GATE is an online competitive exam conducted for qualification to ME, MTech, or P.hD. programs for admissions in top institutions like IIT, NIT, IIIT, and other institutes in India. It is conducted on the behalf of NCB and the Ministry of Human Resource and Development, Government of India.
For admissions in any of the IIT branches, students have a few other alternatives to get qualified than just appearing for GATE. Admissions can be given under the given circumstances:
Eligibility:
Students who have graduated in Engineering with a degree from IIT are exempted from appearing for GATE examinations and can directly apply and appear for a written test.
Students who have completed their BTech degree from another university but have a minimum CGPA of 8.0 and above consistently in the last two years, need not appear for GATE. These students can directly appear for the written test and personal interview round.
Institute:
Students who have an Engineering degree from a Centrally Funded Technical Institute (CFTI) and have a high CGPA of above 8.0 can be exempted from appearing for GATE. The criteria are only accessible within certain campuses of IIT depending upon the branch of study chosen.
Sponsored category:
Some IIT campuses also offer direct admissions under the sponsored category for top industry personnel or for individuals in academia. For high-level academicians, admissions to Master’s or Ph.D. programs can be done under the Quality Improvement Program (QIP).
Integrated Course:
For students who do not want to appear for GATE but are still looking at a master’s degree from IIT, you can opt for the 5-year integrated program (MTech+PhD).
In order to be eligible for admissions to this program, students must mandatorily have a CGPA of 7.5 and above in a relevant field of Engineering.
Furthermore, students who have more than 2 years of work experience and are working for companies that have any links with IIT and sponsor students for master’s courses can be exempted from providing GATE scores for admissions.