GATE AE Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility, Important Dates

Where the 100 marks sit

General Aptitude and Engineering Mathematics make 28 marks before any aerospace. The maths Special list (Fourier series, complex variables, probability and statistics) is where candidates who haven't touched maths since second year lose marks.

The 90/10 rule

At least 90% of questions come from Core topics, at most 10% from Special. That's roughly ten marks across all five Special lists. Ten marks is more than the gap between most ranks, and the lists are short (Hohmann transfers, Fanno and Rayleigh flow, 2D elasticity, turbine blade cooling), so they're a week's work once the Core is solid. The rule tells you which to do first, not what to skip.

Question types

Only MCQs carry a penalty, so never leave an MSQ or NAT blank. MSQ has no partial credit: you need every correct option and no wrong one. An on-screen virtual calculator is provided; physical calculators aren't allowed.

Two papers

With AE as your first paper, the second can be CE, ME or XE, and nothing else. It works both ways, so ME or XE candidates can add AE. XE's Fluid Mechanics, Solid Mechanics and Thermodynamics sections overlap heavily with AE's Sections 3, 4 and 5.

From the GATE 2027 AE syllabus published by IIT Madras. Each section is split into Core Topics and Special Topics; at least 90% of questions come from the Core.

General Aptitude: 15 marks, common to all papers

Verbal aptitude: basic English grammar, vocabulary, reading and comprehension, narrative sequencing. Quantitative aptitude: data interpretation, 2- and 3-dimensional plots, maps and tables; numerical computation and estimation (ratios, percentages, powers, exponents and logarithms, permutations and combinations, mensuration and geometry, elementary statistics and probability). Analytical aptitude: logic (deduction and induction), analogy, numerical relations and reasoning. Spatial aptitude: transformation of shapes (translation, rotation, scaling, mirroring, assembling and grouping); paper folding, cutting and patterns in 2 and 3 dimensions.

Section 1: Engineering Mathematics

Core. Linear algebra: vector algebra, matrix algebra, systems of linear equations, rank of a matrix, eigenvalues and eigenvectors. Calculus: functions of a single variable, limits, continuity and differentiability, chain rule, maxima and minima, integration; functions of several variables, partial derivatives, gradient, divergence and curl, directional derivatives; line, surface and volume integrals; theorems of Stokes, Gauss and Green. Differential equations: first order linear ODEs; higher order linear ODEs with constant coefficients; classification of PDEs and solution of the wave, Laplace and heat equations by separation of variables. Numerical methods: bisection and Newton-Raphson; numerical differentiation; trapezoidal and Simpson's rules; linear regression, least squares and linear interpolation.

Special. Fourier series; complex numbers, analytic functions and the Cauchy-Riemann equations; basics of probability and statistics (Bayes theorem, mean, median and mode, variance, and the binomial, normal and Poisson distributions).

Section 2: Flight Mechanics and Space Dynamics

Core. Atmosphere: properties of the standard atmosphere. Classification of aircraft; fixed-wing configuration and parts; pressure altitude; equivalent, calibrated and indicated air speeds; primary flight instruments (altimeter, air speed indicator, vertical speed indicator, turn-bank indicator). Aerodynamic forces and moments; angle of attack; sideslip; high-lift devices; roll, pitch and yaw controls. Airplane performance: CL-alpha curve, drag polar, take-off and landing, steady climb and descent, absolute and service ceiling, range and endurance, load factor, turning flight, the V-n diagram; head, tail and cross winds. Static stability: stability and control derivatives; longitudinal stick-fixed and stick-free stability; horizontal tail position and size; directional stability and vertical tail sizing; lateral stability; wing dihedral, sweep and position; hinge moments and stick forces. Linear and angular momentum balance for rigid bodies. Space dynamics: central force motion, Keplerian orbits, Kepler's laws, escape velocity.

Special. Equations of motion; Euler angles; decoupling of longitudinal and lateral-directional dynamics; longitudinal modes; lateral-directional modes; Hohmann orbital transfers.

Section 3: Aerodynamics

Core. Basic fluid mechanics: fluid kinematics, streamline, streakline and pathline; conservation of mass, linear momentum and energy in integral and differential form; dimensional analysis and dynamic similarity; incompressibility conditions; Newtonian fluids. Viscous flows: Hagen-Poiseuille flow, Couette flow, boundary layer concepts and boundary layer thickness. Two-dimensional potential flow: sources, sinks, doublets, the point vortex and their superposition; Bernoulli's equation. Airfoils and wings: airfoil nomenclature; lift, drag and moment coefficients; the Kutta-Joukowski theorem; thin airfoil theory, the Kutta condition, the starting vortex; finite wing theory (induced drag, Prandtl lifting line theory); critical and drag-divergence Mach numbers. Compressible flows: compressibility, one-dimensional compressible flow, isentropic flow, normal and oblique shocks, Prandtl-Meyer flow, flow through nozzles and diffusers.

Special. Fanno flow; Rayleigh flow; pressure measurement with U-tube manometers and the Pitot probe.

Section 4: Structures

Core. Strength of materials: stress and strain; stress-strain curves for steel and aluminium; stresses and deflections in statically determinate and indeterminate linear elastic trusses, bars, beams and shafts; two-dimensional transformation of stress and strain, Mohr's circle, principal stresses and strains; combined loading; failure criteria (maximum stress, Tresca, von Mises); strain energy; Castigliano's principles; three-dimensional Hooke's law; plane stress and plane strain; Euler buckling of columns. Flight vehicle structures: torsion, bending and shear of open and closed thin-walled sections, symmetric and unsymmetric; loads on aircraft. Structural dynamics: free and forced vibration of undamped and damped single-degree-of-freedom systems; free vibration of undamped two-degree-of-freedom systems.

Special. Equilibrium and compatibility equations in two-dimensional elasticity.

Section 5: Propulsion

Core. Basics of thermodynamics. Aerothermodynamics of aircraft engines: thrust, efficiency, range; the Brayton cycle. Engine performance: ramjet, turbojet, turbofan, turboprop and turboshaft engines; afterburners. Aerothermodynamics of non-rotating components (intakes and nozzles). Gas turbine combustors: types and configurations, combustion, stoichiometric fuel-to-air ratio. Turbomachinery: axial compressors (angular momentum, work and compression, single-stage characteristic performance, compressor efficiency, degree of reaction, multi-staging); centrifugal compressors (stage dynamics, inducer, impeller and diffuser); axial turbines (stage performance). Rockets: the thrust equation and specific impulse, rocket performance, multi-staging, chemical rockets, performance of solid and liquid propellant rockets.

Special. Turbine blade cooling; compressor-turbine matching.

Qualification

You must be in the 3rd or higher year of any undergraduate degree, or already hold a government-approved degree in Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Science, Commerce, Arts or Humanities.

That covers B.E., B.Tech., B.Pharm., B.Arch., three-year B.Sc./B.A./B.Com., M.Sc./M.A./MCA and equivalents, professional degrees such as MBBS, BDS and B.V.Sc., and professional society examinations recognised as equivalent to B.E./B.Tech./B.Arch. With an international degree you must be in the 3rd year or higher, or hold a bachelor's degree of at least three years.

What isn't required

• No age limit.
• No limit on attempts.
• Your degree doesn't have to match the paper you sit.

Fee, per paper

Two papers cost double: Rs 2,000 / Rs 4,000 in the regular window, Rs 2,500 / Rs 4,500 in the extended one. Every woman pays the concessional fee, whatever her category. PwBD means Person with Benchmark Disability.

The portal

Apply through GOAPS, the GATE Online Application Processing System, from the organising institute's site. GATE 2027 adds live facial verification and DigiLocker to registration. A paid rectification window after the closing date lets you correct details already submitted. It isn't a second chance to register.

Admission

GATE scores are used for M.Tech, M.E., M.S. and direct PhD admission at the IITs, IISc, NITs, IIITs and many central and state institutions, and for MoE assistantships. The IITs and IISc admit through COAP, which lets you hold one offer at a time; NITs and IIITs through CCMT. Both need separate registration. A GATE score alone admits nobody.

Aerospace departments are few: IISc and the IITs at Bombay, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee run the largest programmes, alongside specialised places such as IIST Thiruvananthapuram. Fewer departments means fewer seats.

Recruitment

Employers with an aerospace mandate read AE scores: ISRO, HAL, DRDO, BARC, NAL and BEL among them. HAL's Design Trainee and Management Trainee recruitment lists Aeronautical among its branches and shortlists on GATE. Each issues its own advertisement with its own rules. The list changes yearly, so check current advertisements.

GATE runs at centres across India and a few abroad. You list preferred cities in order when you apply. Your allotted city is announced on 4 January 2027, before the admit card, so you can plan travel early. Preferences are followed where there's room but aren't guaranteed. The centre address is on the admit card.

GATE 2027, organised by IIT Madras.

The opening date moved twice, from 14 August 2026 to 27 August and then to 2 September. IIT Madras says all dates may change. There are six exam days, against four in GATE 2026, because of 30 papers and the new Robotics and Automation paper.

Download the admit card from GOAPS with your enrolment ID or e-mail and password. Your exam city is announced first, on 4 January 2027; the admit card with the centre address follows on a date IIT Madras hasn't fixed yet.

Bring it with the original photo ID whose details you entered in the application. A different document or a photocopy isn't accepted.

• Marks out of 100: what you scored in your session.
• GATE Score out of 1000: normalised against the qualifying mark and the top scorers. This is the number institutes and employers compare.

Papers held in several sessions are normalised across them. A score is valid for three years from the result.

Your response sheet and the provisional answer key come out before the result, with a paid challenge window. The subject committee decides challenges, so the final key can differ.

GATE publishes a qualifying mark for each paper and category, set each year from that year's results. It earns you a scorecard, nothing more, so an old figure is only a rough guide.

The score that gets an IIT M.Tech seat or a PSU call in Aerospace Engineering is well above it. PSUs set their own cut-offs on the GATE Score in their advertisements, and these vary with the year's vacancies.

Past AE papers and answer keys are on the GATE 2027 download page.

Finish the Core first

At most ten marks sit in the Special lists. Cover the Core of all five sections before any Special topic. Fanno flow without finite wing theory is the wrong ten marks.

Don't neglect the 28 non-aerospace marks

General Aptitude (15) and Engineering Mathematics (13) reward practice, and they're the most commonly under-prepared.

Learn the shared foundation once

Aerodynamics, Structures and Propulsion all rest on conservation laws and continuum mechanics. Do control volumes, stress and strain transformation and thermodynamic cycles once, then specialise.

Answer every NAT and MSQ

No penalty. On MCQs, a blind one-in-four guess roughly breaks even; a guess between two is worth taking.

Work the real papers

IIT Madras publishes AE papers with answer keys for 2021 to 2026 on the GATE 2027 download page, plus a bulk archive back to 2007. Sit them on a timer with the virtual calculator.

If you sit two, pick XE

Its Fluid Mechanics, Solid Mechanics and Thermodynamics sections reuse AE's Sections 3, 4 and 5.

GATE 2027 (IIT Madras): gate2027.iitm.ac.in

The AE syllabus, official PDF: AE_GATE2027_Syllabus.pdf

Previous papers and answer keys, 2021 to 2026: Download page; latest: AE 2026 paper and key

All papers and syllabi: Test papers and syllabus

Question paper pattern: Question paper pattern

Two-paper combinations: Allowed pairs

Eligibility, fees, dates: Eligibility, Application fees, Important dates

Do I need an aerospace degree to sit GATE AE?

No. Your degree doesn't have to match the paper, though the syllabus assumes a full grounding in fluid mechanics, structures and thermodynamics.

What's the difference between Core and Special Topics?

Both are examinable. At least 90% of questions come from Core, at most 10% from Special.

Which papers can I pair with AE?

CE, ME or XE. GATE 2027 says it may open more combinations later on its own site.

Is there negative marking?

Only on MCQs: 1/3 for a wrong 1-mark question, 2/3 for a wrong 2-mark one.

Are previous papers available?

Yes, with answer keys, on the organising institute's download page.

How long is the score valid?

Three years from the result.