Beyond Engineering: What Humanities and Social Sciences courses do 23 IITs offer?

IITs may be synonymous with engineering, technology and science, but their academic world extends well beyond these fields. Across the 23 IITs, students can explore Humanities and Social Sciences, from Economics, Psychology and Philosophy to Sociology, History, Linguistics and Development Studies.

Depending on the institute, these subjects are available through undergraduate programmes, electives, minors, master's degrees and PhD research, offering students a broader academic path within India's premier technical institutions.advertisement❮❯ Read Full StoryIIT-WISE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCE OFFERINGSIITKey Humanities and Social Science offeringsLevelIIT BombayHuman Sciences, Linguistics, Literature, Performance, Sociology, PhilosophyMA by Research, MA-PhD, PhDIIT DelhiEconomics, History, Linguistics, Literature, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology; Culture, Society and ThoughtUG, Minor, MA, MSc, PhDIIT MadrasEconomics, Development Studies, English Studies, Public Policy, Sociology, Philosophy and other HSS electivesUG, MA, PhDIIT KharagpurEconomicsUGIIT KanpurEnglish, Fine Arts, Philosophy, Psychology, SociologyUG, Minors, PhDIIT RoorkeeEconomics, Psychology, Sociology, Linguistics, Philosophy, LiteratureUG, BS-MS/MSc, PhDIIT GuwahatiEconomics, English, Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, History, Political Science, Geography, Development StudiesUG, MA, PhDIIT HyderabadDevelopment Studies, Health, Gender and Society, Psychology, Sociology/Anthropology, English LiteratureMA, PhDIIT (BHU) VaranasiHistory, Philosophy, Sociology, English, Computational LinguisticsUG/PG courses, PhDIIT (ISM) DhanbadHumanities and Social Science courses and researchUG, PhDIIT PatnaEconomics, English, Linguistics, Management, Psychology, Public Health, SociologyBS, Dual Degree, PhDIIT BhubaneswarEconomics, Indian Philosophy, English, Psychology, Human BehaviourUG breadth courses, PhDIIT GandhinagarLiterature, Sociology, Anthropology, Political Science, HistoryUG, MA, PhDIIT RoparEconomics, English, Linguistics, Management, PhilosophyUG, PhDIIT IndoreEconomics, English, History, Philosophy, Psychology, SociologyUG, MA, PhDIIT JodhpurComputational Economics, Computational Sociology and interdisciplinary liberal artsMSc, UG/PG/PhD coursesIIT MandiEconomics, English and World Literature, German Studies, Sociology, History, Himalayan Studies, Development StudiesUG, PG, PhDIIT JammuBehavioural Sciences, Psychology, Sociology, Economics and Cognitive ScienceBS, UG coursesIIT TirupatiEconomics, English, Philosophy, Public Policy, Organisational Behaviour and languagesUG/PG courses, MPP, PhDIIT PalakkadPhilosophy, Economics, Culture Studies, Linguistics, History, Sociology, Political ScienceUG, PhDIIT DharwadEconomics, Philosophy, Literature, Ethics and Political EconomyUG, PhDIIT GoaEconomics, English Language and Literature, Language, Culture and SocietyUG courses, PhDIIT BhilaiIndian Writing in English, Partition Literature, Postcolonial Literature, World Literature, Cultural StudiesUG courses,ECONOMICS, LIBERAL ARTS AND INTERDISCIPLINARY PROGRAMMESEconomics is among the most prominent social-science offerings across the IIT system. IIT Patna currently runs a BS Economics, BS-MBA dual degree and PhD programme, while IIT Madras offers MA programmes in Economics, Development Studies, English Studies and Public Policy.

IIT Guwahati offers MA programmes in Development Studies and Liberal Arts, alongside 11 HSS disciplines including Economics, English, Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology, Sociology, History, Political Science and Geography. Its Liberal Arts curriculum includes courses in literary studies, political theory, philosophy, history, cultural studies and Digital Humanities.

Some IITs have also developed interdisciplinary programmes connecting social sciences with computational methods. IIT Jodhpur's two-year MSc Computational Social Sciences has specialisations in Computational Economics and Computational Sociology.

IIT Jammu introduced a BS in Behavioural Sciences and Predictive Analytics, combining psychology, sociology, economics and behavioural sciences with data science, statistics and predictive modelling.

IIT Indore's MA English (Literature and Linguistics), meanwhile, includes emerging areas such as Digital Humanities, Medical Humanities, Literature-Art and Performance Studies and Applied Linguistics.FROM HSS ELECTIVES TO FULL DEGREES

The offerings show that Humanities and Social Sciences do not follow a single model across the IIT system. At some IITs, HSS primarily supplements engineering education through compulsory or elective courses. Others have standalone bachelor's, master's or doctoral programmes.

IIT Kanpur, for instance, allocates more than 15% of total undergraduate course credits to HSS and offers courses in English, Fine Arts, Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology. IIT Bombay offers a two-year MA by Research in Human Sciences, Linguistics, Literature and Performance, and Sociology.

The result is a broad spectrum: students at IITs can encounter Humanities through a single elective or pursue dedicated programmes spanning Economics, Liberal Arts, Development Studies, Behavioural Sciences, Literature, Public Policy and Computational Social Sciences.- EndsPublished By: Karan YadavPublished On: Sep 22, 2026 12:43 ISTREAD | Why humanities at IITs? Arts courses spark debate on Left liberal agendaREAD | Is Humanities still considered the poor cousin of Science in India?