Summary
IIT Madras is the first—and so far, the only—IIT to offer an arts and culture quota
FACE aims to recognise and reward students who have excelled in fine arts and culture
The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras), known for its academic excellence, has admitted nine students to its BTech programmes through the Fine Arts and Culture Excellence Admissions Scheme (FACE) and three students through Scholarship for Olympiad Performance-based Entry (ScOpE) for the 2025–26 academic year.
IIT Madras is the first—and so far, the only—IIT to offer an arts and culture quota. FACE aims to recognise and reward students who have excelled in fine arts and culture. Two seats per programme in all BTech and BS courses are allotted under FACE, with one seat reserved for female candidates and the other gender-neutral.
FACE 2025–26: Eligibility
Applicants must:
- Be Indian nationals (by birth or naturalisation) or OCI/PIO candidates opting to be treated on par with Indian nationals at JEE (Advanced) 2025 registration.
- Qualify in JEE (Advanced) 2025 with a rank in the Common Rank List (CRL) or category-wise list.
- Meet the Class XII minimum marks criteria for IIT admissions.
- Have received at least one Government of India award for an art form. Candidates must have won an award listed in IIT Madras’s official Category A or Category B recognitions list.
“This is the first year FACE students are joining. Mentorship will be similar to that offered under our sports excellence admissions. Students will be supported to nurture their talents and encouraged to participate in relevant programmes and competitions,” an institute's spokesperson told The Telegraph Online Edugraph.
Similar to Sports Excellence Admissions and Fine Arts and Culture Excellence modes, ScOpE was launched in March 2025. The program will also have two supernumerary seats per program of which one seat will be exclusively for women students.
The allotment of seats under this scheme will be based on the ScOpE Rank List (SRL), which will be based on the performance and achievements of the candidates in five Olympiads (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Informatics, and Biology).
ScOpE 2025-26: Eligibility
Applicants must:
- Be Indian nationals or OCI/PIO candidates with OCI/PIO cards issued before 4 March 2021.
- Have participated in at least one of the following in the past four years:
Mathematics: International Mathematical Olympiad Training Camps (IMOTC) by HBCSE.
Physics, Chemistry, Biology: Orientation-cum-Selection Camps (OCSCs) by HBCSE.
Informatics: International Olympiad for Informatics Training Camp (IOITC) by IARCS.
Through ScOpE, candidates can apply to 14 programmes, including aerospace, electrical, and chemical engineering.
Last updated on 08 Aug 2025
