Categories of admission

• Regular or HTTA/HTRA: Scholarship awarded by M.H.R.D., through IIT Madras. HTTA is for M.S. scholars; HTRA for Ph.D. scholars.
• Project: Scholar works on a sponsored project as a project associate or project officer. The scholar is paid a salary through the centre for Industrial Consultancy and Sponsored Research (ICSR), IIT Madras. The GATE cutoff is typically lesser for project M.S. students than regular students.
• External: For employed students. The scholar completes a minimum on-campus residential period (typically one semester) for completing course-work. Research work is carried out at the scholars place of emplyment, with periodic visits to the Department. The scholar is jointly supervised by a faculty memeber in the Department, and another advisor at the place of employment. This type of admission is restricted to employees of research labs or centres where facilities for research are available. The department has external scholars from DRDO, ISRO and comapnies like Texas Instruments and Honeywell. Faculty from technical institutions cannot apply under external category.
• Part-time: This type of admission is for faculty in technical institutions only. There is a minimum on-campus residential period (typically one semester) for completing course work. The scholar is guided by a member of the faculty from the Department. Part-time admissions are generally given only to people from in and around Chennai, as they are expected to come on weekends and work on their research