IIT Jodhpur and Masai launch BS and MBA technology programs: Everything you need to know
Here is something that does not happen often in Indian higher education.
An IIT, one of the most respected technical institutions in the country, has joined hands with a private education platform to launch two degree programs that are open to students from any academic background, not just science stream toppers.
IIT Jodhpur and Masai have announced a collaboration to launch two new interdisciplinary programs: a BS in Management and Technology and an MBA Technology. This is not a certificate program or a short-term course. These are full degree program co-offered by IIT Jodhpur, with campus access, IIT alumni status, and credentials that carry the IIT Jodhpur name.
If you just passed your 12th, if you are a fresher trying to figure out your next step, or if you are a few years into your career and wondering how to move forward, this is worth reading in full. Because what IIT Jodhpur and Masai have built here is genuinely different from most of what is available in Indian education right now.
Why this partnership is significant
To understand why this matters, you first need to know what usually stands between students and an IIT.
Traditionally, getting into IIT meant clearing JEE. It meant years of coaching, specific stream requirements in Class 11 and 12, and a highly competitive entrance process where lakhs of students compete for thousands of seats. For most students especially those from non-science backgrounds, or those who did not have access to expensive coaching IIT was simply not an option, regardless of how capable they were.
This partnership changes that equation in a meaningful way.
For the first time, a program affiliated with IIT Jodhpur is open to students from all stream arts, commerce, science after Class 12. Admission is through a qualifying test, not JEE. This is not a back door or a shortcut. It is a deliberate, policy-aligned shift that reflects the broader vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which has been pushing Indian higher education toward flexible, interdisciplinary, and accessible learning.
The partnership also reflects something the market has been asking for: degrees that combine technology, management, and practical skills, rather than forcing students to choose between them.
What are the two program?
Program 1: BS in Management and Technology
Who it is for: Students who have passed Class 12 from any stream and want a degree that combines business, technology, and real-world skills with the credibility of an IIT Jodhpur affiliation.
What are the things BS program covers?
The BS in Management and Technology is built across three core pillars that run together throughout the eight semesters:
Technology: Students learn how technology actually works not just as users, but as people who can apply it to real problems. This includes digital tools, data systems, and emerging technologies like AI that are reshaping every industry.
Management: Strategy, finance, marketing, operations, and business thinking. Not in a theoretical, exam-focused way, but through case studies, projects, and real-world application.
Social Sciences and Human Understanding: This is what makes the program genuinely different from most tech or management degrees. The curriculum includes the study of human behavior, organizational psychology, and societal context because the best leaders and builders understand people, not just systems.
The combination is deliberate. IIT Jodhpur's School of Management and Entrepreneurship designed this program around the idea that the professionals who will be most valuable in the coming decade are not the ones who know technology OR business. They are the ones who know both, and can bridge the gap between them.
The NEP exit options and why they matter
One of the most useful features of this program is the built-in flexibility under NEP 2020. Students can exit with a credential at multiple points:
- After Year 1: Certificate
- After Year 2: Diploma
- After Year 3: Bachelor's degree
- After Year 4: Full BS degree
This means that if your circumstances change if you get a strong job offer, want to start something, or need to pause your studies you can exit with a recognised qualification rather than walking away with nothing. You can also return and complete the degree later. This is a significant shift from the traditional all-or-nothing approach of most Indian degree programmes.
Program 2: MBA Technology
Who it is for: Working professionals who want to move into leadership roles in technology-driven businesses without leaving their current job.
What the MBA technology Program covers
The MBA Technology is not a general MBA with a technology module added on. It was built from scratch for professionals navigating the intersection of business and technology a space that is growing rapidly as every company, across every sector, is going through some form of digital transformation.
The six core areas of the curriculum:
- Strategic Management How to think about long-term business direction, competitive positioning, and organizational decision-making at a leadership level
- Digital Enterprise How to run and scale businesses in a digital-first environment, including digital operations, platforms, and business models
- Artificial Intelligence Not theoretical AI, but applied AI: how to understand what AI can do, where to deploy it, and how to make product and business decisions around it
- Emerging Technologies Staying ahead of the curve on what is changing in the technology landscape and what that means for business strategy
- Product-Oriented Learning Building the thinking skills of a product leader: user understanding, road mapping, prioritisation, and cross-functional collaboration
- Work-Integrated Project A capstone project that you work on while employed, applying everything you learn to real business problems in your own professional context
The work-integrated format is the key practical advantage. You do not have to leave your job. You study around your work schedule, and the program is designed so that the learning reinforces what you are doing professionally, not competes with it.
Campus experience and IIT jodhpur alumni status
Both program include something that online-only programmes cannot offer: physical campus immersions at IIT Jodhpur.
Students get access to:
- IIT Jodhpur's campus infrastructure libraries, labs, and facilities
- Clubs, festivals, and the cultural life of the IIT ecosystem
- Direct interaction with IIT Jodhpur faculty and researchers
- Peer connections with students across IIT Jodhpur program
On graduation, students from both programs are recognized as IIT Jodhpur alumni. This is not a ceremonial title. The IIT alumni network in India is one of the most active and influential professional communities in the country, spanning founders, investors, senior corporate leaders, and researchers. Being part of that network is a genuine career asset that compounds over time.
What the leaders behind this program said
Understanding why a program was built in the words of the people who built it tells you a great deal about what it is actually trying to do.
Prof. Avinash Kumar Agarwal, Director of IIT Jodhpur, said the new programs are meant to prepare learners not just for careers, but for the complexity of the real world. He described the courses as combining technology, management, and human understanding in a structured learning experience that is both rigorous and relevant.
Dr. Anuj Pal Kapoor, Associate Dean of Executive Education at IIT Jodhpur, said leadership today requires the ability to connect disciplines and make decisions in a changing world. He described the BS program as a foundation and the MBA Technology as a way to transform both careers and thinking.
Dr. Deepak Kumar Saxena, Head of the School of Management and Entrepreneurship, said management education must go beyond frameworks and build independent thinking, decisiveness, and impact. He emphasized that the programs are designed to produce graduates who are not only employable but also capable of creating value across industries.
Prateek Shukla, Co-Founder and CEO of Masai, said something that gets to the heart of why this partnership exists: students from any background should not have to restart their journey just because they did not study science in school. He said the partnership creates a credible path for learners to gain technical and management skills and step into the workforce with confidence.
That last statement is important. Because the barrier this program removes is not just about stream selection in Class 11. It is about the systemic gap in Indian education between students who happen to have the right background for elite institutions and students who are just as capable but never had access to the same pathways.
Why this is happening now: The bigger picture in Indian education
This partnership did not happen in a vacuum. It reflects three major shifts happening simultaneously in Indian higher education and the job market.
Shift 1: The interdisciplinary skills gap is real and growing.
Companies across India and globally are struggling to find professionals who can work at the intersection of technology and business. They hire engineers who cannot communicate with business teams. They hire MBA graduates who cannot understand a technical product decision. The professionals who can bridge that gap who speak both languages fluently are rare and disproportionately valuable. Both IIT Jodhpur and Masai built these programs specifically to address this gap.
Shift 2: NEP 2020 is opening new pathways that did not exist before.
The National Education Policy 2020 has created the regulatory space for programs like the BS in Management and Technology to exist. Flexible exit options, multiple entry points, and interdisciplinary design are all part of the NEP vision. This partnership is one of the more concrete examples of that vision becoming an actual programme available to actual students.
Shift 3: Outcome-focused education is gaining credibility.
Masai has built its reputation around one thing: making sure students actually get jobs after completing their programs. The emphasis on portfolio work, practical skills, and industry readiness is not a marketing line it is the core of how Masai designs curriculum. Bringing that approach into an IIT-affiliated degree is a meaningful experiment in what outcomes-focused higher education can look like at scale.
Who should consider these programs?
The BS in Management and Technology is a strong fit if you:
- Have just completed Class 12 from any stream science, commerce, or arts
- Want a degree that opens doors in both technology and business without having to choose between them
- Are interested in roles like product management, business analyst, strategy, consulting, or entrepreneurship
- Want the credibility of an IIT-affiliated degree without the JEE pathway
- Value flexibility the NEP exit options mean you can make decisions as you go, not just once upfront
The MBA technology is a strong fit if you:
- Are a working professional (typically 2–5+ years of experience) looking to move into leadership
- Are in a technical role engineering, data, product, operations and want to build business and strategic thinking on top of your technical foundation
- Are in a business role and want to genuinely understand the technology decisions being made around you
- Are aiming for roles like product manager, technology director, digital transformation lead, or general manager in a tech-driven company
- Need a qualification that fits around your job not one that requires a career pause
Frequently asked questions
Q: Is the BS in Management and Technology open to commerce and arts students after 12th? Yes. The program is explicitly designed for students from all academic streams. Admission is through a qualifying test, not JEE or any science-specific entrance examination.
Q: Do I get an actual degree from IIT Jodhpur or just a certificate? Both programs result in a full degree from IIT Jodhpur a BS degree for the undergraduate program and an MBA Technology degree for the postgraduate program. Graduates are recognized as IIT Jodhpur alumni.
Q: What is the qualifying test for the BS program? The test is a qualifier designed to assess aptitude and reasoning, not specific subject knowledge from a particular stream. Details on the format and registration are available through Masai's official channels.
Q: Can I do the MBA Technology while working full-time? Yes. The MBA Technology is specifically designed as a work-integrated program. The format allows you to continue your professional role while completing the degree.
Q: What kind of roles do these programs prepare graduates for? The BS program prepares graduates for roles at the intersection of technology and business product management, business analysis, consulting, strategy, entrepreneurship, and digital operations. The MBA Technology prepares professionals for leadership roles in technology-driven organizations technology management, product leadership, digital transformation, and senior strategy roles.
Q: Is there a campus experience component? Yes. Both programs include campus immersions at IIT Jodhpur, giving students access to the institute's physical infrastructure, faculty, and community.
The Bottom Line
What IIT Jodhpur and Masai have built here is a genuine response to a real gap in Indian education.
For years, the most ambitious students from non-science backgrounds have had to watch from the outside as the IIT ecosystem with its faculty, its alumni network, its brand credibility remained out of reach. And for years, working professionals have had to choose between pausing their careers for a traditional MBA or staying in their roles and hoping the skills they needed would somehow develop on their own.
These two programs directly address both problems. One opens the IIT pathway to students from every background, at a stage in their life when that access can shape the next decade. The other gives professionals a structured, credible, work-integrated route to the leadership capabilities the job market is actively searching for.
The partnership between IIT Jodhpur and Masai is significant not just because of who is involved, but because of what it represents: the possibility that in Indian higher education, access and quality do not have to be in conflict with each other.
If you are in the target group for either of these programs, the conversation starts at Masai's platform. The programs are open, the details are available, and the intake is now active.
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