Central University of Karnataka Admission Through GATE: M.Tech AI and ML, PhD

CUK is one of the central universities set up under an Act of Parliament in 2009. The 2026-27 prospectus places its 654-acre campus near Kadaganchi village in Kalaburagi (Gulbarga) district, on SH-10, Aland Road, about 7.5 km from the city limits and about 21 km from the main city bus stand. The address on university notices is Aland Road, Kadaganchi 585367, Gulbarga District, Karnataka.

Computing sits in the School of Computer Science, whose Department of Computer Science was set up in 2012 with an MCA programme. It now runs the MCA, a B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering (AI and ML), the M.Tech in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning and a PhD. The prospectus calls the M.Tech a new programme. The School of Engineering also runs an M.Tech in RF & Microwave Engineering and one in Power and Energy Systems, which take ECE and electrical graduates.

For GATE itself, Kalaburagi is an exam city in the IISc zone on the GATE 2027 list. The prospectus puts Hyderabad about 200 km away; Solapur and Hubballi-Dharwad have their own city pages.

The prospectus gives the M.Tech in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning 30 seats plus 3 EWS seats over two years. Eligibility is a B.Tech/B.E. (Hons) in Computer Science and Engineering, Information Science and Engineering or an equivalent computer science degree with at least 50% aggregate (45% for OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD and Kashmiri migrant candidates).

Seats are split in two:

• Half are filled on GATE score. In 2026 these seats were in CCMT as "M.Tech in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning" under the Department of Computer Science.
• Half are filled through CUET-PG 2026 and the university's own PG counselling. If GATE candidates are not available, the prospectus says those seats also go to CUET candidates.

The CCMT 2026 seat mapping is narrow. Group 1 of the programme lists only GATE CS (Computer Science and Information Technology), paired with nine B.E./B.Tech degrees: Computer Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Computer Science and Information Technology, Computer Technology, Computer Engineering and Application, Computer Science and Systems Engineering, Computer Science and Technology, Computer Engineering (Software Engineering) and Computer Science and Engineering (Internet of Things). GATE DA is not mapped, and neither are M.Sc. or MCA degrees.

So a GATE DA taker cannot use that score for the CCMT seats in 2026. If you hold one of the B.Tech degrees above and also wrote CUET-PG, the CUET half is still open to you. If you are deciding which GATE paper to write in 2027 with this programme in mind, the GATE CSE paper is the one CCMT accepted here.

CCMT's report gives the highest and lowest GATE score among candidates allotted in each round. These rows are Round 1 and the last 2026 round in which each category appears for "M.Tech in Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning", copied as printed. Round 1 prints the group as "G1" and later rounds as "Group 1".

Round	Group	Category	Max	Min
Round 1	G1	OPEN	488	419
Round 1	G1	EWS	414	403
Round 1	G1	OBC-NCL	415	375
Round 1	G1	SC	327	314
Round 1	G1	ST	266	266
National Spot Round	Group 1	OPEN	351	351
Special Round 1	Group 1	EWS	331	331
Special Round 1	Group 1	OBC-NCL	326	322
National Spot Round	Group 1	SC	278	266
Special Round 1	Group 1	ST	266	266

Source: CCMT 2026 Maximum and Minimum GATE Score report. All of these are GATE CS scores, since CS was the only paper mapped. The OPEN range moved from 488-419 in Round 1 to a single allotment at 351 in the National Spot Round. Treat them as 2026 history, not a forecast.

The university's own July 2026 PG counselling was built around CUET. Its open offline counselling notice called candidates to the campus Multi-Purpose Hall on 30 July 2026 with their CUET scorecard, against vacancies posted on the website. The 2026 notices on cuk.ac.in show no separate GATE spot round for the AI and ML M.Tech; its GATE seats were handled within CCMT, including its National Spot Round.

A stipend is worth checking before you choose. The university's 8 July 2026 notice offered a Rs. 12,400 monthly AICTE fellowship to GATE-qualified candidates in two programmes, RF & Microwave Engineering and Power and Energy Systems, and the prospectus says the same. Neither document lists the AI and ML M.Tech for that fellowship, so ask the department before you count on one.

CUK admits PhD scholars through rounds it announces on its website and the Samarth portal. For the 2026-27 round, the general notice of 4 November 2026 and the instructions of 6 November set out who may apply: candidates qualified in JRF, NET or GATE or an equivalent national test, NET (PhD only) Category 3, DST-INSPIRE fellows, holders of central or state fellowships and teacher fellowships, and project staff who meet one of those conditions. Eligible candidates go straight to an interview.

Two computing PhDs are listed. Ph.D. Computer Science asks for a master's degree in Computer Science or an MCA with 55% (50% for reserved categories). Ph.D. Computer Science & Engineering asks for an M.E./M.Tech in Computer Science & Engineering or a relevant field with 55%, after a four-year bachelor's degree.

Component	Marks
Qualification: JRF 50, DST-INSPIRE or other fellowship 45, NET or GATE 40	up to 50
PG marks (above 80%: 10; above 60%: 8; 55% to 60%: 6)	up to 10
Online written test before the interview	10
Online presentation of a research proposal	10
Online viva-voce on domain knowledge	20

Candidates need 50% of the combined score (45% for SC, ST, OBC-NCL and EWS) to enter the merit list. The 2026-27 schedule ran registration from 6 to 27 November 2026, the eligible list on 30 November, interviews from 3 to 9 December, admission on 11 December and classes from 4 January 2027.

The university also takes Visvesvaraya PhD Scheme scholars. The revised 2026-27 instructions reopened registration from 14 to 28 October 2026 and said candidates without GATE or NET would be considered if qualified candidates were not available. A provisional eligible list for the Computer Sciences PhD followed on 30 October.

1. Decide your paper. For the CCMT seats in the AI and ML M.Tech, 2026 accepted only GATE CS; the GATE CSE preparation guide is the place to start.
2. Check the CCMT 2027 seat mapping when it is published, in case DA is added.
3. If you are a DA aspirant with a computer science B.Tech, keep CUET-PG in mind for the other half of the seats.
4. For a PhD, a valid GATE qualification earns 40 of the 70 weighted marks; watch cuk.ac.in for the next round.

Other southern options on GATEiit include IIT Dharwad, IIIT Dharwad and the University of Hyderabad.