Along with the release of the official notification for GATE 2021, the authorities will also announce the eligibility criteria for the exam. In the past few years, the GATE eligibility criteria have remained the same. Still, in case, any changes are made in the GATE 2021 eligibility criteria, we will update this article accordingly. 

Before registering for the GATE exam, the candidates must go through the eligibility norms defined by the GATE authorities. In case a candidate fails to comply with the GATE eligibility criteria, the authorities hold all the rights to forfeit the admission of the ineligible candidates at any given point of time.

Eligibility criteria for GATE 2021 will vary for foreign candidates and candidates having backlogs in any subject from their qualifying exam. We advise aspirants to read the complete article to know the detailed GATE Eligibility Criteria 2021. 

GATE Eligibility – Who all are eligible to apply for GATE 2021?

As discussed above, before filling the application form, the candidates must make sure that they satisfy the eligibility criteria for the GATE exam. If any candidate fails to do so, the concerned authorities hold all the rights to cancel their candidature at any stage. 

Candidates must note that the qualifying score for the GATE exam has been changed to 650 from 750, as per the revised Prime Minister’s Research Fellowship (PMRF) scheme. Also, now the NITs will also be eligible to grant the fellowship.

As per the GATE Eligibility Criteria 2021:

1. Candidates belonging to Indian nationality or to Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore and United Arab Emirate (UAE) will be considered eligible for GATE.
2. There is no minimum or maximum age limit to apply for GATE.
3. Applicants having bachelors’ degree, integrated degree, or diploma in the concerned specification from any recognized institute or university are eligible to apply for the exam. It must be noted that no passing percentage has been specified by the concerned authorities.

Below we have given the detailed course-wise eligibility criteria for GATE for the reference of the candidates.

GATE Eligibility – Detailed Course wise

For candidates with B.E, B.TECH, AND B.PHARMA as qualifying degree:

• Candidates must have a 4-year Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering or Technology, or 3-year degree in B.Sc. or a Diploma in Engineering or Technology.
• Final year students are also eligible to apply for GATE.

For candidates with B.ARCH as a qualifying degree:

Applicants must possess a 5-year Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture from a recognized institution.

For candidates with B.SC (RESEARCH) AND B.S COURSES as qualifying degrees:

Aspirants must have a 4-year Bachelor’s Degree in Science after 10+2 or Post Diploma in Science. 

For candidates M.SC, M.A, MCA, AND EQUIVALENT COURSES as qualifying degrees:

Applying candidates must possess a master’s degree in any branch of Science, Mathematics, Statistics, Computer Applications or equivalent.

For candidates with INTEGRATED M.E AND M.TECH (POST B.SC.) as qualifying degrees: 

Students must have a 5-year post B.Sc Integrated Master’s Degree in Engineering or Technology.

For candidates with 5-YEAR INTEGRATED M.E AND M.TECH OR DUAL DEGREE (after Diploma or 10+2) as qualifying education:

Must possess 5-year Integrated Master’s Degree or Dual Degree in Engineering or Technology.

For applicants with INTEGRATED M. SC AND INTEGRATED B.S + M.S as qualifying degrees:

Candidates must possess Integrated M.Sc. or 5-year Integrated B.S + M.S Degree

For candidates with PROFESSIONAL SOCIETY EXAMINATIONS (equivalent to B.E, B.Tech, and B.Arch) as qualifying degree:

• Students registered from Professional Societies after May 31, 2013 in courses equivalent to B.E, B.Tech, and B.Arch and satisfying other eligibility parameters will also be eligible to apply.
• The eligibility of such candidates are subjected to court order as the case is under judicial consideration and therefore, prohibited from public discussion elsewhere.

The following Professional Societies or Institutions conduct examinations in various fields of engineering, equivalent to B.E/B.Tech –

1. The Aeronautical Society of India (AeSI)
2. The Indian Institute of Chemical Engineers, including Polymer and Environmental Group (IIChemE)
3. The Indian Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE)
4. The Indian Institute of Metals (IIM)
5. The Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE)
6. The Institution of Electronics and Telecommunication Engineers (IETE)
7. The Institution of Engineers (India) (IE)

GATE Eligibility – What is the GATE Eligibility Criteria 2021 for International candidates?

Candidates belonging to Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates are also eligible to apply for the GATE exam to get admissions into M.Tech or PhD courses offered by the IITs and IISCs.

As per the GATE eligibility criteria–

1. The aspirants belonging to these countries must have qualified any relevant engineering course.
2. Aspirants appearing in their final year of bachelor degree will also be considered eligible to apply.
3. Candidates graduating in 2020 or those who have already graduated earlier will be required to submit the course completion certificate, degree certificate, membership certificate, professional certificate and provisional certificate issued by their respective institutes.
4. Appearing candidates (who will be qualifying their respective degrees in 2021 or later) will be required to submit a certificate from their Principal or a copy of the marks card for section A of AMIE.

GATE Eligibility – What is the GATE Eligibility Criteria 2021 for candidates having backlogs?

Candidates having backlogs in any paper from their qualifying exam or whose results are been awaited for the last semester have to fulfill the following criteria – 

1. Candidates with backlogs in any of the subjects in their qualifying examination must upload a photo copy of any of their final year mark sheet in the academic certificate download section of the GATE application form. It must be noted that the internet downloaded mark sheet will NOT be accepted by the authorities.
2. Such candidates can also get a declaration from their college Principal along with the signature and seal beforehand (and the same should be uploaded during the online submission of the application form).

GATE Eligibility – What is the GATE Eligibility Criteria 2021 for M.Tech courses?

Aspirants seeking M.Tech admission in any of the IITs need to register themselves through COAP (Common Offer Acceptable Portal). On the other hand, NITs, IIITs and some CFTIs conduct Centralized Counselling for M.Tech (CCMT) admission. 

GATE Eligibility – What are the documents required to be uploaded by the reserved category GATE candidates?

1. Persons with Disabilities (PwD) category candidates must upload a PwD certificate issued by a recognized authority in a column specified in GATE application form.
2. It must be noted that the candidates having at least 40% impairment (irrespective of the kind of disability) are only provided with concession in the application fee. Such candidates are required to submit the certificate at the allotted institute at the time of admission.
3. Candidates belonging to SC/ST category are required to upload a valid document proof to avail a concession in the application fee. It must be noted that only the certificates issued by authorized officials will be considered for concession.
4. Similarly, the dyslexic candidates are required to submit a certificate stating their condition issued by authorities in order to get the services of a scribe.

GATE Eligibility – FAQS

Q. How many GATE papers can a candidate apply for?

Aspirants can only apply for one GATE paper in a year. Multiple entries for different papers will not be considered valid.

Q. What is the minimum age limit to apply for the GATE 2021 exam?

There is no upper or lower age limit to apply for the GATE 2021 exam. Any candidate satisfying the general and educational eligibility criteria will be considered eligible for GATE.

Q. What is the minimum academic qualification to apply for the GATE exam?

As per the eligibility criteria, applicants having bachelors’ degree, integrated degree, or diploma in the concerned specifications from any recognized institute or university will be eligible to apply for the GATE exam.

Q. Who all are eligible to apply for the GATE exam on the basis of nationality?

Candidates belonging to India, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore and United Arab Emirate (UAE) are eligible to apply for GATE.

Q. What are the minimum eligibility criteria for foreign candidates wanting to appear for the GATE exam?

As per the GATE eligibility criteria 2021, applicants having bachelors’ degree from any recognized institute or university will be eligible to apply for the exam. Candidates who are in the last year of their graduation can also apply.

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