Engineering Physics witnesses surge boosting deep tech careers in quantum semiconductors
With industry demand shifting towards interdisciplinary talent the programme prepares grads to combine physics fundamentals with engineering application
Rajlakshmi Ghosh
timesofindia.com
Interest in Engineering Physics EP is experiencing a notable rise driven by the growing demand for interdisciplinary skills and the preference for core engineering branches with future focused relevance. Its position at the intersection of Physics Maths and applied engineering makes it the right fit for careers in quantum technology and computing nanotechnology renewable energy semiconductor manufacturing defence and space research AI ML Engineering.
EP feeds directly into deep tech sectors where India is making major strategic investments. Unlike specialised branches it offers broad cross sector mobility enabling graduates to move into AI electronics space or research roles with equal ease says Prof Rajeev Ahuja director IIT Ropar.
Recent data indicates that EP is one of the fastest growing UG programmes particularly within top tier engineering institutions. At IIT Tirupati for instance while CSE continues to dominate in absolute numbers EP has emerged among the fastest growing programmes in relative terms. Notably students opting for EP typically fall in the AIR 800 plus to 4000 rank band in the top IITs while in the newer IITs they fall in the AIR 6000 to 16000 rank range Prof Ahuja adds.
Key Institutes
The programme and its variants are offered at IIT Bombay Delhi Madras Hyderabad Roorkee Ropar Bhilai Patna Dharwad Mandi ISM Dhanbad Tirupati and DTU to mention a few with students seeking both industry and academic trajectories.
Flexible Approach
The programmes flexible and research oriented curriculum consistent with the objectives of NEP 2020 enables students to develop strong analytical and modelling skills while retaining the option to pursue specialisation higher studies or high technology industry roles says Prof K Umamaheshwar Rao director NIT Rourkela. He adds The perception among meritorious students that EP offers greater intellectual depth and long term adaptability compared to several traditional branches appears to be a significant factor contributing to its popularity.
Career Prospects
Most premier technical institutes have updated their EP curriculum to align with national missions such as the India Semiconductor Mission ISM and the National Quantum Mission NQM. The latter has triggered demand for professionals trained in quantum mechanics photonics and cryogenics. EP is one of the few UG programmes that builds this foundation early. Additionally the global push for semiconductor self reliance including Indias 76000 crore Semiconductor Mission has created demand for talent in solid state physics device physics VLSI and materials science an ecosystem for which EP graduates are particularly well suited says Prof Prateek Sharma vice chancellor Delhi Technological University DTU that offers a BTech in the programme. He adds Unlike narrow specialisations EP gives students mobility across diverse domains. This optionality is highly valued in uncertain job markets.
Major recruiters include Intel Texas Instruments Samsung IBM Quantum ISRO DRDO BARC Google Microsoft Apple Amazon Oracle etc though a significant proportion of students also pursue MS PhD at leading global universities such as MIT Stanford Caltech ETH Zurich and NTU. Placement data from the last four years across the IITs shows students securing average packages of 15 to 22 LPA top IITs 10 to 15 LPA new IITs while top packages usually fetch 40 to 60 LPA for deep tech quantum and AI roles.
POSTED BY : EDUCATION TIMES
DATE : 16/2/2026
