The B.Tech. program in Computer Science and Social Sciences (CSSS) is born out of a recognition that professionals of either discipline often realise in practice the methodological tools and the thinking apparatus needed to solve many important problems are to be found in the other discipline. This in turn can be a formidable barrier in the practice of their epistemic work.
With the growing convergence of information technology with social systems, the role that social sciences play in the development of technology and business solutions is also increasing. Symmetrically, the role that information technology plays in addressing social problems is also increasing. The value proposition of this program, therefore, is this complementarity. That is, students interested in pursuing Computer Science can do Computer Science better with a training in Social Sciences; and at the same time, students interested in Social Sciences can do Social Sciences better with a good training in Computer Science.
In B.Tech. CSSS, social sciences comprise of the following disciplines: economics, sociology/anthropology, psychology, and liberal arts, communication and humanities. Within the program, students are offered two broad options. One is to earn a major in one of the above disciplines in conjunction with computer science. The other is to opt for a portfolio of courses across all social science disciplines while taking the same set of computer science courses. The program structure is motivated by the fact that the skill-set required to address social problems can only be addressed through an integrated systems approach that requires strong synergies between computer science and social sciences. A training in this integrated program will open up several opportunities in the industry, social sector, governance, policy as well as for graduate school.
- Understanding of foundations, limits, and capabilities of computing
- Ability to design and implement efficient software solutions using suitable algorithms, data structures, and other computing techniques.
- Understanding of foundations of social sciences and articulate the ways in which different social science disciplines enhance our understanding of society.
- Ability to use logical reasoning, theoretical perspectives and analytical methods, including modelling, data collection and evaluation for understanding issues from different social science perspectives.
- Ability to synthesize concepts and methods from different social science disciplines and computing and apply these to address issues relating to society. In addition, the graduate of this program will also have the following general skills that are common with other B.Tech. programs.
- Ability to function effectively in teams to accomplish a common goal.
- An understanding of professional and ethical responsibility.
- Ability to communicate effectively with a wide range of audiences.
- Ability to self-learn and engage in life-long learning.
- Ability to undertake research tasks and projects.
- Ability to take an idea and develop into a business plan for an entrepreneurial venture.
- Understanding of the impact of solutions in an economic, societal, and environment context.
Program Structure
The B.Tech. (CSSS) program at IIITD follows the philosophy of having a small set of core courses and many electives allowing students significant flexibility in designing their curriculum and specialization. The first semester program is common with other B.Tech. programs - this allows change of discipline after 1st Semester. 2nd , 3rd and 4th semester is mostly core courses. In the 3rd year, there are some core courses and rest are electives. In the final year, all courses are electives. Besides electives and streams for specialized areas, streams and electives from domain areas (e.g. health, life sciences, finance, economics, E-Governance, sciences, etc.) may also be offered as open electives.
Admission to the Program
Approximately half of the seats for this program will be filled through joint admission counselling (JAC) – through which students who have taken science in class XII must apply. For the remaining seats, only students who have done Maths but have not done Physics and Chemistry in class XII can apply – this application will be done differently and the admission will be based on class XII marks – as is done in many universities like DU and AUD. More details regarding admissions are available here
For B.Tech. (CSSS), the program structure, regulations about the program, including the requirements for graduation and the Honors program, are available here.
Last updated: 10-09-2021