It has always been the aim of the Institute to pursue excellence not only in research but in teaching too. It is recognized all over the world that academic excellence is best cultivated by enabling the interaction between high quality researchers and talented students. In India, this interaction has been inhibited by the fact that most research institutions have been set up outside the university system. As a result, the wealth of scholarship and teaching talent that is available in our research institutions cannot be tapped by students in our colleges and universities. There is a national need for educational institutions of quality to train our talented students at both B.Sc. and M.Sc. levels.
With this in mind, CMI initiated, in 1998, a 3-year course in Mathematics and Computer Science leading to a B.Sc. (Honours) degree. The aim is to train a select group of talented students for academic and professional careers requiring exceptional mathematical and computational skills. In 2001, the teaching programme at CMI was extended to include separate 2-year M.Sc. courses in Mathematics and Computer Science. Given the success of the undergraduate programme in Mathematics at CMI, the teaching programme was extended in 2003 to include a 3-year B.Sc. (Honours) programme in Physics. In 2010, the Institute started an M.Sc. course in Applications of Mathematics.
In the initial years, the degrees were awarded by the Madhya Pradesh Bhoj (Open) University (MPBOU), Bhopal. In December 2006, CMI was recognized as a university under Section 3 of the UGC Act 1956. CMI now awards B.Sc., M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees directly.