What is GATE ?

The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an all -India Examination conducted by the six Indian Institutes of Technology and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, on behalf of the National Coordinating Board - GATE, Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), Government of India.

Objectives of GATE

To identify meritorious and motivated candidates for admission to Post Graduate Programmes in Engineering, Technology, Architecture and Pharmacy at the National level. To serve as benchmark for normalization of the Undergraduate Engineering Education in the country.

Who Appear in GATE ?

The following categories of candidates are eligible to appear in GATE:

Ø Bachelor's degree holders in Engineering/ Technology/Architecture/ Pharmacy and those who are in the final or pre-final year of such programmes.

Ø Master's degree holders in any branch of Science/Mathematics/ Statistics or equivalent and those who are in the final or pre-final year of such programmes. However, if the degree is in Master of Computer Applications, the candidate should have had courses in Mathematics at the Bachelor's or Master's level.

Ø Candidates in the second or higher year of the (Post B.Sc.) Four-Year Integrated Master's degree programme in Engineering/ Technology or in the third or higher year of the Five-year Integrated Master's degree/ Dual degree programme in Engineering/ Technology. Candidates with qualifications obtained through examination conducted by professional societies recognized by UPSC/AICTE as equivalent to B.E./ B.Tech. Those who have completed Section A or equivalent of such professional courses are also eligible.

Structure of the Examination

The GATE is held every year on the second Sunday of February, across the country in over 100 cities. At present nearly 60,000 students write GATE every year. Candidates can choose a single paper of 3 hours duration to appear in GATE from the discipline papers shown in the following Table.

Table: Papers

Papers XE and XL are general in nature and comprise of the following sections: Candidates appearing in XE or XL papers are required to answer THREE sections, one compulsory as indicated below:

GATE Result

        The GATE result is declared every year on 31st March and the score of the qualified candidates shows their All India Rank and Percentile Score in the discipline paper chosen by the candidates. The percentile score in each paper is calculated as follows: Let N be the total number of candidates appearing in that paper, and nc be the number of candidates who have the same all India rank c in the same paper (there can be bunching at a given all India rank), then all the candidates, whose all India rank is r, will have the same percentile score P, where P is actually the percentage {number of candidates who have secured marks less than the candidates concerned / N} The percentile score of candidate shows that the performance of the candidate was better than P percent of the candidate who appeared in this paper.

GATE Score Card

a.       Score card will be sent only to the qualified candidates. No information will be sent to candidates who are not qualified.

b.      The GATE score card is a valuable document. Care should be taken to preserve it. Additional Score Cards, (upto a maximum of two) will be issued on payment basis only once.

c.       The Score Card cannot be treated as a proof of category.

d.      The score card of the Qualified Candidates will include GATE Score, Percentile Score and Rank.