GTU students can spend a semester at IIT Gandhinagar: 10 seats, apply by Oct 26
By TUF News Desk · Published 25 October 2026 · 4 min read
Fact-checked against 2+ independent sources · Editorial policy
Only ten students will get this chance, and the window closes on October 26. Gujarat Technological University has opened its External Students Program with the Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar for 2026-27, letting students from its government engineering colleges study their sixth semester at the IIT campus, with the credits counted towards their GTU degree.
The scheme comes from a GTU circular dated October 16, 2026. It is a course-based semester, not a research internship, which sets it apart from IIT Gandhinagar’s separate VSREP research programme that closes a day later on October 27.
Who can apply
The programme is open to BE students at GTU-affiliated government engineering colleges in five branches: Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Computer and Chemical engineering. Your college checks your CPI up to semester 4 and can put forward only the top two students in each branch, so the first cut happens inside your own college.
You also need a clean record. Applicants must have no backlog, must not have been found guilty by the unfair means committee, and must not have taken part in this programme before. IIT Gandhinagar will admit two students per branch, making ten seats in all, and the final selection rests on GTU merit plus a personal interview and/or a test run by IIT Gandhinagar.
What the semester looks like
Selected students will take at least 18 credits in courses evaluated by IIT Gandhinagar during Semester II of the 2026-27 academic year. Those credits replace 18 credits back at GTU: the sixth-semester professional electives and open elective, plus the seventh-semester professional electives, open elective and skill-based internship.
Students still owe GTU all their sixth-semester professional core subjects, which they study in semester 7 after they return. They cannot pick IIT Gandhinagar courses that repeat, or come very close to, subjects they have already studied or will study at GTU. Grades and credits earned at IIT Gandhinagar will appear on the GTU marksheet, and students must live on campus for the whole semester.
What it costs
The Education Department of the Gujarat government pays ₹50,000 per student towards the semester’s tuition, and IIT Gandhinagar bears the remaining tuition cost. Hostel and mess charges are the student’s own expense.
How to apply
The consent letter comes first. Ask your principal for the letter, which is Annexure B of the GTU circular. You fill in Part A with your enrolment number, branch and CPI and declare that you have no backlog, and your institute verifies and signs Part B. Only then do you apply on IIT Gandhinagar’s visiting students page, before 5 pm IST on October 26, 2026.
If you are selected, send GTU an electronic copy of the consent letter along with IIT Gandhinagar’s admission confirmation letter. The original notice is GTU circular GTU/Academic/ESP_IITGn/2026-27/8075, on the GTU circulars portal. Since the principal’s letter must be issued before you apply, meet your head of department or principal right away. Gujarat Technological University is a state public university, and students comparing state and central institutions can read more in our guide on central, state and private universities.
Frequently asked questions
Who can apply for the GTU-IIT Gandhinagar semester programme?
BE students at GTU-affiliated government engineering colleges in Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Computer or Chemical engineering, with no backlog and no unfair-means record. Each college can forward only its top two students per branch, based on CPI up to semester 4.
How many seats are available in the GTU-IIT Gandhinagar programme?
Ten in total. IIT Gandhinagar will admit two students per branch across the five eligible branches, selected on GTU merit plus a personal interview and/or a test run by IIT Gandhinagar.
What does the GTU-IIT Gandhinagar semester cost?
The Education Department of the Gujarat government pays ₹50,000 per student towards tuition, and IIT Gandhinagar bears the rest of the tuition. Students pay their own hostel and mess charges and must live on campus for the whole semester.
What is the last date to apply for the GTU-IIT Gandhinagar semester?
October 26, 2026, by 5 pm IST, through IIT Gandhinagar’s visiting students page. Applicants need a consent letter from their principal before they apply.
Frequently asked questions
Who can apply for the GTU-IIT Gandhinagar semester programme?
BE students at GTU-affiliated government engineering colleges in Civil, Mechanical, Electrical, Computer or Chemical engineering, with no backlog and no unfair-means record. Each college can forward only its top two students per branch, based on CPI up to semester 4.
How many seats are available in the GTU-IIT Gandhinagar programme?
Ten in total. IIT Gandhinagar will admit two students per branch across the five eligible branches, selected on GTU merit plus a personal interview and/or a test run by IIT Gandhinagar.
What does the GTU-IIT Gandhinagar semester cost?
The Education Department of the Gujarat government pays ₹50,000 per student towards tuition, and IIT Gandhinagar bears the rest of the tuition. Students pay their own hostel and mess charges and must live on campus for the whole semester.
What is the last date to apply for the GTU-IIT Gandhinagar semester?
October 26, 2026, by 5 pm IST, through IIT Gandhinagar's visiting students page. Applicants need a consent letter from their principal before they apply.
Sources: CareerBox, IIT Gandhinagar