Checked 28 September 2026. From the official GATE 2027 AR syllabus (IIT Madras), the GATE 2026 AR syllabus (IIT Guwahati), the GATE 2027 brochure (revised 27 Sep 2026) and the official AR papers and keys 2023–2026. The topic mapping and the mark counts are ours.
Most GATE syllabus revisions add a few phrases. The GATE 2027 Architecture and Planning (AR) syllabus is a restructure. The common Part A, which every candidate answers, goes from seven sections to four: Design and Graphics, Environmental Planning and Landscape, Urban Design and Conservation, and Town Planning, Housing and Real Estate. Construction and management, building services, the planning process, city infrastructure and computer applications all leave Part A. They reappear in Part B1 (Architecture) or Part B2 (Planning), each of which grows from three sections to six. The 2027 text runs to about 1,418 words against 767 in 2026. The paper itself, 60 marks of Part A plus 25 of B1 or B2 plus 15 of General Aptitude, does not change. This guide shows every move, then measures it against the 2023–2026 papers: only 23 to 28 of Part A’s 60 marks in those years came from topics that stay in Part A.
GATE 2026 and 2027 AR syllabi; official AR papers and keys 2023–2026. Word counts and mark mapping are ours.
Where other pages get this wrong
The official GATE 2027 AR syllabus (IIT Madras) has four Part A sections: A.1 Design and Graphics, A.2 Environmental Planning and Landscape, A.3 Urban Design and Conservation, A.4 Town Planning, Housing and Real Estate Development. GATE 2027 is organised by IIT Madras at gate2027.iitm.ac.in.
Commonly published instead: Careers360’s “GATE AR syllabus 2027” page (checked 28 Sep 2026) prints the 2026 seven-section Part A as the 2027 syllabus and gives the registration site as “gate2027.iitg.ac.in”. Collegedunia’s AR syllabus page says registration opens on 14 Aug; it opened on 2 Sep 2026 after two postponements.
GATE 2027 AR syllabus PDF and brochure (IIT Madras); GATE 2027 important-dates page, 28 Sep 2026.
What does not change: the paper
The brochure prints the same structure for 2024, 2025, 2026 and 2027. You answer General Aptitude, all of Part A, and either Part B1 or Part B2. The choice “can be made during the examination”, so you do not declare it at registration. There is no separate score or rank for B1 and B2: both groups are ranked on one list. AR has no Engineering Mathematics section of the kind most engineering papers carry.
| Part | Questions | Marks | Who answers |
|---|---|---|---|
| General Aptitude | 10 (5 × 1 + 5 × 2) | 15 | Everyone |
| Part A (Common) | 39 (18 × 1 + 21 × 2) | 60 | Everyone |
| Part B1 (Architecture) | 16 (7 × 1 + 9 × 2) | 25 | Candidates who choose B1 in the hall |
| Part B2 (Planning) | 16 (7 × 1 + 9 × 2) | 25 | Candidates who choose B2 in the hall |
| Total attempted | 65 | 100 | Three hours |
GATE 2027 Information Brochure, AR test paper (PDF p.28). MCQs carry −1/3 (1-mark) or −2/3 (2-mark); MSQ and NAT carry no negative marking and no partial credit.
The new structure next to the old
| Part | GATE 2026 (IIT Guwahati) | GATE 2027 (IIT Madras) |
|---|---|---|
| Part A | 7 sections: §1 Architecture, Planning and Design; §2 Construction and Management; §3 Environmental Planning and Design; §4 Urban Design, Landscape and Conservation; §5 Planning Process; §6 Housing; §7 Services, Infrastructure and Transportation | 4 sections: A.1 Design and Graphics; A.2 Environmental Planning and Landscape; A.3 Urban Design and Conservation; A.4 Town Planning, Housing and Real Estate Development |
| Part B1 | 3 sections: B1.1 History and Contemporary Architecture; B1.2 Building Construction and Structural Systems; B1.3 Building Services and Sustainability | 6 sections: B1.1 History and Theory; B1.2 Climatology and Environmentally Responsive Design; B1.3 Construction, Materials and Structural Systems; B1.4 Building Services; B1.5 Computer Applications in Architecture; B1.6 Project Management and Professional Practice |
| Part B2 | 3 sections: B2.1 Regional and Settlement Planning; B2.2 Planning Techniques and Management; B2.3 Infrastructure Planning | 6 sections: B2.1 Planning History, Theory and Techniques; B2.2 Planning Policy and Practice; B2.3 Infrastructure, Services and Utilities; B2.4 Urban Land Use and Transportation; B2.5 Data Analysis, Remote Sensing and Geo-informatics; B2.6 Project Implementation and Financing |
| Syllabus length (our word count) | about 767 words | about 1,418 words |
Official 2026 and 2027 AR syllabi. Section names are as printed, lightly shortened.
Where the changed topics went
The table below follows each 2026 line to its 2027 section. The important column is the last one: a topic marked “B1 only” or “B2 only” is no longer compulsory for everyone. Two moves run the other way: slums, informal housing and housing standards come up from old B2 into Part A, so B1 candidates must now learn them, and landscape joins environmental planning in A.2.
| 2026 topic | Was in | 2027 home |
|---|---|---|
| Architectural graphics, visual composition, anthropometrics, organisation of space, circulation | §1 (Part A) | A.1 Design and Graphics (Part A) |
| Universal design, building bye-laws, codes and standards | §1 (Part A) | A.1 Design and Graphics (Part A) |
| Computer applications in architecture and planning | §1 (Part A) | Split: B1.5 Computer Applications (architecture side); planning data, GIS and databases in B2.5 |
| Space standards | §1 (Part A) | Wording dropped; no one-to-one home (housing and community-facility standards sit closest in A.4) |
| PERT, CPM, project management techniques | §2 (Part A) | B1.6 Project Management and Professional Practice (B1 only) |
| Estimation, specification, professional practice and ethics | §2 (Part A) | B1.6 Project Management and Professional Practice (B1 only) |
| Disaster-resistant structures, temporary structures for rehabilitation | §2 (Part A) | B1.3 Construction, Materials and Structural Systems (B1 only) |
| Ecosystems, pollution, sustainable development, climate change and the built environment | §3 (Part A) | A.2 Environmental Planning and Landscape (Part A) |
| Climate-responsive design | §3 (Part A) | B1.2 Climatology and Environmentally Responsive Design (B1 only) |
| Urban design theory, elements, public spaces, development controls (FAR, density), conservation | §4 (Part A) | A.3 Urban Design and Conservation (Part A) |
| Landscape design, historical gardens, site planning | §4 (Part A) | A.2 Environmental Planning and Landscape (Part A) |
| Planning theory, Ekistics, urban sociology, Eco-City and Smart City | §5 (Part A) | B2.1 Planning History, Theory and Techniques (B2 only) |
| Development guidelines such as URDPFI | §5 (Part A) | B2.2 Planning Policy and Practice (B2 only) |
| Cost-benefit analysis | §5 (Part A) | B2.6 Project Implementation and Financing (B2 only) |
| Spatial and non-spatial data analysis | §5 (Part A) | B2.5 Data Analysis, Remote Sensing and Geo-informatics (B2 only) |
| Housing typologies, neighbourhood, residential densities, affordable housing, real-estate valuation | §6 (Part A) | A.4 Town Planning, Housing and Real Estate (Part A) |
| Fire fighting, building safety and security, building management systems | §7 (Part A) | B1.4 Building Services (B1 only) |
| Water supply, water treatment, storm water, sewage disposal, solid waste (city scale) | §7 (Part A) | B2.3 Infrastructure, Services and Utilities (B2 only) |
| Water supply, sewage and waste within a building | §7 (Part A) | B1.4 Building Services (B1 only) |
| Land use–transport–urban form, roads, intersections, parking, level of service, pedestrians | §7 (Part A) | B2.4 Urban Land Use and Transportation (B2 only) |
| Slums, squatters, informal housing, housing standards, housing for special areas | B2.1 (Part B2) | A.4 Town Planning, Housing and Real Estate (now Part A, compulsory) |
| SEZ, SRZ | B2.1 (Part B2) | Removed |
| Decision support system | B2.2 (Part B2) | Removed |
| Intelligent buildings | B1.3 (Part B1) | Removed (building automation and BMS stay in B1.4) |
| Panchayati raj institutions | B2.2 (Part B2) | Reworded as “local self-governments” (B2.2) |
Mapping by ProSyllabus from the two official syllabi. A “§” number is a 2026 Part A section.
Where did my 2026 topic go? Old syllabus → 2027 section
Pick a topic as the 2026 syllabus worded it. The tool shows where it sat in 2026 and where the 2027 syllabus puts it, and whether it is still compulsory for every candidate.
Mapping by ProSyllabus from the official 2026 and 2027 AR syllabus PDFs. The same rows are in the table above.
What is new in Part A
Part A is smaller in scope but far more detailed. The added phrases are mostly the drawing-board and site-planning basics an architecture undergraduate meets in the first two years, plus the sustainability vocabulary of current practice. Because Part A still carries 60 marks, these four sections will now have to supply every Part A question (our reading; see the marks section below).
| Section | New or newly explicit in 2027 |
|---|---|
| A.1 Design and Graphics | Form; surface development; ergonomics; ratio and proportion; scales in design; plans, elevations and sections; barrier-free environment; engineering curves; orthographic and isometric projection; one-point and two-point perspective; light, shade and shadow (sciography) |
| A.2 Environmental Planning and Landscape | Urban ecosystem approach; ecological footprint and carrying capacity; resource management; life cycle analysis; circular economy; Environmental Impact Assessment; carbon footprint; carbon credits; urban heat islands; sustainable site planning; contour and slope analysis; landscape suitability analysis; plant characteristics and planting design; landscape conservation; social forestry; historical gardens |
| A.3 Urban Design and Conservation | Precincts; placemaking; form-based code; historical and contemporary public spaces (landscape moves out to A.2) |
| A.4 Town Planning, Housing and Real Estate | Principles of town planning; traditional and modern planned cities in India and abroad; housing need, demand, supply and shortage; incremental housing; slums, squatters and informal housing; standards for housing and community facilities; housing for special areas; real-estate feasibility and market analysis; locational decisions and economic analysis; project and construction phasing |
Official 2027 AR syllabus compared with 2026; the “new” column is ours.
What B1 and B2 gain
| Part | Section | Main additions |
|---|---|---|
| B1 Architecture | B1.2 Climatology (new section) | Climatic classification, solar architecture, thermal comfort, passive design, energy audit, embodied and operational energy, performance simulation, rating systems, kinetic architecture |
| B1 Architecture | B1.3 Construction, Materials, Structures | Shell structures, space frames, suspension and catenary structures, long spans, wind and seismic design of high-rises, fire protection, flooring, damp prevention, retrofitting |
| B1 Architecture | B1.4 Building Services | HVAC design principles, acoustics, water recycling and reuse, building automation, services for hospitals, indoor stadiums and high-rise buildings |
| B1 Architecture | B1.5 Computer Applications (new section) | Computational methods, 3D modelling and BIM, rendering, VR and AR, parametric design, shape grammar, generative design, UI/UX, CNC and 3D printing, AI for architecture |
| B1 Architecture | B1.6 Project Management and Practice | PERT and CPM (from old Part A), estimation and costing, tendering, arbitration, role of the Council of Architecture, architectural journalism, industrial architecture, human sociology, building economics, interior design |
| B2 Planning | B2.3 Infrastructure, Services and Utilities | Water demand, intakes, groundwater, reservoirs and pumps, network design, sewer design, runoff and flood protection, solid waste, facility location, fundamentals of power transmission and distribution: transformers, feeders, substations |
| B2 Planning | B2.4 Urban Land Use and Transportation | Land rent and land values, land value capture, TOD, brownfield redevelopment, real-estate pricing, accessibility, location choice, aggregate and disaggregate demand models |
| B2 Planning | B2.5 Data, Remote Sensing and GIS | Tests of normality, regression, hypothesis testing, ANOVA, AHP and multi-criteria analysis, photogrammetry, georeferencing, DBMS and SQL, spatial queries, machine learning, IoT, Python basics, urban analytics, spatial data infrastructure |
| B2 Planning | B2.6 Implementation and Financing (new section) | Municipal finance reforms, tax administration, budgeting, fiscal indicators, municipal bonds, credit rating, pricing of services, partnership approaches and types of contracts, financial viability and cost-benefit analysis, monitoring, asset management |
Official 2027 AR syllabus. Removed from the 2026 text altogether: SEZ, SRZ, “Decision support system”, “Intelligent Buildings” and “Space Standards”.
Where the past Part A marks now sit
We read every Part A question of the four official papers (Q11–Q49 each year) and filed it under the 2027 section it now belongs to. Only the first row stays compulsory. In 2026, for example, 24 of Part A’s 60 marks were on topics that are now B1 material (mostly estimation, CPM and services) and 13 on topics that are now B2 material (mostly city-scale water, sewerage and solid waste).
| 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | Where the question’s topic sits in 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 28 | 25 | 26 | 23 | Still Part A (A.1–A.4) |
| 11 | 20 | 17 | 24 | Moves to B1 |
| 21 | 15 | 17 | 13 | Moves to B2 |
| 60 | 60 | 60 | 60 | Part A total |
Marks, from the official papers and final keys; the classification is ours (a question spanning two sections was filed under the dominant one).
Our classification of the official 2023–2026 AR papers on the 2027 headings.
What it means (our reading, not an official statement). The 2027 setters must find 60 Part A marks inside four sections that supplied only 23–28 marks a year. It is possible that design, graphics, environment, urban-design and housing questions will roughly double against past papers, and expect the newly named lines (sciography, projections, EIA, carbon credits, placemaking, form-based code, housing shortage, real-estate feasibility) to be used. The corollary matters just as much: a B1 candidate can no longer bank city-infrastructure marks in Part A, and a B2 candidate can no longer bank estimation and services marks there.
What each candidate must now carry
| Candidate | New compulsory ground in Part A | Moved into their own part |
|---|---|---|
| B1 (Architecture) | Housing need and shortage, slums, real-estate feasibility and valuation (A.4); EIA, carbon credits, carrying capacity (A.2) | Climatology, computer applications, PERT/CPM, estimation, professional practice, fire and building-management services |
| B2 (Planning) | Engineering curves, orthographic and isometric projection, perspective, light and shadow (A.1); planting design (A.2) | Water, sewerage, storm water and solid waste at city scale; planning theory; URDPFI; data analysis; municipal finance |
Our reading of the 2027 syllabus.
GATE AR 2027: the new lines to cover first
Tick each once you can explain it and have solved a few questions on it.
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Practise it, don't just read it
Part A is now design, environment, urban design and housing. Our Principles of Architectural Composition, Development Control and Zoning Regulations, and Housing and Slum Improvement quizzes sit squarely on that ground.
The ProSyllabus GATE Architecture and Planning library has ten 10-question topic quizzes today, among them Principles of Architectural Composition, Development Control and Zoning Regulations and Housing and Slum Improvement (Part A ground), History of Architecture, Climate and Solar Geometry, Structural Systems and Analysis and Building Materials and Properties (B1 ground), and Settlement Geography and Regional Theories and Water Supply and Sanitation Services (B2 ground). Every option comes with a worked explanation.
What changed in the GATE AR syllabus for 2027?
It was restructured. Part A went from seven sections to four (Design and Graphics; Environmental Planning and Landscape; Urban Design and Conservation; Town Planning, Housing and Real Estate). Construction and management, services, the planning process, infrastructure and computer applications moved into Part B1 or B2, which now have six sections each.
Has the GATE AR 2027 exam pattern changed?
No. Part A is still 39 questions for 60 marks, Part B1 or B2 is 16 questions for 25 marks, and General Aptitude is 15 marks. Only the syllabus inside each part changed.
Is PERT and CPM still in GATE AR Part A?
No. From 2027 project-management techniques, estimation and professional practice are in B1.6, so only Architecture (B1) candidates are examined on them.
Do Planning (B2) candidates need to study drawing in 2027?
Yes. A.1 Design and Graphics is in the compulsory Part A and now names engineering curves, orthographic and isometric projection, perspective, and light, shade and shadow.
When do I choose between B1 and B2?
During the examination. You do not declare it at registration, and both groups are ranked on a single list.
Where is the official GATE AR 2027 syllabus PDF?
On the GATE 2027 website of IIT Madras as AR_GATE2027_Syllabus.pdf, and in the brochure appendix. The link is in the sources below.
Which second paper can I take with AR in GATE 2027?
AR can be paired with CE (Civil Engineering) or GE (Geomatics Engineering), per the official two-paper combinations page.
More in this series
- GATE AR marks vs score vs rank
- GATE AR previous papers, counted for 2027
- Jobs through GATE Architecture
- M.Arch and M.Plan admission through GATE AR
- GATE AR 2027 preparation plan
- GATE Architecture and Planning: the complete guide
- GATE Architecture and Planning 2026 paper analysis
- GATE Architecture and Planning notice board: official updates
- Parental advice for GATE Architecture and Planning
Sources
- official — GATE 2027 AR (Architecture and Planning) syllabus (PDF, IIT Madras)
- official — GATE 2026 AR syllabus (PDF, IIT Guwahati)
- official — GATE 2027 Information Brochure, IIT Madras (revised 27 Sep 2026) — AR paper structure, fees, score formula, qualifying rule
- official — GATE 2026 Information Brochure, IIT Guwahati (PDF)
- official — GATE 2027 — Notifications (registration extension; “the syllabi … have been revised”)
- official — GATE 2027 — Important dates (captured 28 Sep 2026: regular close 5 Oct, late fee 12 Oct 2026)
- official — GATE 2027 — Two-paper combinations (AR with CE or GE)
- official — GATE 2026 AR question paper (PDF)
- official — GATE 2026 AR final answer key (PDF)
- official — GATE 2025 AR question paper (PDF)
- official — GATE 2025 AR final answer key (PDF)
- official — GATE 2024 AR question paper (PDF)
- official — GATE 2024 AR final answer key (PDF)
- official — GATE 2023 AR question paper (PDF)
- official — GATE 2023 AR final answer key (PDF)
- reported — Careers360 — “GATE Syllabus for Architecture and Planning” (checked 28 Sep 2026; see correction)
- reported — Collegedunia — “GATE Architecture and Planning Syllabus” (checked 28 Sep 2026; see correction)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
