Chennai: The academic council of the Thanjavur based SASTRA University approved the introduction of a 5-year M.S.degree programme with a view to attract young minds to take up science as a career profession.

In this course teaching and education are totally integrated with state-of 5the-art research nurturing both curiosity and creativity in an intellectually vibrant atmosphere of research at SASTRA, a press release from the university said.

Students will be admitted based on their performance in national olympiad, IIT-JEE and AIEEE. Students placed in top one per cent of the respective boards will also be considered for admission.

Eligible students will be awarded a monthly stipend of Rs.5,000 and a contingency grant of Rs 20,000 per year.

The first two years of study will cover basic science courses and the remaining 3 years will be for specialization in any one area – Maths, Physics, Chemistry & Life Sciences.

This course will improve the scientific temper amongst the youth and also provide them an opportunity to engage in cutting-edge research.