Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) in Physics
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is a national examination conducted jointly by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and the seven Indian Institutes of Technology (at Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee) on behalf of the National Coordination Board (NCB)-GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of India.
Qualifying in GATE is a mandatory requirement for seeking admission and/or financial assistance to:
- Master’s programs and direct Doctoral programs in Engineering/Technology/Architecture
- Doctoral programs in relevant branches of Arts and Science, in the institutions supported by the MoE and other Government agencies.
Even in some colleges and institutions, which admit students without MoE scholarship/assistantship, the GATE qualification is mandatory. Further, many Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) have been using the GATE score in their recruitment process.
Age Limit: There is no age limit for the candidates.
GATE Schedule
GATE exam is conducted once in a year, i.e., in the months of February. The notifications announcing the GATE exam published in the months of September in the weekly journal of nation-wide circulation (Employment News).
Eligibility for GATE
The following categories of candidates ONLY are eligible to appear for GATE:
| Degree/Program | Qualifying Degree/Examination | Description of Eligible Candidates | Expected Year of Completion |
|---|---|---|---|
| B.Sc. (Research) / B.S. | Bachelor’s degree in Science (Post-Diploma/4 years after 10+2) | Currently in the 3rd year or higher grade or already completed | 2022 |
| M. Sc. / M.A. / MCA or equivalent | Master’s degree in any branch of Arts/Science/Mathematics/Statistics/ Computer Applications or equivalent | Currently in the first year or higher or already Completed |
2022 |
| B.Sc. / B.A. / B.Com. | Integrated M.Sc. or 5-year integrated B.S.-M.S. program | Currently in the 3rd year or higher or already completed | 2022 |
| Int. M.Sc. / Int. B.S. / M.S. | Integrated M.Sc. or 5-year integrated B.S.-M.S. program | Currently in the 3rd year or higher or already completed | 2022 |
Scheme of Test
The examination will be conducted in an ONLINE Computer Based Test (CBT) mode where the candidates will be shown the questions on a computer screen. GATE examination will be for 3 hours duration and they consist of 65 questions for a total of 100 marks. Since the examination is an ONLINE computer based test, at the end of the stipulated time (3-hours), computer will automatically close thescreen inhibiting any further action.
A Virtual Scientific Calculator will be available on the computer screen during the examination. Candidates have to use the same during the examination. Personal calculators, wristwatches, mobile phones or any other electronic devices are NOT allowed inside the examination hall.
Candidates should not bring any charts/tables/papers into the examination hall. GATE officials will not be responsible for the safe-keep of the candidates’ personal belongings.
Scribble pads will be provided to the candidates for any rough work. The candidate has to write his/her name and registration number on the scribble pad before he/she starts using it.
The scribble pad must be returned to the invigilator at the end of the examination.
EXAM PATTERN
The GATE Examination is carried out as ONLINE Computer Based Test (CBT) where the candidates will be shown the questions in a random sequence on a computer screen. The duration of the examination will be 3 hours. The medium for all the test papers is English only. There will be a total of 65 questions carrying 100 marks.
GATE paper would contain questions of THREE different types
(i) Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ),
MCQ carrying 1 or 2 marks each, in all the papers and sections. These questions are objective in nature, and each will have choice of four answers, out of which ONLY ONE choice is correct.
(ii) Multiple Select Questions (MSQ)
MSQ carrying 1 or 2 marks each in all the papers and sections. These questions are objective in nature, and each will have choice of four answers, out of which ONE or MORE than ONE choice(s) are correct.
(iii) Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions.
Questions carrying 1 or 2 marks each in most of the papers and sections.
For these questions, the answer is a signed real number, which needs to be entered by the candidate using the virtual numeric keypad on the monitor (keyboard of the computer will be disabled). No choices will be shown for these types of questions.
The answer can be a number such as 10 or -10 (an integer only). The answer may be in decimals as well, for example, 10.1 (one decimal) or 10.01 (two decimals) or -10.001 (three decimals). These questions will be mentioned with, up to which decimal places, the candidates need to present the answer. Also, for some NAT type problems an appropriate range will be considered while evaluating these questions so that the candidate is not unduly penalized due to the usual round-off errors. Candidates are advised to do the rounding off at the end of the calculation (not in between steps). Wherever required and possible, it is better to give NAT answer up to a maximum of three decimal places.
General Aptitude Section
The paper will consist of a mandatory General Aptitude (GA) section which will have 10 questions. 5 of the questions will be of 1 mark and the remaining 5 will be of 2 marks. Therefore, the total marks for this section will be 15 marks.
This section is intended to test typically the Language and Analytical Skills.
Marking Scheme
1 Mark MCQs – 1/3 mark will be deducted for every wrong answer.
2 Mark MCQs – 2/3 mark will be deducted for every wrong response.
Zero marks will be awarded for unattempted questions
No negative marking will be done for Multiple Select Questions (MSQ) and Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions.
In all the papers, there will be a total of 65 questions carrying 100 marks, out of which 10 questions carrying a total of 15 marks will be on General Aptitude (GA) and 55 questions carrying a total of 85 marks will be on physics syllabus.
Design of Questions
The questions in a paper may be designed to test the following abilities:
(i) Recall: These are based on facts, principles, formulae or laws of the discipline of the paper.The candidate is expected to be able to obtain the answer either from his/her memory of the subject or at most from a one-line computation.
(ii) Comprehension: These questions will test the candidate’s understanding of the basics of his/her field, by requiring him/her to draw simple conclusions from fundamental ideas.
(iii) Application: In these questions, the candidate is expected to apply his/her knowledge either through computation or by logical reasoning.
(iv) Analysis and Synthesis: These can be linked answer questions, where the answer to the first question of the pair is required in order to answer its successor. Or these can be common data questions, in which two questions share the same data but can be solved independently of each other.
Administration
GATE is administered jointly by the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore and seven Indian Institutes of Technology (namely, IITs at Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Kanpur, Kharagpur, Madras and Roorkee). The GATE Committee, which comprises of representatives from the administering institutes, is the sole authority for regulating the examination and for declaring the results. For administrative purposes, the examination cities in India are segregated into eight zones. The operations related to GATE, in each of the eight zones, are managed by a Zonal GATE Office at the administering institute (IIT or IISc). One of the administering institutes is designated as the Organizing Institute (OI), and it would be responsible for the end-to-end process, as well as, the overall coordination amongst the administering institutes for conducting GATE.
Zones and the Corresponding Administrative Institutes
Zone-1 Indian Institute of Science Bangalore
http://gate.iisc.ac.in/
Zone-2 Indian Institute of Technology Bombay
http://www.gate.iitb.ac.in/
Zone-3 Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
http://gate.iitd.ac.in/
Zone-4 Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
http://www.gate.iitg.ac.in/
Zone-5 Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
http://gate.iitk.ac.in/
Zone-6 Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur
http://gate.iitkgp.ac.in/
Zone-7 Indian Institute of Technology Madras
http://gate.iitm.ac.in/
Zone-8 Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
http://www.iitr.ac.in/gate/