IIT-Madras Reserves Admissions for Olympiads Performers, no JEE Score Required

After introducing cultural and sports quotas last year, the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) today launched admissions to undergraduate programs for students who excel in national and international Olympiads. These Olympiads are competitive examinations that assess and challenge students in various academic subjects and skills.

According to IIT Madras, this admission, known as “Science Olympiad Excellence” (ScOpE), would take place outside of the JEE (Advanced) system, and students will be admitted starting in the 2025–2026 academic year.

ScOpE will feature two extra seats each program, one of which will be reserved solely for female students, much as admissions through the Fine Arts and Culture Excellence and Sports Excellence Admissions modalities. The qualifying requirements, which include passing Class 12 and being of a certain age, are the same as those for JEE (Advanced) in that year. Additionally, the candidate shouldn’t have already been accepted to an IIT.

The applications will be open for the first batch from June 3, 2025. The detailed guidelines and business rules for ScOpE admission are available on the following website.

“Those who dare to dismantle textbooks, piece by piece, and create new wonders for the future generations are the ones who solve the world’s grandest puzzles,” stated Prof. V Kamakoti, director of IIT Madras, in a statement outlining the aim for ScOpE admissions. With this goal in mind, IIT Madras sets out on yet another adventure by admitting students who have excelled in scientific Olympiads to her highly sought-after undergraduate programs.

The ScOpE Rank List (SRL), which is determined by the candidates’ performance and accomplishments in the five Olympiads (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Informatics, and Biology), will determine how seats are distributed under this program. The guidelines for creating the ScOpE rank list will be available on the website.

Admission to different academic programs at IIT Madras under SCOPE admission only may be made using the IITM-SCOPE site.

For academic programs at IIT Madras and/or other IITs where seats are available through JoSAA, candidates must submit separate applications on the JoSAA portal.

Eligibility Criteria

The candidates should satisfy ALL the following criteria to be eligible to apply for SCOPE admission to IIT Madras:
1. The candidate should be an Indian national (by birth or naturalization) or OCI/PIO candidate whose OCI/PIO card was issued before March 4, 2021.
2. In the last 4 years, the candidate must have participated in at least one of the following:
a. Mathematics: International Mathematical Olympiad Training Camps (IMOTC) organized by Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE)
b. Physics, Chemistry and Biology: Orientation-cum-Selection Camps (OCSCs) for Science subjects, organized by Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE).
c. Informatics: International Olympiad for Informatics Training Camp (IOITC) organized by the Indian Association for Research in Computer Science (IARCS).