GATE CS Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility, Important Dates

Where the 100 marks sit (published, not estimated)

Aptitude and Engineering Mathematics together are 28 marks, more than a quarter of the paper. Most GATE papers use the same split (AE, AG, BM, BT, CE, CH, CS, EC, EE, ES, IN, ME, MN, MT, NM, PE, PI, CY, DA, EY, MA, PH, ST); AR, GE, GG, RA, XE, XH and XL are structured differently.

Question types and negative marking

Only MCQs are penalised. MSQ has no partial credit: you need every correct option and no wrong one.

Two papers

You can sit two papers from a published list of allowed pairs. With CS as primary, the second can only be DA, EC, GE, MA, ME, PH, RA or ST. The pairing works both ways.

From the official GATE 2027 CS syllabus. It was revised for 2027: Digital Logic, Computer Organization and Architecture, and especially Computer Networks changed.

Section 1: Engineering Mathematics (13 marks)

Discrete Mathematics: propositional and first order logic; sets, relations, functions, partial orders and lattices; monoids, groups; graphs (connectivity, matching, colouring); combinatorics (counting, recurrence relations, generating functions).

Linear Algebra: matrices, determinants, system of linear equations, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, LU decomposition.

Calculus: limits, continuity and differentiability; maxima and minima; mean value theorem; integration.

Probability and Statistics: random variables; uniform, normal, exponential, Poisson and binomial distributions; mean, median, mode and standard deviation; conditional probability and Bayes theorem.

Section 2: Digital Logic

Boolean algebra and minimization (algebraic technique, Karnaugh map, tabular method). Design of combinational and sequential circuits. Number representation and arithmetic (fixed and floating point).

Section 3: Computer Organization and Architecture

Instruction set and addressing modes. Design of arithmetic and logic unit (ALU). Design of control unit, hardwired and microprogrammed. Memory interfacing and hierarchy: performance, cache memory mapping. I/O interface (interrupt and DMA). Instruction pipelining, pipeline hazards.

Section 4: Programming and Data Structures

Programming in C. Recursion. Arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, binary search trees, binary heaps, graphs.

Section 5: Algorithms

Searching, sorting, hashing. Asymptotic worst case time and space complexity. Algorithm design techniques: greedy, dynamic programming and divide-and-conquer. Graph traversals, minimum spanning trees, shortest paths.

Section 6: Theory of Computation

Regular expressions and finite automata. Context-free grammars and push-down automata. Regular and context-free languages, pumping lemma. Turing machines and undecidability.

Section 7: Compiler Design

Lexical analysis, parsing, syntax-directed translation. Runtime environments. Intermediate code generation. Local optimisation. Data flow analyses: constant propagation, liveness analysis, common sub-expression elimination.

Section 8: Operating System

System calls, processes, threads, inter-process communication, concurrency and synchronization. Deadlock. CPU and I/O scheduling. Memory management and virtual memory. File systems.

Section 9: Databases

ER-model. Relational model: relational algebra, tuple calculus, SQL. Integrity constraints, normal forms. File organization, indexing (e.g. B and B+ trees). Transactions and concurrency control.

Section 10: Computer Networks

Principles of layering. Basics of switching (circuit, packet and virtual circuit) and performance metrics. Data link layer: error detection, Medium Access Control, Ethernet. Distance vector and link state routing. IPv4: fragmentation, CIDR notation, Network Address Translation. TCP: flow control and congestion control, socket API. DNS and HTTP.

The 2027 networks section drops a lot of application and support protocol material that older syllabi listed.

General Aptitude (15 marks, common to every GATE paper)

Verbal: basic English grammar (tenses, articles, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, verb-noun agreement, other parts of speech); vocabulary, idioms and phrases in context; reading comprehension; narrative sequencing.

Quantitative: data interpretation (bar graphs, pie charts, 2- and 3-dimensional plots, maps, tables); numerical computation and estimation (ratios, percentages, powers, exponents and logarithms, permutations and combinations, series); mensuration and geometry; elementary statistics and probability.

Analytical: deduction and induction; analogy; numerical relations and reasoning.

Spatial: translation, rotation, scaling, mirroring, assembling and grouping of shapes; paper folding, cutting, and patterns in 2 and 3 dimensions.

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, MBBS, BDS, B.V.Sc., and professional society exams recognised as equivalent to B.E./B.Tech./B.Arch. With an international degree you must be in your 3rd year or higher, or hold a bachelor's of at least three years.

• No age limit.
• No limit on attempts.
• Your degree doesn't have to match the paper. A physics graduate can sit CS.

See the official eligibility page.

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

You apply on GOAPS (GATE Online Application Processing System), linked from gate2027.iitm.ac.in. GATE 2027 adds live facial verification and DigiLocker to registration.

After the application closes there's a paid rectification window to 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 monthly stipend).

IITs and IISc admit through COAP, a common offer-acceptance portal that lets you hold one offer at a time. NITs and IIITs admit through CCMT. Both need a separate registration; the score alone admits nobody.

Recruitment

Many PSUs hire engineers on GATE scores, among them IOCL, BPCL, HPCL, GAIL, ONGC, NTPC, PowerGrid, BHEL, BARC, ISRO, AAI, NHPC and THDC. Each issues its own advertisement with its own eligibility, shortlisting ratio and interview or group discussion. GATE gives you the score, not the vacancy. The list changes every year, so treat it as indicative and check current advertisements.

GATE is held at centres across India and a few abroad. You list preferred cities in order when you apply. The allotted city is announced on 4 January 2027, before the admit card, so you can book travel early.

Allotment follows your preferences where there's room, but isn't guaranteed. The centre address is on the admit card.

GATE 2027, organised by IIT Madras.

The opening date moved twice: first 14 August 2026, then 27 August, then 2 September. IIT Madras says all dates are liable to change, so check the official dates page.

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 email and password. The exam city comes first, on 4 January 2027; the admit card with the centre address follows on a date IIT Madras hasn't fixed yet.

Bring the original photo ID whose details you entered in the application. A different ID or a photocopy won't be accepted.

You get two numbers:

• 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 what institutes and employers compare across sessions and years.

Papers held in more than one session are normalised so no shift is advantaged.

The score is valid for three years from the result, so one good attempt covers three admission cycles.

The response sheet and provisional answer key come out before the result, with a paid challenge window. Subject committees decide challenges, and the final key can differ from the provisional one.

GATE publishes a qualifying mark per paper per category, set each year from that year's paper. Clear it and you get a scorecard. Last year's figure is only a guide.

Qualifying isn't getting in. The CS qualifying mark has historically been around the high twenties to low thirties out of 100. The score that gets you an IIT M.Tech seat or a PSU interview call is far higher.

PSUs set their own cut-offs on the GATE Score in their own advertisements. These are usually well above the qualifying mark and swing by discipline and vacancies.

1. Attempt every MSQ and NAT. Neither has negative marking, so a blank is a sure zero. Save your caution for MCQs, where a wrong 1-mark answer costs 1/3 and a wrong 2-mark answer costs 2/3.
2. MSQ has no partial credit. A half-remembered MSQ may well score nothing, but it costs nothing either, so mark your best set.
3. Don't give away the 28 marks outside core CS. Aptitude (15) and Engineering Mathematics (13) are the cheapest marks in the paper and the ones CS candidates neglect most.
4. Revise from the 2027 syllabus. Digital Logic, Computer Organization and Architecture, and Computer Networks were revised. Networks lost material that older lists named, so time spent there is wasted.
5. Practise on the official mock. It's a CBT with an on-screen calculator and a virtual keypad for NAT answers. Habits built on a physical calculator don't carry over.
6. Decide on a second paper early, or skip it. With CS as primary only DA, EC, GE, MA, ME, PH, RA and ST are allowed, the fee doubles, and a second paper crammed in the last month usually costs more in CS than it gains.
7. Work previous papers section by section. The GATE 2027 download page has a bulk download of question papers from 2007 to 2026, and year-wise papers with answer keys from 2021 to 2026. The spread across the ten CS sections is stable enough to plan against.

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

Papers and syllabus, including the CS PDF: Test papers and syllabus

Previous question papers and answer keys: Downloads

Question paper pattern and marking scheme: Question paper pattern

Two-paper combinations: Allowed pairs

Eligibility: Eligibility criteria

Fees: Application fees

Dates: Important dates

Which IIT is conducting GATE 2027?

IIT Madras, at gate2027.iitm.ac.in. The job rotates each year among IISc Bangalore and the seven older IITs, and the website moves with it.

Is there an age limit or a limit on attempts?

Neither. Your degree doesn't have to match the paper either.

Which questions carry negative marking?

Only MCQs: 1/3 for a wrong 1-mark answer, 2/3 for a wrong 2-mark answer. MSQ and NAT carry no penalty.

Does MSQ give partial credit?

No. You need every correct option and no wrong one.

How are the 100 marks divided?

General Aptitude 15, Engineering Mathematics 13, core CS 72.

Can I sit two papers?

Yes. With CS as primary, the second can be DA, EC, GE, MA, ME, PH, RA or ST. The fee doubles.

How long is a GATE score valid?

Three years from the result.

What's the difference between marks and GATE Score?

Marks are out of 100. The GATE Score is out of 1000, normalised across sessions, and it's what institutes and PSUs compare.

Does qualifying get me an M.Tech seat?

No. It gets you a scorecard. Admission runs through COAP (IITs, IISc) and CCMT (NITs, IIITs), each a separate registration, and seats go at scores well above the qualifying mark.

Can third-year students apply?

Yes, from the 3rd year of any undergraduate degree.

What changed in the CS syllabus for 2027?

Digital Logic, Computer Organization and Architecture, and Computer Networks were revised. Networks lost the most.