GATE Syllabus – Exam Topics, Pattern, Important Books, Preparation Tips

The syllabus for GATE 2021 will be made available in online mode on the official website by the concerned authorities. Aspirants will be able to check the PDF files containing the detailed GATE syllabus for all 25 subjects. Candidates must note that questions in the GATE exam will be asked from the topics enlisted in the GATE 2021 syllabus only. 

Before starting the preparations for the exam, the candidates must:

• Go through the detailed syllabus thoroughly so as to avoid any confusions or discrepancy.
• Lay more focus and time on the sections in which they are weak.

In this article, we have explained the detailed syllabus for GATE 2021. Aspirants qualifying the GATE exam will be eligible for admissions into various IITs, NITS, IIITs and CFTIs, and some PSUs recruitment.

Latest Update – As per the revised Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) scheme, the qualifying score for GATE exam has been changed to 650; it was 750 earlier. Also, among the 25 institutions, NITs will also be eligible to grant the fellowship. 

GATE Syllabus – Subject-wise

The concerned authorities will announce the syllabus for GATE 2021 along with the official notification. As per the previous year’s notification, the subject-wise detailed syllabus is mentioned below.

GATE Syllabus for ARCHITECTURE AND PLANNING

Architecture and Design	Building and Structures
Building Materials, Construction and Management	Environmental Planning and Design
Planning Techniques and Management	Services, Infrastructure and Transportation
Urban Design	Urban Planning and Housing

GATE Syllabus for CHEMISTRY

Physical Chemistry	Inorganic Chemistry
Organic Chemistry

GATE Syllabus for METALLURGICAL ENGINEERING

Engineering Mathematics	Extractive Metallurgy
Manufacturing Processes	Mechanical Metallurgy
Physical Metallurgy	Thermodynamics and Rate Processes

GATE Syllabus for MINING ENGINEERING

Economics, Mine Planning, Systems Engineering	Engineering Mathematics
Geo-Mechanics and Ground Control	Mine Development and Surveying
Mining Methods and Machinery	Surface Environment, Mine Ventilation, and Underground Hazards

GATE Syllabus for PHYSICS

Atomic and Molecular Physics	Classical Mechanics
Electromagnetic Theory	Mathematical Physics
Nuclear And Particle Physics	Quantum Mechanics
Solid State Physics and Electronics	Thermodynamics and Statistical Physics

GATE Syllabus for PRODUCTION AND INDUSTRIAL ENGINEERING

Engineering Mathematics	General Engineering
Industrial Engineering	Manufacturing Processes I
Manufacturing Processes II	Operations Research and Operations Management
Quality and Reliability

GATE TEXTILE ENGINEERING AND FIBRE SCIENCE Syllabus

Chemical Processing	Engineering Mathematics
Fabric Manufacture, Structure And Properties	Textile Fibres
Textile Testing	Yarn Manufacture, Yarn Structure and Properties

GATE ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTION Syllabus

Behavioural Ecology	Ecology
Evolution	Mathematics and Quantitative Ecology

GATE Mathematics Syllabus for XE

Differential Equations	Engineering Mathematics
Linear Algebra	Numerical Methods
Probability and Statistics	Vector Calculus
Calculus

GATE Fluid Mechanics Syllabus for XE

Differential Analysis	Dimensional Analysis
Flow and Fluid Properties	Integral Analysis
Internal Flows	In Viscid Flows
Kinematics	Brandt Boundary Layer Equations

GATE Material Science Syllabus for XE

Characterisation Techniques	Elements of Quantum Mechanics and Mathematics
Environmental Degradation	Material Types
Processing of Materials	Properties of Materials
Structure and Imperfections	Thermodynamics And Kinetics

GATE Thermodynamics Syllabus for XE

Basic Concepts	First Law of Thermodynamics
Ideal Gas Mixtures	Properties of Pure Substances
Second Law of Thermodynamics	Thermodynamic Cycles
Thermodynamic Relations

GATE Food Technology Syllabus for XE

Food Chemistry and Nutrition	Food Engineering
Food Microbiology	Food Products Technology

GATE CHEMISTRY Syllabus for XL

Atomic Structure And Periodicity	Chemical Equilibria
Electrochemistry	Reaction Kinetics
S, P and D Block Elements	Structure and Bonding
Structure-Reactivity Correlations And Organic Reaction Mechanisms	Thermodynamics

GATE Syllabus – Stream-wise

GATE aspirants can check the below tables to know about the stream-wise syllabus of GATE 2021.

Gate Syllabus for BIOMEDICAL ENGINEERING

Analog and Digital Electronics	Biomaterials
Biomechanics	Electrical Circuits
Engineering Mathematics	Human Anatomy and Physiology
Measurements and Control Systems	Medical Imaging Systems
Sensors and Instrumentation	Signals and Systems

GATE Syllabus for MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

Engineering Mechanics	Thermodynamics
Strength of materials	Refrigeration & Air Conditioning
Heat Transfer	General Aptitude
Machine Design	Industrial Engineering
Fluid Mechanics	Engineering Mathematics
Theory of Mechanics	Manufacturing Engineering

GATE Syllabus for INSTRUMENTATION ENGINEERING

Analog circuits	Circuits & Networks
Measurements	General Aptitude
Communications	Signals and Systems
Control System	Transducers
Digital Circuits	Engineering Mathematics
Analytical Biomedical & Optical Instrumentation	Process Controls

GATE Syllabus for ELECTRONICS AND COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

Network Theory	Communication Systems
Electronics Devices & Circuits	EMT
Digital Circuits	Engineering Mathematics
Signal & Systems	General Aptitude
Analog Circuits	Micro Processors
Control Systems	–

GATE Syllabus for ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING

Network Theory	Analog & Digital Electronics
Signal & System	EMT
Control Systems	General Aptitude
Power Systems	Engineering Maths
Electrical machines	Power Electronics
Electrical & Electronics Measurements

GATE Syllabus CIVIL ENGINEERING

Engineering Mathematics	Environmental Engineering
Geometrics Engineering	Geotechnical Engineering
Structural Engineering	Transportation Engineering
Water Resources Engineering

GATE Syllabus for CHEMICAL ENGINEERING

Chemical Engineering	Chemical Reaction Engineering
Chemical Technology	Engineering Mathematics
Fluid Mechanics and Mechanical Operations	Heat Transfer
Instrumentation and Process Control	Mass Transfer
Plant Design and Economics	Process Calculations and Thermodynamics

GATE Syllabus for AEROSPACE ENGINEERING

Aerodynamics	Engineering Mathematics
Flight Mechanics	Propulsion
Space Dynamics	Structures

GATE Syllabus for AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING

Agricultural Processing Engineering	Dairy and Food Engineering
Engineering Mathematics	Farm Machinery
Farm Power	Irrigation and Drainage Engineering
Soil and Water Conservation Engineering

GATE Syllabus – Preparation Tips

While preparing for the Graduate Aptitude Test Engineering (GATE) exam, the candidates can follow the below mentioned preparation tips after going through the GATE 2021 syllabus –

• Before proceeding with the preparations, the candidates must go through the exam pattern along with the syllabus.
• Going through the exam pattern will make the candidates aware about the weightage that each topic holdsand plan their preparations accordingly.
• Give more time and focus to the topics with higher weightage.
• Refer to all the respective books while preparing to make sure that you don’t leave any topic untouched.
• Stay healthy and keep your mind calm so as to prepare well for the GATE exam.

*We have given the detailed exam pattern, section-wise weightage, and reference books for the GATE exam below.

GATE Syllabus – Exam Pattern

As discussed above, the candidates must go through the exam pattern described for the GATE exam along with the syllabus. Being well acquainted with the exam pattern will also help the candidates to get an idea about the section-wise weightage and official marking scheme described by the authorities. No changes have been made in the exam pattern for the GATE exam. Still, if any changes are announced with the official notification for GATE 2021, we will update this page. Meanwhile, the candidates can go through the below mentioned details.

1. The exam will be conducted in online mode (computer-based test) for the time duration of 180 minutes, i.e. 3 hours.
2. There will be a total 65 multiple-choice and numerical-type questions. The GATE exam will be conducted for a total of 100 marks.
3. The questions will be asked from three sections in the exam, i.e. General Aptitude, Engineering Mathematics and Subject Specification Section.
4. As per the marking scheme, some questions will carry 1 mark each and other 2 marks each.
5. For questions carrying 1 mark each, 1/3 marks will be deducted for wrong answers, and for questions carrying 2 marks, 2/3 marks will be deducted. 
6. There is no negative marking for numerical type questions. 

GATE Section wise Weightage Distribution:

Sections	Number of Questions and Marks per part	Number of Questions	Maximum Marks
General Aptitude (GA)	5 questions of 1 mark each and 5 questions of 2 mark each	10	15
Question Papers other than GG, XE and XL	25 questions of 1 mark each and 30 questions of 2 mark each	55	85

Sections	Number of Questions and Marks per part		Number of questions	Maximum Marks
Question Paper GG (Geology and Geophysics)	PART A (Compulsory Section)	PART B	55	85
	25 questions of 1 mark each	Section I (Geology) and Section II (Geophysics) (Attempt Any 1 question): 30 questions of 2 mark each

Sections		Number of Questions and Marks per part		Number of questions	Maximum Marks
XE Paper (Engineering Sciences)	General Aptitude (15 marks)	Section A Engineering Mathematics (Compulsory):	Sections B to H: (Attempt Any Two)	55	85
		7 questions of 1 mark each and 4 questions of 2 marks each	9 questions of 1 mark each and 13 questions of 2 marks each

Sections		Number of Questions and Marks per part		Number of questions	Maximum Marks
XL Paper (Life Sciences)	General Aptitude (15 marks)	Section P Chemistry (Compulsory Section):	Sections Q to U: (Attempt Any 2)	55	85
		5 questions of 1 mark each and 10 questions of 2 marks each	10 questions of 1 mark each and 10 questions of 2 marks each

GATE Syllabus – Reference Books

We have mentioned the topic-wise names of all the important books that the candidates can refer to while preparing for GATE 2021. 

GATE Preparation Books for Computer Science (CS)

Book	Author
TOC – Theory of Computation	Ullman
Operating System	Galvin
Architecture	Hamacher
Algorithm	Cormen

GATE Preparation Books for Agriculture Engineering (AG)

Book	Author
Soil & Water Conservation	VVN Murty
Farm Machinery by Three Authors	(known by book’s name)
Concept of Agricultural Engineering	Mohanty Das

GATE Preparation Books for Electrical Engineering (EE)

Book	Author
Power Electronics-	P S Bimbhra
Fundamentals of Circuits	Alexander, Sadiku
Electrical Machines	Nagrath, Kothari

GATE Preparation Books for Chemical Engineering (CH)

Book	Author
Unit Operations of Chemical Engineering	McCabe -FPM and MO
Principles of Mass Transfer and Separation Processes	BK Dutta
Introduction to Chemical Engineering Thermodynamics	JM Smith
Heat Transfer	JP Holman
Essentials of Chemical Reaction Engineering	Fogler
An Insight into Chemical Engineering	M.Subbu
Chemical Engineering For Gate Principles Solved Problems & Objective Type Questions	Ram Prasad

GATE Preparation Books for Mechanical Engineering (ME)

Book	Author
Thermodynamics	P.K.Nag
Theory of Machine (TOM)	R.S Khurmi
Strength of Materials	S.S. Ratan
Production Engineering	Swadesh Singh
Heat Transfer	Cengel
Fluid Mechanics	R.K. Bansal, Frank M.White

GATE Preparation Books for Civil Engineering (CE)

Book	Author
Steel	Bhavikatti
Soil Mechanics and Foundation Engineering	Gopal and Ranjan
RCC	Pillai and Menon
Open Channel Flow and Engineering Hydrology	K Subramanya
Highway Engineering	Khanna and Justo
Fluid Mechanics	R K Bansal
Environment 1 and 2	S K Garg

GATE Preparation Books for Production and Industrial Engineering (PI)

Book	Author
Thermodynamics	P.K Nag
Theory Of Machine	SS Ratan
Strength Of Material	Sadhu Singh
Refrigeration	Made Easy Class Notes
Production	S K Mondal Notes & Swadesh Singh
Material Science	Made Easy Class Notes & Swadesh Singh
Machine Design	VB Bhandari
IC Engine	Mathur Sharma
Heat Transfer	Made Easy Class Notes
Fluid Mechanics and Machinery	Modi & Seth

GATE Preparation Books for Electronics & Communication Engineering (ECE)

Books	Author
Solutions of Network Analysis	GK Publications
Network Theory	Prof Yoganarasimhan
Network Analysis	Van Valken Burg
Network Analysis	Soni and Gupta
Microelectronic Circuits	Sedra and Smith
Graph Theory	Narsing Deo (Cutset and Others)
Engg. Circuit Analysis	Hayt and Kemmerly
Electronic Devices Circuits	Boylestad and Nashelsky
Electric Circuits	Schaum’s Series
Circuit Theory	Chakravarthy

GATE Preparation Books for other subjects

Subject	Name of Books/Authors (Commonly Known)
Paint Technology	PK Nag
Oil Engineering	RK Bansal, RK Rajput
Marine Engineering	RK Rajput, RK Bansal,
Instrumentation & Control	Natesan, Mukherjee & Chakrawarthy
Information Technology	GATE 2020 Last Year Papers
Geology and Geophysics	Complete Master Guide GATE – Amresh Singh
Chemical Engineering	Cengel & Boles
Bio Technology	Lehning M Prescott, Eldon John, Lehninger
Architecture	The Road Ahead, GATE Architecture

GATE Syllabus – FAQs

Q. Are there any chances of change in the syllabus for GATE 2021?

No, the syllabus for GATE has not been revised since long. Still, if any changes are made in the syllabus for GATE 2021, the authorities will announce it with the release of the official notification, and we will update this page accordingly.

Q. Where can we get the detailed GATE syllabus 2021?

We have given the detailed syllabus for GATE along with other insights in this article. Moreover, the candidates can visit the official website of IIT Bombay (conducting body for GATE 2021) website to access the syllabus for the exam.

Q. For how many papers can a GATE aspirant appear for?

Candidates can only apply for one GATE paper in a year. The authorities conduct the GATE exam for a total 25 papers. Each year, a candidate can apply for only one paper out of all 25. Multiple entries will not be considered valid by the authorities.

Q. Will the GATE syllabus be the same for all the subjects?

No. The GATE syllabus 2021 will vary from subject to subject and course to course. The candidates can access the official website to know the syllabus of their desired subject or course. Also, the weightage of the topics will also vary accordingly.

Q. How many total papers are there in GATE 2021?

There are a total of 25 GATE papers conducted every year by the authorities. The authorities release the subject-wise syllabus for all GATE papers. Candidates will gain access to the official syllabus for GATE 2021, once it is announced by IIT Bombay.

Stay tuned to Buddy4Study to get the latest updates and news on GATE Exam 2021.