Do You Need to Buy Books for IITM BS? The Official Textbooks
Editorial Team
No, you do not have to buy books for the IITM BS. The official FAQ says all course content is online and no hard copies are sent. Some courses recommend reference books that you may buy yourself if you want. For the foundation Maths and Statistics courses, IIT Madras has its own notes volumes, and the course pages offer them as free PDF downloads.
What the FAQ says
The DS, ES, AE and MG FAQs give the same answer to "Will IIT Madras provide course material in hard copy?":
- Content is given only online, so you can watch it anytime.
- No hard copy is provided.
- Depending on the course, you may be recommended reference books or material that you buy separately.
So the core material is the weekly videos, transcripts, practice questions and assignments on the portal. Books are an extra.
Free official volumes for Maths and Statistics
The programme's books site says these come from the BS programme's own instructors, students and staff. We tried the download links on each course page on 25 September 2026, and they opened without signing in.
| Course | Free official volumes |
|---|---|
| Maths for Data Science I (BSMA1001) | Sets and Functions (Vol 1), Calculus (Vol 2), Graph Theory (Vol 3) |
| Statistics for Data Science I (BSMA1002) | Descriptive Statistics (Vol 1), Probability and Probability Distributions (Vol 2) |
| Maths for Data Science II (BSMA1003) | Linear Algebra |
| Statistics for Data Science II (BSMA1004) | Joint Discrete Distributions (Vol 1), Joint Continuous Distributions (Vol 2) |
| English I and English II | Learning support notes (Basic English) |
The programme's separate "Books and Publications" site lists the same eight Maths and Statistics volumes. Its links asked for a sign-in when we tried them, so use the course page links or open them with your student account.
Maths 1 and Stats 1 are also foundation courses in the Management and Data Science programme, so these volumes help MG students too.
Suggested books, course by course
Course pages list "suggested books". These are optional. Here are the foundation courses.
Data Science (and the shared MG courses)
| Course | Suggested books on the course page |
|---|---|
| Maths for Data Science I | Introductory Algebra: A Real-World Approach, Ignacio Bello (4th edition) |
| Statistics for Data Science I | Introductory Statistics, Neil A. Weiss (10th edition); Introductory Statistics, Sheldon M. Ross (4th edition) |
| Statistics for Data Science II | Probability and Statistics with Examples using R, Athreya, Sarkar and Tanner |
| Programming in Python | Python for Everybody, Charles R. Severance. The page says a PDF is freely available. |
| English I | Oxford Modern English Grammar (Aarts); English Grammar in Use (Murphy); Short Fiction from South India; English and Soft Skills (Dhanavel) |
| Computational Thinking | No book listed on the course page |
Electronic Systems foundation
| Course | Suggested books on the course page |
|---|---|
| Math for Electronics I | Thomas' Calculus (14th edition); Calculus, J. Stewart (8th edition); Calculus Vol 1, Apostol (Indian adaptation) |
| Introduction to C Programming | The C Programming Language, Kernighan and Ritchie |
| Electronic Systems Thinking and Circuits | Engineering Circuit Analysis, Hayt, Kemmerly and Durbin (8th edition); Digital Logic and Computer Design, M. Mano; The Art of Electronics, Horowitz and Hill |
The MG-only foundation courses also list books. For example, Principles of Economics suggests Mankiw's Principles of Economics, and Financial Accounting suggests Libby, Libby and Hodge. Check each course page for the full list.
Should you buy any?
A simple way to decide:
- Start with the portal. Lectures, transcripts and the weekly practice assignments are the core material.
- Add the free volumes for Maths and Statistics. They were written for these courses.
- Buy a book only for a gap. If a topic still does not click, or you want more practice problems, one suggested book for that course is enough.
- Borrow first. A college or public library copy, or a senior's copy, costs nothing.
The course pages name editions but do not say whether older editions are fine. Compare a book's chapter list with the week-by-week topics on the course page before you buy.
Other free help on this site
- Official IIT Madras lecture videos, sorted by course and week, in our lecture library.
- Student notes in the notes section.
- Past papers by course: previous year question papers on QuizSpace (opens in a new tab).
For how to use all of these together, read free resources for IITM BS.
Common questions
Are the IITM Maths and Stats volumes enough for the qualifier?
The Data Science and MG qualifier covers the first four weeks of Maths 1, Stats 1, Computational Thinking and English 1. The volumes cover the full courses, so read only the matching chapters. The weekly content and assignments come first.
Can I get printed notes from IIT Madras?
No. The FAQ says no hard copy is provided. You can print the free PDF volumes yourself if you prefer paper.
Is there a book for Computational Thinking?
The course page did not list one when we checked. Use the lectures, practice questions and past papers instead.
Do diploma and degree courses need books?
Many diploma and degree course pages also list suggested books. Treat them the same way: optional, and worth buying only if they fill a real gap for you.
Official sources
- IIT Madras BS Data Science FAQIIT Madras · study.iitm.ac.in (opens in a new tab)
- IIT Madras BS Electronic Systems FAQIIT Madras · study.iitm.ac.in (opens in a new tab)
- Mathematics for Data Science I course page (BSMA1001)IIT Madras · study.iitm.ac.in (opens in a new tab)
- Statistics for Data Science I course page (BSMA1002)IIT Madras · study.iitm.ac.in (opens in a new tab)
- Mathematics for Data Science II course page (BSMA1003)IIT Madras · study.iitm.ac.in (opens in a new tab)
- Statistics for Data Science II course page (BSMA1004)IIT Madras · study.iitm.ac.in (opens in a new tab)
- Programming in Python course page (BSCS1002)IIT Madras · study.iitm.ac.in (opens in a new tab)
- English I course page (BSHS1001)IIT Madras · study.iitm.ac.in (opens in a new tab)
- Math for Electronics I course page (MA1101)IIT Madras · study.iitm.ac.in (opens in a new tab)
- Introduction to C Programming course page (CS1101)IIT Madras · study.iitm.ac.in (opens in a new tab)
- Electronic Systems Thinking and Circuits course page (EE1101)IIT Madras · study.iitm.ac.in (opens in a new tab)
- IIT Madras BS Programme books and publications sitesites.google.com (opens in a new tab)