u/Timeless_Being

So the team which wins toss is gonna win this one too

I live 30 km away from Kolkata , it's raining here now

Starting with placements since most of you are interested in that only (UG Placements 2026 till 28 March 2026)

Batch stats: 12 placed out of 12 registered students (batch size 14) with 100% placements.

CTC Data

Median CTC: ₹25.xx LPA

Average CTC: ₹29.xxLPA

Highest CTC: ₹53.xx LPA (Adobe, IT role)

Lowest IT package was around 15 LPA, while finance/consulting roles ranged from around 17 LPA to 47 LPA (Zomato).

One important thing to understand is that IC is probably the most chill branch academically at IIT Hyderabad. Compared to other branches , the workload is lighter, CGPA is easier to maintain and students get much more free time for coding, internships, CP, ML, finance prep or research. That flexibility is honestly one of the biggest advantages of the branch.

Another major advantage is the scope for minors and double majors. Students regularly pursue minors in CSE, EE and MnC, and ever since the branch was introduced in 2021, every batch has had at least one student doing a double major in CSE. So if your goal is software/AI placements while still having an IIT branch with manageable academics, IC gives a very strong setup for that.

Curriculum Overview

The curriculum is much more technical and modern than people usually expect from a chemistry-related branch. ( You can choose other courses at your will but these are compulsory ones )

Important Coding / Quant Courses

Introduction to Programming Theory

Introduction to AI

Numerical & Computational Chemistry

Machine Learning in Chemistry

MATLAB & Mathematical Computation

Probability, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations

The branch also includes computational chemistry, simulations, molecular modeling and numerical methods, making it surprisingly relevant for fields like AI in materials/drug discovery and scientific computing.

Major Core Courses

Materials Science I & II

Electrochemical Energy Conversion

Batteries & Fuel Cells

Polymer Science I & II

Petroleum & Petrochemicals

Industrial Organic Chemistry

Spectroscopy

Drug Design

Chemical Kinetics & Surface Chemistry

So the branch is more materials/energy/industrial chemistry oriented rather than traditional pure chemistry.

As of now, almost nobody is targeting core placements from IC seriously and most students go towards IT, analytics, consulting, finance or higher studies. The department is trying to improve core opportunities through professor industry connections (materials/chemistry related companies), but currently core PPOs are generally below 10 LPA, so don’t join expecting very high-paying core chemical jobs right now.

---

The strongest aspect of IC is probably higher studies and research opportunities. The Chemistry Department at IITH is genuinely strong despite the BTech program starting only in 2021. Professors like Ch. Subrahmanyam, C. Malla Reddy, M. Deepa and Surendra Kumar Martha were included in Stanford’s Top 2% Scientists list (2025), and the faculty have strong international research backgrounds with PhDs/postdocs from institutes like EPFL Switzerland and Karlsruhe Institute of Technology Germany along with publications in journals like Science and Nature Chemistry. Even with only ~22 graduates across 2 batches so far, 2 seniors (2024 and 2025 graduates) have already gotten into EPFL Switzerland for Master’s in Chemistry.

For students interested in going abroad, IITH’s Office of International Relations (IR) is another major advantage. Its Dean, Prof. Tarun Kanti Panda, is himself from the Chemistry department, and IR actively manages semester exchanges plus Joint Master’s/PhD programs with foreign universities under official MoUs. The branch also has a compulsory semester-long internship in the 6th semester, which helps a lot for research exposure and applications.

Practically speaking, if you maintain a CG above ~8.5, get into a research lab early and build good relationships with professors for recommendation letters, IC gives a genuinely strong pathway for MS/PhD abroad in areas like materials science, computational chemistry, batteries, nanotech and interdisciplinary research.

Last year I definitely had many doubts before taking Industrial Chemistry at IIT Hyderabad over eco/eni in bits goa/hyd or mech in bits pilani ( got the worst shift in first session then didn't feel like studying for the second ,also didn't expect cut offs to go that low )

I am breaking down my review into many points.

1. Campus Infra: this one I don't have to explain much I guess , one of the best in India and radiant cooling in hostels actually works well ( expect a few unlucky rooms ). The Acad buildings look sick both in pictures and in-person . The Sports complex is huge .

2. Placement Season : well for circuital branches it has been good as usual with cse avg 59 lpa ctc...In non-circuital my branch had surprisingly good stats this year ( 100% placed with avg 30 lpa ctc , highest was 51 lpa in Adobe and lowest 15lpa in some start up , all went for IT or finance , none in core ) . But for branches like Mechanical , EP , biomed the placement % tage hasn't crossed 60 and median near 20 lpa ctc , so it hasn't been that good for all non circuital branches here , like in other old iits too .

3. Academics ( Fractal academic system not the normal mid sem - end sem system ) : So what happens in this system is courses are assigned number of classes according to their credits . In most colleges all the courses start and end together generally and so do the exams but here some end early , some later so exams cluster a bit lesser . Also regarding grading then the avg sgpa in first sem considering all branches was nearly 7.5 ..but it depends on the branch too ( mine is actually the most chill branch ) ...We don't have continuous classes ( used to have 2-3 classes per day on avg in first sem ) .

4. Attendance: Attendance isn't compulsory in non core courses. In core courses it depends on the prof some keep 0 attendance policy and some keep 75% ...on avg we used to have 3-4 classes per day in first sem . If you don't attend the non-core ones then 1-2 for you :) ( actually lesser than the old iits )

5. Mess food : umm so last year a frog was found in sprouts which I did post here too, the director was quick to terminate the contract with that vendor . As a south Indian you wouldn't probably complain about the food but as a picky north Indian , I don't like a single thing they make . I mean you won't fall sick by eating them but at the same time they won't satisfy your taste buds . I usually buy 45rs chicken which they make in extras with roti for dinner or eat in the canteen itself ( all sorts of items there ).. only breakfast is fine , you get bread toast , omelette, boiled egg , banana , corn flakes , hot /cold milk , tea and many other things which I don't try as they aren't that tasty:)

6. Proximity from the City : well it takes like 1 hour to reach most malls..... IIT H is actually not in Hyderabad but in Sangareddy which isn't that developed .....

I will add more points as I remember . Also I will make a detailed post about my branch later....Best of luck for Jee Advanced , Bitsat and other remaining exams 👍