Welcome to the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, one of the oldest departments of IIT Madras. Our journey started in 1959, the year the Institute came into existence and since then our chronicles of growth stand as a testimony to our proactive engagement with the changing needs of humanities and social sciences education.

We take immense pride in the teaching and research culture of the department which is guided by scientific temper as well as an aspiration for swarajya or creative autonomy in thought and action. We are equally privileged to have a group of young and highly motivated students who believe that their reach should exceed their grasp and define the spirit of the department.

The Department offers 2-year M.A. Program in Development Studies, Economics and English Studies besides a robust PhD program and myriads of elective courses drawn from various domains of humanities and social sciences. Students from engineering branches and the department’s master’s students also have the option of obtaining credits in minor streams that empower them with economic and socio-cultural perspectives—capacities that enrich their lives and careers in immeasurable ways.

As the poet would say, here is God’s plenty.

Jyotirmaya Tripathy