Course Info Booklet 2021

COURSE
INFORMATION
BOOKLET
2021
A complete guide to
the courses at IIT-B
INDIAN INSTITUTE OF
TECHNOLOGY, BOMBAY
Contents
1. REGISTRATION 7
1.1. COURSE ADJUSTMENT 7
1.2. DROPPING OF COURSES 7
1.3. SEMESTER WISE REGISTRATION 7
2. CATEGORY OF COURSES 9
2.1. CORE COURSES 9
2.2. MINOR COURSES 9
2.3. HONOR COURSES 10
2.4. ELECTIVES 11
2.5. ADDITIONAL LEARNING COURSES 14
2.6. AUDIT COURSES 14
2.7. SIT THROUGH 15
2.8. SUPERVISED LEARNING PROJECT (SLP) 15
2.9. IR LANGUAGE COURSES 16
3. WHY SHOULD ONE TAKE UP A MINOR 18
4. WHY SHOULD ONE TAKE UP HONORS 21
5. TAGGING RULES 22
6. PREVIOUS YEAR MINOR CUTOFFS 24

6.1. 2020-21 AUTUMN SEMESTER CUTOFFS 24
6.2. 2020-21 SPRING SEMESTER CUTOFFS 25
7. HSS ELECTIVE REVIEWS 27

7.1. ARYAN KHANNA- PSYCHOLOGY (HS 303) 27
7.2. AKSHATA JAIN - SOCIOLOGY (HS 307) 29
7.3. SHREEYA ATHALEY- SOCIOLOGY (HS 307) 30
7.4. PRIYANKA BAGADE- READING LITERATURE (HS 305) 31
7.5. SHREYAM MISHRA- PHILOSOPHY (HS 301) 33
8. MINOR REVIEWS 36
8.1. JYOTIRMOY ROY- BSBE 36
8.2. KUNIND SAHU - C-MInDS 38
8.3. ANDREWS VARGHESE- CSE 41
8.4. HRITHIK AGARWAL - ELECTRICAL 43
8.5. CHINMAY BHARTI - ENTREPRENEURSHIP 45
8.6. JIGAR MAKWANA - IDC 46
8.7. RAHUL SHANBHAG- IEOR 48
8.8. ARPIT SINGH - MANAGEMENT 50
8.9. ADWAY GIRISH - MATHEMATICS 52
8.10. IMMANUEL WILLIAMS - MECHANICAL 55
8.11. BHAVYA JAIN- STATISTICS 57
8.12. BHAVINI JELOKA - SYSTEMS AND CONTROLS 58
9. NPTEL/SWAYAM COURSE REVIEWS 61

9.1. AMAN RAI - NPTEL 63
9.2. SIDDHARTH SAHA - NPTEL 65
10. UNCONVENTIONAL COURSES 67

10.1. MRIGI MUNJAL - ENT 208 TECHNICAL VENTURE CREATION 67
10.2. KRISHI MANTRI - BB 626 MODELING BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES 68
10.3. SUBHAM DANI - HS 706 INDIAN CLASSICAL THOUGHTS AND MODERN TIMES 69
10.4. MUSKAN JAIN - HS 701 CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY 70
10.5. ARYAN DANGAYACH - SLP - INDUSTRY DEFINED PROBLEM 71
10.6. ANISH SHIVAMANI - CH864 BIOPOLYMERS 72
11. COURSE LADDER 75

11.1. MRIDUL AGARWAL- ANALYTICS 75
11.2. JYOTIRMOY ROY - BIOLOGY 77
11.3. ADARSH KUMAR- CONSULTING 80
11.4. ADITYA GUPTA- FINANCE 82
11.5. YASH GADHIA - MACHINE LEARNING/ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE 84
12. EQUIVALENT COURSES FOR CLEARING BACKLOG 87
13. FAQs 88
14. SOME USEFUL NOTES 90
15. SOME USEFUL LINKS 91
16. REACHING THE ACADEMIC COUNCIL 92
17. CONTACT INFORMATION 95

DISCLAIMER
The information written in the booklet is only a guideline to the students

to help them with their choices in the courses they make and also in the
various important features of the Institute academic system.
It may happen that the actual details of courses or rules mentioned in the
booklet may face an amendment during the course of time. Please
confirm the rules/details from relevant authorities before making any
decisions.
The Undergraduate Academic Council members can be contacted for this

purpose (details shared on the last page of the booklet). You may also
refer to the Undergraduate Rule book.
PREFACE
Dear Students,
As a vertical of UGAC, it is our duty to bring you the right kind of
resources and provide you with an intricately researched array of both old
and new curricula that prevail in the institute. Course Information Booklet,
a product of the same ideology, shall open doors in the field of academics
for you and help you make a choice beyond your core curriculum.
This booklet includes information about various courses, like minors,
electives, etc, that you can choose from, after the first year. We believe
that since learning is a vital part of our lives as students, it is imperative
that you opt for courses that will make the whole process of learning
more affable. This booklet, therefore, strives to give you the exposure that
you need before deciding on one particular course.
It also includes reviews from seniors, who have been in your shoes once
and fared out well eventually. Personal experiences and individual
ideologies behind taking a specific course also form a pivotal part of the
booklet.
In today’s world of cutting-edge competition, where no one expertise is
enough, we believe that this booklet is a complete guide to unearthing
the interdisciplinary field and following a passion you couldn’t otherwise.
We are open to suggestions and ideas from your side to improve this
booklet.
Hope you have a nice time reading it!
Divyashree Tambade
Institute Secretary of Academic Affairs
Head – Student Support Services (2021-2022)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank Adway Girish, Andrews Varghese, Arpit Singh,
Bhavini Jeloka, Bhavya Jain, Chinmay Bharti, Hrithik Agarwal, Immanuel
Williams, Jigar Makwana, Jyotirmoy Roy, Kunind Sahu, and Rahul
Shanbhag for writing the minor reviews. We would like to thank Aaryan
Khanna, Akshata Jain, Priyanka Bagade, Shreeya Athaley, and Shreyam
Mishra for giving their reviews on the HSS Electives. We are grateful to
Adarsh Kumar, Aditya Gupta, Jyotirmoy Roy, Mridul Agarwal and Yash
Gadhia for their contributions to the “Course Ladder”. We thank Aman Rai
and Siddharth Saha for contributing to NPTEL course reviews.
Furthermore, we thank Anish Shivamani, Aryan Dangayach, Krishi Mantri,
Mrigi Munjal, Muskan Jain and Shubham Dani for their contribution in
Unconventional course reviews and also the EnPoWER, UGAC team for
helping us in collecting them.
In addition to this, we would also like to thank the UGAC Design team for
bringing up this booklet in this amazing form. We would like to express our
gratitude to all the department officials for their suggestions, efforts, and
assistance. We also apologize to those in case we forgot to mention their
name.
Lastly, we are indebted to all the readers of this booklet for their constant
support and motivation, where any suggestions for further improvement
of this booklet are welcome!
CONTRIBUTORS
UG ACADEMIC COUNCIL 2021-22
Divyashree Tambade (ISAA, Student Support Services)
SSS Coordinators:
Siddhant Batra Kartik Gokhale
Prapti Sao Samarth Vashisht

1. REGISTRATION
IIT Bombay follows a specialized credit-based semester system, therefore
registration at the beginning of each semester (lookout for dates in the
Academic Calendar) is mandatory for you till you complete your program.
Without registration, any academic activity (course/seminar/project, etc.)
that you undergo will not be counted towards the requirements of your
degree.
1.1. COURSE ADJUSTMENT

A student has the freedom of deletion/addition of one or more courses
(after discussing and taking permission from the Fac-Ad) provided the
total credits do not exceed the overload rule(discussed in Section 3) or
fall below 18 credits by such adjustments. The last date for doing so is
about 1 week after the commencement of the semester.
1.2. DROPPING OF COURSES

If a student finds their academic load too heavy, even after the date for
course adjustment has passed, they may drop some courses out of the
registered ones provided the minimum credit limit (18 credits) hold, after
taking permission from the Fac-Ad. The last date for doing so is generally
20-30 days after the end of the mid-semester examination and is set in
the academic calendar. Such dropping of courses results in a W grade in
the transcript for that particular course.
1.3. SEMESTER WISE REGISTRATION

You can register for the courses you intend to take during a given
semester on the basis of the program for your discipline as given in your
curriculum and as per the advice given by your Faculty Advisor. The
Faculty Adviser is expected to discuss the student’s academic
performance during the previous semester with them and then decide the
number and nature of the courses for which they can register during the
semester within the framework of the guidelines as approved by the
Institute. You can check a particular semester’s curriculum on ASC in
Academic --> All about courses --> Curriculum section.
From the third semester onwards, registration is dependent on the
academic standing of the student.
The online registration process involves filling up an Online Course
Registration Form (CRF) stating the courses and project/seminar etc, that
the student proposes to complete during that semester as per the
prescribed curriculum. All students having outstanding dues to the
institute or a hostel shall not be permitted to register online.
You can find a detailed guide on ASC and the registeration process in the
ASC Video Series.
2. CATEGORY OF COURSES
2.1. CORE COURSES

Core courses are those courses which you have to do compulsorily for
obtaining your degree. These courses count towards your final degree in
all respects and count in your CPI (Cumulative Performance Index). These
courses are NOT optional and have to be completed within the stipulated
duration of your coursework (4 or 5 years). They give you a lot of
exposure to your own departmental subjects and research; They also
have an elective component, details regarding which are explained in the
section on electives.
2.2. MINOR COURSES

A Minor is an additional credential a student will earn if they do minimum
30 credits worth of additional learning in a discipline other than their
major discipline. Many academic units in the Institute offer minors in their
disciplines and prescribe a specific set of courses and/ or other activities
like projects for earning a minor in that discipline. Note that courses
equivalent in content to any of these specified courses from the same
department can be taken as a minor course with the approval of the
concerned HOD. After the completion of credits under the stipulated time
period, a minor degree is awarded to the student. It is mentioned in the
Degree Certificate "Bachelor of Technology in xxx with Minor in yyy.” The
fact will also be reflected in the transcript, along with the list of courses
taken.
Minor courses are allocated to students only through a pre-registration
process before the start of every semester and the allocation for every
minor course is done on the basis of the CPI of the student as the seats
are limited in every minor course. You can opt for as many courses of your
choice during the process of pre-registration (in particular preference
order). You will be allotted the minor course based on your CPI and
preference order after the pre-registration window closes. The waitlist
that is maintained for the minor courses (for students who have missed
out on the course of their choice) is also sorted on the basis of the CPI of
the students, such that if any student who has got the minor course
drops it during the process of registration, the next student in the
waitlist will get the minor course.
Note - The only way to get a minor is through the pre-registration window.
It would not be possible to register for a minor on the main registration
window.
Please refer to the UG Rulebook to check the eligibility criteria to register

for minor courses.
The pre-registration process for minors is explained in this video.
2.3. HONOR COURSES

Honor is an additional credential a student will earn if they opt for the
extra 24 credits (in some cases, 30) needed for this in their own discipline.
The concerned department specifies the course requirements for earning
the honors. An honor is like a specialization in your own discipline.
Honor courses are either advanced-level courses in your discipline or are

courses designed to give you more exposure to different areas of your
discipline.
This will be mentioned in the Degree Certificate as “Bachelor of
Technology in xxx, with honors” on the successful accumulation of
credits at the end of the program. The fact will also be reflected in the
transcript, along with the list of courses, etc., taken.
Dual Degree students have to do the honors courses by default. They are
considered as their core courses. honor courses do not count in your CPI
other than for dual degree students.
Please refer to the UG Rulebook to check the eligibility criteria to register

for honor courses.
2.4. ELECTIVES
Every program (B.Tech/Dual degree/BS) in IIT Bombay will have its own
curriculum defined, which will define your core courses and the total
credit requirement for the award degree. According to your curriculum,
your course completion may require doing courses of your own choice,
wish and interest from:
● Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences -

All undergraduates are required to do a Humanities elective from the
HSS department in a particular semester, depending on the
department, and have to choose this elective from the following set:
HS 301 Philosophy
HS 303 Psychology
HS 307 Sociology
HS 305 Reading Literature
*Based on the elective courses run in 2020-2021.
● Your own department- Department Elective

As per your curriculum, you may be required to choose a few
courses (Number varying across programs) of higher-level (Say 4xx
or 5xx) from your department across a pool of courses put forward
by your department.
In some cases (varying across departments), you might be allowed

to take up courses from other departments and tag them as a
department elective.
It is best to check up with your departments regarding the same.
● A department other than yours- Institute Elective

As per your curriculum, you may be required to choose a few
courses (number varying across programs) from a foreign
department. Generally, you are free to choose any course out of
your department as Institute electives.
Departmental-based restrictions may be there for a few courses.
1xx courses are generally not allowed to be taken as institute

electives (except for some departments).
For IDC and SJMSOM courses, you can ask the Department General
Secretary/ Department Undergraduate Committee of your
department if they will allow a particular IDC / SJMSOM course to be
tagged as an institute elective.
All these electives are a part of the core curriculum and will count in your
CPI.
HSS ELECTIVES (I)
Some of the HSS courses are available to be taken as a Institute Elective

via the pre-registration process. They are allotted on the basis of CPI. The
cut-offs of the courses for the Academic Year 2020-21 are as follows:
Course Code Course Name Last CPI

HS402 Game Theory and Economic Analysis 8.15
Social Movement and Social Change:
HS412 Contemporary Reflections 4.7
HS414 Justice, Ethics and Community 4.95
HS418 Human Cognitive Processes 6.67
HS426 Theory and Policy of Managerial Finance 8.14
HS436 Indian Culture and Tradition 6.07
HS466 Introduction to Linguistics 4.52
HS467 Indian Philosophy 4.8
NOTE:
● The curriculum structure, including placing these above-mentioned

electives, can be obtained from the department website.
● HSS Course Codes are changed every year; thus, search the course
by its name, not by its code.
2.5. ADDITIONAL LEARNING COURSES
Based on the academic standing of a student, there is an upper cap on
the number of credits they can take.
You can find details about academic standing in the UG Rulebook here.
Exceeding any of the above is NOT admissible under any circumstances.
Thus apart from core courses, a student can take some extra courses.
Additional learning courses can be credited or audited. These ALC courses
don’t constitute the core CPI/SPI of a student. The tag of such a course
can be changed during the retagging period which is explained later.
2.6. AUDIT COURSES

Audit courses refer to the courses for which there are no credits, and you
want to do the course simply for knowledge without having to think
about the grade.
● Registrations are done along with main registrations, with prior
permission from the instructor.
● It is restricted to a maximum of two courses in the entire period of the
program.
● Only students in categories I and II are permitted to ‘Audit’ a course
during regular semesters and summer terms.
● The course will be mentioned in the transcript as ‘Audit.’
● The instructor will award the ‘AU’ grade if the attendance is satisfactory
and additional requirements as set out by the instructor are met. If the
attendance and performance are not satisfactory, the instructor will NOT
award any grade, and the student would be deregistered from the
course.
● The “AU” grade doesn’t carry any grade point and is not included in the
SPI/CPI calculations.
2.7. SIT THROUGH

If you are really interested in a particular course but are unable to register
for the same due to some constraints (generally happens with popular
minor courses). But you are still willing to sit in that course just for
knowledge, without any privilege for credits or mention in the transcript,
then you can ask for the faculty in charge’s permission to sit through that
course. There are no registrations for Sit-Through.
2.8. SUPERVISED LEARNING PROJECT (SLP)

Supervised Learning Project (SLP), also known as RnD in some
departments, is a project-based course - generally for 6 credits, where a
student can work for one entire semester on a project under a professor.
It is not always necessary to do a project under a professor in your
department. The professor you chose can be from a different
department, but it is subject to rules/ conditions laid down by your
department. You can find extensive reviews for the same in the Course
Info Booklet of year 2020-21, here.
2.9. IR LANGUAGE COURSES
IR language courses are the courses that are offered by the institute for
the benefit of students as well as staff of IIT Bombay. These courses are
offered in many languages like Japanese, French, Italian, German etc.
You can contact the Institute Secretary International Relations (ISIR - UG)
for getting more details about the IR language courses.
To summarise the above:
TYPE MEANING CPI
Don’t count
30 credits worth of additional learning in a
Minors towards your
discipline other than your own major.
CPI
Total 24 credits (for B. Tech) worth of Don’t count

Honors
additional learning in your own discipline for towards your
Electives
an Honors degree. CPI
Extra courses taken in any department Count

Institute
other than your own given you fulfil the towards your
Electives
prerequisites. CPI
Count
HS3xx courses, Humanities and Social
HSS Electives towards your
Sciences department.
CPI
Count
Department
Additional courses in your own department. towards your
Electives
CPI
Additional Any extra course, in any department, by Don’t count

Learning your choice, taken up for extra learning. towards your
Courses CPI
(ALCs)
Wanting just an exposure to a course -

Don’t count
without obtaining a good grade - maximum
Audit Courses towards your
of 2 audit courses in the entire period of
CPI
study.
Don’t count
Sitting through a course only for exposure
Sit through towards your
without registering for it
CPI
NOTE: All courses which count towards major CPI are compulsory to
complete the minimum requirement for a degree.
3. WHY SHOULD ONE TAKE UP A MINOR
Minor courses allow you to officially explore a department other than
yours while at the same time getting credit for it. It adds value to your
major degree and can be a gateway to get opportunities in the field you
have completed your minor in. Your minor degree can give you sufficient
knowledge to enable you to take part in interdisciplinary research and
even pursue your higher studies in such fields. Though a minor degree can
be pursued simply out of genuine and deep interest in a particular
department without any specific end goal in view, for the general
majority, you should select it in such a way that it either suits your major
degree in a research-oriented interdisciplinary manner or in a generic way
to any engineer or scientist.
Before you select a minor, try to find what you are truly interested in. It is
surely not easy for everyone to be crystal clear about this, but even a
vague idea will help you enjoy the minor courses and truly enrich the
experience. You can always sample courses from various departments to
find this interest, but you lose the benefit of a minor degree in doing so.
You can select any minor course from any department, but to draw the
complete benefit out of it, you should look for overlap between them and
your discipline so that it supplements your learning. You should also look
at how all the minor courses fit in with each other for a more holistic
approach; some departments draw up a suggested schedule of when
each minor course must be taken to reap the full benefits out of the
curriculum. Minor courses don’t count in your CPI, so you should select a
minor based on your interest.
Listed below is a suggested set of minor programs which may suit each
branch. This matching is done by looking at how much overlap each
discipline has with respect to other fields so that the minor programs can
support the interdisciplinary learning of each student, depending on their
career plans. Use it only as a guide and not a binding set of rules; don’t let
it dissuade you from pursuing what interests you:
NOTE: This table is just to give you an idea about interdisciplinary

research, some minors from the table may have been discontinued
Minor Programme Suitable Branches
Chemistry, Engineering Physics, Chemical,

Biosciences and
Electrical, Metallurgical Engineering and
Bioengineering
Material Sciences, Energy
Engineering Physics, MEMS, Electrical, Chemical,

Chemistry
Energy
Chemical Engineering Chemistry, Mechanical, Electrical, Energy
Centre of Studies in
Electrical, Computer Science, Engineering
Resources Engineering
Physics
(CSRE)
Centre for Machine

Intelligence and Data Suits all!
Science (C-MInDS)
Computer Science and

Suits all!
Engineering
Engineering Physics, Chemistry, Chemical,
Electrical Engineering
Mechanical, MEMS, Energy, Aerospace, CSE
Energy Mechanical, Chemical, Aerospace
Entrepreneurship Suits all!
Environmental Sciences
Chemistry, Chemical, Civil
and Engineering
Industrial Design Centre Suits all!
IEOR Suits all!
Koita Centre for Digital

Suits all!
Health (KCDH)
4. WHY SHOULD ONE TAKE UP HONORS
Honor courses are either advanced-level courses in your department or
are courses designed to give you more exposure to different areas in your
department. They help you get deeper knowledge in your department to
prepare you for higher studies or to take a job in a particular specialized
area so that you can compete with, say, an M.Tech who has specialized in
the same area. You are likely to develop strong subject skills by
completing an honor successfully and sincerely. Undergraduate classes
introduce you to a wide breadth of topics and challenges, and an Honors
project enables you to explore one in much greater depth. Honors
research topics are varied and negotiable – if you are really interested in a
topic and want to learn more about it, you’ll be encouraged and
supported.
From a potential employer’s perspective, whatever your department, it

appears laudable to have demonstrated the ability to achieve a complex
and demanding goal and have in-depth knowledge in your department.
Honor courses also help you if you want to pursue further studies or
research in the future. Honors provide you with a deeper understanding
and chance to explore sub-domains and make an informed choice about
the topic of future exploration. Also, since you have more dedicated
knowledge in your specialization, there are higher chances that your
profile will get noticed by universities for their MS/Ph.D. programs.
To complete the honor, 24 credits must be completed by tagging courses

in your department as honor electives. They don’t count in your CPI; a
separate honors CPI is maintained. This means that taking some honor
courses but not being able to complete the entire 24 credits does not
harm you in any way; it, in any case, enables you to delve further into your
department.
5. TAGGING RULES
Every course you do in the institute falls under one of the categories of
courses as described in section 1. Tags are given to courses to classify
them. The tags of electives can be changed as per the rules that follow.
This facility allows students to do additional courses and finally make
select courses count towards 'Core CPI' (the CPI of prescribed curriculum
credits)
Rules:
● Re-tagging will be available to students ONLY TWICE in their entire

program duration, the first time before placements (Second Last
Semester Starting) and second time post curriculum completion
(Last Semester).
● The courses that have been re-tagged during the opportunity given
during the previous window will be debarred from the re-tagging
process.
NOTE: From the year 2017 onwards, the tagging window for DD (Category I)
Students will also be the same as the re-tagging window of their B.Tech
counterparts (those who are graduating). For them (Category I DD
students), the second window for re-tagging will be made available at the
time of graduation. This has been done to ensure a fair process of
selection for the institute medals.
For the rest of the categories’ DD students, the first tagging window will
be opened in the Autumn Semester before placements and the second
one at the time of their graduation.
Tags of courses:
1) Core Course- C
2) Department Elective - D
3) Institute Elective - I
4) Minor Course- M
5) Additional Learning Courses - T
6) Honors course - O
An approved change of tag will result in fresh calculation of SPI/ CPI from
the semester. The tag change has been made effective due to the fact
that additional learning course(s) do NOT constitute the core SPI/ CPI of a
student.
Following is a table specifying the current rules about the changing of

tags from one to another and the restrictions put on the same:
TAG CODE TAG DESCRIPTION CHANGEABLE INTO

T Additional Learning D,I,O
C Core Course Not changeable
D Department Elective O,T
O Honours Course D,T
E Honors Elective D,O,T
H Humanities Elective T
I Institute Elective T
M Minor Course I,T
NOTE: For any special requests i.e. a change, which cannot be

implemented on the tagging interface, the student has to get approval
from the HOD of the concerned department (other department in case of
minors).
6. PREVIOUS YEAR MINOR CUTOFFS
NOTE: These cutoffs have been calculated with the resources available to
us. We duly apologize in case of any discrepancy
6.1. 2020-21 AUTUMN SEMESTER CUTOFFS
Course code Min. CPI Course code Min. CPI

AE153 7.49 HS408 4.99
BB415 8.68 IE501 9.34
BB503 7.03 IE503 8.55
BB507 7.53 IE609 8.24
BB603 7.92 IE621 8.17
CS218 8.87 MA403 8.22
CS224 8.84 MA419 5.75
CS228 8.75 ME201 5.66
DE331 7.46 ME209 6.63
DE403 7.25 ME219 5.98
DE405 6.15 MG401 8.62
DE414 8.54 MG403 8.69
DS203 8.88 PH251 6.04
EE204 6.69 PH253 5.81
EE207 7.04 SC301 6.21
EE321 5.78 SC601 6.95
EN301 5.15 SC617 6.22
ENT201 8.24 SC625 6
ENT204 8.07 SC629 7.98
ENT207 7.47 SC631 8.53
ENT209 6.77 SC639 8.26
ES401 6 SC641 6.43
GNR401 7.48 SI402 6.65
6.2. 2020-21 SPRING SEMESTER CUTOFFS
Note: The cutoffs for the Spring Semester 2020-21 are NOT exact but
close to the actual cutoffs. This discrepancy is due to the late grade
updation due to the online nature of the previous semester
Course code Min. CPI Course code Min. CPI
AE 240 5.37 IE 613 6.8
AE 305 5.29 IE 616 5.68
AE 332 6.3 IE 622 6.57
BB 404 5.58 IE 630 6.99
BB 610 5.36 IE 683 6.57
CS 213 8.81 IE 716 8.43
CS 347 8.4 MA 406 8.49
CS 416 4.64 MA 5106 6.78
CS 419 8.78 ME 209 6.33

DE 403 4 ME 316 7.23
DE 405 3.83 MG 402 6.5
DS 303 7.33 MG 405 7.21
EE 221 5.61 MG 406 7.89
EE 325 6.27 MM 417 8.07
ENT 205 5.04 PH 252 6.28
ENT 206 5.36 PH 352 6.2
ENT 208 5.24 PH 353 6.72
ENT 210 5.63 SC 202 7.36
ES 204 3.9 SC 602 7.11
ES 306 6.71 SC 607 6.22
ES 644 7.29 SC 630 8.15
GNR 402 4.53 SC 635 6.78
GNR 410 6.07 SC 638 8.72
HS 208 6.06 SC 647 5.12
HS 457 6 SC 702 7.26
SI 404 8.9
SI 527 7.78
7. HSS ELECTIVE REVIEWS
7.1. ARYAN KHANNA- PSYCHOLOGY (HS 303)
What was your motivation behind taking this course?
I took this course because it was a good break and a new type of course
material separate from the "technical" core courses in their curriculum.
Also, the idea of knowing the reasons behind different behaviors and
learning different theories about what they mean felt exciting and turned
out to be refreshing to study even during the exams.
Who was the instructor?

I took HS303: Introduction to Psychology in Autumn 2020 under Prof.
Pooja Purang. The course didn't have any rigid attendance policy in the
online semester.
What was taught in this course?

To briefly summarize the contents of this course, they were as follows:
Introduction to Psychology: Goals and Different Perspectives, Major
Debates in Psychology, Research Methods in Psychology, Learning and
its Different Types, Memory and related Problems, Motivation Processes,
Personality Structure, and Theories. The course was very well structured.
Each of the topics mentioned above was segmented into different
modules, making it easier to go through. There was an extra reading book
suggested but from a complete exam point of view, the slides and
lectures were more than enough to answer almost everything in the
exams. The course was taught in a very engaging manner even in an online
semester there was a good amount of interaction during lectures and the
course content isn't too difficult as it is an introductory course you can
learn a lot of new terminologies in this field, know about how actual
experiments are done scientifically and their different observations
making it an exciting topic for discussion.
How were the evaluation components of this course?
The exams in the previous years were just MCQs but during our semester
the instructor had a mixed set of MCQs and Short Answer Questions. This
is a plus point of this course as you wouldn't need to write any long
answers in the exams. We also had a short assignment to be done which
was related to applying some concepts to bring a change in your behavior
which was fun to do. But apart from the assignment, the other course
evaluation relied majorly on fact-based knowledge and your retention
ability and recalling those things during the exams. The grading of the
overall course was good; it is a high scoring course marks wise so getting
an AA might not be that easy (it isn't difficult if you're regular) but overall
you have a good chance of getting a good grade as compared to other
6-credit courses that you do in your department. Attending lectures
regularly and just reading the slides (which don't have a lot of material) is
enough to ace the exams and is easier, but that being said, as the course
material isn't that heavy and relies on your ability to apply it to different
examples people can get through the exams by even studying just a day
before the actual exam.
To whom would you suggest this course?
I think this is the perfect course for someone looking to take a break from
their regular math-involved courses and is interested in understanding
the reason behind different behaviors. The course is also an opportunity
to get a good enough grade with relatively lesser effort and don't want to
do long answer questions or huge articles. This is the perfect course for
you.
7.2. AKSHATA JAIN - SOCIOLOGY (HS 307)
What is your motivation behind taking this course?

Been interested in interpreting society and societal relations for a while,
and it seemed the most interesting out of the options.

Prof. Suryakant Waghmore.
What was taught in this course?
We did this by studying different thinkers and sociologists, so started

with some of the older ones - C Wright Mills, Marx, Weber, Durkheim (where
we did class, conflict, and structure of society) - followed by more
contemporary concepts like feminism, symbolic interactionism and
conflict theory and then concluded with postmodernism, globalization
and a more close examination of Indian sociology where we covered caste
and post-colonialism. Before the old thinkers, we also covered the
paradigms in sociology and science through thinkers like Kuhn,
Feyerabend, and Durkheim. Contemporary concepts also included civil
society and nationalism.
How were the evaluative components of this course?

The evaluation was through two written assignments, one midterm essay,
and one endsem essay.
Anyone curious about how people interact as big groups within society
and is eager to think through these concepts with a more academic
perspective. You’d be able to look at things that happened through
various theories (both in the past and currently) and obtain insight into
how the masses shape individual thought and how individuals contribute
to the mass perspective.
7.3. SHREEYA ATHALEY- SOCIOLOGY (HS 307)

What is your motivation behind taking the course?
HS307 is an introductory course that provides you with an insight into the
history and development in the field of sociology. It is a beginner's
course, and no prior knowledge of the subject is required.
Personally, I did not have a strong inclination towards any of the four HSS
electives. I had come across some of the topics covered in the course in
history/civics in school and thought it would be good to study them in
more detail.
Who was the Instructor?

The course instructor was Prof. Ahonaa Roy.
What was taught in the course?

The course began with the birth of sociology as a discipline from the
French and Industrial Revolution. This was followed by details about the
founding fathers of sociology (Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Emile
Durkheim). Post midsem, we covered the views and ideas of Karl Marx and
Max Weber.
The Prof referred to the following books:
1. Sociological Theory- Bert N Adams and R A Sydie.
2. Anthony Giddens- Sociology
What were the evaluation components of the course?

The course had a midsem and an endsem assignment, weighing 50% each.
Both the assignments were based on essay writing(1000-1500 words) on
given topics. We were expected to read through articles about problems
in today’s society and relate them to the views of the sociologists
covered in the course.

This course is for those who enjoy discussing, debating, and analyzing
different aspects of human society( Human rights, religion, politics, etc.).
It helps break the monotony of our usual ‘core course’ load. Apart from
the fact that the assignments require extensive reading(might seem like a
load during the sem for some), the course is easy and does not require
much work/attention outside lecture hours.
7.4. PRIYANKA BAGADE- READING LITERATURE (HS 305)

I can say that my motivation purely stems from my love of books. I used to
be an avid reader, but after joining IIT, my attention span had drastically
reduced (more or less the same story for everyone xD). I could not read
two pages continuously before checking my phone or scrolling social
media pages, and that's why reading literature seemed like a go-to option
for me. Between psychology, sociology, and philosophy, it was not a
tough choice for me. I did not have a particular inclination for either of the
three, and the so-called “easy grading” in sociology did not appeal to me
a lot either (check the sociology review once - during our time, it was
believed on the basis of past experience that sociology would be easier
to score). On the other hand, reading literature would help me get back to
my old habit, let me do something I liked to do without worrying too much
about grades for once. So even if it seemed like a precarious choice
(going against the norm from a grading perspective), I ultimately decided
to go for it, and I can say with certainty that I am glad that I made that
decision.
What was the course structure like?
The course was divided into 3 parts taken by 3 different professors -

1. Professor Sharmila - She is a very jolly person and is genuinely
interested in teaching. Her segment covered interesting short
stories like Sherlock Holmes and the Red Headed League, extracts
from Sontag, Dino Buzatti’s “The Epidemic” and extracts from Baby
Kamble’s autobiography. We did not have any mid-semester or end
semester exams in the course, so the grading was based entirely on
assignments. Her segment covered around 5 short essay based
assignments and the grading done for these assignments was
moderate and genuine (she often left comments for us suggesting
what we could have improved in our essays and what she liked). The
lectures sometimes became monotonous and involved lesser
interaction than other segments
2. Professor Sharmishtha Saha - This was the first segment for us in

the course and covered more theoretical aspects of literature like
comedy - tragedy and its roots in ancient culture. We also used to
have a reading of the play we were studying (Ubu Roi) during lecture
hours. She kept the environment lively and tried to involve as much
interaction as possible. There were 3 assignments (slightly longer
than the previous segment mentioned) and a group assignment
where the groups had to explore any comedy of their choice and
submit the joint presentation as a recording/ standup/ doodle video/
play etc. Caution - the grading in this segment was not very
generous and the parameters for grading were not very clear too
3. Professor Suddhaseel Sen - This was the most interactive part of

the course (class participation apparently carried marks) where
often things were taught in a discussion manner. We covered stories
by Premchand and its adaptation into films by Ray. We also covered
Ibsen’s play “An Enemy of the People” as a part of this segment.
There were overall 2 assignments each carrying around 15 marks
revolving around these two pieces. The grading was overall
moderate and reasonable
Overall the split between the 3 segments was 33, 33 and 34 marks each.
This course was like a breath of fresh air for me. I did not have to rote learn
anything, the style of teaching and learning was different from what we
usually encounter in courses and was very discussion based with both
professors and students (who attended) adding value to what was being
taught. Essay writing is a frequent exercise in the course and you should
be prepared for it in case you wish to take it.
Caution - This is my personal experience of the elective. Before making a

decision, it is advisable you talk to 3-4 people who took up this elective.
Feel free to contact me in case of any doubts!
7.5. SHREYAM MISHRA- PHILOSOPHY (HS 301)

The course content [covered in detail later] was very diverse and promised
a thorough inspection of how modern philosophy evolved. The course
allows one to improve their critical thinking as one rationalizes or refutes
philosophies through logical arguments. It gives us an outlook on how the
ancients made scientific deductions by critical thinking alone, despite
limited means.

Prof. Ranjan K Panda
What was taught in this course/ Course Content?
The course rigorously followed the two textbooks:
1. A History of Philosophy by Frank Thilly
2. Indian Philosophy: A Critical Survey by Chandradhar Sharma
The topics covered included:
(a) Branches of philosophy: Metaphysics, Epistemology, Logic, and Ethics
(b) Socrates and the Socratic Schools of Thought
(c) Plato and Aristotle: Reality as Idea, Matter and Form
(d) Rationalism (Descartes, Leibniz) and Empiricism (Hume, Bacon, Locke)
(e) Indian Philosophy (Vedas, Upanisads)
(f) Buddhism: Teaching of Buddha and Metaphysics of Hinayana, Nirvana
(g) Sankhya-Yoga
How were the evaluation components of this course?

1. Assignments (5%x2): There were essays written on one's opinion on a
particular philosophy in about 500 words. Ample time was allotted to
complete these.
2. Quiz (10%): Completely objective. Reading Thilly's book would give a
significant edge since many questions were straight from the text.
3. Midsem (30%): Completely objective. Again, Reading Thilly is more than
sufficient, and questions were straight from the text.
4. Endsem (50%): Objective + Subjective: This covered majorly Indian
Philosophy, for which the professor’s slides were useful. Subjective
questions were similar to assignments and required the students to have
covered the content thoroughly to draft their arguments.
Overall difficulty: 2/5
Grading statistics: Fairly good with very low FRs and decent number of
AAs.
To whom would you suggest the course?

Classes allowed for many interesting discussions, which started based on
content related to the course and quickly diversified to other topics
related to life. The professor actively encouraged participation and
questions. Thus, if you’re a person who is open to new ideas and wishes
to discuss your views, this course would be ideal for you.
8. MINOR REVIEWS
8.1. JYOTIRMOY ROY- BSBE
My Motivation:
There are diverse applications of branches like Chemical Engineering,

Chemistry, and Material science engineering in the fields of biosciences (
For Eg: Biomaterials, Drug Delivery, Computational Biology)
There are various courses offered in the BSBE Minor ranging from
molecular biology to biomedical devices, which can be great options to
explore for anyone planning to do higher studies in biosciences.
Various evolving fields of biosciences like computational biology employ

people from varied backgrounds. So having a basic knowledge of biology
always helps.
The Courses:
Referring to the BSBE department site for the minors offered in
2019-2020, we have the following :
Autumn Sem:
BB 405 – Molecular Biology (6 Credits)
BB 411 – Introduction to Molecular Cell Biology (6 Credits)
BB 507 – Molecular Enzymology (6 Credits)
BB 503 – Genetic Engineering (6 Credits)
BB 603 – Physiology for Engineers (6 Credits)
BB 605 – Genetics and Evolution of Biological Circuits (6 Credits)
Spring Sem:
BB 400 – Molecular Biophysics (6 Credits)
BB 404 – Metabolism and Bioenergetics (6 Credits)
BB 610 – Biomedical Microsystems (6 Credits)
Out of the above, at the time of writing, I have attended BB 400, BB 404,
and BB 405, and I will mention my personal experiences.
BB 400 - Molecular Biophysics
While taking up the course, you may be expecting some amount of
mathematics and physics-based problem-solving. Still, the existing
system had almost nil math and almost nil ‘mugging up’ involved and
focused on biophysical processes and biological implications. This does
not usually run in Slot 5; it ran in Slot 2 in my year. The lectures would be
sufficient for one's preference.
BB 404 – Metabolism and Bioenergetics

Important information regarding the course is that the grading is
absolute. It is a heavy chemistry course covering multiple reactions,
pathways, and mechanisms that can seem overwhelming for
inexperienced folk. The teaching style and the content made the course
geared towards mugging up being a better option than understanding, as
this course covers a lot of detailed information. It is a Slot 5 course.
BB 405 - Molecular Biology

It is a heavy discussion class. The content covered requires one to refer to
different sources. Each class is very informative, and missing any can be
hard to catch up with without help. The examination is mugging averse
and requires one to understand the ins and outs of the concepts clearly
to do well. It runs in slot 5, and the grading is relatively strict. It covers
in-depth the fundamentals of molecular biology and experimental
techniques.
Prerequisites:
It helps that the Biosciences and Bioengineering (BSBE) minor had a low
(if any) CPI threshold for entry. At the time of registering for my first
minor courses (BB 400 and BB 404), I had a CPI of ~6.5, and I did not get
waitlisted.
Words of Wisdom:
On that note, this minor can get the notion of being ‘easy’ due to it’s
low/NIL CPI threshold, but, due to most of the minor offerings being MSc
core courses, the competition would appear to be harder than usual (esp.
if you are a sophomore) as almost half of the students would be well
familiarized with the syllabus. However, this shouldn’t be a deterrent as
the grading schemes and examinations are largely fair for a student who
has put in the due effort.
8.2. KUNIND SAHU - C-MInDS

My Motivation:
It was during my summer vacations (May 2020), after my first year had
abruptly ended due to COVID when I first delved into Artificial Intelligence.
I had a lot of time to kill and there was a lot of buzz about AI as a field -
which intrigued me quite a lot. So I decided to go ahead and give it a try
and I did the famous Machine Learning Course on Coursera offered by
Andrew Ng. I really liked the course structure and found the field to be
genuinely very interesting - also, that year, the CMInDS minor had been
newly introduced. To be Honest, I was in two minds about pursuing the
minor - since I was not sure if I wanted to go with the CS Minor or the AI
Minor.
I ended up choosing the AI Minor because the first course being offered
(i.e DS203) was completely hands-on and industry relevant and the other
two courses being offered as a part of the CS Minor that semester did not
really interest me.
The Courses:
As for any minor, you need to complete 5 courses to complete the AI
minor. But the best thing about the Minor is you can tune it to your liking.
Of the 5 courses you need to do, 2 are compulsory courses - DS203
(Programming for Data Science) and DS303/ CS419/EE769 (Introduction to
Machine Learning) (Yes! You can take any of these 3 courses for the
Introductory Machine Learning course of your minor). The DS203, DS303
and CS419 courses run in the Minor Slot - Slot 5
Now, 3 courses remain. You can choose any 3 courses from the huge
basket of electives
The entire list of courses which you can take towards the completion of
the AI Minor can be seen here.
Most of the courses in the electives basket do not really have any hard
prerequisites; a soft prerequisite may be an introductory Machine
Learning course but other than that none. For courses that do have a
prerequisite, you would have to satisfy the prerequisites to take them up.
Also it would be advisable if you take it up with the course instructor if he
would allow you to tag the course as M as a part of the AI Minor.
It is up to you to decide the direction in which you want to take your AI

Minor - If you want it to be mathematically rigorous, if you want it to be
about Deep Learning Applications, If you want it to be more about Big
Data Analysis, you want to learn AI applications in engineering sciences
etc. Overall this minor is an amazing way to get to learn what you like. If
you like to live the extreme life, you can actually even complete the minor
in 2 semesters XD.
Also, with proper planning and course load management, you can actually
do a Dual Minor 0 with one of them being the AI minor. Since almost all the
‘M’ tagged courses run in Slot 5 whereas only two of the courses required
for the AI Minor run in Slot 5. The rest are electives, so you can surely fill
your slot 5 with the Minor courses of another department. But keep in
mind that doing a Dual Minor along with your core courses and the AI
Minor Electives would not be an easy task.
Prerequisites:
There aren’t really any particular pre-requisites for the Minor to be honest
- except the ones present for the courses in the electives list and even
those prerequisites are for advanced courses like - CS754 (Advanced
Image Processing) would have CS663 (Digital Image Processing) as a
prerequisite (although for this particular course, the prerequisites may be
waived off on a case to case basis, talk to the professor regarding the
same.)
If you have a course on Data Analysis and Interpretation in your

department, the courses DS203 and your Data Analysis course would sit
well with each other.
Also in my year - there were around 75 seats for the DS203 course (they
wanted to increase it to 100 but were not allowed by ASC; this year its
almost sure that there would be at least a 100 seats). And the CPI Cutoff
during my year for DS203 was 8.78. For DS303, the student intake had
been increased to 175.
More importantly- what matters the most when you are doing your minor
course is your enthusiasm! Don’t do a course for the sake of doing it, this
minor has been created in such a way that you would be able to specialise
in things you like.
Experience due to Online Semester:
I don’t think I missed out on anything due to the online-sem. I mean yes,
DS203 wasn’t able to cover everything present in their course curriculum -
but with everyone, including the professors comfortable with the online
setting - this would not really be an issue.
Although yes, apart from academics, I think what we missed out was
being able to interact with the professors after class, and personally
discussing things with them.
8.3. ANDREWS VARGHESE- CSE

My Motivation:
My primary aim was to explore my passion for CS, to strengthen my
fundamentals in DSA, which I felt would be important no matter what I did
in life.
The Courses:
Courses that ran in the last few semesters:
CS 207: Discrete Structures
CS 213: Data Structures and Algorithms
CS 218: Design and Analysis of Algorithms
CS 224: Computer Networks
CS 228: Logic for CS
CS 347: Operating Systems
CS 416: Computer and Network Security
CS 419: Machine Learning
Each of the courses listed above is 6 credit course. 213 usually runs both
semesters and is a prerequisite for most other courses, so one should
start with DSA at the earliest.
For getting a minor degree in CSE, students must do at least 4 CSE M
courses (specifically minor designated courses like those in the above
list), and the fifth course can be any CSE elective course. A department
elective can be credited as one of the five minor courses. Only 1 R&D
project is allowed for minors. I have personally completed five ‘M’ courses.
1) CS 213: The first half of the course is about different data

structures. The second half of the course deals with algorithms for
sorting, searching, finding the shortest path, etc.
2) CS 224: This course deals mainly with internet architecture and its
five layers: Application, Transport, Network, Link, and Physical layer
3) CS 347: This course consists of concurrent processes and
management, including deadlock situations. It also includes
memory, device, and information management along with, of course,
an overview of operating systems.
4) CS 416: This course begins with various cryptographic systems and
protocols used earlier and now. It also discusses various
vulnerabilities and attacks on TCP, DNS, ARP, etc., and DDoS attacks.
5) CS 419: This course provides a broad overview of ML and includes
different supervised and unsupervised learning topics.
Prerequisites:
CSE minor attracts a lot of interest. So, it observes some of the highest CPI
cutoffs, with the early courses (213/224) closing in 9.XXs. For the later
courses, the cutoffs drop.
Most of the courses are good, but you might not like some because of
your own inclination towards those fields. This usually happens when you
are forced to take that course because you have already completed the
other offered courses or none other are offered, or you end up with
second choices due to CPI cut-offs. All the courses I did had their own set
of coding assignments and projects. In all fairness, the CSE minor as a
whole is not a super chill minor. A decent effort is expected to pull off high
grades.
Words of Wisdom:
The advantage of the CS minor is that in today’s world (ML ML!), it lets you
crack good internships if you happen to understand the corresponding
topic really well. In reality, I have observed that most of the students slack
off and make the bare minimum effort to get the minor tag in their
transcripts (guilty!) If you are genuinely interested in a deeper knowledge,
you would have to make your own effort. The instructors I had were all
really good and are there to help you.
8.4. HRITHIK AGARWAL - ELECTRICAL
My Motivation:
My main reason for choosing an Electrical minor program was my interest

in semiconductor devices and their working. Another very important point
was that my major (materials science) is quite compatible with the
electrical courses. Having a brief background of electrical courses
definitely helped me in my core courses.
The Courses:
The courses have a good mix of both digital and analog systems. At the
end of the minor, a student can expect to have a good understanding of
electrical systems, circuit design, and some signal processing too. A very
interesting part of the electrical minor was the lab work that was involved
in the courses. A couple of courses have lab projects in them, but
unfortunately, they will be left out due to the online semester. One thing
to note is that almost all the courses will require effort from your side. An
electrical minor is not a very easy breeze through if you don’t attend
classes and be regular. At the same time, by being regular and completing
the work on time, things become very easy to handle.
1) EE203 Electronic Devices

2) EE204 Analog Electronics
3) EE210 Signals and Systems
4) EE221 Digital Electronics
5) EE321 Power Electronics
6) EE325 Probability and Random Processes
All the courses are 6 credit courses. There is a list of 6 courses, out of
which 5 need to be completed to obtain a minor degree. The detailed
course descriptions are available online. No specific issues, but as
mentioned earlier, attending lectures is highly recommended.
Pre-requisites:
No prerequisites are needed for an electrical minor. However, from my own
experience, I would recommend starting with the digital electronics
course (if offered) as it is the most basic course and it helps a lot in all the
other courses. The cpi cutoffs are not very high, and many times there are
also a few seats vacant at the end of pre-registration. You can enroll by
contacting the course professor.
No specific issues, but as mentioned earlier, attending lectures is highly

recommended.
8.5. CHINMAY BHARTI - ENTREPRENEURSHIP
My Motivation:
Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, Larry Page are known to be the
best serial entrepreneurs who changed silicon valley forever. But there’s
one thing common in all of them. They all started their first company in
college. I always idolized and considered them as my role model. Taking
ownership, exploring innovative technologies, being extremely ambitious,
and striving to create a larger impact, made me choose entrepreneurship
as a minor.
Having an entrepreneurial spirit means being a creative, independent
problem solver. You see the bigger picture and believe there's no limit to
what you can achieve. Picking an entrepreneurship minor will allow you to
put your most creative foot forward in all of your endeavors.
There are multiple skills that are required in a startup journey, such as
Identifying the correct problem to solve, Building a team with diverse
skillsets, Prototyping the solution, Finding the perfect business model,
Legalities, and Innovative marketing. Entrepreneurship minor equips you
with all these skillsets and makes you a full-fledged founder.
The Courses:
ENT 204 - Developing the proof-of-concept - 6 credits (Autumn)
This course gives you a hands-on experience of creating prototypes. The
first two weeks will give you insights into the psychology of product
building, and after that, you spend all of your time actually designing the
prototype.
ENT 209 - Managing technological innovation - 3 credits (Autumn)
This course focuses on innovative thinking and rapid prototyping. You will
learn the basics of product innovation and how to iterate and prototype a
tech product quickly.
ENT 207 - Business Fundamentals for technopreneurs - 3 credits (Autumn)
This is a theory-based course in which you learn investment theory, basic
accounting terms, and all about the financial management of a company.
ENT 208 - Technology Venture Creation - 6 credits (spring)
It is the capstone course to create a complete business plan, including
team, product, customers, and financial sustainability. This course is
cumbersome, but the curriculum is specially designed to mirror the
process of building a startup from scratch, so it’s the best way to explore
your profound startup ideas.
Words of Wisdom:
The ecosystem for entrepreneurship in IITB is very well established. There
are many funding opportunities that DSSE provides, the most popular
being the IDEAS Program. The minor includes theory and practical courses,
so you develop a comprehensive approach and learn every aspect
necessary to create a venture-backable startup. There are no
prerequisites or CPI requirements. Professors are really helpful. Most of
them have been former founders, some of them have also contributed to
VC firms. Professors share their own learnings and make the courses more
interactive and practical. They are very approachable and always ready to
help you brainstorm and discuss ideas.
8.6. JIGAR MAKWANA - IDC
My Motivation:
From the first year, I was motivated towards designing, IDC minor was the
perfect opportunity for me. Later, I found that this minor improves your
design knowledge and improves your perspective, and enhances the
creativity within you. People generally tend to take these courses for the
sake of grades as these are pretty chill courses, but for me, it was to
improve and work on my creativity. These courses have a major
contribution to attendance and projects as there are no mid-semester
and end-semester examinations. However, there is a project presentation.
The classes, lectures, and projects are very interactive and chill.
The Courses:
There are multiple courses available, around 6-7. I have completed
Elements of Design, Introduction to Design, Studio Project, and
Perspectives on World Cinema. The first three are very insightful and
enhance creativity, the last one I found somewhat dull as it was focused
on the development of world cinema as I was not interested in that field.
There are no such prerequisites, however, in a few assignments, drawing is
required, but grading is not done based on how good your drawing is.
In General, courses run in the minor slots only, and in some cases, the
professor will change slots, but there won’t be any slot clashing in both
cases. It is quite hard to explain the gain as we cant compare it by grades
or exams as these courses are developing the design perspective.
You have to complete five courses to complete the minor as each course
is of 6 credits.
Elements of Design: The professor (Ravi Hazra, as far as I remember) is
extremely chill. In this course, you will learn basic elements of design, i.e.,
pattern, color, shapes, etc.
Introduction to Design: This course was online, but the project was offline.
This course covers all aspects of design and introduces the design
perspective.
Studio Project: This is similar to the project under the professor. Here, you
will learn the practical implementation of design concepts.
Perspectives on World Cinema: This course is focused on the development
of cinema over the years. You have to watch movies and write reviews for
the same.
Prerequisites:
The only prerequisite is enthusiasm to learn. Apart from that, professors
are very helpful and understanding.
8.7. RAHUL SHANBHAG- IEOR

Disclaimer: At the time of writing this review, I have completed IE 501, IE
502, IE 504, and IE 603 courses.
My Motivation:
One can view IEOR as a discipline that is an amalgamation of theory,
modeling, application, problem-solving and decision-making techniques
for increasing the efficiency of systems-level engineering problems. It is a
subfield of applied mathematics. You might want to consider this
fantastic option if you like probability, statistics, mathematical
formulation, + optimization of real-world problems (like supply chain,
scheduling, forecasting, transportation networks, infrastructure, service,
industrial, social systems).
The Courses:
The Industrial Engineering Operations Research Minor requires you to
complete the three compulsory courses - IE 501 (Optimization Models), IE
502 (Probabilistic Models), and either one of IE 503 (Operations Analysis)
or IE 504 (Service and Infrastructure Systems). These introductory level
courses generally run in slot 5/6/10/11/12 and can be taken up in any order
to start things off. Next, you need to complete 2 IE labeled electives (can
include IE 503 or IE 504 and exclude IE505, IE507, IE605, IE614, IE684).
These are advised to be done after the compulsory courses (although not
mandatory) since some of the electives have prerequisites. One can
choose these two electives from a wide array of options suited to one's
interest.
IE 501 is perhaps the best course to kickstart the minor and get a feel for
the department. It gives a flavor of modeling abundant linear convex
optimization problems (including real-world intuitive examples)
mathematically and the underlying solution methods behind it.
IE 502 is about probability-based models and techniques used to
understand the randomness associated with the systems. This is similar
to the data analysis course and touches Markov chains.
IE 504 familiarises the students with service and infrastructure systems,
location and capacity planning, operations analysis in transportation
systems, network models, queuing, power systems, communication
networks, etc. Detailed contents of the courses and credit structure can
be found here.
Prerequisites:
The courses have an upper limit of 20 for minor registrations, making it
somewhat competitive, but there have been instances when professors
had agreed for no upper reg limit.
Words of Wisdom:
The courses are intuitive, exciting, and relatively chill when it comes to
devoting time. I would strongly suggest anyone attend the regular
lectures properly as one can sail through the exams if done so. The
courses’ structure is similar to: quizzes (generally two) + mid-sem +
end-sem + assignments (if applicable in some cases), and they typically
have decent grading stats.
8.8. ARPIT SINGH - MANAGEMENT
My Motivation:
I started off with the management minor with an exploratory attitude to
gain some non-technical perspective. Gradually, I developed an interest in
the topics taught and decided to complete the minor. The skills learned
through the courses give an introductory yet reasonable idea about the
functioning of the various aspects of a business and I believed that this
would act as a good supplement to my core discipline. The courses also
served as an excellent change to the usual core study.
The Courses:
There are a total of 6 available courses out of which we need to complete
5. All of them run in the Wednesday-Friday 9:30 am slot (Slot 5). There are
no hard prerequisites for the course except enthu :P MG 407 (Strategic
Mgmt) requires the completion of at least one of MG 401 or MG 403.
The minor is an excellent place to get an introductory flavor of business

functioning like Operations, Finance, Marketing, etc. Students who are
very interested can explore further by taking up case studies, research
projects under SOM profs, and appropriate internships.
MG 401:- Marketing Management - 6 credits
The course is exciting and gives a great idea about how firms go about
building their marketing strategy. Prof Arti’s class is filled with
discussions, practical examples, and interactions, making the course
really fun. I took up this course in my 5th semester but would strongly
recommend students to take this up as their 1st minor course as this
would really get them motivated towards the minor.
PS: I completed this in my online semester, and it was by far one of the
most exciting courses. We had live lectures during the class timings. The
class was very interactive, and it was a great experience.
MG 403:- Accounts and Finance- 6 credits
The knowledge of accounting and finance is essential for everyone, not
just business students. From Economic Times articles to company reports,
having an insight into finance proves to be really helpful. I would suggest
that students (even those who don't plan to complete the minor) take
this up since it would be really helpful to understand daily happenings.
MG 405:- Project Management- 6 credits
This course gives us a flavor of how projects are carried out in corporate
firms covering various aspects from team formation, execution to final
completion and delivery. The course is taught as a mix of theory and case
studies along with an end-term project.
PS: I completed this course in an online semester. The professor took live
lectures during class hours along with regular discussions and quizzes
based on case studies. We had an end-term project instead of an
end-sem exam that helped us apply all the concepts that were taught.
MG 406:- Operations Management - 6 credits
This course gives an introduction to how production lines and supply
chains are organized in an industry. It is a bit mathematical as compared
to marketing and covers scheduling and optimization algorithms. The
students also get hands-on experience through excel examples.
MG 407 - Strategic Mgmt
I Will take it up next semester.
MG 402 - HR Mgmt
Not taking it up.
Prerequisites:
● No prerequisites as such.
● CPI cutoffs go around 8.4-8.6.
● MG 407 requires the student to have completed at least one of MG
403 or MG 401.
● A drawback would be that many departments do not allow MG
courses to be retagged as institute electives.
● The courses are usually pretty chill and run in an interactive manner.
Words of Wisdom:
The Management Minor offers quite a different perspective from the

much-technical core courses that we do. I would definitely recommend
everyone to try out at least one MG course since the derived learning
helps one get a flavor of the non-technical side of any business. Those
interested can choose a career path in management. Do contact me for
any queries.
8.9. ADWAY GIRISH - MATHEMATICS

My Motivation:
Simply put, my main reason for choosing the math minor was that I liked
math and found the courses offered interesting. If you did not appreciate
the rigor in your first-year math courses, particularly calculus, look away
because this minor is all about rigor. If you're looking for a minor to help
you with job placements, this is not it. If you're looking for relaxed
courses with minimum effort, this is definitely not it. But don't be put off
just yet - there are benefits to doing a math minor that I have come to
appreciate. The lectures happen in the math department (in an offline sem
anyway) in well-ventilated rooms with loads of fresh air. There are usually
no more than 15 students in any given lecture, a refreshing contrast to
most other courses. Alright enough, with romanticism, there are also
concrete advantages to a math minor. Since each course is of 8 credits,
you only need four courses to complete the minor (almost all other minors
require 5, each of 6 credits), which means that you will be done with your
minor before your final year(s), leaving you free to pick other courses that
you want. The biggest edge doing a math minor will give you is familiarity
with rigor and structured, logical thinking. This will come in handy,
particularly if you find yourself doing theory-heavy research work,
especially as you start reading literature and come across all kinds of
technical terms.
The Courses:
The math website lists five courses of 8 credits each, of which you must
do 4. It's slightly more complicated than that. Real Analysis (MA 403, RA
henceforth) and Basic Algebra (MA 419, BA) only run in autumn (odd)
semesters (both every year), while Complex Analysis (MA 412, CA) and
General Topology (MA 406, GT) only run in spring semesters, that too in
alternate years. The other listed course is Fourier Analysis and
Applications (MA 522), but MA 522 has not run since 2014; Introduction to
Fourier Analysis (MA 5106, FA) is what I did - it had never run as a minor
course before 2021, so I do not know if this will repeat - you might not
have this option at all. The only prerequisite for any of the courses in the
minor is RA, so as long as you start with that, you will be covered (more on
each course later).
Every week, you will have 2 lectures of 1.5 hours each (usually slot 5, which
is the standard minor slot, so you should not have any clashes) and a
tutorial of another 1.5 hours (usually in slot XD - Wednesday 7 PM;
accounting for the additional 2 credits). You will also have to put in
considerable effort each week to keep up - since everything is cumulative
and builds on the past week's content, you cannot afford to fall behind.
Paying attention in lectures is usually enough to understand what’s what;
you will also have to spend some time on your own to make sure you know
how to use it. Some revision over the weekend or so won’t hurt. Evaluation
is straightforward - two quizzes, midsem, endsem - almost always with
open notes. But you do have to be entirely comfortable with the
theorems and concepts involved; this is where the weekly effort comes in
- with the added benefit that you won't have to do too much work right
before the exam.
You should start with RA - mainly because it is a prerequisite for CA, GT,
and FA (possibly not strictly, but this will help you appreciate the latter
courses better), but also because this has considerable overlap with and
builds up from the first-year calculus course, which makes this the
easiest course that you will do in your minor. This is also the most "useful"
of the five courses from an engineering perspective, so if you wish to
discontinue the math minor after this, RA is still a valuable asset to have.
CA is an interesting course that will throw all kinds of surprising results at

you. If you are in EE or EP, you will do MA 205 - everything that is brushed
under the carpet here will make an appearance in CA. This course is still
fairly "relevant" from an engineering perspective, at least compared to
what comes next.
BA - extremely abstract, confusing, almost impossible to keep up with -

this is the course I struggled with the most. When things do make sense
(they eventually do), it is beautiful - getting there is a real challenge. The
only "use" you could have of this course is some definitions that you can
look up whenever you need anyway.
GT is another abstract course that I am in many ways thankful to have not

had to do (this is not to say I would not have enjoyed it, FA simply proved
to be a more appreciable alternative for me). There are research areas
among engineering disciplines where topology does pop up, so you might
end up finding this course relevant.
FA was the most satisfying of my minor courses. It deals with all of the
nitty-gritty associated with the Fourier transform that is conveniently
ignored in engineering. Doing this won't really help you get better at
applying the Fourier transform, but it will let you justify making whatever
assumptions you have to in said applications. FA is more advanced than
the other courses - it extensively makes use of concepts from measure
theory and functional analysis, but the instructor will cover everything
that is necessary; you will be able to follow even if you have not done
courses in those topics (I had not). This course is only 6 credits, but
8+8+8+6 = 30, so you will still complete your minor with this.
All the “uses” above are from my limited knowledge only - I have, in my
own experience, seen many things turn out to be useful in ways i had
never imagined. If you really want to do a math minor, don’t let the
perceived lack of relevance to your major stop you, particularly if you are
interested in theoretical research.
Prerequisites:
This is not an exceptionally high-demand minor, so seat availability should
not be an issue.

You won't miss out at all on the learning due to it being online since
everything is theoretical. Not having access to the institute library means
that you might have to settle for reading PDFs instead of a physical book,
which did bother me occasionally.
8.10. IMMANUEL WILLIAMS - MECHANICAL

Motivation:
I am essentially interested in railway technology, and I have been doing
courses in my department in this direction. However, doing a mechanical
minor seemed to fall in line with my ongoing interests.
The Courses:
So far, I have done only two courses, ME201 - Solid Mechanics and ME316 -
Kinematics and Dynamics of Machines. As far as the courses go, there are
no official prerequisites, but it would be good if ME201 was done in the
sophomore year itself. Mech minors tend to be math-intensive, but it
might even help with the math in other courses. So a major takeaway from
doing a mech minor is a broader skillset when it comes to dealing with
math-intensive problems. As far as the courses go:
ME201 Solid Mechanics - This course deals with the deformation of bodies
under different forces’ influence.
ME316 Kinematics and Dynamics of Machines - This course deals with the
analysis of various mechanisms used in practical applications like cams,
crank-rockers, and analysis of vibrations in bodies.
Words of Wisdom:
To a pretty good person with math, that person can find the courses to be
pretty chill, so if rigorous math isn’t your cup of tea, it’s better not to
venture in this direction.
Experience due to online sem:

ME316 was done in the online semester, but I did ME201 in the offline one.
The major difference between the two modes is in the tutorial sessions. In
ME201, being an offline tutorial, discussions were allowed between
students, TAs, and the instructor but in an online tutorial which was the
case for ME316, there was hardly any difference between the tutorials and
the quizzes.
8.11. BHAVYA JAIN- STATISTICS
My Motivation:
I chose the statistics minor because of my interests in probability and a
general inclination towards Math. Belonging to a quantitative major like
Engineering Physics certainly made the choice easier. I was also aware
that a minor degree in Statistics would work favorably while applying for
quantitative job profiles in the future. After getting information from
seniors and alumni who had completed the minor, I decided to make sure
that the courses aligned with my interests.
The Courses:
Courses Offered are:
● Introduction to Probability Theory (First course, Fall Semester, every
year)
● Statistical Inference (Fall Semester, every year)
● Regression Analysis (Spring Semester, alternate years)
● Introduction to Derivative Pricing (Spring Semester, every year)
● Applied Stochastic Processes (Spring Semester, alternate years)
No prerequisites for the minor as a whole, but Introduction to Probability

Theory is a compulsory prerequisite for all courses within the minor. All
courses run in the normal slot for minor courses (Slot 5). Students can
expect to get a sound theoretical understanding of probability, statistics,
simple applications of stochastic processes, regression, and concepts of
pricing financial derivatives.
Currently, one needs to complete 4 out of 5 to obtain at least 30 credits.
Introduction to Probability Theory: Axiomatic approach to Probability,
heavy in proofs.
Statistical Inference: This course is all about statistics, hypothesis
testing, and confidence intervals. Consider it to be a more in-depth
version of Data Analysis and Interpretation courses most departments
have. Some proofs along the way, but mostly problem solving centric.
Applied Stochastic Processes: Applications and Theorems related to
Markov Chains. Content is theoretically heavy but quite logical, and lots of
new stuff to learn from a UG perspective. Exams are based on the
application of formulas rather than proofs.
For credits, please check out the Math Dept Website.
Prerequisites:
CPI cutoff is generally highest among all minors offered. The number varies
each year, but it is almost always >9; the preferable CPI to be comfortable
would be around 9.5. No course prerequisites for minor as such. Courses
suited for those who have a deep interest in probability and its
applications.
8.12. BHAVINI JELOKA - SYSTEMS AND CONTROLS

My Motivation:
The large range of applications and the fact that it is in tandem with the
outline of mechanical engineering, was one of my major motivations for
pursuing a minor in syscon. The courses offered in the Systems and
Control Department were a blend of this rigorous math and its
applications in the real world.
The Courses:
All the courses available can be found here.
The minor has 3 compulsory courses (SC639, SC202 and SC301) and two
electives. These three courses must be done in order as it causes tagging
and registration issues otherwise. Each course is a prerequisite for the
previous one. The first three courses run in the regular minor slot (5) but
the other PG courses run in the evening and afternoon slots. Other than
that, all the basic first year math courses are enough to begin with.
A major misconception with respect to syscon is that people will learn
how to design controllers right from the start. It is important to know that
a lot of this aspect of control design requires some amount of theory to
back it. So the first few courses focus on building up this theory. Once
the math has been grasped well, one can move on to the other side of it.
Here is where syscon provides a diverse range of courses to choose from
including controller design, estimation theory, machine learning and
robotics. Thus, anyone interested in taking the minor has the liberty to
explore all these domains.
SC639
SC202
SC301 (Linear and Nonlinear Systems) -

The course can be taken in the 5th semester, right after SC639 and SC202
as it will be in the recommended order and concepts will be easier to
understand. The course was a part of my minor requirements and also
served as a foundation for advanced courses in Syscon. It is one of the
few basic courses that delves deeper into control theory and the
associated concepts of stability. The first part of the course is pretty
easy and deals with laplace domain analysis and matrices. The second
half of the course involves more rigorous mathematical analysis but can
be managed easily if the concepts are clear. We would weekly
assignments and quizzes (small weights) to ensure that we understood
the topics. The course will definitely help in future courses that involve
controller design and can be applied to a wide variety of problems
including robotics, spacecraft control and autonomous vehicles.
SC601 (Modelling and Identification of Dynamical Systems) -
The course covers several topics of linear systems theory and the second
half gives a good preliminary introduction to machine learning theory and
its applications in predictive maintenance. The teaching styles were
standard for both modules (slides) and involved an assignment based
using curve fitting to model a system and required basic knowledge of
MATLAB. The course is useful for people who are interested in application
and experiment based research and system identification theory and
modelling is very important.
SC645 (Intelligent Feedback and Control) -
The course provides a good overview of control techniques most
commonly used in the industry, not just in theory, but with sufficient
emphasis on engineering details as well. Naturally, the course is less
theoretically rigorous and more practical. The course revolves around PID
control and how it can be applied to different systems effectively. The
later part of the course includes some of the recent techniques being
used for industrial control. The entire course plan, apart from the usual
endsem, was marked with numerous small but concept clearing quizzes as
well as MATLAB assignments which ensured a proper and unambiguous
understanding of the content. The second half of the course followed a
reverse classroom style. Every week, a different group of students read
about the weekly course content and delivered the lectures and prepared
the quizzes and assignments.
SC617 (Adaptive Control Theory) -

This course is focused on a specific control design technique used in
non-linear control, known as adaptive control. The idea behind adaptive
control is to deal with systems that have parametric uncertainty. The
course starts with reviewing some mathematical notions and discusses
various approaches that come under adaptive control, including but not
limited to Lyapunov analysis, Certainty Equivalence, and Backstepping.
The course is a reasonably rigorous one, with a need for detailed
mathematical analysis of the problems posed. All the assignments and the
take-home exams also followed the same pattern.
SC607 (Optimization) -
This is a standard course in optimization, which starts with building the
math fundamentals in calculus and real analysis, followed by a discussion
of various optimization techniques used in discrete and continuous
settings. While most of the course is devoted to convex optimization, it
does get into a bit of non-convex optimization towards the end. The
course had a reversed classroom style, with students presenting the
course content every week, but this was very specific to the online
setting of the course. The course had assignments and an end-term
examination, all take-home.
Prerequisites:
As I mentioned earlier, the first few courses are inclined towards
mathematics, namely MA106 and MA108. So, an interest in those courses
would definitely go a long way. As far as electives are considered, I would
definitely recommend going over the course descriptions properly to
ensure that the course suits your interests. CPI requirements, although
existent, can be softened (not always, beware) if you email the prof
personally, showing your interest. In such cases you are allowed to tag
the course as an ALC. However, at times it is difficult to get approval for
converting the ALC tag to a minor tag.

The online semester did have its merits and demerits. For most courses,
the evaluations were heavily dependent on discussions with other
students and assignments so it definitely helped understand concepts
better - not just for the sake of passing a course. However, like every other
course, there is a bit of a communication gap due to the absence of live
discussions with the instructors. The professors were very understanding
of the situation and were easy to get in touch with, so that made up for
most part.
9. NPTEL/SWAYAM COURSE REVIEWS
NPTEL/SWAYAM provides a way of learning similar to an online semester
but with more flexibility.
Eligibility:
According to the rulebook:
● Students belonging to all categories, except category-VI (ARP), can
take a maximum of 12 credits worth of NPTEL/SWAYAM courses as
elective courses(Department and Institute elective). They can also
take courses as 'Additional Learning Courses' provided that it does
not exceed their credit limit.
● A student under ARP or a student who has an extension period to

partially complete their mandatory academic curriculum can take up
to 24 credits worth of NPTEL/SWAYAM as any type of course
(including core courses).
● All the courses taken under NPTEL/SWAYAM need to be approved by
the Department Undergraduate Committee (DUGC).
● 4 week and 8 week courses are not creditable, i.e. they cannot be
credited at IIT Bombay. 12 week courses are creditable and carry 6
credits,usually.
Application Process:
NPTEL/ SWAYAM courses need not be registered through ASC.
One has to get an application signed by their FacAd and HoD, mentioning
courses they want to take. The application format is available with the
Department General Secretaries. Generally, a fee of around INR 2000 is to
be paid for registration of each course.
Note that this step is crucial for crediting the course at IIT Bombay. It
does not restrict students from taking up courses at NPTEL/ SWAYAM for
their own exploration and learning.
Crediting the courses:

The certificates received after successful completion of the courses have
to be sent to the department Under-Graduate Committee to be added to
your ASC and transcript.
Further information can be found using the following links:

● NPTEL Website
● NPTEL Guidelines and Timeline
● NPTEL Courses offered
● SWAYAM
● UG Rule Book
NOTE: NPTEL Guidelines, timeline, fees, and courses offered may change
over time, so keep checking the website for further updates.
9.1. AMAN RAI - NPTEL
Courses Taken:
I took two courses; 1. Operations management and 2. Product Design and
Manufacturing
Motivation:
Completing credits mostly :P, but I generally liked the overview of the
courses.
The difference compared to the conventional form of courses:

Highly flexible in terms of learning (weekly lectures can be seen anytime +
short videos, so can be watched quickly); pretty chill in terms of
evaluation.
Experience:
The course went by smoothly; it mostly involved seeing the lectures or
going through the slides on the day of the weekly assignment and then
doing the assignment. I actually had other people from the batch also
talking about the NPTEL course, so there was some semblance to a peer
group. Watching recorded lectures wasn't really different from watching
lecture recordings for institute courses. General rigour was much more
lenient from an institute course; assignments and exams are
straightforward and derived straight from the lecture material (side note:
NPTEL courses count towards credit requirement, but the grade is not
added to the CPI, so the percentage you get in NPTEL doesn't impact
your CPI, as long as you pass the course).
Evaluation components:
12 weekly assignments; passing criteria - 40%+ in best 8 out of 12
assignments.
One end-term exam - to be given offline, in a center in your city/close to
your city (it was delayed this semester due to COVID). Passing criteria -
40% in the exam.
Both requirements have to be satisfied to get the certificate.
Words of advice:
Nothing specific; it’s a great set of courses to take if:
1. You want to learn something online for free (vs spending on paid
courses in Udemy etc. Quality of teaching is slightly lower, but they are IIT
Profs. so generally good content).
2. You want to complete your credit requirement with low effort and
minimal impact on your CPI.
9.2. SIDDHARTH SAHA - NPTEL

Courses Taken:
Hi, I am Siddharth Saha(2017-2021). In my 8th semester, I took the NPTEL
course noc21_me10 (Optimization from Fundamentals).
Motivation:
One of the primary motivations for looking in the direction of NPTEL
courses was the strong amount of flexibility. There weren’t any
attendance rules, compulsory live sessions (that we had for many IITB
courses in the online semester), midsem or homework. There was an
open-book, untimed quiz in each of the 12 weeks that could be attempted
at any convenient time before the deadline. There were 3 hours of
lectures every week. I sped through the week’s content whenever I got
time.
Apart from these factors, I got keenly interested in optimization in my
final year. In my last semester, I took the course AE755 (Optimization for
Engineering Design) which covered the algorithm techniques and this
NPTEL course (Optimization from Fundamentals) that covered the
theoretical foundations. The same course by the same Prof was being
offered in IITB as well, but slot clashes had precluded me from registering
for it. This re-emphasizes the flexibility of NPTEL courses.
The difference compared to the conventional form of courses:

Some points are already covered in the previous answer. In addition, the
NPTEL courses appear with PP/NP grades in the transcripts. While this may
not always be beneficial for a student, it facilitated in reducing my
academic stress during a very packed semester. In addition, they took the
best 8 quiz marks out of 12. In weeks of intensive workload (especially
during Inter IIT Tech), I could slack on the NPTEL quiz and compensate in
the next week. In comparison, the normal courses during the same time
did not afford the same flexibility.
Experience:
I found the experience enriching. The general rigor boils down to how
seriously you take the lectures. While it would be expected that the
absence of a peer group would lower the learning, in this particular
course, students often asked great doubts during the recorded classes.
These doubts instilled a degree of interactivity. While the doubt-asking
may not be true of every NPTEL course, each NPTEL course has a Google
group for asking doubts where the TA’s actively answer them.
Evaluation components:
One open-book, untimed MCQ quiz in each of the 12 weeks. Best 8 of 12
quizzes. This carries 25% weightage.
Final proctored exam carries 75% weightage.
(Some CS based courses usually have some programming assignments, I
am not aware of their assessment).
Words of advice:
A fair amount of motivation is necessary to make this a useful learning
experience. Try to find courses that you’re really interested in, else the
flexibility may lead you to fall behind on several weeks’ of lectures.
Ultimately, there is a proctored exam that carries majority of the
weightage and is based on the entire material.
10. UNCONVENTIONAL COURSES
Among the plethora of courses that IIT Bombay offers, this section
focuses on the most unconventional of them. These are courses that are
not only interdisciplinary but are also not STEM or related courses. These
include Policy Studies, Entrepreneurship, Modeling, Cultural Insights,
Management and many more. These courses have become more and more
popular over the years and this section includes reviews from some
seniors that took these courses to give you a flavor of them.
10.1. MRIGI MUNJAL - ENT 208 TECHNICAL VENTURE

CREATION
I found out about this course through an email on student notices that
described this course. Here is an excerpt from that email:
'Modeled on the lines of Stanford’s MS&E 273 and adapted and delivered
by experienced faculty members Prof. Anand Kusre and Prof. Rajen Jaswa,
this course aims to enable aspiring student entrepreneurs to explore the
process of creating a high-value technology-based start-up. The class
activities and assignments must reflect the student's efforts to apply the
learnings from the class to their unique start-up requirements. The course
demands a time commitment of at least 6 hours every week - 3 hours of
compulsory class engagement and 3 hours of practical work towards
start-up development. Teams (3-5 members) must pitch their project
ideas in Class.'
I found the course a brilliant opportunity to force myself to think like an

entrepreneur right from the first week when we had to look for
co-founders and a viable idea. It's fine if you don't have a team and an
idea on the very first day. The DS Sethi team is very helpful in connecting
you with other classmates in the first week. Since teams are made at the
very beginning of the course, there's a lot of peer-to-peer learning and
collaboration. This was the highlight of the course for me as we had an
interdisciplinary team with complementary skill sets, and we learned from
each other every week. This course gives you first-hand experience of
how to build a company from scratch as you actually build one of your
own with your co-founding team (CEO, CMO, CTO, CFO). This course was
nothing like any other course I've taken in the institute. I took this as an
elective and I would recommend taking it up regardless of your interest in
an ENT minor. This 'build-your-own-course' kind of model also offers
immense flexibility because you get to work on a self-designed project.
Therefore, you can choose whether you want to work more on the
technology side of things (as CTO) or on the business side of things (as
CMO or CFO), or both (as CEO). The DS Sethi school also maps each team
with one or two mentors who are industry experts after you've decided
your company's theme. This mentorship aspect helps create a
personalized experience for your team to maximize learning, and you can
be in touch with your mentors long after the course ends.
10.2. KRISHI MANTRI - BB 626 MODELING BIOLOGICAL

SYSTEMS AND PROCESSES
I found out about the course through the ASC portal when I was looking
for some interesting courses from the BSBE department. Then I had
written an email to the professor asking about any prerequisites for the
course, in which he mentioned “only a little bit of coding.”.
The course entailed modeling various processes in biology using

simulations of various kinds like Monte-Carlo and Molecular dynamic
simulations. The idea of analyzing biological phenomena using simple
physical models like springs and then getting accurate results similar to
analytical results obtained using simulations really amused me. These
simple simulations were further extended to more complex problems
which are impossible to solve analytically.
The professor of the course, Prof.Ranjith Padinhateri, was really

enthusiastic about teaching and chose interesting methods of evaluation
like simple coding assignments, research paper presentations, etc. The
grading was also really good, with more concentration on concept
learning.
The application of Monte-Carlo simulations is far and wide in many

sectors like Finance, Biology, Mathematics, and Statistics, etc. I
recommend everyone to take up this course as it simulates the basic
thought process of thinking out of the box.
10.3. SUBHAM DANI - HS 706 INDIAN CLASSICAL

THOUGHTS AND MODERN TIMES
I was really fascinated by India's ancient cultures and practices. From my

childhood, I was inspired by all the Vedic texts like Bhagavata Geeta,
Garud Puran, Ramayan, Mahabharat, etc., which led me to search for the
course which includes all these things and take it as a way to learn
something more. This course was really wonderful; it covered topics like
yoga, Samkhya philosophy, Gandhian philosophy, Vedanta concept of life,
Vivekananda life teachings, karma and dharma, Buddha philosophy and
much more.
The course overall was straightforward and exciting. If you are focused in
class then, I don't think you need to give extra time to understand it. You
can also look at various videos from youtube for more clear
understanding. The overall curriculum consists of a subject type mid-sem
and end-sem. The course also has a group presentation based on the
topic you are taught in class, which consists of certain weightage to
grades.No doubt that these courses were quite different from all other
courses. Here the concept introduced by the professor is really different
from the technical world that you are familiar with, but overall the course
was very easy and exciting if focused on lectures.
I would suggest that the students take these courses if they are
interested in knowing our past and how it has been modified in modern
times. It will also change your understanding of looking at the world. Also,
the overall grading of the course is very easy, and you could get a decent
grade very easily. So, both in terms of grade and knowledge, the overall
course is very nice. I would also suggest you take the course if you are
interested in knowing the cultures and knowledge of our ancient India.
10.4. MUSKAN JAIN - HS 701 CONSUMER PSYCHOLOGY
I decided to take this course because I had already done the

“Introduction to Psychology” course, which was quite exciting and
challenging. People generally take this course to learn
something apart from the common engineering subjects and get a good
grade.
This course covers topics about the factors that influence consumers’
purchasing behavior. It comprised two quizzes, midsem, endsem(all
MCQ-based), and a project.
The course didn’t require much effort; one just needs to pay attention
during the lectures and follow the book. The lectures were quite
interactive and were easy to understand. This course would become
difficult to cope up with in case one doesn’t follow the lectures regularly;
last-minute preparation won’t help. The exams aren’t easy; one needs to
be clear with the concepts, although the grading is chill.
Although the proves to helpful as one learns how consumers react to

products, which ultimately helps one, in the long run, in case one
remembers stuff ofc:)
10.5. ARYAN DANGAYACH - SLP - INDUSTRY DEFINED

PROBLEM
The course was launched for the first time. There were not many details
available about it except for the fact that it was a practical course.
I had to do a department elective, so I took this course into consideration
and registered for it because of the excellent grading stats of the other
courses taken by the same professor.
The whole course is essentially a semester-long project, which is an

Industry defined problem. You’ll be working in collaboration with an actual
industry. The curriculum of the course is not very well defined. It depends
on what kind of Industry and problem statement you get to work on. The
course covers practical aspects of Chemical Engineering, including Mass
Transfer, Distillation, Chemical Processes, Process Control, Process
Economics, etc. Most of the courses you'll cover later in the 3rd and 4th
year. If you haven't done the courses yet, there is no need to worry; all
the required topics will be covered thoroughly by the professors.
You'll be assigned mentors from the ChE faculty as well from respective
industries who'll be guiding you throughout the course.
The course load is similar to any 6 credit course. It requires a decent
amount of effort. There will be weekly meetings with the Industry mentors
and the Faculty. There'll be no quizzes, midsem or endsem examinations
for this course. So you'll be relatively free during the peak exam times.
There'll be midterm and end term presentations along with report
submission and final presentation to the industry. The course demands
3-4 hours per week of the efforts, and the efforts have to be continuous.
You can't accumulate all the work for midsem and endsem like other
theory courses.
Pros:
You get exposed to the practical aspects of Chemical Engineering, which
is very different from what we learn in the classes.
You get to visit the industry and get to learn a lot about Chemical
Engineering. Since you meet people from the industry weekly, you can
make connections with leaders from the industry.
You get to learn report making, poster making, and presentation skills.
Cons:
Nothing in particular.
NOTE: This course is available as a Department Elective only to the

students of the Department of Chemical Engineering from their 5th
semester onwards
10.6. ANISH SHIVAMANI - CH864 BIOPOLYMERS
I found out about the course from seniors who had taken it previously,
and I am generally interested in biochemistry, which is why I took it up.
The curriculum of the course is strongly dependent on who is teaching

the course, and is dramatically different depending on the instructor. In
my case, the instructor was prof. Ruchi Anand, and the curriculum was
oriented towards frontier research in structural biochemistry. Topics
covered: X-ray crystallography: principle of working, instrumentation,
diffraction patterns and symmetry, space groups, analysis of diffraction
patterns, refinement. Model system 1: tRNA and tRNA synthetase:
structure of tRNA and role of modified bases, classification of tRNA
synthetases, structure and function of both classes, catalytic reaction
mechanism and inhibitor molecules. Model system 2: the ribosome: study
of the Nobel Prize winning papers elucidating the structure and function
of the ribosome, mechanism of initiation, cognate tRNA selection by the
30S, peptide bond formation mechanism, translocation mechanism,
mechanism of function of antibiotics.
The course is quite rigorous in the sense that one needs to thoroughly
understand the research papers being discussed so as to get a complete
visualisation of the mechanisms discussed. I cannot point out an average
number of hours needed, as it depends on how easy or how difficult it is
for you to understand the paper: some papers can be read and
understood within 30 mins, while some would need more than an 1 hour. It
is possible (in principle) to complete the course without reading the
papers and only reading the slides (which are based on those papers) but
that might result in a vague and incomplete understanding of the topics.
The course also has some extensive assignments involving PyMOL, each
took me about 4-5 hours to complete, and there were 3 such
assignments.
Pros: if you get through the course, then you learn a lot about frontier
research in structural biochemistry. Cons: examinations may need a lot of
memorisation of facts.
Suggestions: take it up if you are committed to putting in a good deal of

effort; make sure you keep up with the papers being discussed in the
lecture and don't let them pile up for the exam, as there really are a lot of
extensive papers discussed.
How the course helped me: the PyMOL tutorials were very helpful (as the
software is ubiquitous in biochemistry), but beyond that, I am now able to
interpret crystallography data and understand how scientists approach
problems in structural biochemistry, to obtain extremely crucial
information about the structure and function of important
biomacromolecules.
11. COURSE LADDER
11.1. MRIDUL AGARWAL- ANALYTICS
When and how were you first exposed to the field? How did you start
exploring it?
I was first exposed to the field during my internship in the winter break
after 3rd semester. I knew Python from before, which helped me get the
internship but I didn't know data science or analytics. It was during the
internship that I was formally introduced to the field.
What were the courses and clubs/programs you took from insti that
supplemented your learning towards that field, and how much did they
contribute towards your learning?
I was part of WnCC and attended their events in my first year that helped
me build my coding skills. I did a course called MG403, which is about
Accounting and Finance. It's not directly related to my field, but I felt it
really helped me get started with finance and got me interested in the
field. As I had an affinity for numbers and had enjoyed coding as well in
the past, I didn't dive into theoretical finance and instead chose to pursue
analytics which gives you a flavor of both worlds. Apart from this, since I
am from the Economics dept, I had courses on Statistics that I felt were
useful.
Apart from this, I am now pursuing the newly introduced C-Minds minor,
which I feel is a great way to learn about Machine Learning and Data
Science.
Did you explore that field through other sources (non-insti courses) as
well? If yes, what were they?
Honestly speaking, A lot of my knowledge has come through practical
hands-on experience in the field. I learned a lot of things about analytics
through my internship project. Self Projects seem to be a great way to get
started with a field, especially Analytics.
Although I constantly referred to the internet for most of my doubts and
concept clarifications, I didn't know any single resource that could be a
go-to place. Apart from this, I really think there are a couple of youtube
channels that are really helpful and great. Ex. Statquest.
How would you suggest someone should go about judging whether this
field is for them and then diving deeper into it? What
resources/opportunities could they use?
When we talk about judging this field, I guess the activities from the
Analytics club can really help here. The diverse set of speakers and
sessions can help you gain exposure to every dimension of the field.
Some people do think that analytics is all about coding, but it's not
necessary. Speaking to different people with different work profiles can
also help gain exposure to the field and its various subdomains. The above
discussion becomes extremely important for a field like analytics due to
the ever-growing application and the variety of topics/subdomain
analytics as the field comprises. It is necessary to explore every
dimension to find the right one for you.
When it comes to exploring the field and diving deep into it, the best way,
in my opinion, is to get started by reading some basic theory and then
starting off with a project. Projects are a really great way to learn about a
field because they give you real hands-on experience on the field. A good
number of sample projects are present on the Internet, which the
students can leverage. Self-project can also help you build your resume
as well along with increasing your experience in the field.
Some other ways to dive deep into this field are to participate in
competitions, which will especially help you improve your machine
learning skills.
Would it be beneficial to explore this field alone or with like-minded
people?
When it comes to exploring the field alongside like-minded people, I guess
the analytics club can help students achieve this. They have various
platforms through which you can connect with the Analytics community
of the institute and leverage that platform to gain knowledge. The
community in the institute is now growing faster due to the introduction
of C-MInDS min, which can really help explore the field alongside
like-minded people.
Anything you would like to suggest to someone who’s interested in

learning and going deep in this field (or any field in general)?
I strongly believe that practical hands-on experience is the best way to
dive deep into it because that's how you become proficient in that field.
Most of my knowledge has come through similar experiences, and I really
feel it could be a great way to go about learning a new topic. Although
this strategy might not be best for everyone due to different
Expectations and different objectives
11.2. JYOTIRMOY ROY - BIOLOGY

exploring it?
My first course at IITB was BB101 and that's what helped me to explore
the field of biosciences in depth. Our instructor , Prof. P.V.Balaji often used
to use a phrase to describe the content of the course :”Inch deep, mile
long” and I feel this describes BB101 in the best possible manner. It gives
you an idea of various fields in biosciences all the way from molecular
biology to omics studies to biophysics and biomedical devices.I was
particularly interested in the molecular cell biology and biophysics part
and decided to explore these fields later in depth.
My first exposure in the field of biosciences was with a summer project
which I did under Prof.Ambarish Kunwar.Firstly the project assigned to me
was about developing a low cost ultracentrifuge. However after designing
the prototype and assembling the 3D printed parts , it was found that the
rotational speed was far below the required threshold because of friction
between the parts. Further improvement of the model required a
significant increase in budget and we had to drop the idea.Sir was kind
enough to offer me a computational project involving Monte Carlo
simulations for modeling biological systems. This project actually gave me
an in depth understanding of how to relate mathematical models to
biological systems.So this was my first attempt at exploring the field in
detail.
What were the courses and clubs/programs you took from institute that
I decided to take a minor in Biology at the end of second year to explore
the fields in greater depths. I started with Molecular Cell Biology(BB411),
followed by Metabolism and Bioenergetics(BB404) and Molecular
Enzymology(BB507), and finally Biomedical Microsystems(BB610). The
first three courses helped me to relate the mechanism going on in cellular
level with the metabolic processes in the body and the last one gave a
flavour of devices in the biomedical field. Other than these , I have taken
various other courses from BSBE in the form of ALC and IE . These include :
Proteomics(BB607) , Movement Neuroscience(BB633) and Physiology for
Engineers(BB603). Although I liked all of these courses , I was particularly
moved by the proteomics field and its potential to contribute to the
recent advances in the medical domain. That is why I took up a project
under Prof. Sanjeeva Srivastava to gain a deeper understanding of the
field . I have worked on various aspects of proteomics in the past one year
: all the way from covid-19 sample analysis to studying the difference
between various grades of meningioma(brain cancer). I personally believe
while taking courses is obviously necessary to understand the theory
involved , doing a project in that domain gives you a much better
understanding of the field.
None as such . I relied on insti courses and they are truly very good as far
as BSBE courses are concerned .
field is for them, and then diving deeper into it? What
Firstly , to excel in any work or field , one must love the field and not the
benefits related to that field. I have often seen people making careers
simply on monetary criterias and such other superficial parameters . So
firstly , if you feel any particular field interests you, take courses related
to that field . Also you can see if any particular professor is doing
research work in that field and can directly shoot a mail to them.Our
institute offers a variety of courses but there are other online platforms
as well like Coursera, NPTEL ,etc which gives you a plethora of options .
Reading up relevant research articles from Google Scholar, Researchgate
,etc can also be a good way to start exploring about any particular field
How beneficial would it be to explore this field with like-minded people?

Could you suggest any avenues where students can do this?
I strongly believe that peer learning gives the best outcomes. I learnt
more from my labmates during the projects than from the professors. The
discussions which you have with your peers enables you to think logically
, to criticise views , to defend your views and also learn a lot of new stuffs
since it is practically impossible for a single person to read through all the
available resources on any particular topics. I think more groups like the
‘Curious Community’ can be created for this which encourages healthy
discussion on various research topics and brings like minded people
together.

learning and going deep in a new field?
Take courses and projects related to whatever interests you. Try to
interact with professors and seniors who have been working in that
field.Make sure you are choosing that field because you actually love it
and not because of peer pressure .
11.3. ADARSH KUMAR- CONSULTING
When did you decide that you want to explore the consulting field? And
what got you interested in that field?
My first exposure to consulting space was in my 4th year while
participating in a case competition. Consulting is a vast space - ranging
from management consulting to specialized consulting areas. Generally,
when insti students say consulting, they mean management consulting. I
started exploring the field through case competitions which I found
pretty interesting.
I personally did not especially do any insti course to supplement my
learning with consulting; however, a good understanding of HS 101 can
surely help. Apart from this, MG courses (under the minor bucket or
otherwise), albeit not necessary, helps gain a better understanding of
how business and finance work.
Courses aside, the consult, finance, and management clubs organize
talks/sessions/lectures that can give a formal exposure to the field of
management consulting.
According to me, the best resource an undergraduate can avail at IITB to
explore management consulting is through professional experience (i.e.,
an internship) in the field.
Apart from this case, competitions can also give students a fair amount
of exposure. There are numerous college-level and national case
competitions that students can take part in. They help gain exposure,
build relevant skills, and in some cases, can be a helpful value addition to
a student’s profile.
field is for them and then diving deeper into it? What
As mentioned earlier, internships in the consulting domain and case
competitions can help students understand if they are interested in the
field.
For a deeper dive, I would recommend taking part in global case
competitions like the CBS case competition, IXL Innovation Olympics, etc.
These competitions are of high stature and would help in exploring
consulting and gain a sense of international competitiveness.

Collaborative learning can definitely bring fruitful results while exploring
consulting. Case competitions are usually in teams so that one can take
part in them along with like-minded people.
Anything you would like to suggest to someone who is interested in
learning and going deep in this field?
I would recommend that one should-
1. Figure out if they like the field of management consulting through
case competitions, events/guest lectures, or otherwise
2. Improve relevant skills (structured thinking, problem-solving,
effective communication, etc.) through the above
3. Deep dive with an internship in the field to gain a first-hand
experience
11.4. ADITYA GUPTA- FINANCE

exploring it?
I was exposed to finance by the finance club events and my slight
inclination towards it since earlier. I started exploring it through the
internet, investopedia mainly, after I decided that Finance is what I
wanted to pursue.
I did not actually do any noteworthy online courses. My main source of
finance knowledge were the seniors already in the field and some
professors that I had approached for guidance. This initial exploration was
necessary for me to develop a good, holistic basic knowledge of the
financial field from where onwards I decided to delve into specific roles in
this field through the means of internships.
I did 3 internships, all in different fields of finance with different work
roles. One in financial research and analysis mainly concerning
macroeconomics variables and their effect on the financial markets. The
second one was a research internship with a topic of foreign exchange
rates. The third one gave me an introduction to the world of quantitative
finance and trading, which I then decided to be my preferred role as a
career.
I can't guide much on this, as in my case, it was a sure shot decision as
soon as I got into the field. I would suggest doing some Coursera courses,
Finance club bootcamps and some conversations with the
seniors(graduated preferably) who decided to go and not go into the
field of finance after some initial experience.

Extremely beneficial. Joining the Finance club investment team was
probably one of the best decisions I took to develop my knowledge in
Finance.

learning and going deep in a new field?
I would say that there is a lot of hype around Finance, especially in the
insti. I would strongly recommend anybody who wants to go deep into
this field to first prepare themselves and be sure that Finance is what
they actually want to pursue and are not influenced by the rat race. As
these decisions are made at a very young age but can have life altering
impacts, because of this I feel the rat race environment of the institute is
toxic. Exploring one field in depth instead of delving into everything is of
course good, but I would say be sure about the stuff that you're getting
into. Do your own research, convince yourself and then go in deep.
11.5. YASH GADHIA - MACHINE LEARNING/ARTIFICIAL

INTELLIGENCE
exploring it?
AI/ML is one of the fastest-growing fields in the current era and as a
result, almost everyone hears about this 'buzzword' and the cool things it
can do by their first year. I was no different. Also, based on the courses I
did in my first & second year, I understood that I had a fairly good interest
in programming and the kind of math involved in machine learning
(probability/statistics). All of this along with my 'lukkha' time in
second-year winter was enough motivation to explore the field. I started
exploring it by doing an online course which is (of course) the Machine
Learning course by Andrew NG on Coursera. Although the course is a bit
basic & slow, it gives a great overall flavour of the field & the kind of things
involved.
Insti has some really good courses running in and around this area,
especially in the CS department. Some of the courses that I have done
based on my interests are Introduction to Machine Learning (GNR 652/DS
303), Programming for Data Science(DS 203), Foundations of Intelligent
and Learning agents(CS 747) and Automatic Speech Recognition(CS 753).
I would say all of these courses are good and they contributed a lot to my
learning. The good part about insti courses is that they generally have a
more complete picture in terms of theory+implementation which is
something I personally prefer over many application (only) based online
courses. Also, most of these courses have a course project component
which gives a good hands-on experience.
As for other programs, I did a project in this area as part of Summer of
Code (SOC) which is offered by the WnCC club. They have been providing a
very exhaustive list of projects at least for the past two years & many of
them are related to AI/ML. It can be a good first-project experience in ML
for anyone in their first/second year.
Online courses are fairly popular in this field. As I already mentioned, I did
the Machine Learning course by Andrew NG on Coursera as an
introductory step. Apart from that, I have also done the Deep Learning
Specialization again by Andrew NG on Coursera. It is a collection of five
courses that gives an overview of the state-of-the-art deep learning
techniques and how they applied to vision, text and speech.
I have also done some hobby/self projects which I found to be quite
useful. Once I had a decent background, I read & implemented a few
research papers which helped me get more comfortable with the
programming part. This is particularly useful for people from a non-CS
background.
I would say that if someone is excited by the kind of problems AI/ML is
able to solve & has a fairly decent interest in programming & the math
involved in this field i.e. probability, statistics, linear algebra, then
exploring it is worth a shot. Also, the judging process is fairly simple.
Almost any Intro to ML course from (preferably) insti or even online will
give a fairly good flavour of the kind of things involved & whether it suits
you or not. If one wants to explore further then there are several
resources in insti. In fact, we now have the Centre for Machine Intelligence
and Data Science (C-MInDS) which offers a minor in AI and Data Science
with a reasonably flexible course plan and hence could be a good
resource for seriously exploring this area. Also, there are many profs in
insti who are working in this field & one could do a project under them for
a research experience. Finally, there are many companies, including
startups, that hire interns for projects in this area & this could give a good
real-world experience of working in this field.

I would say that like-minded people are really beneficial for discussing
questions, ideas & for collaboration on projects. The best way for this in
my opinion would be to just take courses in this field in insti and interact
with people there. Most of these courses have a team for course projects
which helps a lot in this aspect. Also, one thing I personally did for online
courses is that I also convinced some of my friends to do it and then we
made a group where we would regularly discuss stuff about it.
12. EQUIVALENT COURSES FOR CLEARING
BACKLOG
For the purpose of clearing backlogs, a list of equivalent courses which
can be done
has been given below:
It is to be noted that these courses are not equivalent by default but due
to the similarity in the course structure, they have been allowed to be
taken in lieu of the corresponding backlog courses subject to approval
from the competent department authority. Approval needs to be taken
from the DUGC for tagging two courses as equivalent that are not given in
this list.
Backlog Equivalent Course
ME 346-Heat Transfer CL 246- Heat Transfer
MM 203- Mechanics of Materials EN 211 - Mechanics of Materials
MA 214- Introduction to Numerical CL 244- Introduction to Numerical

Analysis Analysis
AE 460- Heat Transfer- Aerospace
ME 346 - Heat Transfer
Applications
AE 102- Data Analysis and MM 217 - Data Analysis and
Interpretation Interpretation
AE 308- Control Theory EE 302- Control Systems
NOTE: Please confirm with your respective department’s General

Secretary regarding the current status of equivalent courses before
making any decisions regarding the same.
13. FAQs
Q. If I get an FR Grade in a minor course, do I need to repeat the course?
And will it reflect in my final transcript?
A. No, you do not need to repeat the course. However, an 'FR' grade will
reflect in the course under the additional courses done.
Q. What is the difference between an ALC, Audit course, and sitting

through a course?
A. ALCs do not count towards your CPI but are involved in tagging - Tag it
later as an elective, and the grade you get then counts in your CPI. When
you audit a course, you do it without obtaining a grade - you get ‘AU’ -
which does not carry grade points.
Formal registration is required for both these, and they appear on your
transcript, while for sitting through a course - you don’t need to register
for it, nor does it appear on your transcript.
Q. If one gets an FR in Elective HS *xxx*. Do they need to repeat the same

choice or can they do Elective HS*yyy* in its place?
A. They can take *yyy* as their HSS elective by changing the tag of
HS*xxx* to additional learning and registering for *yyy* in the next
semester as HSS-Elective.
Q. What about the credits when one does some honor courses but not
enough for an honors degree?
A. If one has done some of the honor courses but not enough to acquire
an honors degree, then those courses would be counted in Additional
learning Courses; some departments allow to tag these as Department
electives/other electives as well
Q. What if I take up any other random subject course, but I don’t want to
get a minor will that course show up anywhere while passing out?
A. The grade that you obtained in the course will show up in the
transcript. All the courses taken up as a minor are converted to Additional
Learning unless you have completed 30 prescribed minor credits in a
particular department.
14. SOME USEFUL NOTES
● If you have successfully done the pre-registration of a course
(Minors/ HSS Electives), then at the time of registration, the allotted
pre-registered course comes under the heading “Pre Registered
Courses” on your ASC interface, and you need not register for the
course again under any other heading say Institute elective,
Non-Credit Course, Additional course etc.
● Course not listed - If you get a message on the interface saying that
the course is not running this semester even though it is, please
check the division (‘M’,’ S1’, etc.) in the list of running courses and
enter the correct division on the interface while registering for it.
● Entering the division as ‘M’ will not change your tag to a minor (All
about courses → Running Courses) e.g. CE 310 - M, MM 474 - M, CS
101 - D1/D2/D3/D4, etc.
● Prerequisites pains - If there are errors, please send a mail to
asc.help@iitb.ac.in with a screenshot using your LDAP ID only; if the
grade for the prerequisite course is not out want to take a course
without clearing the prerequisite, please get permission from the
course instructor.
● If your category has been mentioned wrongly on ASC, you need to
mail asc.help@iitb.ac.in to get the issue resolved.
15. SOME USEFUL LINKS
● Internal ASC
● External ASC
● Course info booklet 2020
● Course info booklet 2019
● Pre-reg video
● Creddit
● NPTEL
● NPTEL Guidelines
● SWAYAM
● UG Rule Book
16. REACHING THE ACADEMIC COUNCIL
The UGAC, IIT Bombay, or the Undergraduate Academic Council of IIT
Bombay, is a student body dedicated to improving the academic system
and culture of the institute by working on various policies and conducting
sessions to disseminate information. It has the following seven primary
pillars on which it functions :
1. Student Support Services: SSS mainly takes care of the basic

requirements of the students like tutorials, registration, personality
development, Language and Communication skills, faculty-student
relations, learning issues, etc.
2. Career Cell: The career cell aims at equipping the students with all
the required information and insights into every single career
opportunity coming its way and provides an impartial, fair account
of every possible detail about various careers and job profiles
3. EnPoWER: Engineering-oriented Promotion of Work Experience and
Research, EnPoWER aims to promote research among the
undergraduate students of IIT Bombay and encourages them to use
their skills to tackle problems faced by the industry.
4. Finance Club: The Finance Club conducts many sessions and
competitions on various topics related to finance.
5. Consult Club: The Consult Club conducts sessions and workshops to
help students gain an understanding of consulting and its nuances.
6. Analytics Club: The Analytics Club organizes sessions of various
kinds that teach students various skills and software related to
analytics and their applications.
7. International Relations: International Relations coordinates
international activities of IIT Bombay, including semester exchange,
scholarships, and international programs.
The Academic Council strives to help the students and is always available
in any kind of problem. Feel free to contact us anytime. You can reach the
Council through :
1. UGAC website - All the information regarding the Academic Council is

available on its website.
2. Facebook pages & group - One can ask any query and clear any
doubt/confusion they have and also post anonymously or message
directly.
The FB pages/groups of various verticals of the council are:

○ Student Support Services
–https://www.facebook.com/sss.iitb/ AND Student Support @
IITB Facebook group
○ Career Cell – https://www.facebook.com/careercell.iitb/
○ EnPoWER – https://www.facebook.com/enpoweriitb/
○ Finance Club – https://www.facebook.com/groups/finclubiitb/
○ Consult Club – https://www.facebook.com/consultclubiitb/
○ Analytics Club
-https://www.facebook.com/groups/AnalyticsClubIITB/
○ International Relations Office –
https://www.facebook.com/IR.IITB/
○ In addition to these pages, the link to the main UGAC page is
https://www.facebook.com/iitb.ugacads
3. Email ID - For any of your problems and doubts to you can also send
an e-mail to gsecaaug@iitb.ac.in or isaa.sss.iitb@gmail.com or
sss.iitb@gmail.com
17. CONTACT INFORMATION
In case of any queries, please feel free to contact the UG academic
council members,
their contact details are as follows:
Hrishikesh Baviskar
General Secretary Academic Affairs (GSAA):
Ph: 8652817543
Email: gsecaaug@iitb.ac.in
Divyashree Tambade
Institute Secretary of Academic Affairs (ISAA):
Head, Student Support Services
Ph: 7588305299
Email: isaa.sss.iitb@gmail.com
Aarushi Chaudhary
Head, Career Cell
Ph: 8450925436
Email: isaa.careercell.iitb@gmail.com
Krishi Mantri
Head, EnPoWER
Ph: 8380069472
Email: isaa.enpower.iitb@gmail.com

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COURSE

3. WHY SHOULD ONE TAKE UP A MINOR 18

4. WHY SHOULD ONE TAKE UP HONORS 21

6. PREVIOUS YEAR MINOR CUTOFFS 24

7. HSS ELECTIVE REVIEWS 27

9. NPTEL/SWAYAM COURSE REVIEWS 61

10. UNCONVENTIONAL COURSES 67

11. COURSE LADDER 75

12. EQUIVALENT COURSES FOR CLEARING BACKLOG 87

14. SOME USEFUL NOTES 90

15. SOME USEFUL LINKS 91

16. REACHING THE ACADEMIC COUNCIL 92

17. CONTACT INFORMATION 95

The information written in the booklet is only a guideline to the students

The Undergraduate Academic Council members can be contacted for this

Siddhant Batra Kartik Gokhale

Prapti Sao Samarth Vashisht

1.1. COURSE ADJUSTMENT

1.2. DROPPING OF COURSES

1.3. SEMESTER WISE REGISTRATION

2.1. CORE COURSES

2.2. MINOR COURSES

Please refer to the UG Rulebook to check the eligibility criteria to register

The pre-registration process for minors is explained in this video.

2.3. HONOR COURSES

Honor courses are either advanced-level courses in your discipline or are

Please refer to the UG Rulebook to check the eligibility criteria to register

● Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences -

HS 305 Reading Literature

*Based on the elective courses run in 2020-2021.

● Your own department- Department Elective

In some cases (varying across departments), you might be allowed

It is best to check up with your departments regarding the same.

● A department other than yours- Institute Elective

1xx courses are generally not allowed to be taken as institute

HSS ELECTIVES (I)

Some of the HSS courses are available to be taken as a Institute Elective

Course Code Course Name Last CPI

● The curriculum structure, including placing these above-mentioned

Exceeding any of the above is NOT admissible under any circumstances.

2.6. AUDIT COURSES

2.7. SIT THROUGH

2.8. SUPERVISED LEARNING PROJECT (SLP)

To summarise the above:

TYPE MEANING CPI

Total 24 credits (for B. Tech) worth of Don’t count

Extra courses taken in any department Count

Additional Any extra course, in any department, by Don’t count

Wanting just an exposure to a course -

NOTE: This table is just to give you an idea about interdisciplinary

Minor Programme Suitable Branches

Chemistry, Engineering Physics, Chemical,

Engineering Physics, MEMS, Electrical, Chemical,

Chemical Engineering Chemistry, Mechanical, Electrical, Energy

Centre for Machine

Computer Science and

Energy Mechanical, Chemical, Aerospace

Entrepreneurship Suits all!

Industrial Design Centre Suits all!

IEOR Suits all!

Koita Centre for Digital

From a potential employer’s perspective, whatever your department, it

To complete the honor, 24 credits must be completed by tagging courses

● Re-tagging will be available to students ONLY TWICE in their entire