GATE Explained: What It Is, and the 30 Papers It Offers
GATE is a single three-hour computer-based test, conducted jointly by IISc Bengaluru and seven IITs on behalf of the National Coordination Board, Ministry of Education. IIT Madras is the organising institute for 2027. It is offered in 30 papers, of which a candidate may sit one or two. There is no age limit, the paper is in English, and a score is valid for three years from the announcement of results.
Source: GATE 2027 Information Brochure: Highlights (printed p. 2), examination pattern (printed p. 4), conducting bodies and zones (printed p. 5), Table 3a (printed p. 12) and Disclaimers in section 9 (printed p. 29). Page numbers are the brochure's printed page numbers; the PDF page number is four higher.
Updated 23 September 2026
| Code | Test paper | Sectional paper | Taught at IAE |
|---|---|---|---|
| AE | Aerospace Engineering | — | — |
| AG | Agricultural Engineering | — | — |
| AR | Architecture and Planning | Yes — sectional paper | — |
| BM | Biomedical Engineering | — | — |
| BT | Biotechnology | — | Yes |
| CE | Civil Engineering | — | Yes |
| CH | Chemical Engineering | — | — |
| CS | Computer Science and Information Technology | — | Yes |
| CY | Chemistry | — | — |
| DA | Data Science and Artificial Intelligence | — | Yes |
| EC | Electronics and Communication Engineering | — | Yes |
| EE | Electrical Engineering | — | Yes |
| ES | Environmental Science & Engineering | — | — |
| EY | Ecology and Evolution | — | — |
| GE | Geomatics Engineering | Yes — sectional paper | — |
| GG | Geology and Geophysics | Yes — sectional paper | — |
| IN | Instrumentation Engineering | — | Yes |
| MA | Mathematics | — | — |
| ME | Mechanical Engineering | — | — |
| MN | Mining Engineering | — | — |
| MT | Metallurgical Engineering | — | — |
| NM | Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering | — | — |
| PE | Petroleum Engineering | — | — |
| PH | Physics | — | — |
| PI | Production and Industrial Engineering | — | — |
| RA | Robotics and Automation | Yes — sectional paper | — |
| ST | Statistics | — | — |
| XE | Engineering Sciences | Yes — sectional paper | — |
| XH | Humanities & Social Sciences | Yes — sectional paper | — |
| XL | Life Sciences | Yes — sectional paper | — |
Source: Table 3a, “List of GATE 2027 test papers and their corresponding paper codes”, printed page 12 of the official GATE 2027 Information Brochure, as on 23 September 2026. The “Sectional paper” column reproduces the brochure's own asterisk, which Table 3b on the same page explains: those papers are sat as a common section plus optional sections. The last column is IAE Academy's own, not the brochure's: it marks the seven papers IAE teaches, and those rows link to the course page. Robotics and Automation (RA) is new for GATE 2027.
About this resource
Every other document in this Resource Centre assumes you already know what GATE is. This one does not. It is the page to read first, and it is deliberately short: what the exam is, who runs it, what it costs you in time, and which of the thirty papers you might sit. Where another page already owns a subject, the dates, the fee, the eligibility table, what a score is for, this one links to it rather than repeating it, because a second copy of a date is how a date goes wrong.
The examination is one three-hour computer-based test, taken in English. A candidate answers 65 questions for 100 marks, of which General Aptitude is 15. Negative marking applies only to multiple-choice questions, one third of a mark on a one-mark question, two thirds on a two-mark question, and there is no partial marking anywhere. The only calculator permitted is the on-screen virtual one.
Thirty papers are offered, and Table 3a below lists all of them with their codes. Seven asterisked papers are sectional, meaning they are sat as a common section plus optional ones. Robotics and Automation (RA) is new for GATE 2027. IAE Academy teaches seven of the thirty, and those rows link to the course page, the last column is ours, not the brochure's, and the source note says so.
Two things the brochure states clearly. There is no age limit to appear. And qualifying does not entitle you to anything: section 9 states that “Qualifying in GATE examination does NOT guarantee admission, scholarship, or a job.” What a score is for is set out at /resources/gate-2027-score-what-it-gets-you.
What's included
- ✓What GATE is, who conducts it, and which institute organises the 2027 cycle
- ✓All 30 test papers and their codes, from Table 3a, with the sectional papers marked
- ✓Which seven papers IAE Academy teaches, linked to their course pages
- ✓The examination pattern: duration, language, questions, marks and negative marking
- ✓That there is no age limit, and that a score is valid for three years
- ✓Where to go next for dates, fees, eligibility and what a score is for
How to use this resource
Find your branch in the table and note the code, every other page on this site, and the application form itself, refers to papers by that code rather than by name.
If your row is marked in the last column, IAE teaches that paper and the row links to the course page.
Read this page once, then go to /resources/gate-2027-eligibility to check you can sit it, and /resources/gate-2027-application-checklist for the dates and the fee.
If you are preparing for GATE 2028 or 2029 rather than 2027, everything on this page still holds, the exam's shape does not change year to year, but check the 2028 brochure when it is published for the paper list and the dates.
Frequently asked questions
What is GATE, in one sentence?+
A single three-hour computer-based test, conducted jointly by IISc Bengaluru and seven IITs on behalf of the National Coordination Board of the Ministry of Education, offered in 30 papers, in which a candidate answers 65 questions for 100 marks.
Is there an age limit for GATE?+
No. The Highlights on printed page 2 of the official GATE 2027 Information Brochure state “There is NO age limit to appear for GATE 2027.” Eligibility turns on your degree and your year of study instead, and the full table is at /resources/gate-2027-eligibility.
How many GATE papers are there, and can I sit more than one?+
Thirty, listed in the table on this page. A candidate may sit one or two papers, and the two must be an allowed combination, the brochure's Table 4 sets out which pairs are permitted, and it labels that table tentative. Robotics and Automation is new for 2027.
How long is a GATE score valid?+
Three years from the date the results are announced. That is the brochure's own wording on printed page 2. What the score can be used for in those three years, postgraduate admission, fellowships, and recruitment, is set out at /resources/gate-2027-score-what-it-gets-you.
I am preparing for GATE 2028, not 2027. Is this page still useful?+
Yes. The shape of the exam, one three-hour computer test, 65 questions, 100 marks, 15 for General Aptitude, negative marking on multiple-choice questions only, does not change from year to year, and neither does the paper list in most years. What will change is the calendar and possibly the syllabus, and neither the GATE 2028 brochure nor its syllabus exists yet; they are usually published around the middle of the preceding year.
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