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GATE Computer Science and Information Technology (CS)

GATE Computer Science and Information Technology (CS) is used for M.Tech/ME/PhD admission and is a recruitment filter for many PSUs.

At a glance
Conducted by IISc Bengaluru and seven IITs for NCB-GATE (IIT Madras organises GATE 2027)
Exam dates Week-1 (6–7 Feb 2027), Week-2 (13–14 Feb 2027), Week-3 (20–21 Feb 2027)
Registration dates 2 September 2026 to 5 October 2026 (extended without late fee); extended with late fee up to 12 October 2026
Admit card download 4 January 2027
Result announcement 19 March 2027
Who can apply Students in the 3rd year or higher of a UG programme, and graduates; no age limit; mandatory DigiLocker account verification for Indian nationals
Score validity 3 years

Official sources

Exam pattern

Section Questions Marks
General Aptitude (GA) 10 15
Subject Questions (CS) 55 85
Total 65 100
  • Duration: 3 hours.
  • Question types: MCQ (Multiple Choice Question), MSQ (Multiple Select Question), NAT (Numerical Answer Type).
  • Negative marking: Only for MCQs. 1/3 mark deducted for 1-mark MCQs, 2/3 mark for 2-mark MCQs. No negative marking for MSQ or NAT.
  • Mode: Computer Based Test (CBT).

Syllabus

The official CS syllabus (GATE 2027) comprises 10 sections:

  1. Engineering Mathematics: Propositional and first-order logic, sets, relations, functions, partial orders, lattices, groups, graphs (connectivity, matching, colouring), combinatorics (counting, recurrence relations, generating functions). Linear algebra (matrices, determinants, systems of linear equations, eigenvalues/eigenvectors, LU decomposition). Calculus (limits, continuity, differentiability, maxima/minima, mean value theorem, integration). Probability and statistics (random variables, uniform, normal, exponential, Poisson, binomial distributions, mean, median, mode, standard deviation, conditional probability, Bayes theorem).
  2. Digital Logic: Boolean algebra and minimization (algebraic techniques, Karnaugh maps, tabular method). Design of combinational and sequential circuits. Number representation and arithmetic (fixed and floating point).
  3. Computer Organization and Architecture: Instruction set and addressing modes. Design of ALU and control unit (hardwired and microprogrammed). Memory interfacing and hierarchy (performance, cache mapping). I/O interface (interrupt and DMA). Instruction pipelining and pipeline hazards.
  4. Programming and Data Structures: Programming in C. Recursion. Arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, binary search trees, binary heaps, graphs.
  5. Algorithms: Searching, sorting, hashing. Asymptotic worst-case time and space complexity. Algorithm design techniques: greedy, dynamic programming, divide-and-conquer. Graph traversals, minimum spanning trees, shortest paths.
  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.
  7. Compiler Design: Lexical analysis, parsing, syntax-directed translation. Runtime environments. Intermediate code generation. Local optimization, data flow analysis (constant propagation, liveness analysis, common subexpression elimination).
  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.
  9. Databases: ER-model. Relational model (relational algebra, tuple calculus, SQL). Integrity constraints, normal forms. File organization, indexing (B and B+ trees). Transactions and concurrency control.
  10. Computer Networks: Principles of layering. Basics of switching (circuit, packet, virtual circuit) and performance metrics. Data link layer (error detection, MAC, Ethernet). Routing (distance vector, link state). IPv4 (fragmentation, CIDR, NAT). TCP (flow control, congestion control, socket API). DNS and HTTP.

For detailed official topics, see the official syllabus PDF.

How to prepare (free, in order)

  1. Build a strong foundation in Discrete Mathematics, Data Structures, and Algorithms.
  2. Study core computer science subjects (Operating Systems, DBMS, Computer Networks, Computer Architecture, Theory of Computation, Compiler Design).
  3. Practice regularly using official past year papers available on the GATE 2027 website and NPTEL course materials.

Free resources