KCET
Karnataka Common Entrance Test
About this exam — pattern, marking, syllabus and where it leadsShowHide
KCET is Karnataka's state entrance test, and the route to the government share of seats in the state's engineering colleges. The single most important thing to know about it is not in the paper: your merit rank is half your KCET score and half your Class 12 PCM marks, weighted equally. Students who treat it as a pure entrance exam and let their board marks slip lose rank they cannot recover in the test hall.
- Duration
- 80 minutes per subject. Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics are separate papers, over two days.
- Papers
- One paper per subject. Engineering candidates sit all three.
- Mode
- Pen-and-paper, OMR sheet.
Question formats
- Physics — 60 four-option MCQs, single correct
- Chemistry — 60 four-option MCQs, single correct
- Mathematics — 60 four-option MCQs, single correct
- Kannada language test — 50 marks, pass mark 12Only for Horanadu and Gadinadu Kannadiga candidates — not a general requirement.
Marking
| Question type | Correct | Partial | Incorrect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Every question | +1 | — | No negative marking is the long-standing practice — confirm in the current bulletin |
Physics syllabus
General
- Units, Dimensions & Measurements
- Experimental Physics
Mechanics
- Kinematics
- Laws of Motion & Friction
- Circular Motion
- Work, Energy & Power
- Centre of Mass, Momentum & Collision
- Rotational Motion
- Gravitation
- Property of Solids
- Properties of Fluids
Thermal Physics
- Thermal Properties of Matter
- Thermodynamics
- Kinetic Theory of Gases
Oscillations & Waves
- Simple Harmonic Motion
- Waves
Electrodynamics
- Electrostatics
- Capacitors
- Current Electricity
- Magnetic Effects of Current
- Magnetism
- Electromagnetic Induction
- Alternating Current
- Electromagnetic Waves
Optics
- Ray Optics
- Wave Optics
Modern Physics
- Dual Nature of Matter and Radiation
- Atoms
- Nuclei
- Semiconductors / Electronic Devices
Eligibility and admissions
These change from year to year. Always confirm against the current information brochure before acting on anything here.
- Conducted by:
- The Karnataka Examinations Authority (KEA).
- Merit rank:
- 50% KCET marks and 50% Class 12 PCM marks, in equal proportion. B.Pharm merit is on the KCET score alone.
- Eligibility:
- Karnataka candidates under the KEA eligibility clauses, with PCM and English and about 45% aggregate (40% for reserved categories).
- Seats covered:
- The government share only. Private-college management seats go through COMEDK or the colleges' own processes.
Where this exam leads
Where the seats are
KEA describes the participating colleges by category rather than publishing a fixed list, and it changes each year. Check the current KEA college list before setting preferences.
Government engineering colleges across Karnataka · University constituent colleges · Private aided colleges · Private unaided colleges, for their government-share seats
Grouped by band rather than ranked one by one, because the ordering changes yearly and a branch at one institute is often worth more than a seat at a higher-ranked one. Check NIRF and the official counselling data before setting your preferences.
We do not publish closing ranks for this exam. Its counselling data is not released in a form we can verify institute by institute, and a plausible-looking invented number is worse than none — take the cut-offs from the conducting body's own counselling reports.
Courses offered
- • B.Tech / B.E. — Computer Science and its variants, which take the highest cut-offs almost everywhere
- • B.Tech / B.E. — Electronics, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Chemical
- • Interdisciplinary programmes: Data Science, AI, Mathematics and Computing, Engineering Physics
- • Dual-degree and five-year integrated B.Tech–M.Tech programmes at several institutes
- • B.Pharm and Pharm.D
- • Farm science — B.Sc in Agriculture, Horticulture, Forestry and Sericulture
- • B.Tech in Biotechnology, Agricultural Engineering, Food Technology and Dairy Technology
- • B.V.Sc, B.F.Sc, B.Sc Nursing and BNYS