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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 to students (from any disciplinary background) breadth and focus in the key disciplines within the Humanities and Social Sciences. It does so by providing 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; that encounters with theoretical and cutting-edge formulations on societies and nations are necessary and must also 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, selfhood do not get 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 were provided with an opportunity to 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 enough for them to realize the dangers of single narratives. Their learning and skills prepare them for doctoral studies, policy work, consultancy, and a range of jobs and research careers.
Curriculum
The two-year, 80-credits MA program in Society and Culture at IIT Gandhinagar aims to provide analytical lens and theoretical perspectives in disciplines including History, Culture Studies, Literature, Translation Studies, Sociology, Political Science and Anthropology. The MA curriculum combines core learnings in theory and methods with a range of advanced electives in specific disciplines. That is, students interested in particular disciplines may take specific tracks that allow them to deepen their knowledge and critically engage in the contemporary body of scholarship shaping the humanities and social sciences intellectual traditions. Please note that, students can also complete the program without opting for a specific track. As a capstone project, all MA students complete a Master’s level thesis that allow them to work closely with a faculty advisor in the students’ preferred field of specialization. Overall, the MA program trains graduate students in independent research allowing them to pursue an advanced academic degree (e.g. PhD) and also prepares them for professional careers in journalism, writing, social development sector and public policy.
M.A. Program Credit Structure
Core Courses (24 Credits)
Perspectives in History
Political Thought
Critical Approaches on Anthropology and Sociology
Perspectives on Indian Civilization
Literature, Theory, and Social Context
Research Methods in Social Sciences and Humanities
General Requirements (16 Credits)
Writing Course
Two Non-HSS Electives
Summer internship
Masters Thesis (20 Credits)
Electives and Project courses (20 Credits)
Humanism, Anti-Humanism, and Posthumanism
The Politics of the Environment
Philosophy, Cognition, and Psychoanalysis
Behavioral Economics
Philosophy of Mind
Introduction to Archaeology
Introduction to Cognitive Linguistics
Exploring India’s Scientific and Technological Heritage
Perspectives in Psychology
Linguistic Anthropology
Fundamentals of Cognitive Psychology
Phenomenology, Embodiment, and Consciousness
Literary Experiments in European Modernism
Creativity, Design, and Doing
Foundational Sanskrit
Urdu Script & Poetry
Urdu Poetry Interpretation
Harappan Civilization
Introduction to Politics
Indian Systems of Ethics
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
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
Experiences
Sevgi
Sevgi Demiroglu graduated with an MA in Society and Culture programme at IIT Gandhinagar in 2020. In this video, she talks about the diverse experiences gained during her two years of stay at the beautiful IITGN campus. She is currently working as a Researcher in the University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Madhumita Sengupta
Why an MA at IIT Gandhinagar? Watch this video where the faculty members share their ideas about what the discipline of the Humanities and Social Science at IITGN has to offer its students.
Dalia
Dalia graduated with an MA in Society and Culture at IIT Gandhinagar in 2019. In this video, she expresses her view on the programme and how IITGN evolved over time. She is currently a PhD candidate at the Institute.
Rohit
From a background in physics to an interesting MA dissertation, listen to Rohit describe his journey and different kind of subjects offered by the HSS at Gandhinagar. Having graduated in 2017, he is currently a PhD candidate at the Queen's University in Canada.
Aishwarya
Aishwarya Joshi, an alumna of the 2018 batch, describes her first semester as a student in MA in Society and Culture and what brought her from the field of Sociology to HSS at IITGN! She is currently working as a Programme Associate at Kriti Social Initiatives.
Neha Tetali
Neha Tetali, an alumna of the 2018 batch, describes her first semester as a student in MA in Society and Culture, her personal aims and how HSS and MASC might help her achieve them! She is currently a PhD candidate at the Trinity College, Dublin.
Nupur
Nupur Joshi, an alumna of the 2016 batch, shares the details of her master's thesis and her experience with the M.A. programme when she was a second-year student. She is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Arizona, US.
Saravanan
Saravanan, an alumnus of the 2016 batch, shares his experience of IIT Gandhinagar when he was a 2nd-year MA student in Society & Culture. He is currently a PhD candidate at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.
Anuracti Sharma
Anuracti Sharma is an alumna of the 2019 batch of MA in Society and Culture from IIT Gandhinagar. Currently, she is working as an Academic Associate in the Communication area at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad.
Swara
Presenting a video from one of our alumna, Swara, who is a 2018 batch graduate of the MA in Society and Culture programme from IIT Gandhinagar.
Olivia
Olivia is an alumna of the 2019 batch of the Master’s in Society and Culture programme (Humanities and Social Science) IIT Gandhinagar. She is currently a PhD candidate at the Tezpur University in Assam. Here, she shares her experience at IITGN with us.
Anushka Mukherjee
Our alumna Anushka Mukherjee graduated from IIT Gandhinagar in 2019. She currently works as a brand strategist with a Mumbai based company. She found the MA programme at IITGN a uniquely challenging pursuit.
Javaid
Javaid, an alumnus of the 2021 batch of the MA in Society and Culture, was exposed to a diverse range of disciplines from social sciences to engineering and sciences at IITGN. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of Geneva, Switzerland.
Prof Arka Chattopadhyay
One of our faculty members, Dr Arka Chattopadhyay, talks about the MA programme at IIT Gandhinagar. The MA programme has been successfully running since 2014.
Neha Kumar
Neha, an alumna of the 2021 batch, describes how the MA in Society and Culture programme is an interesting one due to a multidisciplinary curriculum where theoretical studies are combined with field trips. She is currently working as a Researcher Assistant in the Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur.
Admission
Admission to MA in Society and Culture is offered based on entrance test and interview. 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 who are awaiting final semester/year results and those who would be completing a Bachelor’s degree in the current are also eligible to apply. Eligibility requirements for SC/ST/OBC candidates will be in accordance with 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 NEED NOT send the hard copy of the application form. However, you need to furnish a hard copy of the application form with a photograph and all the documentary evidence in original (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 query about the program, please email us at: inquiry.masc@iitgn.ac.in