IIT Patna-IIM Bodh Gaya dual-degree students flag lack of clarity on fees, course, placements

While integrated IIT-IIM programmes remain relatively rare, students pointed out that IIT, Patna, already runs a separate BTech Mechanical Engineering-MBA programme in collaboration with IIM, Mumbai, formerly NITIE. According to students enrolled in that programme, details regarding fees, internships, placements, and the course structure were clearly communicated at the time of admission.

“Students here knew what they were signing up for from the beginning,” said one student (requesting anonymity), who studies at IIT, Patna.

Other IIT-IIM collaborations also follow different structures. For instance, IIT Jammu offers a 4+2 dual-degree programme, where students become eligible to opt for the MBA track only after the seventh semester of their BTech programme. Unlike IIT Patna’s model, students are not admitted to the integrated pathway during JoSAA counselling.

The MBA fee component in the IIT Jammu programme is also linked to its prevailing fee structure at the time of admission, indicating that there is no common curriculum or uniform fee structure governing IIT-IIM dual-degree programmes across institutions.

As the three years of their IIT, Patna, course draw to a close, students say the lack of clarity has been there since the counselling stage, with information on the course structure or fee breakdown not publicly available. “We had to make our choices without a clear written course structure,” said one student.

Repeated emails and multiple phone calls to IIT, Patna, on the programme structure, fees, placements, and student concerns did not elicit any response.

Students said the absence of a clearly communicated fee policy during counselling made it difficult for families to fully assess the programme’s long-term financial implications before accepting admission offers.

During an online open house, administrators at IIT, Patna, told students the estimated cost would be around Rs 7.5 lakh per year; a regular two-year MBA at IIM Bodh Gaya currently costs around Rs 18 lakh.

As per another student, during the first semester, when he sought details about the MBA fee, he was told that it was “expected to be lower than their usual fees”.

Later, students said, a document issued by IIT, Patna, for education loans stated that the expected fees would be around Rs 8.14 lakh per year, and that they may vary.

Students said the only written document referring to the MBA fee component at IIM, Bodh Gaya, surfaced later through a fee structure sheet issued by IIT, Patna, for a junior student applying for an education loan.

The document stated that students would be “supposed to pay” around Rs 8.14 lakh per year at IIM, Bodh Gaya, while also noting that the amount could vary over time. Students claimed that despite repeated requests for clarity on the programme’s financial structure, the document was never formally circulated among those enrolled in the inaugural batch.

“We had been writing to the administration since the first year asking for a written fee structure, but this document was never officially shared with us,” said a student, requesting anonymity. “We only learnt about it later when a junior obtained it for loan-related documentation.”

Students further claimed that at the time of admission, there was no written mention of a possible fee escalation clause or any undertaking specifically outlining the financial commitments associated with the integrated programme. Several students from economically weaker backgrounds, they said, joined the course without a clear understanding of the total cost involved, while no formal guidance on education loans or long-term financial planning was provided during counselling or at the time of admission.

The concerns intensified after students said they learned — through the fee structure sheet issued for an education loan application and verbal communication from institute officials — that the MBA component would likely follow the prevailing fee structure of the regular MBA programme at IIM, Bodh Gaya.

“Most of us assumed the MBA component would be comparatively affordable because it was part of an integrated academic programme,” said another student. “Realising later that the fee could effectively align with the regular MBA structure became a serious concern, especially for students who had planned their finances around much lower estimates.”

When contacted by indianexpress.com, IIM-Bodh Gaya, officials confirmed that the integrated programme would indeed follow the prevailing fee structure of its regular MBA course at the time students enter the management phase.

Course structure

Students also talked about the compression of the four-year BTech curriculum into three years, though they are required to complete the same number of credits as in a four-year course (167), the rescheduling of summer internships, and the replacement of some final-year technical electives with Humanities and Social Sciences courses.

Students also question the condition that they must complete the IIM programme and cannot leave after the three-year undergraduate course.

“If a student chooses not to continue after completing the 3-year BS/BTech phase, the policy is that no degree will be awarded, as it is a five-year programme. There is no specific binding clause mentioned… but the policy remains that no degree will be awarded as it is a 5-year programme,” an IIM, Bodh Gaya, official told the indianexpress.com.

According to one student, the Associate Dean (Undergraduate), IIT, Patna, explained during a meeting that students would not be permitted to exit after the undergraduate phase because the institute had already committed a fixed number of MBA seats to IIM, Bodh Gaya, under the integrated arrangement.

“We have committed a certain number of seats to IIM Bodh Gaya, so an exit option after three years is not possible,” the official told students, according to those present in the meeting.

Students said the clarification added to concerns among those who had expected at least an interim undergraduate degree or a formal exit pathway after completion of the three-year BTech component.

Regarding internships, students say that during counselling, they were told they might participate in placement processes at both IIT Patna and IIM Bodh Gaya. Later, they were informed that the IIT Patna option was not available to them.