IIT Madras Summer Fellowship 2027: Eligibility, Stipend, Dates

The IIT Madras Summer Fellowship Programme (SFP) is a two-month paid research internship for students from colleges other than the IITs. Fellows work on a goal-oriented summer project in an IIT Madras department and get ₹15,000 a month. IIT Madras says the programme aims to build interest in academic research among engineering, science, management and humanities students.

Status on 30 October 2026: closed. The 2026 call opened in early February and closed on 2 March 2026, as reported by Careers360, and the fellowship ran from 18 May to 17 July 2026. Registration opened in February in each of the last four years (2023 to 2026), so expect the 2027 call in February 2027.

IIT Madras Summer Fellowship at a glance

Eligibility

From the notice on IIT Madras's registration portal (2025):

• 3rd year of a UG engineering degree (B.E., B.Tech or B.Sc Engg).
• 3rd or 4th year of an integrated or dual-degree master's programme (M.E., M.Tech or M.Sc).
• 1st year of M.Sc, M.A or MBA.
• An outstanding academic background, shown by high ranks in university exams. IITM asks you to list papers presented at seminars, projects, design contests, Mathematics Olympiad scores or ranks, and other awards.
• Students of any IIT can't apply.

You also need a bonafide letter from your head of institution. IIT Madras gives separate UG and PG templates on the portal.

Departments

The 2025 notice listed these departments. Engineering: Aerospace, Applied Mechanics and Biomedical, Biotechnology, Chemical, Civil, Computer Science, Data Science and AI, Engineering Design, Electrical, Mechanical, Medical Science and Technology, Metallurgical and Materials, and Ocean Engineering. Science: Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. Also Humanities and Social Sciences, and Management Studies.

Selection and stipend

IIT Madras does not publish a written test or interview for SFP. Departments pick fellows from the online applications, based on the academic record and achievements you list. In 2025 the portal ran five allocation rounds between 16 and 30 April. Incomplete applications are rejected, and you can't change your data once you submit, so check every entry first.

The stipend is ₹15,000 a month for a maximum of two months, prorated for the time you actually spend at IIT Madras. Until 2024 it was ₹6,000 a month.

Past cycles

The 2023 to 2025 dates are from IIT Madras's own SFP pages. The deadline was at 5 pm on the last day.

What changed over the years

• The stipend went up from ₹6,000 to ₹15,000 a month in 2025.
• Registration moved from sfp.iitm.ac.in to IIT Madras's Student/Staff Services Portal (ssp.iitm.ac.in) in 2025.
• The window moved earlier: it closed on 31 March in 2023 and 2024, but on 28 February in 2025 and 2 March in 2026.
• Data Science and Artificial Intelligence was added to the list of departments by 2025.

How to apply

1. From early February, check the SFP registration page. You may need a normal browser with JavaScript on.
2. Download the UG or PG bonafide template and get it signed by your head of institution.
3. Register, fill in your marks, ranks, projects and awards, and upload the documents.
4. Submit before 5 pm on the last day. Your username and password come by email, and you can view your application on the portal. No hard copy is needed.

Applying to several summer programmes? See IIT and IIIT internships and the full list of summer internships. If your college uses CGPA, the CGPA to percentage converter helps you fill in the form.

Cover photo: IIT Madras campus main gate by Tester051005, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.