GATE Computer Science preparation
The largest GATE paper — PSUs, DRDO, ISRO, and M.Tech at the IITs.
Where GATE CS leads
- GATE CS → ISRO, DRDO, BARC, NIELIT, PSU IT posts
- M.Tech / MS at IITs, IISc, NITs
- Some PSUs (e.g. ONGC, NTPC) recruit CS via GATE in specific years
How placd prepares you
- Subject banks with explanations and an AI tutor on every question
- Year-wise pattern sets — timed, scored exactly as the paper scores
GATE 2027 — schedule & eligibility
Source: gate2027.iitm.ac.in · verified 14 Sept 2026- Conducted by
- IIT Madras (organising institute for GATE 2027)
- Notification
- Not announced yet
- Applications open
- 2 Sept 2026
- Last date to apply
- 27 Sept 2026
- With late fee
- 5 Oct 2026
- Exam date
- 6 Feb 2027, 7 Feb 2027, 13 Feb 2027, 14 Feb 2027, 20 Feb 2027, 21 Feb 2027
- Result
- 19 Mar 2027
- Fee
- ₹2,000 per paper (₹2,500 in the extended window) (reserved categories ₹1,000 per paper for female, SC, ST and PwD candidates (₹1,500 extended))
- Degree
- Studying in the 3rd or a higher year of any undergraduate degree programme, or already holding a government-approved degree in Engineering, Technology, Architecture, Science, Commerce, Arts or Humanities
- Final year
- Can apply
- Age limit
- No age limit is stated
- Attempts
- No limit is stated
- Nationality
- Foreign nationals may appear at the full fee and must choose an exam city in India
- Also
- A candidate may take one paper or an allowed two-paper combination
How to apply
- Register on the GATE Online Application Processing System (GOAPS) linked from gate2027.iitm.ac.in
- Choose your paper, or an allowed two-paper combination, and three exam cities
- Upload the photograph, signature and any category or PwD certificate in the stated formats
- Pay the fee online; the extended window carries the late fee
- Use the application rectification window (14–21 Oct 2026) for corrections; city allotment is announced 4 Jan 2027
The Important Dates page lists revised opening and closing dates; the latest published values are shown here and the page itself says all dates are liable to change.
The subjects
Computer Science Fundamentals
What service companies actually ask
OS, DBMS, CN, OOPs — crisp notes and the exact questions that show up in TCS, Infosys, Wipro & Accenture interviews.
Networking
From TCP/IP to the wire
TCP/IP, routing, switching, DNS and firewalls — the fundamentals network and infra interviews drill, from support to senior.
Engineering Mathematics
The GATE common section, ~15% of every paper
Linear algebra, calculus, vector calculus, differential equations, complex variables, probability & statistics, numerical methods and transforms — the Engineering Mathematics section shared by every GATE paper and PSU written test, in all three GATE question types: MCQ, multiple-select (MSQ) and Numerical Answer Type, scored the way the paper scores them.
Aptitude
Clear the first filter
Quant, logical reasoning, and verbal with timed mock tests modelled on AMCAT, eLitmus, CoCubes and company aptitude rounds.
Past papers, year by year
Verified 15 Sept 2026 against the official sitePublished by IIT Guwahati as a public PDF. placd links to each year’s official paper and describes it — pattern, weightage, cutoffs — and never reproduces its text. The practise column is placd’s own set for that year: original questions assembled to the year’s distribution, scored the way the paper scores.
| Year | Paper | Official | Cutoff (Gen) | Practise |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · MSQ · NAT | Official PDF | 30 | 2026 pattern set · Pro |
| 2025 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · MSQ · NAT | Official PDF | 29.2 | 2025 pattern set · Pro |
| 2024 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · MSQ · NAT | Official PDF | 27.6 | 2024 pattern set · Pro |
| 2023 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · MSQ · NAT | Official PDF | 32.5 | 2023 pattern set · Pro |
| 2022 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · MSQ · NAT | Official PDF | 25 | 2022 pattern set · Pro |
| 2021 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · MSQ · NAT | Official PDF | 26.1 | 2021 pattern set · Pro |
| 2020 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · NAT | Official PDF | 28.5 | 2020 pattern set · Pro |
| 2019 | 65 Qs · 100 marks · 180 min · MCQ · NAT | Official PDF | 29.5 | 2019 pattern set · Pro |
What a GATE CS pattern set looks like
GATE CS 2026 pattern set: 65 questions · 100 marks · 180 minutes — an original set written to the paper’s distribution, scored the way the paper scores. The sample is free for every placd account; the year sets are part of Pro.
- General Aptitude10 questions · 15 marks
- Engineering Mathematics9 questions · 13 marks
- Computer Science Fundamentals27 questions · 42 marks
- Networking19 questions · 30 marks
The average age of 7 students is 24 years. A teacher aged 40 joins them. What is the new average age?
- •22.88 years
- •29.12 years
- •32.24 years
- •26 years
Which term means: "a passive set of instructions stored on disk that becomes a process only when loaded and run"?
- •Inter-process communication
- •Program
- •Context switch overhead
- •Zombie process
Which statement is correct?
- •Context switch overhead — the lifecycle of new, ready, running, waiting and terminated through which a process transitions
- •Context switch overhead — the pure-overhead CPU time spent saving and restoring registers during a switch, doing no useful work
- •Context switch overhead — a kernel data structure storing a process's PID, state, registers, program counter and memory limits
- •Context switch overhead — a thread the kernel creates and schedules directly, allowing true parallelism across multiple cores
Frequently asked
- What does placd cover for GATE CS?
- Computer Science Fundamentals, Networking, Engineering Mathematics, Aptitude — the paper's sections, as practice banks with explanations and an AI tutor.
- Are GATE CS practice papers the real previous-year papers?
- No. placd's year-wise sets are original pattern sets authored to each year's real distribution — section split, question types, mark weighting and duration — with our own detailed solutions. Past-paper text is not reproduced.
- Where can I find GATE CS previous-year question papers?
- The year-by-year table above links each year's official paper where the conducting body publishes one (it does, as public PDFs), with the year's pattern, weightage and cutoff. placd never reproduces past-paper text.
- Where do I apply for GATE CS?
- Only on the conducting body's official site — placd links to it in the schedule section above and never hosts an application form. The dates and eligibility shown are read from that site and carry the date they were verified.
- How is a GATE CS practice set scored?
- As the exam scores it: negative marking of one-third of the marks for a wrong objective answer, no negative marking on MSQ or NAT.