Humanities and Social Sciences Entrance Examination HSEE-2017(IIT Madras)

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES AT IITM

The Department of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) is one of the earliest departments at IITM. The department is essentially multi-disciplinary in nature and has faculty from diverse streams, such as Development Studies, Economics, English, Environmental Studies, Film Studies, Health Studies, History, International Relations, Philosophy, Politics, and Sociology. The department offers doctoral programmes in humanities and social sciences besides elective courses for the undergraduate and post-graduate programmes of the Institute. Since 2006-07, the department has been offering a five-year integrated Master of Arts (M.A.) programme. With the launch of this programme, the IITM has crossed a milestone in fulfilling its role in higher education in liberal arts and social sciences in the country. This has opened avenues for highly motivated students in arts and humanities to enter IITM. For more information, please visit: http://www.hss.iitm.ac.in

THE MASTER OF ARTS PROGRAMME

Excellence in higher education in the humanities and social sciences is evidently of growing importance around the world. By imparting quality education through this programme the Institute aims at producing well-rounded individuals with sound training in the humanities and social sciences to answer the needs of universities, research institutes and commercial and public sector enterprises. The programme draws its strength from the unique mix of streams.

STREAMS OFFERED

· Integrated M.A. in Development Studies

· Integrated M.A. in English Studies

EXAM PATTERN FOR HSEE-2017

Type of Question Paper:

HSEE-2017 is of three hours duration and has two parts. Part I consists of objective type multiple choice questions for 2½ hours duration (150 minutes), administered through computer. Part II involves essay writing for 30 minutes to be written on answer sheet distributed to the candidates at the end of Part I.

Part I covers the following topics: (i) English and Comprehension Skill; (ii) Analytical and Quantitative Ability; (iii) General Studies covering the areas of Indian Economics (since Independence), Indian Society, Contemporary World Affairs (post-World War II); and (iv) Environment and Ecology.

Part II requires the candidates to write an essay on general topic involving description, or/and reflection or/and discussion.

Language of Question Paper: English.

SCHEDULE OF HSEE-2017

The examination will be held on Sunday, April 16, 2017 between 10:00 IST and 13:00 IST in select cities throughout India.

The above date will remain unaltered even if this date is declared as a public holiday.

ELIGIBILITY:-

Qualifying Examination:

Candidates applying for HSEE-2017 must have passed any one of the following qualifying examinations for the first time in 2016 or should be appearing in 2017.

The final examination of the 10+2 system, conducted by a Central or State Board recognized by the Association of Indian Universities (www.aiuweb.org)

· Intermediate or two-year Pre-University examination conducted by a Board or University recognized by the Association of Indian Universities.

· Final examination of the two-year course of the Joint Services Wing of the National Defense Academy.

· Senior Secondary School Examination conducted by the National Institute of Open Schooling with a minimum of five subjects.

· Any Public School, Board or University examination in India or in a foreign country recognized as equivalent to the 10+2 system by the Association of Indian Universities.

· H.S.C. vocational examination.

· General Certificate Education (GCE) examination (London, Cambridge or Sri Lanka) at the Advanced (A) level.

· High School Certificate Examination of the Cambridge University or International Baccalaureate Diploma of the International Baccalaureate Office, Geneva.

Candidates who have completed Class XII (or equivalent) examination outside India or from a Board not specified above should produce a certificate from the Association of Indian Universities to the effect that the examination they have passed is equivalent to the Class XII examination.

In case the Class XII examination is not a public examination, the candidate must have passed at least one public (Board or Pre-University) examination earlier.

Examination Cities for HSEE-2017:

The entrance examination will be conducted in the following 12 cities:

Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai,

New Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram, Varanasi.

SYLLABUS FOR HSEE-2017

HSEE-2017 has two parts: Part I and Part II. Syllabus for Part 1 consists of English (25% marks of Part I), Analytical and Quantitative Ability (25% marks of Part I), and General Studies (in four sub-parts; 50% marks of Part I). Part II involves essay writing.

i. English

This section tests the candidate’s ability to understand and use standard English, and to appreciate literary language. Questions are related to the following areas:

Reading skills: Candidates will be required to read the given passage/s that aim to test their comprehension skills.

Grammar: This section tests the candidate’s knowledge of English grammar such as sentence structure and usage, the use of tenses, verb patterns, articles, and active and passive constructions etc.

Vocabulary: This section examines the candidate’s vocabulary skills. Candidate’s ability to understand meaning, structure and colocation of words is tested here.

ii. Analytical and Quantitative Ability

This section tests the candidate’s analytical skills and quantitative abilities. Questions are related to the following areas:

Numbers, Algebra, Highest Common Factor (HCF) and Lowest Common Multiple (LCM), Calendar, Basic Statistics – Average, Ratio and proportion, Profit and Loss, Percentages, Simple and Compound Interest, Work and time, Discount, Age sums, linear equations, elementary trigonometry.

Data interpretation, Analytical reasoning, Logical reasoning, Brainteasers, and Patterns.

iii. General Studies

a) Indian Economy:

This section is intended to test the understanding of some basic economic concepts and awareness of key issues pertaining to the Indian economy with a focus on the developments after independence. The concepts and issues covered are:

Understanding the Economy: Scarcity, opportunity cost, resource allocation, economic systems and their characteristics, features of market economies, forces of demand and supply, elasticity of demand and supply.

Main Features of Indian Economy: Natural resources; human resources -population size and composition, literacy and education, occupational distribution.

Major Economic problems: Poverty, Unemployment and Inequality -concepts, measurement, trends, sectoral distribution and policies, inflation – trends, causes and remedies.

Economic Growth and Development: Meaning and measurement of economic growth, stages of development, national income concepts and trends, trends in savings and

investment; human development index, national policy on education, health and health care policies. Planning in India: Five-Year Plans – objectives, priorities and problems.

Sectoral Development: agriculture – Green Revolution and technological changes, current issues and policies; industry-evolution of industrial policies in India (from 1948), strategies for industrial development, public and private sectors, small and medium industries, infrastructure, transport and communication, service sector etc.

Foreign Trade and International Economy: balance of payments, foreign exchange reserves and trade policy, I.M.F., W.T.O., international aid.

Money, Banking and Public Finance: Concepts of money and measures of money supply.

b) Indian Society and Culture:

Structure of Indian Society: Caste, Class and Tribe, Institutions of Marriage, Family and Kinship, Political institutions, Demographic Indicators and Trends.

Social Change in India: Sanskritization, Modernisation, Westernization and Secularization, Social Movements and Regionalism, Panchayati Raj Institutions & Governance, Affirmative Action Programme of the Government, Commissions and Policy Interventions.

History and the Making of Indian Society: Mughal era and Islamisation, British Raj, Sepoy Mutiny, Reform Movements in the 19th Century and the Emergence of India.

Indian Philosophy and Thinkers: Jainism and Mahavira, Budhha and his Teachings, the Charvakins, Orthodox Systems, Sikhism, Sufism, Gandhi and Non-violence.

c) World Affairs:

Emergence of the US and USSR; emergence of UN system; the Cold War and nuclear

race; disintegration of Soviet Union, decline of Communism and rise of nationalism; Arab-Israel conflict; India and the World; NAM and role of India; India-China and India-Pakistan relations, China and the World, conflict and wars.

Democracy and Development; Challenges to democracy; North-South divide on issues of development; UN and its various developmental and peacekeeping operations; Nuclearisation and non-Proliferation; India in SAARC and ASEAN; International terrorism, fundamentalism and the War on Terror; Indo-US relations; New centres of power in Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Hunger and Poverty; Human Rights, Democracy and Development; Environmental degradation and green politics; Issues of Race, Ethnicity and Gender; Deprived Classes and minority politics; Religion in the contemporary world; Culture and Civilization; Globalization and changing economic, cultural and political landscape; Mass media and cultural change; Emergence of various popular mass movements.

d) Environment and Ecology:

Global Environmental Picture: Population Growth, Degradation of Soils, Global Atmospheric Changes, Loss of Biodiversity.

Ecosystems: Structure of Ecosystems, Biotic Structure, Categories of Organisms, Feeding and Non-feeding Relationships, Ecosystems and How they Work, Elements in Living and Non-living Systems, Energy Laws, Nutrient Cycling.

Pollution: Major forms of Pollution and their Impact, Primary and Secondary Pollutants, Control Strategies, Indoor Pollutants, Global Warming, International Treaties.

Principles of Solar Energy, Hydropower, Wind Power, Biomass Energy, Ocean Thermal Energy, Geothermal Energy, and Tidal power.

Topics for the essay writing in Part-2 will be based on current affairs and general knowledge.

IMPORTANT DATES OF HSEE-2017

Activity	Date

Online Application Process (HSEE website) - Starts	December 17, 2016

Payment of Examination Fee through Indian Bank Challan /	December 17, 2016
Net Banking / Credit Card / Debit Card - Starts	December 17, 2016
Net Banking / Credit Card / Debit Card - Starts

Payment of Examination Fee through Indian Bank Challan /	January 27, 2017
Net Banking / Credit Card/Debit Card - Ends

Last Date for Submission of Online Application	January 27, 2017

Last D ate for Submission of Certificate of Respective Category
(OBC-NCL/SC/ST) / Medical Certificate (PwD), as applicable	January 27, 2017

Application Status Check on the Website	February 17, 2017

Admit Card can be Downloaded from the HSEE Website by	March 14, 2017
Candidates – Starts

Admit card can be downloaded from the HSEE Website by	April 15, 2017
Candidates - Ends

Examination Date for HSEE-2017	April 16, 2017

Declaration of Result on HSEE Website	May 9, 2017

Offer Letters to Candidates - Starts	May 10, 2017