NIT Durgapur Admission Through GATE: M.Tech AI & Data Science, CSE and PhD

NIT Durgapur is on Mahatma Gandhi Avenue, Durgapur 713209, in West Bengal. Its own 2026 PhD advertisement describes it as the former Regional Engineering College, set up in 1960, on a 187-acre residential campus about 160 km north-west of Kolkata on the Howrah-Delhi main railway route.

The Department of Computer Science and Engineering puts two M.Tech programmes on CCMT:

• Artificial Intelligence & Data Science (CCMT code ZY)
• Computer Science & Engineering (CCMT code XG)

Two more programmes elsewhere touch AI. The Mechanical Engineering department runs Robotics & Artificial Intelligence, and Chemical Engineering runs AI and Data Analytics in Process Engg. The Department of Mathematics, Computer Science and Engineering and Management Studies runs Operations Research. Their GATE mapping is very different from the CSE department's, as the next section shows.

CCMT's 2026 mapping of programmes to GATE papers and qualifying degrees is short and clear for this institute.

Programme	GATE DA	GATE CS
Artificial Intelligence & Data Science	Any B.E./B.Tech	Any B.E./B.Tech, M.Sc in Computer Science, MCA
Computer Science & Engineering	Not mapped	Any B.E./B.Tech, M.Sc in Computer Science, MCA
Robotics & Artificial Intelligence	Only a B.E./B.Tech in Robotics and Artificial Intelligence	Not mapped
Operations Research	Not mapped	Any B.E./B.Tech, MCA, M.Sc in Mathematics, Statistics, Operations Research or Mathematics and Computing
AI and Data Analytics in Process Engg	Not mapped	Not mapped

So with GATE DA, your realistic route is Artificial Intelligence & Data Science, and only if you hold a B.E. or B.Tech; the 2026 mapping lists no M.Sc or MCA against DA for it. Robotics & Artificial Intelligence lists DA too, but only for graduates of that exact B.Tech branch.

With GATE CS, both CSE-department programmes are open, from any B.E./B.Tech branch, and so are M.Sc (Computer Science) and MCA graduates. So an ECE or EEE graduate with a CS score is eligible on paper. Operations Research also takes CS, alongside GATE MA. CCMT can revise all of this for 2027.

CCMT's 2026 Maximum and Minimum GATE Score report gives the highest and lowest score among candidates allotted each programme in each round. These are GATE scores out of 1000, as printed, for Group 1.

Round and category	AI & Data Science (max / min)	CSE (max / min)
Round 1, OPEN	735 / 614	710 / 621
Round 1, OBC-NCL	607 / 583	612 / 585
Round 1, EWS	601 / 586	613 / 597
Round 1, SC	476 / 470	537 / 456
Round 1, ST	343 / 343	411 / 343
National Spot Round, OPEN	546 / 541	579 / 548

For Computer Science & Engineering, only CS is mapped, so those are CS scores. For Artificial Intelligence & Data Science, CCMT does not split the figures by paper, so a DA score and a CS score sit in the same range. The full Round 1 and National Spot Round rows for every category are in the cut-off table on this page. For comparison inside the institute, Robotics & Artificial Intelligence printed 524 and 458 for Round 1 OPEN, and Operations Research printed 516 and 495.

NIT Durgapur's first admission notice of 20 July 2026 and its second notice of 7 August 2026 set the reporting dates. Candidates allotted before the National Spot Round did online admission from 5 to 9 August 2026; National Spot Round admits did it on 8 and 9 August. Physical reporting and hostel allotment were on 11 and 12 August, and classes began on 13 August 2026.

The online form uses your GATE registration number as the PID. You pay the balance institute fee through the BillDesk link in the notice before filling the form, then upload the same documents you gave CCMT. Approval comes by email from the admission committee in about 48 to 72 hours. Degree results not out yet can be covered by an undertaking, with documents due by 30 September 2026. Queries go to admission.pg@nitdgp.ac.in.

After CCMT, NIT Durgapur ran two admissions of its own, both advertised on 13 August 2026 and both without scholarship.

The self-sponsored advertisement was open to GATE-qualified candidates not allotted a seat through CCMT 2026 and to non-GATE candidates, with different bars:

Category	GATE qualified, no CCMT seat	Non-GATE, B.Tech or equivalent
OPEN, OBC-NCL, EWS	6.5 CGPA or 60%	7.5 CGPA or 70%
SC, ST	6.0 CGPA or 55%	7.0 CGPA or 65%

Selection weighted Class XII marks at 30%, the qualifying degree at 30% and a departmental written test at 40%, with a minimum of 40% in the test. The test was walk-in on 18 August 2026, the list came out on 19 August, and admission was on 20 and 21 August. The fee notice of 19 August asked self-sponsored admits for ₹83,600 (₹48,600 for SC and ST).

For a DA or CS aspirant the vacancy table matters most: 0 seats in Computer Science & Engineering and 0 in Artificial Intelligence & Data Science, out of 132. Robotics & Artificial Intelligence had 7.

The sponsored advertisement is for working candidates with at least two years of full-time experience in a government, semi-government or reputed organisation, with an employer's sponsorship certificate. It listed 5 sponsored seats in Computer Science & Engineering and 2 in AI and Data Science, open to B.E./B.Tech graduates in Computer Engineering, Computer Technology, Computer Science, CSE, Computer Science and Technology and IT.

The PhD advertisement for the odd semester of 2026-27 (Advt. No. NITD/AC/PhD/2026-27/ODD, dated 7 May 2026) offered 15 Institute Fellowship (Category A) seats in CSE: 6 OPEN, 2 EWS, 3 OBC-NCL, 1 OBC-NCL-PwD, 2 SC and 1 ST.

The CSE department accepts a B.E., B.Tech, M.E., M.Tech, MS or dual degree in CSE, IT, ECE, EE or Mathematics and Computing, or an MCA or M.Sc in Computer Science. With only a bachelor's degree or an MCA, you need 8.0 CGPA or 75% (7.5 or 70% for SC and ST); a master's needs 6.5 or 60%.

GATE is not the gate here. The application form marks the NET/GATE scorecard as not mandatory, and shortlisted candidates in most categories, including Institute Fellowship, sit the department's admission test before a viva voce. The advertisement says Category A selection is through a national-level examination conducted by NIT Durgapur, citing an office memorandum dated 11 September 2023. Category A scholars get ₹37,000 a month for two years and ₹42,000 for the remaining three.

The 2026 timetable ran from a 7 June closing date to the test and viva on 1 to 3 July and enrolment on 20 and 21 July. Applications go through nitdgp.ac.in/phdadmission/p, with a fee of ₹500 (₹250 for SC, ST and PwD).

A DA taker with a B.Tech has one clear CCMT target here, Artificial Intelligence & Data Science, and in 2026 Round 1 OPEN allotments ran from 735 down to 614. A CS taker can aim at either CSE-department programme, and the Round 1 OPEN floors were close, at 621 for CSE and 614 for AI & Data Science.

Do not count on the institute's own rounds for these two programmes. Both had zero self-sponsored vacancies in 2026, and the sponsored seats need two years of work experience.

To prepare, use the GATE DA guide or the GATE CSE guide, practise previous year questions and take timed tests. The GATE 2027 overview covers exam details, and the institutes list has other NIT pages with their own CCMT mappings.