Most CSE aspirants prepare for one exam and discover the others in March, when applications are already closed. The good news: almost all of these test roughly the same GATE-level CS knowledge. Here is the full map — every link below is official, and dates marked usual follow past-year patterns. We track the exact windows live on our Exams & Jobs page.
Institute entrance exams (M.Tech / MS)
- IIIT-Hyderabad — PGEE: its own entrance test for M.Tech/MS, arguably the strongest CS research institute in India. Applications usually January–March.
- CMI Chennai — Admissions: M.Tech in Computer Science and other maths-heavy programmes via CMI's own test. Applications usually open in winter.
- TIFR Graduate School: PhD and integrated PhD in Computer Science — theory-focused, applications usually Nov–Jan.
- BITS Higher Degree (HD): M.Tech at BITS Pilani/Goa/Hyderabad purely on GATE score — no separate exam. Applications usually Aug–Oct.
- ISI Kolkata — Admissions: M.Tech (CS) and PG programmes, several accepting GATE; multiple windows per year.
- IIIT-Delhi — Admissions: M.Tech CSE through its own entrance (SEE) as well as GATE.
- DTU Delhi — Admissions: M.Tech CSE through JAM (Joint Admission Test for M.Tech), conducted by DTU. Note: NSIT is now Delhi Technological University — the old name confuses many aspirants.
Research screening tests
- JEST: Joint Entrance Screening Test for PhD/integrated PhD at NCBS, RRI, ICTS and other science institutes — CS is one of its subjects. Registration usually Sep–Nov, exam in February.
Government scientist jobs (mostly GATE-score based)
- ISRO — Careers: Scientist/Engineer 'SC' recruited centrally (ICRB) — GATE score shortlisting plus a written test and interview. Keep the careers page bookmarked during Aug–Oct.
- BARC — Recruitment: OCES/DGFS training programmes leading to scientist roles in atomic energy — GATE-based shortlisting plus a BARC exam. Notification usually Sep–Nov.
- DRDO — Careers: RAC recruits Scientist B directly through GATE score (interview-based selection); CEPTAM covers other technical posts. Notifications generally follow the GATE exam.
- NIELIT — Recruitment: Scientist-B and other technical posts, GATE-based. Check the recruitment section regularly.
How to use this list without burning out
- Pick a lane: campus placements, GATE + M.Tech (COAP/CCMT), or research (PGEE/JEST/TIFR/CMI). Do not prepare for three lanes with equal seriousness.
- For research exams, your GATE-level CS basics cover 70–80% — the rest is maths depth and a decent write-up/SOP.
- Every one of these has a window of 3–4 weeks. The only skill needed is noticing on time — which is exactly what the tracker and the group are for.
Questions or doubts? Ask in the group — and keep an eye on the Exams & Jobs tracker for the latest application windows.
Open tracker ↗