IIT Gandhinagar Admission Through GATE: M.Tech AI, CSE, Early Admit and PhD

IIT Gandhinagar gives its address as Palaj, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, and its Department of Computer Science and Engineering describes the campus as being on the banks of the Sabarmati.

For a GATE DA or GATE CS candidate, the CSE department is the one to watch. Its MTech page lists three master's programmes under it: Computer Science and Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, and Integrated Circuit Design and Technology (ICDT). The department also admits PhD students in both CSE and AI, and its research areas are grouped as theory, systems, and AI and machine learning.

The institute's programme structure page gives the focus areas: the CSE M.Tech covers Computer Systems, Theoretical Computer Science, and Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, while the AI M.Tech is focused on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Every M.Tech needs 32 to 48 credits of coursework, 32 to 48 credits of thesis, a 4-credit writing course and the two-week Aarohan orientation. Students admitted from 2025-26 must also take 4 credits of Applications of AI courses relevant to their discipline.

The 2026-27 M.Tech admission page sets one institute-level rule for all disciplines.

• At least 55% or a CPI of 5.5 out of 10 in a BE, B.Tech, four-year BS, M.Sc. or equivalent in an appropriate branch, or 50% or 5.0 for SC, ST and PwD candidates.
• A GATE score that is valid at the time of the interview or written test.
• B.Tech graduates of an IIT with a CPI of 8.0 or above may apply without GATE.

The page adds that disciplines may use higher cut-offs for shortlisting.

What the page does not do is name GATE papers for each discipline. IIT Gandhinagar did not publish a table saying the AI M.Tech takes DA, CS or anything else. So on this page we do not claim that a DA score is accepted for either programme. If you write DA, email admission@iitgn.ac.in with your degree and paper before you pay the fee. A CS taker with a relevant degree meets the published rule, subject to the discipline's own shortlisting.

IIT Gandhinagar runs a combined process: you apply on its own portal, the discipline shortlists, and the offer goes out on COAP. A COAP registration number was mandatory on the 2026 form, except for candidates whose B.Tech is from an IIT. Anyone who entered a COAP number was processed under COAP norms.

Item	2026-27 cycle
Application deadline	15 April 2026, 5:00 PM
Fee	Rs. 300, or Rs. 150 for SC/ST/PD, per discipline
Selection	GATE score and/or interview and/or written test
Scholarship	Rs. 12,400 a month for full-time M.Tech students

Where a written test is held, the page says it generally covers general aptitude, engineering mathematics and the basic courses of a discipline up to the third year of a bachelor's degree. Candidates who fail the test do not go on to the interview. Both may be online or offline. Where a discipline holds no test or interview, it may shortlist on a cumulative evaluation score that includes the GATE score and other academic parameters, then publish a discipline-wise, category-wise merit list, and offers follow that list through COAP.

For a candidate in the south, the practical result is that you may or may not have to travel. The institute decides each year and tells shortlisted candidates the mode.

IIT Gandhinagar published a one-page GATE cut-off table for M.Tech admissions through COAP in 2025. The rows for Artificial Intelligence and Computer Science and Engineering, exactly as printed:

M.Tech (COAP 2025)	GEN	EWS	OBC-NCL	SC	ST
Artificial Intelligence	721	693	647	522	393
Computer Science and Engineering	747	752	693	531	456

The PwD columns for both rows are printed as "-". Read the institute's own note with these figures: admission through COAP is based on a cumulative score that considers the GATE score and other academic parameters, so "the GATE score does not reflect the actual cut-off for admission to all the branches". The table also does not say which GATE paper a score came from. Treat the numbers as a rough guide to one year, not a target for 2027.

Two other M.Tech routes cover CSE and AI.

Work and Study M.Tech

This is a three-year, full-time programme in which you study and work at IIT Gandhinagar for the whole period. It is not part-time or distance learning. The 2026-27 page lists CSE and AI among the disciplines, keeps the regular M.Tech's minimum eligibility, and pays Rs. 18,000 a month. Selection is by interview and a written test if any. The 2026 deadline was 6 July 2026, 5:00 PM.

Early Admit M.Tech

This route is for final-year B.Tech students and does not require GATE. The current cycle is for the programme beginning in July 2027. Eligible applicants were:

1. NIT students with a CPI of at least 8.0 at the end of the third year (7.5 for SC, ST and PwD).
2. Students from select colleges, NITs included, ranked in the top 5 of their department at the end of the pre-final year (top 10 for SC, ST and PwD).
3. IIT students with a CPI of at least 6.0 at the end of the third year.

Applications opened on 7 September 2026, and the page gives the deadline as 1 October 2026 at 5:00 PM (IST). Shortlists were due on 15 October and interviews and/or written tests ran from 22 October to 6 November 2026. No fee is charged, but you need a rank certificate from your Head of Department. The fellowship is Rs. 12,400 plus a Rs. 3,000 Director's fellowship a month with a valid GATE score, or Rs. 6,000 without. A DA or CS score therefore still matters here.

IIT Gandhinagar lists Computer Science and Engineering and Artificial Intelligence as separate PhD disciplines. For Semester II of 2026-27, applications opened on 7 September 2026. The poster shows the 28 September deadline extended to 1 October 2026, 5:00 PM. Shortlists were due on 15 October and written tests and/or interviews ran from 22 October to 6 November 2026.

The institute minimum is 55% or a CPI of 5.5 in a postgraduate degree or a four-year bachelor's degree (50% or 5.0 for SC, ST and PwD). Selection is generally by interview, with a written test if needed, and departments set the mode. A regular PhD student with a B.Tech plus GATE or NET, or a B.Tech from a centrally funded technical institute with a CPI of at least 8.0, is eligible for a Rs. 37,000 monthly fellowship, rising to Rs. 42,000 after two years. The CSE PhD page links an interview preparation playlist.

The department-wise criteria are in a separate eligibility PDF. Its pages for most departments are scanned images with no text layer, so we have not reproduced the CSE or AI rows here. Open the PDF yourself before applying.

The 2027 M.Tech notice is not out yet. Based on the 2026 pages:

1. If you are in your final B.Tech year at an NIT or a listed college, check the Early Admit route first. It runs in September and October, months before GATE.
2. Prepare with how to prepare for GATE DA 2027 or how to prepare for GATE CSE 2027, using previous papers and practice tests. Exam dates are on GATE 2027.
3. If you write DA, get written confirmation from admission@iitgn.ac.in that your paper is accepted for AI or CSE.
4. Apply before the April deadline (15 April in 2026), register on COAP and respond in every round.

Other IIT pages on this site include IIT Indore, IIT Bombay, and the full institutes list has the rest.