A comprehensive, plain-English guide for students & parents alike on the IIT, which pioneered computer science education in India!

Introduction

Did you know that IIT Kanpur was one of the first IITs in India to have a computer science department? It pioneered computer science education in the country and was among the first to recognize it as a distinct discipline!

Consistently ranked among the top engineering institutes of India, with a brilliant placement record and a proven legacy of preparing global leaders, IIT Kanpur stands tall in terms of academic excellence. If you are someone who values historical significance, cutting-edge research, top-tier placements, and a vibrant campus life, IIT Kanpur must be among your top choices for the journey of a rewarding career.

Let’s explore in detail everything you need to know about IIT Kanpur: rankings, the cut-offs for various courses, fees, placements, distinguished alumni, and much more!

Quick Snapshot

Particulars                                                                                Details
Established	1959 (Fourth IIT to be established)
Location	Kalyanpur, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh
Campus Size	1055 acres (420 hectares)
NIRF 2024 Rank	#4 – Engineering and #5 – Overall
JEE Advanced Cut-off (2024)	CSE: AIR ~250; EE: AIR ~1290; Mech: AIR ~2700; Civil: AIR ~5900; Aero: AIR ~3600
Notable Alumni	Ashwini Vaishnaw, H.C. Verma, N.R. Narayana Murthy, Duvvuri Subbarao, Pawan Kumar Goenka, Satyendra Dubey, Manindra Agrawal, Ashok Jhunjhunwala, Mukesh Bansal

About IIT Kanpur:

IIT Kanpur is located on the Grand Trunk Road, around 15 km west of Kanpur city, in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. The campus spans 1055 acres and has a lush green environment with a serene atmosphere.

The institute has 19 academic departments, 26 centers, 3 interdisciplinary programs, and 2 specialized schools (Gangwal School of Medical Sciences and Technology and the Kotak School of Sustainability). IIT Kanpur offers a wide array of academic courses and houses over 590 faculty members and 9,500 students.

Interestingly, IIT Kanpur introduced computer courses in 1963 under the guidance of John Kenneth Galbraith, the US Ambassador to India (1961-63).

The institute also has an outreach centre in Noida, which hosts official meetings, conferences, and training sessions.

History and Legacy

IIT Kanpur was established in 1959, with its initial classes conducted in a borrowed canteen room at Harcourt Butler Technological Institute. The present campus of IIT Kanpur became fully operational in 1963.

The institute was established through the Kanpur Indo-American Programme (KIAP), a collaboration between the Government of India and a consortium of nine American universities, including MIT, University of California (Berkeley), Princeton University, and Carnegie Mellon University.

In the NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) 2024, IIT Kanpur was ranked 4th in the Engineering category and 5th in the overall category.

In QS World University Rankings:

• QS Asia University Rankings 2024: The institute was ranked at 67th position in Asia.
• QS World University Rankings 2026: In the year 2026, the institute moved up to no. 222 globally from no. 263 in the 2025 rankings, moving up by 41 places.
• QS World University Rankings 2025: IIT Kanpur was ranked 263rd globally and 6th among all IITs in India.
• QS World University Rankings Subject-wise (in 2025): IIT Kanpur was ranked 72 globally in Engineering and Technology.

Infrastructure

1. Academic & Research Facilities

IIT Kanpur’s central library is known as P. K. Kelkar Library and is named after the institute’s first Director. The library is considered one of the most comprehensive technical libraries in India. It has more than 3 lakh books, several journals, digital databases, and research papers.

The institute houses the SIDBI Innovation and Incubation Centre (SIIC), which promotes entrepreneurship and has been a force underpinning various startups. The strong research ecosystem of IIT Kanpur has been a key reason for its high performance in national and international rankings.

In addition, the institute possesses cutting-edge research facilities for Artificial Intelligence and Quantum Computing, Cryogenic Engineering (advanced low-temperature research), Biotechnology and Biomedical Engineering, Sustainable Energy and Clean Technology, and Aerospace & Space Engineering.

2. Hostels & Mess Facilities

IIT Kanpur’s campus has 15 hostels which accommodate students from various courses, from undergraduate to postgraduate, and also doctoral students. The hostels are well-equipped with high-speed Wi-Fi connectivity, common rooms, reading rooms, computer centers, and each hostel has its own mess serving diverse cuisines.

The institute also has essential amenities such as a 24/7 hospital, post office, banking facilities including ATMs, and shopping complexes, along with popular food chains and cafeterias.

3. Sports & Extra-curricular Activities

The campus has extensive sports infrastructure, including an Olympic-standard swimming pool, a large stadium, gymnasiums with modern equipment, and grounds for cricket, football, tennis, basketball, and volleyball, along-with an indoor sports hall.

Major annual festivals at IIT Kanpur include:

• Antaragni: The annual cultural fest, among the largest student-run fests in Asia.
  • Techkriti: The annual technological and entrepreneurial festival to let students showcase their engineering innovations, attend workshops, and engage in technical competitions.
  • Udghosh: The national-level inter-college sports meet or the sports festival, which lets students showcase their athletic excellence.
  • E-Summit (Entrepreneurship Summit): The annual festival organised by the Entrepreneurship Cell (E-Cell) of IIT Kanpur, which brings together students, entrepreneurs, investors, and industry experts.

Fees

The total fee for the four-year B. Tech program (including tuition, hostel, mess, and other charges) ranges between ₹8 lakh to ₹11 lakh, depending on category and annual family income, for 2025–26.

1. IIT Kanpur Fee Structure for 2025 (Undergraduate Programs)

Particulars	Gen/OBC/EWS (>₹5 lakh/year)	Gen/OBC/EWS (₹1–5 lakh/ year)	Gen/OBC/EWS (<₹1 lakh/ year)	SC/ST/PwD
Tuition Fee	₹2,00,000 (per year)	₹66,667 (per year)	NIL	NIL
Hostel Fee	₹14,000 + Mess Advance	₹14,000 + Mess Advance	₹14,000 + Mess Advance	₹14,000 + Mess Advance
Semester Charges (per sem)	₹10,960	₹10,960	₹10,960	₹10,960
One-Time Payments	₹31,200	₹31,200	₹31,200	₹31,200
Total (4 years)	₹11.67 lakh (approx.)	₹5.24 lakh (approx.)	₹2.18 lakh (approx.)	₹2.18 lakh (approx.)

*Note: Approximate values, subject to annual revisions in tuition, hostel, or mess charges.

Placements

IIT Kanpur has always had an excellent placement track record and a vast global alumni base. The institute’s placement office attracts top recruiters, including Fortune 500 firms and leading companies, across diverse industries.

Median Salary

The Average Salary is as follows:

• 2021-22: For this session, the average salary was ₹22.07 LPA.
  • 2022-23: For this session, the average salary was ₹23 LPA.
  • 2023-24: For this session, the average salary was ₹26.27 LPA.

Placement Percentage

The Placement Percentages for IIT Kanpur’s B. Tech are:

• 2021-22: 93.63%
  • 2022-23: 88.37%
  • 2023-24: 82.48%

Highest International & Domestic Salary

A breakdown of the Highest International & Domestic salaries for IIT Kanpur is as follows:

· 2021-22:

• Highest domestic package – around ₹1.2 crore per annum and
  • Highest International package – ₹2.1 crore (approx.)

· 2022-23:

• Highest domestic package – ₹1.9 Crore
  • Highest International package – ₹2.5 Crore

· 2023-24:

• Highest domestic package – ₹1.9 Crore per annum and
  • Highest International package – Not disclosed

Faculty & Academics

1. Faculty

• IIT Kanpur has more than 590 full-time faculty members across departments, who are renowned experts in their fields.
  • The faculty members of the institute include globally acclaimed researchers, with many Padma awardees, Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar awardees, and winners of several international awards.

Notable faculty members include Prof. Manindra Agrawal (Director), recipient of the Gödel Prize, the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award, the Infosys Prize, and the Padma Shri and none other than

Prof. H.C. Verma, Padma Shri awardee, and the author of ‘Concepts of Physics.’

2. Academic features

• IIT Kanpur boasts a strong research-oriented academic curriculum that encourages students to participate in cutting-edge research projects.
  • The institute offers a flexible academic system to help students manage their workload. It also offers a vast set of electives and opportunities for interdisciplinary studies.

• The institute has tie-ups with prestigious global universities for student exchange and joint research programs. This enables the global learning exposure for the students.
  • Interestingly, IIT Kanpur also offers a special admission window for students who excel in international science Olympiads, other than JEE Advanced.

Alumni Impact

IIT Kanpur, over the years, has developed a powerful alumni base, with members who are experts in their respective fields, like business, academics, technology, and public life, both domestically and internationally.

Names	Details
Ashwini Vaishnaw	Minister of Railways, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology, Government of India
H.C. Verma	Professor of Physics, Padma Shri awardee
N.R. Narayana Murthy	Co-founder, Infosys
Duvvuri Subbarao	Ex RBI Governor, Prominent Indian economist and a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer
Pawan Kumar Goenka	Former retired Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra, Chairman of INSPACe and Chairman of the Board of Governors at IIT Madras
Manindra Agrawal	Indian computer scientist, professor, and the current Director of the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur
Ashok Jhunjhunwala	Founder of IIT Madras Research Park, Developer of the corDECT Wireless in Local Loop (WLL), which provided low- cost wireless access for phone and internet services in India in the 1990s
Mukesh Bansal	Founder of Myntra, Co-founder of Cure.fit (now Cult.fit), Founder of the Nurix AI

As can be seen from the list, IIT Kanpur alumni include the change-makers, decision-makers, and prominent personalities who have and continue to shape the technology and public service landscape of India.

Comparison with Other Top Institutions

A comparison of IIT Kanpur on various parameters with the other top institutions of India for a better overall perspective is as follows:

Metric	IIT Kanpur	IIT Kharagpur	IIT Madras	IIT Delhi	IIT Bombay
NIRF 2024 Ranking	4	5	1	2	3
Highest International Package (2024)	₹1.90 Crore	₹2.14 Crore	₹1.98 Cr (In 2023)	₹2.05 Crore	₹3.67 Crore
B. Tech Average Package (2024)	₹26.27 LPA (Overall)	₹24 LPA (B. Tech)	₹22 LPA (Overall)	₹21.9 LPA (UG Average)	₹23.5 LPA (Approx.)
B. Tech Placement Rate (2024)	95.90% (CSE)	79.7%	80%	84.94%	83.39%

Campus Size

1055 acres

2100 acres

617 acres

325 acres

550 acres

To Wrap It Up

IIT Kanpur has been playing a pioneering role in the technical education sphere and conducting cutting-edge research. The institute has a historical legacy that is par excellence, boasts second-largest campuses amongst all IITs, along with a strong academic environment. The institute’s top rankings, good placement records, and a powerful list of alumni make it an institution that must be on the list of every IIT aspirant.

The institute laid the foundation for India’s IT revolution and continues to be amongst the frontrunners in the technological arena.

To summarise it all, if you are preparing for JEE, then a seat in IIT Kanpur could be a precursor to a strong technical career and also a trustworthy launchpad for innovation and research.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)