Where GATE CS's marks have come from
Based on IAE's count of past papers. What it cannot tell you is at the end.
Ten GATE CS papers, 2018 to 2026, set out subject by subject and topic by topic. Data Structures and Algorithms has averaged 13.6 marks a paper, the most of any subject. The tables show where the 85 subject marks have gone.
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This post is for a GATE CS candidate planning the subject part of a study plan. Every GATE paper has 65 questions and 100 marks. In CS, General Aptitude takes 15 marks and sits outside the subject syllabus. The other 85 marks are the subject component, which includes Engineering Mathematics. The GATE 2027 Information Brochure (printed page 4) gives these figures: Engineering Mathematics 13 marks and Subject Questions 72 marks. The tables below show where those 85 marks have gone in past papers. We placed each question under a subject and topic ourselves; the exam paper does not label them.
Where GATE CS's 85 subject marks have come from, paper by paper
Marks per GATE CS paper under each study subject, ten papers: 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and both sessions of 2024, 2025 and 2026, with the average per paper
| Subject | 2018 | 2020 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 (1) | 2024 (2) | 2025 (1) | 2025 (2) | 2026 (1) | 2026 (2) | Average per paper |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Data Structures and Algorithms | 12 | 15 | 10 | 14 | 11 | 12 | 11 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 13.6 |
| Computer Organization and Architecture | 9 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9.1 |
| Operating Systems | 8 | 10 | 10 | 9 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 8.5 |
| Computer Networks | 7 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 9 | 9 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 7.8 |
| Theory of Computation | 8 | 9 | 8 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 7.5 |
| Engineering Mathematics | 7 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 7.1 |
| Database Management and Warehousing | 6 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 6.9 |
| Discrete Mathematics | 9 | 8 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 7 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 6.9 |
| Digital Electronics | 6 | 3 | 4 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 6.4 |
| Compiler Design | 5 | 4 | 4 | 5 | 7 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 5.6 |
| Programming in C | 8 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 3 | 6 | 5.2 |
| Other questions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.4 |
| Subject component (fixed by the brochure) | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 | 85 |
Source: the official GATE CS papers and answer keys for 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023, and both sessions of 2024, 2025 and 2026. We placed each question under a subject ourselves; the exam paper does not label subjects. These are counts of past papers, not a forecast. The 85-mark subject component is from the GATE 2027 Information Brochure (printed page 4). Data as of 19 Oct 2026.
The table covers ten papers: 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023, and both sessions of 2024, 2025 and 2026. GATE CS was held in two sessions in those last three years, and each session was a separate paper. All eleven subjects had marks in all ten papers. Data Structures and Algorithms ranges from 10 marks in 2022 to 18 in 2026 session 1. Discrete Mathematics ranges furthest, from 13 marks in 2022 to 2 in 2026 session 2. Programming in C, Compiler Design and Digital Electronics have the lowest averages, at 5.2, 5.6 and 6.4 marks a paper. The brochure fixes Engineering Mathematics at 13 marks in CS. In the study library, that section is split between two subjects, Discrete Mathematics and Engineering Mathematics (linear algebra, calculus, probability). Because the topic placement is ours and not the paper's section boundaries, the two subjects' marks in a paper need not add to 13. Across the ten papers they come to between 11 (2026 session 2) and 19 (2022). The Other questions row holds 4 marks in all: 2 in 2024 session 1 and 2 in 2025 session 1. These are marks on a few questions that sit between subjects, which we did not place under one of them. Every other paper has 0 in that row, so the eleven subjects account for all 85 marks in those papers.
GATE CS subjects in order of average marks per paper
| Order | Subject | Average marks per paper | Lowest–highest in one paper | Papers it appeared in (of 10) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Data Structures and Algorithms | 13.6 | 10–18 | 10 |
| 2 | Computer Organization and Architecture | 9.1 | 8–12 | 10 |
| 3 | Operating Systems | 8.5 | 7–10 | 10 |
| 4 | Computer Networks | 7.8 | 6–10 | 10 |
| 5 | Theory of Computation | 7.5 | 6–9 | 10 |
| 6 | Engineering Mathematics | 7.1 | 5–9 | 10 |
| 7= | Database Management and Warehousing | 6.9 | 5–8 | 10 |
| 7= | Discrete Mathematics | 6.9 | 2–13 | 10 |
| 9 | Digital Electronics | 6.4 | 3–8 | 10 |
| 10 | Compiler Design | 5.6 | 4–8 | 10 |
| 11 | Programming in C | 5.2 | 3–8 | 10 |
Source: Ordered by the average in the table above. General Aptitude is not in this list: it is a fixed 15 marks outside the 85-mark subject component, with its own common syllabus. Subjects with the same average (to one decimal place) share a place, marked =. Data as of 19 Oct 2026.
By average marks per paper, Data Structures and Algorithms comes first at 13.6 marks, ahead of Computer Organization and Architecture at 9.1. Database Management and Warehousing and Discrete Mathematics tie for seventh at 6.9. Their spreads differ: Database Management and Warehousing has run from 5 to 8 marks, Discrete Mathematics from 2 to 13.
The GATE CS topics that have carried the most marks
| Topic | Subject | Total marks | Questions | Papers with a question (of 10) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graphs: traversals, minimum spanning trees and shortest paths | Data Structures and Algorithms | 44 | 23 | 10 |
| Memory hierarchy, performance and cache mapping | Computer Organization and Architecture | 39 | 22 | 10 |
| Trees, binary search trees and binary heaps | Data Structures and Algorithms | 34 | 23 | 10 |
| IPv4: addressing, CIDR, fragmentation and NAT | Computer Networks | 30 | 20 | 10 |
| Linear algebra | Engineering Mathematics | 29 | 20 | 10 |
| Regular expressions and finite automata | Theory of Computation | 28 | 18 | 10 |
| Probability and statistics | Engineering Mathematics | 27 | 17 | 9 |
| Boolean algebra, logic gates and minimisation | Digital Electronics | 24 | 15 | 8 |
| Graph theory: connectivity, matching and colouring | Discrete Mathematics | 24 | 14 | 6 |
| Integrity constraints, functional dependencies and normal forms | Database Management and Warehousing | 21 | 13 | 9 |
| Parsing: top-down and bottom-up parsers | Compiler Design | 21 | 13 | 9 |
| Instruction pipelining and pipeline hazards | Computer Organization and Architecture | 20 | 12 | 9 |
Source: the official GATE CS papers and answer keys for 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023, and both sessions of 2024, 2025 and 2026. We placed each question under one topic ourselves; the exam paper does not label topics. Data as of 19 Oct 2026.
Three topics lead on total marks. Graphs: traversals, minimum spanning trees and shortest paths has 44 marks from 23 questions, with a question in all ten papers. Memory hierarchy, performance and cache mapping has 39 marks from 22 questions, also in all ten papers. Trees, binary search trees and binary heaps has 34 marks from 23 questions, again in all ten. The next three also appear in all ten papers: IPv4: addressing, CIDR, fragmentation and NAT with 30 marks, Linear algebra with 29, and Regular expressions and finite automata with 28. Probability and statistics has 27 marks and a question in 9 of the ten papers. Boolean algebra, logic gates and minimisation has 24 marks across 8 papers. Graph theory: connectivity, matching and colouring also has 24 marks, but from 14 questions in 6 papers, so its marks come in fewer papers. At 21 marks each, Integrity constraints, functional dependencies and normal forms and Parsing: top-down and bottom-up parsers both have a question in 9 papers. Instruction pipelining and pipeline hazards has 20 marks, also in 9 papers. Data Structures and Algorithms, Computer Organization and Architecture and Engineering Mathematics each have two topics in this list.
The GATE CS syllabus, section by section, and its study subjects
| Syllabus section | Title in the syllabus | Study subject |
|---|---|---|
| Section 1 | Engineering Mathematics | Discrete Mathematics, Engineering Mathematics |
| Section 2 | Digital Logic | Digital Electronics |
| Section 3 | Computer Organization and Architecture | Computer Organization and Architecture |
| Section 4 | Programming and Data Structures | Programming in C, Data Structures and Algorithms |
| Section 5 | Algorithms | Data Structures and Algorithms |
| Section 6 | Theory of Computation | Theory of Computation |
| Section 7 | Compiler Design | Compiler Design |
| Section 8 | Operating System | Operating Systems |
| Section 9 | Databases | Database Management and Warehousing |
| Section 10 | Computer Networks | Computer Networks |
Source: official GATE 2027 CS syllabus PDF (IIT Madras), 19 Oct 2026. Subjects are those in IAE's study library.
Each of the ten sections of the GATE 2027 CS syllabus has a study subject. Section 1, Engineering Mathematics, is split between Discrete Mathematics and Engineering Mathematics. Section 2, Digital Logic, maps to Digital Electronics. Section 4, Programming and Data Structures, maps to Programming in C and Data Structures and Algorithms. Section 5, Algorithms, maps to Data Structures and Algorithms. Sections 3, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 each map to one subject of the same name or close to it. Some subjects hold questions from other papers too. Digital Electronics and Engineering Mathematics also hold GATE EC, EE and IN questions. Data Structures and Algorithms and Database Management and Warehousing also hold GATE DA questions. The counts in this post are CS questions only.
WHAT THIS CANNOT TELL YOU
This post counts ten papers: GATE CS 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2023, and both sessions of 2024, 2025 and 2026, each with its official answer key. Subjects and topics are IAE's own placement of each question; the exam paper does not label them. This shows what was asked, not what will be asked. Data as of 19 Oct 2026.
Data as of 19 Oct 2026.
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