All About GATE Entrance Exam

GATE is known to test the basics of Engineering in a smart manner. Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is jointly conducted by seven Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs), IIT Bombay, IIT Guwahati, IIT   Madras, IIT Kharagpur , IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, IIT Delhi and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore .  Each year, GATE is organized by any of these 8 institutes i.e. IISc and 7 IITs. The overall responsibility and co- ordination of conducting GATE is done by that institute which is designated as Organizing Institute (OI) of that particular year.  This exam is conducted on the behalf of National Coordination Board-GATE, Department of Higher Education, Government of India, and Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD).
Basically, GATE is an examination which tests the complete understanding of engineering and science subjects. The GATE score is used for getting admissions in various post graduate programs such as Master of Engineering, Master of Technology, and Doctor of Philosophy in national institutes and in some international institutes such as Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, and Technical Universities of Germany.
Apart from educational programs, there are Indian PSUs (Public Sectors Undertakings) which accept GATE scores for the short listing of the candidates.

Scholarships / Assistantship in post graduate programs:

A valid GATE score is necessary to get the scholarship in the postgraduate or doctorate programs in relevant branches of Science and Engineering. The scholarship is supported by the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) and other government/public agencies. To avail the benefit of fellowship, the student must secure with the institutes which provide scholarships before getting admission to any program. The criteria of the assistantship may vary for different institutes for postgraduate programs.
In many government colleges, qualifying GATE is the minimum requirement to apply for various fellowship programs. The qualified candidates are also eligible for the JRF (Junior Research Fellowship) in CSIR Laboratories as well as CSIR sponsored projects.  After the completion of 2 years as JRF - GATE, the fellowship may be upgraded to SRF (Senior Research Fellowship) with the increase in stipend per month in the successive years. Also, the top rank candidates of some GATE papers are authorized to apply for “ Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Fellowship” by CSIR.  Through this exam, a candidate is also eligible for the post of Scientist/Engineer in some government organizations.

Eligibility Criteria:

• A candidate should be a final year student or graduate of Bachelor’s degree or equivalent in the field of engineering/architecture/technology for post graduate programs.
• A candidate should have Master’s degree or equivalent in science/engineering/ mathematics/ statistics/computer applications for doctoral programs.
• A candidate must be in second or higher year of four –year integrated postgraduate programs in Engineering / Technology.
• A candidate must be in fourth or higher year of five- year integrated postgraduate or dual degree programs in Engineering/ Technology.
• A candidate should be a graduate or a post graduate from a college / university recognized by UPSC/AICTE.
• From 2017, international candidates from countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, United Arabs, and Sri Lanka can also apply for GATE.