GATE · Exam basics

GATE exam pattern 2027: 65 questions, 100 marks, 3 hours

By the PrepMatic team · Updated 8 Oct 2026 · 9 min read

The GATE 2027 exam pattern is a 3-hour computer-based test of 65 questions for 100 marks. Ten questions (15 marks) are General Aptitude and are common to every paper. The other 55 questions (85 marks) come from your chosen paper. Questions are MCQ, MSQ or NAT, and only MCQs carry negative marking. The paper is in English only, with an on-screen virtual calculator.

GATE 2027 pattern at a glance

GATE 2027 is organised by IIT Madras. It has 30 papers, including a new Robotics & Automation (RA) paper, and is held over six days.

Because every question is worth 1 or 2 marks, a 65-question, 100-mark paper must have 30 one-mark and 35 two-mark questions (30 + 2 × 35 = 100). The 35 two-mark questions carry 70 of the 100 marks, so accuracy on two-markers matters more than the raw count of questions you attempt.

Some papers run in more than one session (in GATE 2026, CS and CE each ran two). If yours does, you sit only the session you are assigned, and your marks are normalised across sessions before the score is calculated. The 2027 session-wise schedule is announced later; see GATE score and normalisation for how it works.

Question types and negative marking

An unanswered question scores zero. The penalty is designed so that a blind guess on a four-option MCQ is worth nothing on average. One chance in four of +1 and three chances in four of −1/3 gives 0.25 − 0.25 = 0, and the same holds for a 2-mark question (0.5 − 0.5 = 0). Every option you can eliminate tips the odds your way. With two options left, a 1-mark MCQ is worth about 0.5 − 0.5 × 1/3 = +0.33 marks on average.

Two practical rules follow. Never leave an MSQ or NAT blank, because a wrong answer costs nothing. But on an MSQ there is no partial credit, so a half-right selection scores zero: select only the options you can justify.

How the 100 marks are split in each paper

General Aptitude is 15 marks in every paper. The rest depends on the paper.

For the 17 papers on the first row, 28 marks (13 of mathematics plus 15 of General Aptitude) come from two blocks you can prepare early. Start with the General Aptitude guide and the engineering mathematics guide.

The 30 papers

What changed in the paper list for 2027:

• Robotics & Automation (RA) is new.
• Textile Engineering & Fibre Science (TF) is no longer a separate paper. It is now section XE9 inside Engineering Sciences (XE). The total stays at 30. If a website still lists TF as a GATE 2027 paper, it is out of date.
• Section codes in XE, XH and XL are now numeric. XE-A became XE0, XH-C1 became XH1 and XL-P became XL0.
• Every syllabus was revised. This is the first revision since 2021, so do not copy topic lists from 2021 to 2026 pages. Use the per-paper syllabus PDFs on the official GATE 2027 site.

Sections inside XE, XH and XL

Two-paper combinations allowed in 2027

You may write one paper or two. A second paper is allowed only if it appears against your first paper in the combinations table. Both papers go in a single application; multiple applications are rejected without refund. The second paper may be at a different centre in the same city, and IIT Madras says it may open up additional combinations later. Every pair in the 2027 table works in both directions, so the order in which you list them does not matter.

Two gotchas. CS and EE cannot be paired, even though many students assume they can. Mining Engineering (MN) cannot be paired with anything. Pairings that are valid and make sense for many students include CS with DA, EC with EE, ME with XE and EE with RA.

Think hard before taking two papers. The fee is per paper (see GATE eligibility), and you must prepare both syllabi in the same months. A second paper pays off mainly when the two overlap heavily.

In the exam hall

• The virtual calculator is the only one you can use. Physical calculators, phones and watches lead to disqualification. Practise on the official virtual calculator, not a handheld one.
• You get one scribble pad at a time.
• Late login is allowed up to 15 minutes after the start, but you get no extra time.

What the pattern means for your preparation

Three points drive a sensible plan. Two-mark questions carry 70% of the marks, so a thin pass over every topic is not enough. Because of the MCQ penalty, a guess on an MCQ pays off only when you can eliminate options, while MSQ and NAT reward attempting everything. And because General Aptitude and engineering mathematics add up to 28 marks in many papers, they are the most efficient place to start. For how the 100 marks turn into a score, read GATE score calculation. For month-by-month planning, see how to prepare for GATE, and for solving real questions in this format, see GATE previous year papers and mock tests. The GATE exam guide links to everything else.

Practising the pattern with PrepMatic

PrepMatic's GATE mocks can be run full length, or as shorter custom tests where you choose the subjects, number of questions, duration and difficulty. That is useful for timed drills on General Aptitude or one subject at a time. Each result shows your subject-wise breakdown and the subject that cost you the most marks, so you can see where marks are leaking. The practice questions are AI-generated, not official past questions, so pair them with the real papers from the GATE site for the true question style, including MSQ and NAT. The free assessment, about 15 untimed questions, shows your weakest subjects first.

Frequently asked questions

Is there negative marking in GATE 2027?

Yes, but only for MCQs. A wrong answer on a 1-mark MCQ costs 1/3 mark, and on a 2-mark MCQ it costs 2/3 mark. MSQ and NAT questions have no negative marking, and unanswered questions score zero.

How many papers can I write in GATE 2027?

One or two. The second paper must be on the allowed list for your first paper, and both papers go in one application. CS and EE, for example, cannot be taken together.

Is the GATE 2027 exam pattern different from 2026?

The core pattern is unchanged: 3 hours, 65 questions, 100 marks, MCQ, MSQ and NAT, with the virtual calculator. What changed is the paper list (new RA paper, TF folded into XE as XE9), the numeric section codes in XE, XH and XL, the revised syllabi, and the schedule: six exam days in 2027 against four in 2026.

Can I use a calculator in GATE?

Only the on-screen virtual scientific calculator in the exam software. Bringing a physical calculator, phone or watch can lead to disqualification.

Is GATE available in Tamil or other languages?

No. GATE is in English only. Tamil Nadu has many exam cities, listed on the eligibility page.

Official sources

• GATE 2027 official website (IIT Madras): question paper pattern, papers and syllabus, and two-paper combinations.
• GATE 2027 information brochure: the full rules for marking, sessions and scoring.

Dates and rules are "liable to change", so confirm everything against the latest notice on the official site before you plan around it.

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