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Curriculum
Academic Advisories

The MA in Society and Culture, a unique program conceptualized and implemented by the faculty at the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar (since 2014), has a specific goal of providing students (from any disciplinary background) the breadth and focus in the key disciplines within the Humanities and Social Sciences. It offers fundamental learning, debates, and methods in literature, sociology, anthropology, political science, and history. The two-year MA program emerges from a conviction that students need to be trained to understand the social and political context around them and that encounters with theoretical and cutting-edge formulations of societies and nations are necessary and must be learned in tandem with real-life observation and fieldwork.

The program also helps students understand intersections between disciplines so that recurring themes such as identity, democracy, tradition, modernity, citizenship, and selfhood are not restricted to a narrow disciplinary focus. Exposure to interdisciplinarity is an integral part of a student’s learning. This is further developed and tested through rigorous research.

Students could access journals, scholarships from any part of the world, and the faculty’s vast international network to provide them with internship and research experience relevant to their chosen research project. In short, the MA program allows one to deepen their knowledge and yet remain free of boundedness that is so characteristic of other systems.

Students graduating with a Master’s in Society and Culture are equipped with a nuanced and more in-depth understanding of their context, sufficient to realize the dangers of single narratives. Their learning and skills prepare them for doctoral studies, policy work, consultancy, and various jobs and research careers.

Curriculum

A minimum of 80 credits will be needed to complete the program successfully. This includes a minimum of 56 credits of coursework and a minimum of 20 credits of research projects. Masters students in this program must take 6 out of 10 available Core courses, and a cluster of electives will complement the remaining credits.

The Electives in this program include at least two courses (8 credits) from disciplines other than HSS (Engineering/Natural Sciences). This unique provision aims to expose students to the range of disciplines covered by the IITGN faculty community.

Students can also take an Independent Study (e.g., Project courses) with any IITGN faculty member and earn credits. A maximum of 12 credits out of Electives can be acquired through Independent Study courses.

Summer research internships/projects (on or off campus) are required as part of the Master’s curriculum to help students complement their research activities, build networks or professional references, and advance their career aspirations.

Students joining the MA program (from semester – I, 2021-22 onwards) must complete two Physical Education (PE) courses, one each in their first two semesters, as part of their graduation requirements. These courses will be evaluated on a Pass/No Pass grade basis.

Completing the PG Orientation Programme Aarohan (2 Credits) is a mandatory graduation requirement for all MA students. Aarohan is a two-week program that all newly joined students are expected to complete successfully before they commence the first semester of their academic program.

M.A. Program Credit Structure

Core Courses (24 Credits): Students could choose any six courses from the basket of core course

  • Critical Perspectives in Anthropology
  • Critical Perspectives in Sociology
  • Political Thought
  • Literature, Theory, and Social Context
  • Perspectives in History
  • Perspectives on Indian Civilization
  • Developmental Economics
  • Reading Philosophy: Classical, Contemporary, and Global Perspectives
  • Qualitative Social Science Research Methods
  • Quantitative Social Science Research Methods

Credit Requirement for New Admission

  • Course Work (Core): 24 Credits
  • Course Work (Electives): 24 Credits
  • Engineering/Natural Science Courses: 08 Credits
  • Writing Course: 04 Credits
  • Research Project/Dissertation: 20 Credits
  • Summer internship: 4 Credits
  • Aarohan (Induction Program): 02 Credits
  • Physical Education (PE): 02 Courses
  • Total Credits for Graduation [Excluding credits through Aarohan and PE ]: 80 Credits

Electives and Project Courses (24 Credits): Most courses are offered in the first or second semester. Some of the courses are intermittently offered based on the availability of the Instructors.

  • Humanism, Anti-Humanism, and Posthumanism
  • The Politics of the Environment
  • Critical Journey through Select Thoughts and Theories
  • Philosophy, Cognition, and Psychoanalysis
  • Behavioral Economics
  • Semiotic Anthropology
  • Public Policy and its Impact Evaluation
  • Philosophy of Mind
  • Introduction to Archaeology
  • Perspectives in Psychology
  • Linguistic Anthropology
  • Fundamentals of Cognitive Psychology
  • Visual Design for Academia
  • Phenomenology, Embodiment, and Consciousness
  • Scarred Nations: Partition in the Indian Subcontinent
  • Literary Experiments in European Modernism
  • Creativity, Design, and Doing
  • Foundational Sanskrit
  • Urdu Script & Poetry
  • Urdu Poetry Interpretation
  • Harappan Civilization
  • Introduction to Politics
  • Introduction to Indian Knowledge Systems
  • Digital Cultures and New Media
  • India Through the Writer’s Eye
  • Human Evolution
  • Business Communication
  • Principles of Business Management
  • Introduction to Marketing
  • Introduction to Philosophy
  • Economics
  • World Civilization
  • Understanding and Designing Comics and Graphic Novels
  • Designing Learning Environments for Science and Engineering
  • Drawing Connections: Environmental Perception and Visual Anthropology
  • Cinematic Foundations: Understanding the Language of Cinema
  • Communication Design in Science
  • Mandarin for Beginners
  • French Studies
  • Japanese Language for Beginners
  • Competitiveness and Ethical Leadership

Program Highlights

Opportunity to engage in original research

Off-campus academic and policy internships

Student-led graduate seminars and symposiums

Opportunities for international exposure

International Conference support

Explorer’s Fellowship and Gram Fellowship

Need-based financial support

Career Development Service

Financial Support

Eligible candidates admitted to the MA program will be able to apply for the ‘On-Campus Employment Opportunities Program’ at IIT Gandhinagar. The selected students will be allowed to work for a maximum of 10 hours per week during the semester and 40 hours per week during the vacations including mid semester breaks. The remuneration rates will be in the range of Rs.150-200 per hour and most of the students would start at the base rate and pay-hikes will be based on the performance and engagement.

Career Prospects

We envision the program to give students a critical ability to approach the world and its many challenges. Careers after the MA program could be related to journalism, advertising/media, communications, writing, teaching, human resources, nonprofit (NGOs, policy think-tanks), and of course, higher studies in academia should you choose to pursue a Ph.D. Students will also have the option of taking the University Grants Commission Lectureship exams (NET/SLET/GATE) in the allied disciplines. We believe that the possibilities are endless.

Recent graduates from our program have received admission at top international universities such as the Kings College (London, the UK), the National University, the Singapore, the University of Geneva, the University of Amsterdam, the Queens University (Canada), the Florida State University (USA), the University of Arizona, the Northwestern University (USA), and the University of Adelaide (Australia), to pursue their PhDs. Students have also received PhD admission at top IITs, central universities, and leading private universities in India.

Graduates have also gone on to pursue a variety of careers in agencies and non-governmental organizations such as the Ministry of Labour, Government of India; Population of Council of India, Indira Gandhi National Council for the Arts; National Museum, New Delhi; AITREE Foundation; Deshpande Foundation. They also have secured positions at companies like Olivian or Ernst and Young; or media organizations such as Spark Media, Youth ki Awaaz, and The Print.

As with any other degree, career success is a combination of an excellent academic record, motivation, and a positive approach.

Experiences

Admission

Admission to the MA in Society and Culture is offered based on an admission test (MA Question Paper: 2021 | MA Question Paper: 2022 | MA Question Paper: 2023). If you pass the admission test, you will be interviewed for admissions. The minimum criterion to apply is a bachelor’s degree in any discipline with a minimum of 55% marks (or equivalent CPI/GPA). Meeting the minimum application criterion will not guarantee admission to the program. The students awaiting final semester/year results and those completing a Bachelor’s degree are also eligible to apply. Eligibility requirements for SC/ST/OBC candidates will be by the Supreme Court guidelines. The shortlisting of the applications will be based on the overall credentials (marks in the bachelor’s program, academic achievements, aptitude for studying society and culture, etc.). The eligibility criteria mentioned above are minimum expectations, and the committee may use higher cut-off levels for shortlisting.

Application opens: October 15, 2024

Application Deadline: January 15, 2025

Test and Interviews: February 22 & 23, 2025

You are NOT required to send a hard copy of the application form. However, you must furnish a hard copy of the application form with a photograph and all the documentary evidence in its original form (testimonials, certificates, publications, work experience, and research/professional experience) at the interview time. Incomplete applications will be rejected. Application Fees for SC/ST/PwD: Rs. 150 and all others: Rs. 300.

If you have any queries about the program, please email us at inquiry.masc@iitgn.ac.in

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