Summary
The admission process for the first batch of MA in Liberal Arts will begin in July
It will be offered by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences
Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati has launched a postgraduate degree programme in Liberal Arts aimed at enhancing students’ ability to think critically and creatively about social, political, and aesthetic issues affecting the world.
The programme will be offered by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences of the institute from the academic year 2022-2023. Admissions in the first batch of 30 students will begin in July based on specific admission criteria to be announced soon.
The programme aims to offer cross-disciplinary and multidisciplinary training, which will make students aware of socio-economic and socio-political issues around the world – an initiative taken in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
Speaking about the launch of this degree programme, T G Sitharam, director IIT Guwahati, emphasised that the main objective of the liberal arts programme is to promote a multidisciplinary approach in all aspects of higher education so that the youth are exposed to critical thinking and analytical reasoning. It will encourage creativity, and provide multilingual and traditional knowledge to students as they prepare for complex and wide-ranging jobs, he added.
In a communique, IIT Guwahati has stated that the courses have been prudently designed keeping in mind the new developments in academia such as thinking across disciplines and including Liberal Arts philosophy in enhancing life skills. The range of courses comprising cores and electives is geared towards the orientation of Liberal Arts concepts like Geo- Spatial Analytics, Digital Humanities, International Relations, and Diplomacy, Study of vernacular literature and languages, Area Studies, etc.
Self-learning projects in each semester will be the unique highlight of these academic project work. This will inculcate leadership qualities in students and make them front runners and policymakers of the future, the institute said in its communique.
The course is expected to be crucial in securing a place for the institute in the liberal Arts higher education map. The programme will also offer opportunities for interested learners to engage with digital technology and methodology, think critically about technological paradigms, and apply digital tools in critical humanities research in praxis-based projects.
Last updated on 16 Feb 2022
