam fee you pay NPTEL on the SWAYAM portal. Only SWAYAM certification courses qualify. When you open a course page on NPTEL, pick the SWAYAM certification version.

When the credit reaches your BS record

The handbooks strongly advise taking credit transfer courses in the term before the one in which you plan to finish a level. Results often come out after course registration has closed. Their example: take a credit transfer course in January 2026, and the result may arrive after May 2026 registration. The credit then moves only in September 2026, a delay of two terms. No transfers happen in between.

Which NPTEL courses count

Each handbook points to approved lists. The lists are revised from time to time, so check the current version before you register for an NPTEL exam.

Data Science

• Department or free electives (Table 2): a linked spreadsheet of NPTEL courses that can be credited at the BSc level.
• HS/MG category (Table 3): humanities and management courses for the BS level. You can credit up to 4 credits in this category at the BS level, from NPTEL or from courses inside the programme.

To see how NPTEL fits with the rest of the elective rules, read Data Science electives.

Electronic Systems

The ES handbook sets two caps at the BS level:

• Department electives from Table 2: at most 4 credits.
• HS/MG courses from Table 3: at most 4 credits.

If you finish two 12 week courses (6 credits) in one category, only 4 credits move over. You do not need to hunt for 1 or 2 credit courses to hit exactly 4.

Table 2 in the ES handbook lists 20 courses. Eighteen are 12 weeks long and two are 8 weeks. Nine are marked as opening for January registration and eleven as offered in the July to October term. A few examples:

The rest cover areas such as optical communication, wireless systems, analog IC design, the VLSI design flow and aircraft control. The ES list of HS/MG courses is a linked spreadsheet, as in DS. To see where these electives sit in the ES degree, read ES degree level courses.

If you are close to 142 credits

Both handbooks add a rule for students near the finish. If you reach 142 credits in a term and have not started any extra course that earns credit or CGPA, registration closes and your BS certificate is processed. If you have already started such a course, you choose:

• Take the certificate now. The extra course will not appear on your BS transcript.
• Wait until the extra work is done. The transcript then includes those credits, and the certificate comes after.

Common questions

Can I do NPTEL courses while I am still in the Foundation level?

Yes. You can complete them any time after joining the Foundation level, as long as you use your official student email. You apply for the credit later, at the BSc or BS level in DS and at the BS level in ES.

Will a high NPTEL score raise my CGPA?

No. NPTEL credits are added as pass or fail. They count towards your total credits but carry no letter grade and are left out of the CGPA. See how the IITM BS credit system works for how credits and CGPA differ.

My college already gave me credit for an NPTEL course. Can I use it here as well?

No. A course can be credited only once and only in one programme. You also sign an undertaking that the course is going only to the IITM BS degree.

Do I pay the RKA fee in a term where I only transfer NPTEL credits?

Yes. The handbooks say the RKA fee applies in a term where you are only doing a credit transfer. See RKA and re-admission fees for the amount.