IISc Bengaluru Admission Through GATE: M.Tech, Research and Ph.D. Routes

IISc runs its own admission process. Every PG and research applicant fills one online form on the IISc admissions portal (www.iisc.ac.in, then Admissions, Apply Online). In the 2026 admission cycle the portal opened on 11 February 2026 and closed at 23:59 on 23 March 2026, for a session starting in August 2026. IISc's notices give its address as Bengaluru (Bangalore) 560012.

What happens after you apply depends on the programme:

• M.Tech by GATE score alone: Computer Science and Engineering is one of the disciplines selected on 100% GATE score, with no test or interview.
• M.Tech with a written test: Artificial Intelligence and Computational and Data Sciences use 70% GATE score plus 30% performance in a written test.
• M.Tech with an interview: disciplines such as Electrical Engineering and Robotics and Autonomous Systems use 70% GATE plus 30% interview.
• Research degrees: Ph.D. and M.Tech (Research) shortlist on GATE or NET JRF and select on an in-person interview.

All M.Tech offers through GATE are released on COAP, the Common Offer Acceptance Portal shared with the IITs. You must register on COAP separately and enter your COAP registration number on IISc's Applicant's Interface, or you will not see the offer.

These are the M.Tech programmes where IISc's own 2026 eligibility lists the DA or CS paper. The paper list matters more than your branch: IISc checks it at the application stage.

Programme	Offered by	GATE papers accepted (2026)	Selection
M.Tech in Artificial Intelligence	Kotak IISc AI ML Centre (KIAC)	CS, DA, EC, EE	70% GATE + 30% written test
M.Tech in Computational and Data Sciences	Department of Computational and Data Sciences	DA, CS and AE, BT, CE, CH, EC, EE, IN, MA, ME, MT, PH, ST	70% GATE + 30% written test
M.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering	Department of Computer Science and Automation	CS only	100% GATE score

For the AI programme IISc also asks that candidates have done a formal course in programming in C and C++. For Computational and Data Sciences it states that a strong mathematical and programming background is required in all cases. Eligible degrees include a B.E./B.Tech, and for these two programmes certain M.Sc. and four-year BS degrees as well; check the programme page for your exact degree.

A GATE score from 2024, 2025 or 2026 was valid for the 2026-27 intake, as long as the score card was valid on 1 August 2026.

The M.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering is offered by the Department of Computer Science and Automation (CSA). The eligibility on IISc's M.Tech page is a B.E./B.Tech or equivalent degree with a GATE paper in CS. Selection is based on 100% of GATE score, so this one has no written test and no interview.

Two practical consequences follow. First, a DA score cannot be used here, even if you also hold a B.Tech in computer science. If you want CSA's M.Tech, you need to write the CS paper. Second, because nothing else is weighed, your normalised GATE score out of 1000 is the whole application. IISc's 2026 cut-off report lists programmes with a test or interview stage and prints no number for M.Tech CSE.

If you are preparing for the CS paper, the GATE CSE preparation guide and the GATE CSE syllabus page cover what the score depends on.

This is the main door for a GATE DA taker. Both programmes first shortlist on GATE score, then call shortlisted candidates to campus for a written test that carries 30% of the final mark.

Computational and Data Sciences

The CDS department's 2026 admissions page says the in-person written test is mandatory for all shortlisted students and that there was no oral interview that year. The test date was printed on the call letter and fell on one of 15, 16 or 17 April 2026. The syllabus it published:

• Foundations: linear algebra and matrices, probability and combinatorics at undergraduate engineering level, plus basic calculus and geometry.
• Programming: data structures such as arrays and matrices, and basic programming in C, C++, Python or Java.

That overlaps closely with the GATE DA syllabus, so steady work on the GATE DA preparation guide and coding practice covers both stages.

Artificial Intelligence

The M.Tech in Artificial Intelligence is run by the Kotak IISc AI ML Centre and accepts CS, DA, EC and EE papers. It uses the same 70% GATE plus 30% written test formula. The test schedule is published under Important Dates on IISc's admissions site, so watch that page after you apply.

On 3 April 2026 IISc published a cut-off report for M.Tech and M.Des admissions 2026-27. It states that the GATE score out of 1000 is used as the cut-off. These numbers are the minimum to be called for the written test, not the score of the last person admitted.

Programme	Paper	UR	OBC	EWS	SC	ST
M.Tech Artificial Intelligence	DA	820	755	755	550	470
M.Tech Artificial Intelligence	CS	880	845	845	650	590
M.Tech Computational and Data Sciences	DA	780	690	725	500	425
M.Tech Computational and Data Sciences	CS	790	730	750	500	425

Applicants who scored above the cut-off but did not get a call letter were told to e-mail the admission office with their application form and score card by 8 April 2026. Cut-offs are set fresh each year, so treat these as one year's reference only.

IISc's 2026-27 notice lists Computer Science and Automation, Computational and Data Sciences and Artificial Intelligence among the engineering units offering both M.Tech (Research) and Ph.D. It also lists an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Brain, Computation and Data Science.

With a B.E./B.Tech or a four-year BS, a valid GATE score or NET JRF is mandatory. Graduates of a Centrally Funded Technical Institution with a CGPA of at least 8 out of 10 may apply without GATE, though GATE is listed as desirable. Candidates are shortlisted for an in-person interview, and some departments hold an aptitude test or preliminary interview first.

CDS describes its own process in detail. Phase I is a roughly 45-minute computer-based aptitude test at the department, with five mathematics questions and four programming questions to be solved in Python, C, C++ or Java. Those who qualify sit the Phase II oral interview the same day. Some CDS labs take only CS, ECE or EE graduates; others accept all backgrounds. CDS notes that B.E./B.Tech graduates can apply directly to the Ph.D.

IISc also runs a mid-year Ph.D. intake for a session starting 1 January 2027. Its notice listed Computer Science and Automation, with applications from 6 to 26 October 2026 and interviews from 16 to 20 November 2026.

The 2026 cycle ran on this pattern, which is the best guide to what the next notice will look like:

Step	2026 cycle
Portal opens	11 February 2026
Last date for PG and research applications	23 March 2026
Shortlisting cut-off report	3 April 2026
CDS written test	One of 15 to 17 April 2026
M.Tech offers	On COAP

The application fee was Rs. 800 for General, OBC and EWS candidates and Rs. 400 for SC, ST and PwD candidates, paid online. Final-year students could apply if they expected to finish all degree requirements by 31 July 2026 and could furnish certificates by 31 October 2026. IISc's notice also mentions supernumerary seats for women in various programmes.

The GATE 2027 exam calendar is on the GATE 2027 page, and if you will write the exam in Bengaluru, see the Bengaluru exam city page.

Several other IISc M.Tech programmes list the DA or CS paper in their 2026 cut-off tables, including Electrical Engineering (DA and EE), Electronic Systems Engineering, Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Quantum Technology and Smart Manufacturing. These select on 70% GATE score plus 30% interview, and their core content is not computer science, so read each department's page before applying.

IISc also admits graduates of four-year programmes at Centrally Funded Technical Institutions with a CGPA of at least 8.0 to some M.Tech programmes, including AI and Computational and Data Sciences, under the CFTI mode without GATE. See also the institutes list and the page on NITK Surathkal.