NITK Surathkal Admission Through GATE: CCMT, M.Tech (Research) and Ph.D.

NITK is located at Surathkal in Mangaluru, Dakshina Kannada district, on National Highway 66, with Surathkal railway station about 3 km away. It is an Institute of National Importance under the NIT Act 2007, and computing is spread across three departments that matter to a GATE DA or CSE taker: Computer Science and Engineering, Information Technology, and Mathematical and Computational Sciences (MACS). Electronics and Communication Engineering also offers an M.Tech in Signal Processing and Machine Learning.

The key point from NITK's 2026-27 information bulletin is that admission to the full-time M.Tech on scholarship seats is done through CCMT-2026, and seats are allotted on GATE score. You do not apply to NITK for these seats. You register on CCMT, list NITK programmes among your choices, and the counselling allots seats in rounds.

NITK's own portal (IRIS) handles everything else: M.Tech (Research), Ph.D., sponsored M.Tech seats and self-financed M.Tech seats.

CCMT publishes a mapping of each programme to the GATE papers and qualifying degrees it accepts. For CCMT 2026, the NITK rows relevant to computing were:

NITK M.Tech (CCMT code)	Department	GATE papers mapped in CCMT 2026
Computational and Data Science (CD)	Mathematical and Computational Sciences	DA, CS, MA, ST, PH and several engineering papers
Computer Science and Engineering (XG)	Computer Science and Engineering	CS only
Computer Science and Engineering, Information Security (XF)	Computer Science and Engineering	CS only
Information Technology (IT)	Information Technology	CS (plus EE for B.Tech Electrical and Computer Engineering)
Signal Processing and Machine Learning (SB)	Electronics and Communication Engineering	EC, EE, IN, BM, and CS for listed degrees

For the CD programme, the DA paper was mapped to a B.E./B.Tech in any discipline, a four-year BS in any discipline, and M.Sc. degrees in Mathematics, Statistics, Physics, Applied Mathematics, Operations Research and Mathematics and Computing. The CS paper was mapped to a B.E./B.Tech in any discipline, a four-year BS, MCA and several computing M.Sc. degrees.

For the two CSE programmes, the CS paper had to go with a four-year BS or a computing-type B.E./B.Tech: CSE, IT, Information Science, AI and Data Science, AI and ML, and similar branches listed in the mapping. NITK's own bulletin states the same requirement, a valid GATE in CS.

Through CCMT, the M.Tech in Computational and Data Science is the computing programme at NITK where a DA score counts, based on the 2026 mapping. It is run by the MACS department, whose Ph.D. research areas include artificial intelligence, machine learning, deep learning, generative AI, computer vision and scientific computing.

Outside CCMT, NITK's M.Tech (Research) in Information Technology lists a valid GATE score in CS and IT or Data Science and AI, so DA is explicitly accepted there. For the Ph.D., the bulletin asks for a qualifying GATE score for direct entry after a B.Tech without naming a paper.

If you can sit both papers in GATE 2027, a CS score widens the NITK choices to the two CSE programmes and IT. The GATE DA overview and GATE CSE overview explain how the two syllabi overlap.

CCMT's Opening Score-Closing Score page links to an official report titled Maximum and Minimum GATE Score of CCMT 2026. It prints a maximum and a minimum GATE score for each round, programme, group and category. Round 1 figures for NITK as printed:

Programme (Round 1, 2026)	OPEN	EWS	OBC-NCL	SC	ST
Computer Science and Engineering, max / min	791 / 761	754 / 752	734 / 702	597 / 561	560 / 468
Computational and Data Science, max / min	754 / 724	710 / 699	692 / 673	532 / 514	447 / 430
CSE (Information Security), max / min	758 / 738	734 / 730	698 / 690	536 / 520	464 / 446
Information Technology, max / min	754 / 718	708 / 698	690 / 678	531 / 508	427 / 423

Scores fell in later rounds. In the National Spot Round, the OPEN minimum was 712 for Computer Science and Engineering and 640 for Computational and Data Science.

Two cautions. The report does not split scores by GATE paper, so the CD rows mix DA, CS and other papers within Group 1. And these are one year's figures; seat counts and applicant numbers change every cycle.

CCMT 2026 ran three regular rounds, two special rounds and a National Spot Round, and the NITK score report has rows for each. NITK's bulletin says the seats are allotted on GATE score, while CCMT's mapping ties each programme to specific pairs of GATE paper and qualifying degree. Before you fill choices, find your exact degree name in the NITK rows of that mapping.

CCMT's 2026 cancellation and refund policy lists a registration fee of Rs. 3,500 (Rs. 3,000 for SC, ST and PwD) and a seat acceptance fee once a seat is allotted. It also lists failing online document verification, not meeting a programme's special eligibility and not reporting at the allotted institute among the reasons a seat is cancelled. Read the current year's brochure before paying anything.

Students on scholarship seats with a valid GATE score are eligible for a GATE scholarship of Rs. 12,400 per month for up to 24 months, according to NITK's bulletin, with 8 to 10 hours a week of teaching or research work attached.

NITK admits M.Tech (Research) and Ph.D. students itself, in a summer and a winter session. Applications go through the IRIS portal, followed by a hard copy posted to the Assistant Registrar (Academic), and the written test and interview are held offline at Surathkal.

M.Tech (Research) selection weights academic performance in the qualifying exam at 10%, GATE score at 70%, a written test at 10% and a technical presentation or interview at 10%. For the CSE and Information Security specialisations, the bulletin asks for a B.E./B.Tech in a computing branch, including AI and ML or Data Science, with a valid GATE in CS.

Ph.D. selection is 40% written test and 60% technical interview. Direct admission after a four-year bachelor's degree needs a qualifying GATE score and a CGPA of at least 8.0 (7.5 for SC, ST and PwD), within five years of graduating. Graduates of centrally funded institutes who meet that CGPA are exempt from GATE. The CSE department lists Ph.D. areas such as theoretical computer science, systems, AI and ML, data analytics and security.

Session	Last date to apply online	Test and interview at NITK
Summer 2026, M.Tech (Research)	20 April 2026	20 to 22 May 2026
Summer 2026, Ph.D.	27 April 2026	27 to 29 May 2026
Winter 2026-27, both	1 November 2026	30 November to 2 December 2026

NITK's minimum for M.Tech and M.Tech (Research) is a CGPA of 6.5 on a 10-point scale or 60% aggregate, relaxed to 6.0 or 55% for SC, ST and PwD candidates. For 2026-27 the M.Tech tuition fee was Rs. 35,000 per semester, with SC, ST and PwD students exempt from tuition fee. The NITK application fee for its own admissions was Rs. 500 for OC, OBC and EWS and Rs. 150 for SC, ST and PwD.

Two other M.Tech routes exist. Sponsored seats need at least two years of full-time work with the sponsoring organisation. Self-financed seats, including in Computer Science and Engineering and in Computational and Data Science, are filled through a separate notification, with a written test and technical interview at NITK.

For admission enquiries, NITK's bulletin gives the Dean (Academic Programs) at dean.ap@nitk.edu.in. Compare with the IISc Bengaluru page or the full institutes list, and plan your preparation with the GATE DA guide.