GATEGraduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
About GATE
GATE is India's national postgraduate engineering examination, jointly conducted by IISc Bengaluru and seven IITs on behalf of the Ministry of Education, with the organising institute rotating each year. It tests comprehensive understanding of an entire undergraduate syllabus in a single three-hour computer-based paper of 65 questions worth 100 marks. Every paper carries a common 15-mark General Aptitude section; the remaining 85 marks test the chosen discipline, usually including engineering mathematics. Question types span conventional MCQs, multiple-select questions and numerical-answer questions, with negative marking confined to MCQs.
GATE scores, valid for three years, serve two distinct markets. In academia, they are the primary basis for admission to M.Tech, M.E. and doctoral programmes at the IITs, IISc, NITs and most universities — GATE-qualified full-time postgraduate students at centrally funded institutes receive a monthly teaching assistantship stipend from the Ministry of Education. In recruitment, a large group of public-sector undertakings — including ONGC, NTPC, IOCL, Power Grid and BHEL — shortlist executive-trainee engineers primarily on GATE scores, which makes the exam a career gateway even for candidates with no interest in higher study.
Around 30 papers are offered, spanning classical branches (CE, ME, EE, ECE, CS, CH) and newer areas such as Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, Environmental Science and humanities; candidates may take up to two papers in permitted combinations. Because scores are normalised and reported on a 1000-point scale against a large, self-selected test population, GATE performance is a widely trusted signal of engineering fundamentals in India.
Accepted by: M.Tech/M.E./M.S. and Ph.D. admissions at IITs, IISc, NITs, IIITs and most Indian universities (with MoE assistantship for qualified full-time students); recruitment by major PSUs (ONGC, NTPC, IOCL, Power Grid, BHEL and others); also recognised by some institutions abroad (e.g., in Singapore and Germany)
Official websiteGATE eligibility
Open to candidates who are in the third year or higher of any undergraduate degree programme, or who have completed a government-approved bachelor's degree in engineering, technology, architecture, science, commerce or arts. There is no age limit and no restriction on the number of attempts. A candidate may appear in one paper, or in two papers from the officially permitted two-paper combinations. Final-year students may apply with a provisional certificate.
GATE exam pattern
Sections
- General Aptitude — 10 questions, 15 marks (common to all papers)
- Subject/technical section — 55 questions, 85 marks (includes Engineering Mathematics in most engineering papers)
Marking scheme: MCQs: −1/3 mark for wrong 1-mark questions, −2/3 for wrong 2-mark questions; no negative marking for Multiple Select Questions (MSQ) or Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions
GATE syllabus outline
- General Aptitude: verbal ability, quantitative aptitude, analytical and spatial reasoning (common section)
- Engineering Mathematics: linear algebra, calculus, differential equations, probability, numerical methods (in most engineering papers)
- Paper-specific core: the full undergraduate syllabus of the chosen discipline (e.g., CS: algorithms, OS, DBMS, networks; ME: thermodynamics, machine design, manufacturing; CE: structures, geotech, water resources)
- 30 test papers offered across engineering, science, humanities and interdisciplinary areas, including newer papers such as Data Science & AI
Find colleges that accept GATE
Compare engineering colleges across India — fees, placements, accreditation, and courses — and shortlist the right fit for your score.