What are the compulsory courses in my first year at IIT Madras?

The first year of any undergraduate program at IIT Madras includes some department-specific and some common courses. Common courses generally act as a bridge between high school curriculum and engineering fundamentals. They cover concepts elementary to all disciplines of science and engineering. The first year at IITM has the following common courses:

• PH1010: An introductory course to classical physics that mainly deals with Newtonian and Lagrangian mechanics. 
• MA1101: A course that exposes students to calculus and related concepts in the three dimensional space. Introduction to vector calculus helps build a foundation for many future concepts in engineering and science.
• PH1030 lab: A series of 10 labs, this course enables students to gain hands-on experience with equipment in the laboratory and build on theoretical knowledge gained in class. Report writing builds students’ academic writing and observation skills.
• CY1002 lab: A series of 10 lab experiments broadly classified into physical, organic and inorganic chemistry. Introduce students to various chemicals and processes in the laboratory as well as develop a sense of laboratory etiquette.
• PH1020: An introduction to electrodynamics, electromagnetic waves and quantum physics, the course builds on the PH1010 course through application of the mathematical tools taught previously.
• MA1102: A course on algebraic mathematics, power series, useful fourier and taylor series transformations, and matrices as mathematical tools for efficient calculations. This course helps students build on and apply concepts in later engineering courses and problems.