GATE 2027 in Tirupati: IIT Madras Zone, Back-up Cities and Institutes
Tirupati is IIT Madras zone for GATE 2027, so Chennai is a valid back-up but Bengaluru, Kurnool and Anantapur are not. Plan six cities here.
Updated 2 November 2026 · GATEiit Team
Rayalaseema sits in two zones
Most of us assume all of Andhra Pradesh is handled by one office. The official exam-city list splits the state three ways:
| Zone | Andhra Pradesh exam cities |
|---|---|
| IIT Madras | Amaravati, Chirala-Bapatla, Chittoor, Guntur, Kadapa, Nandyala, Nellore, Ongole, Tirupati |
| IISc | Anantapur, Kurnool |
| IIT Kharagpur | Bhimavaram, Eluru, Kakinada-Surampalem, Rajamahendravaram (Rajahmundry), Srikakulam, Tadepalligudem, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram |
Tirupati is in the first row. The pair to watch is in the west: Nandyala is IIT Madras, but Kurnool and Anantapur are IISc. If you study in Tirupati and your family lives in Kurnool or Anantapur, you are choosing between two zones, not between two cities.
Tirupati appears as one exam city. You cannot name a campus or locality, and GATE assigns the centre inside the city. The list is tentative: GATE can add or drop a city and can allot one outside your six if it must. The exam is held only in India.
A same-zone list that stays close
You are better placed than many Andhra students, because most of the nearby exam cities on the list share your zone. A list for someone who will be in Tirupati in February:
- Tirupati
- Chittoor
- Nellore
- Kadapa
- Chennai North or Chennai South
- Vellore, or Ongole if your people are up the coast
Kanchipuram, Tiruvannamalai and Krishnagiri in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are also IIT Madras zone, so any of them can take slot five or six if that is where you would have a place to sleep. Guntur and Amaravati are in the zone as well, but they are a long way from here and only make sense if you have family there.
Chennai is listed as two separate exam cities. If you can stay with someone in the city, you may use both as two of your six. Leave room for the home-district options first, though, since they are the ones you can reach on the morning itself.
Bengaluru, Kurnool, Vijayawada: off the form
These look reasonable from Tirupati and the application will refuse every one of them alongside Tirupati:
- IISc zone: Bengaluru North, Bengaluru South, Kolar, Chikkballapur and every other Karnataka exam city, plus Anantapur and Kurnool in Andhra Pradesh, and Hyderabad.
- IIT Kharagpur zone: Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and the rest of the coastal list north of Ongole.
A student working in Bengaluru who still calls Tirupati home has to pick a side. If you will sit the exam from your Bengaluru room, go all-IISc and read the Bengaluru page. If you will come home for the exam weekends, stay with the list above. The Hyderabad and Vijayawada pages cover those other zones.
One office for zone and paper
For Tirupati, the zone office and the institute organising GATE 2027 are the same. The contact as printed on the official page:
- IIT Madras, Chennai – 600 036: helpdesk@gate.iitm.ac.in, 044-22578200
Send your question from the email ID you registered with and put your enrolment ID in the first line. Registration closed with the special window on 16 October 2026, and the data correction window is shown as TBA on the official dates page. Check what that window allows when it opens, rather than assuming your city order can still be changed.
From the allotment to the exam morning
The city allotment notification is due on 4 January 2027. The admit card date is TBA, and the admit card is what gives the centre address and reporting time. Results follow on 19 March 2027.
When your admit card arrives, look the centre up the same day. A Tirupati centre may be on the edge of town, well away from your college. If you have been given Nellore, Kadapa or Chennai instead, plan to reach the night before rather than travel on the morning of a session.
Carry the printed admit card and the original photo ID you gave in the form, along with anything else the admit card lists. What can and cannot go into the hall is set by the admit card, so read it rather than relying on last year's advice.
Institutes to look at from here
Two are in the district. IIT Tirupati is in Tirupati itself, and IIIT Sri City is at Sri City in Chittoor. Each page explains the institute's GATE routes for DA and CSE candidates.
Down the road in Tamil Nadu are IIT Madras and IIITDM Kancheepuram, with NIT Trichy further south. NIT Andhra Pradesh has a page too, and across the state line west, IISc Bengaluru. Everything else is on /institutes.
Where you write the exam makes no difference to where you are admitted. A Tirupati centre does not help at IIT Tirupati, and an IIT Madras zone centre does not help at IIT Madras.
Preparing without a coaching centre
GATEiit is a free website with no office or classroom in Tirupati or any other city, so it works the same from a college hostel as from home.
Pick your paper first. GATE DA is Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, and GATE CSE is Computer Science and Information Technology. Both pages give the syllabus, and DA with CS is an allowed two-paper combination for 2027.
Then work through old papers on /pyq and topic sets on /practice. The GATE DA 2027 guide and the GATE CSE 2027 guide lay out a plan, and /guides has the rest. If you want people to argue a question with, the WhatsApp group is linked on each paper page.
All six exam days are Saturdays and Sundays, so put your full mocks on weekend mornings from now on. The Chennai page covers the rest of your zone, and the exam-city overview and GATE 2027 have the national details.
Institutes near Tirupati that admit through GATE
Frequently asked questions
Which zone is Tirupati in for GATE 2027?
The IIT Madras zone. Chittoor, Nellore, Kadapa, Nandyala, Ongole, Guntur, Amaravati and Chirala-Bapatla are in the same zone.
Can I choose Tirupati and Chennai together?
Yes. Chennai North and Chennai South are both IIT Madras zone, so either or both can go on the same form as Tirupati.
Can I put Bengaluru as a back-up to Tirupati?
No. Bengaluru North and Bengaluru South are IISc zone. Mixing zones is not allowed.
Are Anantapur and Kurnool in the same zone as Tirupati?
No. Both are IISc zone on the official list, even though Nandyala and Kadapa are IIT Madras zone.
Can I add Vijayawada with Tirupati?
No. Vijayawada is in the IIT Kharagpur zone, along with Visakhapatnam, Eluru and the other coastal cities north of Ongole.
Can I pick a centre near my college in Tirupati?
No. You choose the exam city. GATE picks the centre within it and prints it on your admit card.
Whom do I contact about my exam city?
IIT Madras, which is both your zone office and the organiser: helpdesk@gate.iitm.ac.in or 044-22578200.
Will writing GATE in Tirupati help me get into IIT Tirupati?
No. The exam city plays no part in admission. Institutes go by your GATE score and their own process.
Sources
Checked on against these official pages. Admission rules and exam cities can change, so confirm on the official site before you act.