IIT Kanpur Admission Through GATE: M.Tech in CSE and Intelligent Systems, MS and PhD

IIT Kanpur is in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh (PIN 208016). The DoAA PG admission pages list three units that matter most if you are writing GATE DA or GATE CS.

• Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) runs the M.Tech, MS (by Research) and PhD. Its M.Tech page describes the programme as oriented towards research and advanced training, ending in a thesis.
• Intelligent Systems (DIS) runs an M.Tech, MS (by Research) and PhD. Its site lists Wadhwani centres for robotics, AI policy, developing intelligent systems and cybersecurity of critical infrastructure.
• Statistics and Data Science admits PhD students, and the institute's PhD paper sheet lists DA, MA and ST for it.

Cognitive Science (M.Tech in Cognitive Systems) and Management Sciences also list DA and CS among a longer set of accepted papers. A separate online M.Tech in AIML exists, but it has its own route and is not covered here.

If you are coming from the south, two practical notes from the official pages help. The PG admission page says in-campus accommodation may not be available to newly admitted PG students at the time of admission. HRA may be paid as per rules until a room is offered. The CSE FAQ adds that candidates must arrange their own stay during on-campus selection, and suggests warm clothes for December and January.

The DoAA sheet of GATE paper codes for M.Tech gives these combinations.

M.Tech programme	Accepted GATE papers
Computer Science and Engineering	CS, DA, EC, EE, MA, ST
Intelligent Systems	CS, DA, EC
Cognitive Systems	DA and CS among many others, including BM, BT, EC, EE, MA, ME, PH, ST and XE, XH, XL sections

Note what this means: GATE DA is accepted for the core Computer Science and Engineering M.Tech itself. The department's page puts it as "GATE score in CS; or DA/MA/ST/EE/EC" and warns that shortlisting and selection cut-offs for different papers may be different. So a DA taker competes for the same programme, but the cut-off applied to a DA score need not match the one for CS.

Institute minimums apply too: a bachelor's degree in Engineering or a 4-year bachelor's in Science, or a master's in Science, with at least 55% marks or 5.5 CPI. DIS adds that online degrees are not accepted.

IIT Kanpur's 2026 M.Tech notice, as posted by the Department of Management Sciences, asked all Indian applicants, GATE and non-GATE, to apply on the DoAA PG admission portal by 13 April 2026. All GATE-based applicants had to accept or reject offers through COAP 2026, hosted at coap2026.iitr.ac.in.

The departments then shortlist in their own ways.

In CSE, the M.Tech admission page says the merit list for institute-funded seats is prepared only on GATE scores, with no written test or interview. Sponsored and part-time applicants sit an on-campus written test and programming test, then an interview.

In DIS, the M.Tech admission page says regular candidates are shortlisted on marks/CPI and GATE score via COAP. Part-time, sponsored and external candidates are selected by interview.

Regular M.Tech students received an institute assistantship of Rs. 12,400 a month for 8 hours of work a week. IIT B.Tech/BS graduates with overall CPI of 6.5 and CPI of 8.0 in the last two years can skip the GATE requirement.

MS (by Research) admissions happen twice a year, in May and December according to the CSE FAQ. For the January 2027 semester, the PG admission portal was open from 16 October 2026, 2:00 PM, to 3 November 2026, 2:00 PM. The application fee was Rs. 500 (General, EWS, OBC, OBC-NCL) or Rs. 250 (SC/ST and all DAP), with a separate form for each programme or department.

CSE. GATE in CS, DA, MA, ST, EE or EC is accepted. The MS page says shortlisting for the admission written test and programming test is based only on GATE score. The merit list is then 70% GATE score and 30% test performance. The current cycle page says MS-R (GATE) candidates have no interview and may leave after the tests. The tests are held in the CSE department and the Diamond Jubilee Building, and the programming test is in C or Python. CSE asks applicants to state a research area of interest and strongly encourages a statement of purpose.

DIS. Its MS page lists CS, EC, ME, ST, DA, MA and XH (paper C1). Selection uses marks/CPI, GATE score and an interview, and the department may set a cut-off depending on the number of applications.

The DoAA eligibility page says PhD admission is based on written tests and/or interviews of candidates shortlisted by each department's DPGC. The PhD paper sheet lists the following:

PhD programme	GATE papers listed
Computer Science and Engineering	CS, DA, EC, EE, MA, ST
Intelligent Systems	CS, DA, EC, MA, ME, ST, XH (C1)
Statistics and Data Science	DA, MA, ST

CSE admits candidates with an M.Tech/ME, and also outstanding candidates with a strong CS background and a B.Tech/BE or an M.Sc. in Maths, Statistics or Physics. Its PhD page describes an on-campus written test and programming test, followed by an interview for those shortlisted. An SOP is mandatory. CSE also runs walk-in PhD admissions, which need a visit to the campus.

DIS selects bachelor's degree holders on marks/CPI, GATE AIR and an interview. It asks for at least 75% or 7.5 CPI and a GATE AIR within 5% of total candidates, which is waived for CFTI graduates. PhD students receive Rs. 37,000 a month for the first two years, then Rs. 42,000.

The DoAA contact page lists these PG admission contacts:

• CSE: admissions@cse.iitk.ac.in, dpgc@cse.iitk.ac.in, 0512-259-2004 (DPGC convener)
• Intelligent Systems: dpgc_is@iitk.ac.in, office_is@iitk.ac.in
• Statistics and Data Science: dpgc_sds@iitk.ac.in, office_sds@iitk.ac.in

A sensible order for the 2027 cycle:

1. Decide your paper. DA keeps both the CSE and Intelligent Systems M.Tech open, and CS does the same.
2. Prepare with how to prepare for GATE DA 2027 or how to prepare for GATE CSE 2027, and use previous year questions and practice.
3. After GATE 2027 results, watch the DoAA PG admission page for the M.Tech window, register on COAP and apply on the institute portal before the deadline.
4. For MS (by Research), plan for an on-campus programming test in C or Python.

If you are also applying to IIT Kharagpur, read its page separately, since each IIT sets its own process. GATEiit has no link with IIT Kanpur, so confirm every date on the official pages.