OutlynTen subject sections plus General Aptitude — and only three sections changed for 2027.
The GATE 2027 CS & IT paper (paper code CS) covers General Aptitude (15 marks) plus ten subject sections worth 85 marks: Engineering Mathematics, Digital Logic, Computer Organization and Architecture, Programming and Data Structures, Algorithms, Theory of Computation, Compiler Design, Operating System, Databases and Computer Networks. IIT Madras revised only three sections for 2027 — Digital Logic, Computer Organization and Architecture, and Computer Networks — leaving the other seven identical to GATE 2026.
Verified against source — Every topic below is copied from the official GATE 2027 CS syllabus PDF published by IIT Madras. Checked 2 August 2026. See sources.
01 · The format
GATE 2027 CS exam pattern
The CS paper is a three-hour computer-based test of 65 questions worth 100 marks. Here is how those marks are split.
| Paper code | CS |
| Total marks | 100 |
| Total questions | 65 |
| Duration | 3 hours (180 minutes) |
| Mode | Computer-based test (CBT), English |
| General Aptitude | 15 marks (10 questions) |
| Subject + Engineering Mathematics | 85 marks (55 questions) |
| Question types | MCQ, MSQ and NAT |
| Marks per question | 1 or 2 marks |
Marking & negative marking
Negative marking applies to MCQs only: you lose 1/3 mark for a wrong 1-mark MCQ and 2/3 mark for a wrong 2-mark MCQ. MSQ (multiple-select) and NAT (numerical answer type) questions carry no negative marking, and MSQs give no partial credit — you must pick every correct option and nothing else. Engineering Mathematics typically carries around 13 marks and General Aptitude a fixed 15.
02 · Every topic
The full GATE 2027 CS syllabus
General Aptitude is a common section worth 15 marks. The ten subject sections below carry the other 85. Every topic line is copied from the official IIT Madras PDF.
General Aptitude
15 marks · common- Verbal Aptitude
- Basic English grammar (tenses, articles, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, verb-noun agreement and other parts of speech); basic vocabulary (words, idioms and phrases in context); reading and comprehension; narrative sequencing.
- Quantitative Aptitude
- Data interpretation — data graphs (bar graphs, pie charts and other graphs representing data), 2- and 3-dimensional plots, maps and tables; numerical computation and estimation — ratios, percentages, powers, exponents and logarithms, permutations and combinations, and series; mensuration and geometry; elementary statistics and probability.
- Analytical Aptitude
- Logic — deduction and induction; analogy; numerical relations and reasoning.
- Spatial Aptitude
- Transformation of shapes — translation, rotation, scaling, mirroring, assembling and grouping; paper folding, cutting, and patterns in 2 and 3 dimensions.
Engineering Mathematics
Unchanged12–15 marks- Discrete Mathematics
- Propositional and first order logic. Sets, relations, functions, partial orders and lattices. Monoids, groups. Graphs: connectivity, matching, colouring. Combinatorics: counting, recurrence relations, generating functions.
- Linear Algebra
- Matrices, determinants, system of linear equations, eigenvalues and eigenvectors, LU decomposition.
- Calculus
- Limits, continuity and differentiability. Maxima and minima. Mean value theorem. Integration.
- Probability and Statistics
- Random variables. Uniform, normal, exponential, Poisson and binomial distributions. Mean, median, mode and standard deviation. Conditional probability and Bayes theorem.
Digital Logic
Changed for 20275–6 marks- Boolean algebra and minimization — algebraic technique, Karnaugh map, tabular method. Design of combinational and sequential circuits. Number representation and computer arithmetic (fixed and floating point).
Changed for 2027The three minimization methods are now named explicitly — algebraic technique, Karnaugh map and tabular (Quine–McCluskey) method — and combinational and sequential circuit design is called out.
Computer Organization and Architecture
Changed for 20278–12 marks- Instruction set and addressing modes. Design of arithmetic and logic unit (ALU). Design of control unit — hardwired and microprogrammed. Memory interfacing and hierarchy: performance, cache memory mapping. I/O interface (interrupt and DMA). Instruction pipelining, pipeline hazards.
Changed for 2027Control-unit design is now split into hardwired and microprogrammed, memory is reframed as interfacing and hierarchy, and the old secondary-storage / magnetic-disk line is gone.
Programming and Data Structures
Unchanged11–15 marks- Programming in C. Recursion. Arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees, binary search trees, binary heaps, graphs.
Algorithms
Unchanged5–8 marks- Searching, sorting, hashing. Asymptotic worst-case time and space complexity. Algorithm design techniques: greedy, dynamic programming and divide-and-conquer. Graph traversals, minimum spanning trees, shortest paths.
Theory of Computation
Unchanged6–9 marks- Regular expressions and finite automata. Context-free grammars and push-down automata. Regular and context-free languages, pumping lemma. Turing machines and undecidability.
Compiler Design
Unchanged4–5 marks- Lexical analysis, parsing, syntax-directed translation. Runtime environments. Intermediate code generation. Local optimisation, data flow analyses: constant propagation, liveness analysis, common sub-expression elimination.
Operating System
Unchanged7–10 marks- System calls, processes, threads, inter-process communication, concurrency and synchronization. Deadlock. CPU and I/O scheduling. Memory management and virtual memory. File systems.
Databases
Unchanged5–8 marks- ER-model. Relational model: relational algebra, tuple calculus, SQL. Integrity constraints, normal forms. File organization, indexing (e.g., B and B+ trees). Transactions and concurrency control.
Computer Networks
Changed for 20277–10 marks- Principles of layering. Basics of switching (circuit, packet and virtual circuit) and performance metrics. Data link layer: error detection, medium access control, Ethernet. Distance-vector and link-state routing. IPv4 — fragmentation, CIDR notation, network address translation. TCP — flow control and congestion control, socket API. DNS and HTTP.
Changed for 2027The biggest cut of 2027: the OSI/TCP-IP stack becomes “Principles of Layering”, routing is trimmed to distance-vector and link-state, and ARP, DHCP, ICMP, UDP, SMTP and FTP are no longer named — the application layer is just DNS and HTTP.
03 · Where the marks are
Subject-wise weightage (trend)
Approximate marks per subject, averaged over the GATE 2023–2025 CS papers.
| Subject | Typical marks | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| General Aptitude | 15 | Fixed every year. |
| Engineering Mathematics | 12–15 | Discrete Maths alone is often 6–9. |
| Programming & Data Structures | 11–15 | The heaviest core subject. |
| Computer Organization & Architecture | 8–12 | Pipelining and cache dominate. |
| Operating System | 7–10 | Scheduling, deadlock, virtual memory. |
| Computer Networks | 7–10 | Now leaner — expect numerical questions. |
| Theory of Computation | 6–9 | Automata and decidability. |
| Databases | 5–8 | Normalization, SQL, transactions. |
| Algorithms | 5–8 | Complexity, greedy, DP, graphs. |
| Digital Logic | 5–6 | Minimization and number systems. |
| Compiler Design | 4–5 | Lightest core subject. |
Read this before you trust the weightage
GATE does not publish fixed marks per subject. The numbers above are averages from the 2023–2025 CS papers, so treat them as “what usually happens”, not a promise. A single subject can swing three or four marks either way in any given year.
The stable takeaway is the shape: Programming & Data Structures, Engineering Mathematics, Computer Organization and Operating System together make up roughly half the paper, so that is where preparation time earns the most.
04 · The 2027 revision
What changed for GATE 2027
This is the first CS syllabus revision in about five years, and it touched only three of the ten sections. Digital Logic now names its minimization methods; Computer Organization splits the control unit into hardwired and microprogrammed and drops the old secondary-storage line; and Computer Networks was condensed the most, losing ARP, DHCP, ICMP, UDP, SMTP and FTP as named topics.
The other seven sections — Engineering Mathematics, Programming & Data Structures, Algorithms, Theory of Computation, Compiler Design, Operating System and Databases — are word-for-word identical to GATE 2026. Roughly 95% of the syllabus text is unchanged, so most 2026 material is still current.
05 · Questions
Questions people are asking
How many sections are there in the GATE 2027 CS syllabus?
The GATE 2027 CS & IT syllabus has ten subject sections plus General Aptitude. The ten are Engineering Mathematics, Digital Logic, Computer Organization and Architecture, Programming and Data Structures, Algorithms, Theory of Computation, Compiler Design, Operating System, Databases and Computer Networks.
General Aptitude is a separate common syllabus worth 15 marks; the ten subject sections together carry the remaining 85 marks.
Is the GATE 2027 CS syllabus different from 2026?
Yes, but only slightly. IIT Madras revised three of the ten sections for 2027 — Digital Logic, Computer Organization and Architecture, and Computer Networks. The other seven sections are identical to GATE 2026.
The largest change is in Computer Networks, where several named protocols (ARP, DHCP, ICMP, UDP, SMTP, FTP) were removed from the printed syllabus.
Which subjects have the most weightage in GATE CS?
Based on the 2023–2025 papers, Programming & Data Structures (11–15 marks) and Engineering Mathematics (12–15 marks) carry the most, followed by Computer Organization (8–12) and Operating System (7–10). Together with General Aptitude these account for over half the 100-mark paper.
These are trend figures, not official quotas — GATE does not publish fixed marks per subject.
Is UDP removed from the GATE 2027 CS syllabus?
UDP is no longer named in the GATE 2027 CS syllabus. The transport-layer line now lists only TCP (flow control, congestion control and the socket API). The same revision also removed ARP, DHCP, ICMP, SMTP and FTP from the printed Computer Networks section.
Is Engineering Mathematics part of the GATE CS syllabus?
Yes. Engineering Mathematics is Section 1 of the CS syllabus and covers Discrete Mathematics, Linear Algebra, Calculus, and Probability and Statistics. It typically carries about 13 marks and is one of the highest-scoring sections for well-prepared candidates.
Where can I download the official GATE 2027 CS syllabus PDF?
The official GATE 2027 CS syllabus PDF is published by IIT Madras on the exam papers and syllabus page at gate2027.iitm.ac.in. Always cross-check any third-party syllabus against that PDF — several prep sites still show the older 2026 Computer Networks list.
06 · Calendar
GATE 2027 key dates
GATE 2027 is conducted by IIT Madras. The syllabus above is fixed for this cycle; here is the calendar around it.
- Registration opens
- Last date (regular fee)
- Last date (with late fee)
- Exam city intimation
- Exam dates
- Result
Confirm every date on gate2027.iitm.ac.in — registration windows have been extended in past years.
07 · Our method
Sources
Every topic on this page was copied from the official GATE 2027 CS syllabus PDF published by IIT Madras and cross-checked against the GATE 2026 syllabus to confirm what changed.
Found an error? Tell us and we will correct it publicly, with the date. Our corrections are published in public, with the date.
- Indian Institute of Technology Madras. GATE 2027 Syllabus — CS: Computer Science and Information Technology. Information Brochure v1.1, published . gate2027.iitm.ac.in
- Indian Institute of Technology Madras. GATE 2027 Syllabus — GA: General Aptitude. published . gate2027.iitm.ac.in/exam_papers_and_syllabus
- Indian Institute of Technology Madras. GATE 2027 examination schedule. published . gate2027.iitm.ac.in
- Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati. GATE 2026 Syllabus — CS: Computer Science and Information Technology. published . gate2026.iitg.ac.in
Last verified against source: 2 August 2026. This page is re-checked whenever IIT Madras revises the official documents.
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