Karnataka KCET 2026 Admissions & Engineering Hub
Everything candidates and parents need for Karnataka undergraduate engineering, architecture, pharmacy, and agriculture admissions. Explore cutoffs across 200+ top VTU & autonomous institutions, calculate your normalized 50:50 composite rank, and plan your choice entry list. Roughly 3.09 lakh candidates sat the 2026 exam across 745 centres.
Karnataka Engineering Campuses
RVCE, BMSCE, MSRIT & 200+ State Engineering Institutions
Last checked against the official KEA site: September 2026
This page is an independent summary, not the official notification. For legally binding dates, eligibility, and rules, always cross-check with the official KEA counselling portal at cetonline.karnataka.gov.in/kea (the older kea.kar.nic.in address still resolves but is largely superseded for day-to-day notifications).
What KCET is used for
A KCET rank is used to allot seats through centralised counselling into:
- Engineering (B.E./B.Tech) at colleges affiliated with Visvesvaraya Technological University and other Karnataka universities
- Pharmacy (B.Pharm)
- Agriculture, horticulture and allied sciences (Karnataka's own agriculture colleges primarily use the KCET rank directly; ICAR AIEEA is a separate, alternative national exam some candidates use instead, mainly for ICAR-funded central universities)
Two courses on this list are commonly assumed to work the same way as engineering, but don't:
Architecture (B.Arch): administered through the same KEA counselling system, but not via your KCET exam rank. B.Arch admission needs a valid NATA (or JEE Main Paper 2) score, and uses its own separate merit list — 50% NATA/JEE-Paper-2 score plus 50% PUC marks — completely independent of your engineering/pharmacy KCET rank. Targeting both B.Tech and B.Arch gets you two separate rank lists from KEA, not one.
Veterinary science (BVSc) and state-quota medical (MBBS) / dental (BDS): all three are merit-ranked by your NEET-UG score, not your KCET Biology paper score — KEA runs the counselling and (for Karnataka-domiciled candidates) KCET registration is part of establishing eligibility, but the seat-allotment rank itself comes from NEET-UG. Non-Karnataka-resident candidates seeking government veterinary seats generally need NEET-UG directly, without KCET at all.
How the exam works, in brief
KCET is a pen-and-paper (offline) exam held over two days, with four subject papers: Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, and Biology. Each paper carries 60 marks (60 questions, one mark each) over 80 minutes, with no negative marking, and questions are drawn from the Karnataka 2nd PUC (Class 12) syllabus. Candidates from certain categories (Horanadu and Gadinadu Kannadiga) also sit a separate Kannada language test. See the full exam pattern and syllabus page for details.
The annual cycle
Every KCET cycle follows the same broad sequence. Each stage has its own page on this site:
- Important dates: notification, registration, exam, and result windows
- Eligibility criteria: who can apply
- Application process: how to register and fill the form
- Admit card: when and how it's released
- Answer key: provisional and final key, objection window
- Result and rank list
- Cutoff ranks: by category, college and course
- Counselling: choice filling, seat allotment, reporting
- Participating colleges
- Frequently asked questions
Also useful
- How often is KCET held & retake rules: annual frequency, 0 repeater penalty, and KSEAB 3-exam policy
- KCET 50:50 Weightage Formula Explained: calculation math, board score impact, and tiebreakers
- Supernumerary Quota (SNQ) Guide: 100% tuition waiver under ₹8 Lakhs income
- Article 371(J) Kalyana Karnataka Guide: 70% regional and 8% statewide quotas
- Which branch is right for you: what each engineering branch actually involves
- Exam calendar: see how KCET lines up against PGCET and DCET
- Scholarships & fee reimbursement: real schemes you may qualify for
- Free tools: target score planner, choice decision engine, and cutoff matrix