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Engineering is the most popular course to pursue in India, especially from the colleges like IITs and NITs. Engineering has many branches, and new ones keep appearing because of a strong focus on research and innovation. Many students have favorite Engineering branches when they want to study for a BTech at IITs and NITs. They prepare for this by taking the JEE Main or JEE Advanced exam.
This article shows the most popular engineering courses at IITs. The information comes from the JAB JIC 2024 report.
As in past years, students at IITs still prefer branches like Computer Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Civil Engineering. Looking at the preferred Engineering branches of study is important. We should also consider how many students prefer each one.
Each year, the table may change a little because of new Engineering branches and some older ones coming back. However, the overall trend has stayed mostly the same for many years. This same trend should again reflect in IIT JEE 2025.
The table above shows that Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) is the most popular choice for students. Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Civil Engineering follow it. The new branch of Aerospace Engineering is gaining attention. This is especially true because of the recent popularity of ISRO and space programs.
Also, CSE has other derivatives along with AI, ML, and Data Analyzing. Students also prefer branches like IT along with CSE. However, their numbers in colleges are slightly lower. So, even after students preferring these, they are not the most common choices.
Nearly all colleges offer Mechanical Engineering, Civil Engineering, and Electrical Engineering. This contributes to their high total number.
We also need to look at one fact in the light of selection of branches at different engineering colleges. Many students want to study Computer Science Engineering. However, they often cannot get into their top-choice colleges.
As a result, they choose the best college available. Then, they select the second most preferred Engineering branch they can get.
Computer Science and Engineering has for decades been the number one preference of students across the IITs. In 2024, admissions in CSE were higher compared to previous years, reaching 430,238. This rise is an increase of 12% from from last year's 382,296.
The numbers of this branch also have been rising, although not rapidly, from 3,86,360 in 2021 to 3,99,642 in 2022. Clearly, the most preferred Engineering branch is evident.
This graph shows that in recent years, students have become more interested in Computer Science and Engineering.
IIT aspirants also highly prefer the Electrical Engineering branch. 3,12,631 candidates have opted for this in 2024. This branch has had some changes.
It reached a high of 338,352 students in 2020. Since then, the numbers have been lower. It has lost a bit of interest in the most preferred Engineering branches list.
The Civil Engineering industry has not been exceptionally stable. This is clear from the analyzed information above. In 2024, the pass number of the students selecting this branch was 2,22,027 which is a rise after a few years of fluctuating growth.
In 2019, there were 215,651 choices for Civil Engineering. This number dropped in the following years but has slowly increased again. It shows that the branch has its own charm and a core base around which it fluctuates in the most preferred Engineering branches list.
Although the overall trend seems to be declining, the popularity of Civil Engineering will grow back up in 2024.
Regarding the individual IITs, IIT Bombay has the largest preference from students, for Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering programs. Out of a total of 57,624 students, as many as 25,481 students selected CSE in IIT Bombay as their first choice. Around 70 students out of top 100 rank choose IIT Bombay finally. The number of students who selected Mechanical Engineering in IIT Bombay was 19,469.
IIT Delhi was the top choice for students in Electrical Engineering and Civil Engineering. It had 21,855 students in Electrical Engineering and 15,122 in Civil Engineering. The older IITs remain the top choice for JEE toppers. IIT Bombay is the most preferred, followed by IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, and IIT Kharagpur.
The situation of preferred engineering branches at the IITs has changed over the years. However, Computer Science and Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electrical Engineering, and Civil Engineering remain the most popular choices. These branches enroll the most students because experts consider these fields to have the most promising opportunities. The government and PSU jobs at IITs also prefer the core branches that's why students further opt for these.
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Join us at PracBee to start your journey to success in engineering. We especially focus on making students excel in the JEE Main and JEE Advanced exams.
Maths Faculty
IIT-Delhi, IIM-Lucknow
IIT Delhi. 14+ Years of experience as Academics Head & Mentor
