• Bachelor degree holders in Engineering/ Technology/ Architecture (4 years after 10+2) and those who are in the final or pre-final year of such programmes.
• Master degree holders in any branch of Science/ Mathematics/ Statistics/ Computer Applications or equivalent and those who are in the final or pre-final year of such programmes.
• Candidates in the second or higher year of the Four-year Integrated Master degree programme (Post-B.Sc.) in Engineering/ Technology or in the third or higher year of Five-year Integrated Master degree programme and Dual Degree programme in Engineering/ Technology.
• Candidates with qualifications obtained through examinations conducted by professional societies recognised by UPSC/AICTE (e.g. AMIE by IE(I), AMICE(I) by the Institute of Civil Engineers (India)-ICE(I) as equivalent to B.E./B.Tech. Those who have completed section A or equivalent of such professional courses are also eligible.

The GATE examination consists of a single paper of 3 hours duration, which contains 65 questions carrying a maximum of 100 marks. The question paper consists of only multiple choice objective questions. Each question has four choices for the answer. The candidates will have to mark the correct choice on an Optical Response Sheet (ORS) by darkening the appropriate bubble against each question. Incorrect answers carry negative marks