GATE 2025 Life Sciences: Exam Date (Feb 16), Syllabus, Question Papers, Pattern, Cutoff

GATE Life Sciences exam 2025 will be held on February 16, 2025. The GATE 2025 Life Sciences exam paper is divided into three main sections, namely General Aptitude, Chemistry, and Life Sciences subjects. 

GATE 2025 Life Sciences:GATE Life Sciences is one of the most opted and popular M.Tech specializations. In GATE 2024, 44904 students registered for the GATE Life Sciences paper. The competition level is high in the GATE Life Science (XL) paper as several students sit for the exam and there are limited seats. Therefore, the GATE cutoff for Life Sciences (XL) paper is set high by the authorities. As a result, only 21.46% were able to pass the GATE exam in Life Sciences paper. However, if you are highly dedicated to their GATE exam preparation can pass the exam with flying colors. The GATE syllabus and GATE exam pattern for Life Sciences have been released. The Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee, will be conducting the GATE 2025 exam on February 1, 2, 15 & 16, 2025. If you have completed your Bachelor's education, you can participate in the GATE 2025 Life Sciences exam to pursue postgraduation from various top universities and institutes in India including IITs and NITs. The GATE 2025 Life Sciences syllabus includes one compulsory subject and five optional subjects; you will have to select two out of five optional subjects for your GATE 2025 Life Sciences question paper. 

In this article, we will discuss the GATE 2025 Life Sciences exam including all the important information such as the exam date, syllabus, question paper, GATE 2025 Life Sciences exam pattern, and expected cutoff score. 

Also Check: GATE 2025: Dates (Out), Syllabus, Pattern, Question Papers, Preparation Tips

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GATE 2025 Life Sciences Exam Date

The GATE 2025 exam is set to be conducted on February 1, 2, 15, and 16, 2025, by the Indian Institute of Technology, Roorkee. The institute has released the  paper-wise GATE 2025 exam date.

Date

GATE 2025 Exam Date for All Papers

February 1, 2, 15 & 16, 2025 

GATE 2025 Life Sciences Exam Date

February 16, 2025, from 2:30 pm to 5:30 pm

Also Check: GATE 2025 Exam Dates (Out): Application Form, Admit Card, Result Date

List of Two Paper Combinations for GATE 2025 Life Sciences

Along with sitting for the GATE Life Sciences paper, you can also appear for other papers. You must choose the list of two paper combinations of GATE 2025 as per your academic and career goals. 

If you are choosing the GATE Life Sciences paper, you can choose any of the following papers as the second combination -

  • Biotechnology (BT)
  • Chemistry (CY)
  • Ecology and Evolution (EY)

*Note: You must keep in mind that you have to pay an additional GATE application fee for the second combination subject. 

Total Number of Candidates Appeared for GATE  Life Sciences: Past Trends

GATE Life Sciences paper is one of the popular specializations of M.Tech. It is one of the most opted GATE M.Tech specializations among the students. Considering the past 3 years' trends, there has been an increase in a number of students registering for the GATE Life Sciences (XL) specialization. In 2024, the total number of students who registered for the GATE XL paper was 44904. However, there has been a huge gap in students registering and appearing for the GATE XL paper. In 2024, 8629 students didn't show up for the GATE XL exam though they did register for it. 

Here is a look at the past trends showing the total number of students appearing for GATE  Life Sciences:

GATE Paper Code

Year

Total No. of Students Registered

Total No. of Students Appeared

XL

2024

44904

36275

2023

37391

29605

2022

40148

30336

GATE  Life Sciences Qualifying Trends Over the Years

Considering the GATE qualifying trends of the last 3 years, it can be concluded that passing the GATE XL paper is not easy. In the GATE XL 2024 paper, only 21.46% of students were able to pass the exam. The reason behind this is GATE is a national-level exam with a high competition level. You have to study very hard to qualify the GATE exam. Since so many students register for the GATE XL paper which also makes authorities set the GATE cutoff high. 

Take a look at the GATE  Life Sciences qualifying trends here:

GATE Paper Code

Year

Total No. of Students Appeared

Total No. of Students Qualified

Qualifying %

XL

2024

36275

7787 

21.46%

2023

29605

7007

23.66 %

2022

30336

7072

23.31%


GATE 2025 Life Sciences (XL) Syllabus

The GATE 2025 Life Sciences syllabus can be accessed and downloaded in PDF format from the official website, gate2025.iitr.ac.in. The complete syllabus includes all the important topics from the compulsory subject and the five optional papers. If you are preparing for the GATE 2025 Life Sciences exam, you are required to select two out of five optional subjects for their exam. 

If you are preparing for the upcoming exam, you should have a clear understanding of the GATE 2025 XL syllabus to decide which subject they will choose and how they will prepare for the same. The following is the subject and section-wise GATE syllabus 2025 for Life Sciences. 

Subject

Topic

Chemistry (Compulsory for all XL students)

Atomic Structure and Periodicity

Structure and Bonding

s, p and d Block Elements

Chemical Equilibria

Electrochemistry

Reaction Kinetics

Thermodynamics

Structure-Reactivity Correlations and Organic Reaction Mechanisms

Chemistry of Biomolecules

Biochemistry (XL-Q)

Organization of life

Enzyme kinetics

Biochemical separation techniques

Cell structure and organelles

DNA replication

Immune System

Botany (XL-R)

Plant Systematics

Plant Anatomy

Plant Development; Cell and Tissue Morphogenesis

Plant Physiology and Biochemistry

Genetics and Genomics

Plant Breeding, Genetic Modification, Genome Editing

Economic and Applied Botany

Plant Pathology

Ecology and Environment

Microbiology (XL-S)

Historical Perspective

Methods in Microbiology

Microbial Taxonomy and Diversity

Prokaryotic Cells: Structure and Function

Microbial Growth

Control of Micro-organisms

Microbial Metabolism

Microbial Diseases and Host-Pathogen Interaction

Chemotherapy/Antibiotics

Microbial Genetics

Microbial Ecology

Zoology (XL-T)

Animal Diversity

Evolution

Genetics

Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Cell Biology

Gene expression in Eukaryotes

Animal Anatomy and Physiology

Parasitology and Immunology

Development Biology

Ecology

Animal Behaviour

Food Technology (XL-U)

Food Chemistry and Nutrition

Food Microbiology

Food Products Technology

Food Engineering

GATE 2025 Life Sciences Syllabus PDF Download

Any students preparing for the exam should always have a copy of the GATE 2025 Life Sciences syllabus with them to keep their preparations focused on the subject and important topics. You can download the GATE 2025 XL syllabus directly from the official website, or through the link given below:

GATE 2025 Life Sciences Exam Pattern

The GATE 2025 Life Sciences exam can majorly be divided into three sections, General Aptitude, Chemistry (compulsory for all the students), and two optional subjects of your choice. The GATE 2025 XL exam pattern highlights how the question paper will be formed, which section will cover how many marks, and how you will eventually get scored. You must be aware of the GATE 2025 Life Sciences paper pattern to be well prepared on the exam day. Let’s have a closer look at the GATE exam pattern 2025 with the table below: 

Particulars

Details

Mode of exam

Online

Duration

3 hours

(PwD students with benchmark disability are eligible for a total compensatory time of one hour)

Medium

English

Scheme of questions to test ability

  • Recall

  • Comprehension

  • Application

  • Analysis & Synthesis

Type of questions

  • Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ)

  • Multiple Select Questions (MSQ) and/or

  • Numerical Answer Type (NAT) Questions

GATE 2025 Life Sciences Marks Distribution

The three sections of the GATE 2025 Life Sciences exam will feature questions from General Aptitude, Chemistry (mandatory), and two optional subjects out of five choices given to you. You can check the GATE 2025 Life Sciences marks distribution from the table below: 

Subject

Marks Allotted

General Aptitude

15 Marks

Chemistry

25 Marks

Optional Subjects

2x30 = 60 Marks

Total

100 Marks

GATE 2025 Life Sciences Marking Scheme

The GATE 2025 Life Sciences marking scheme allows you to learn how the questions are scored in the examination. The Life Sciences question paper will include three main types of questions multiple choice, multiple select, and numerical answer type questions. There will be partial and negative markings for some questions. For a better understanding of the GATE 2025 XL marking scheme, check out the table below: 

ParticularsDetails

Marking Scheme

  • Questions carry 1 mark and 2 marks

  • There is no partial marking for MSQs

Negative Marking

  • For a wrong answer chosen in an MCQ, there will be a negative marking.

  • For a 1-mark MCQ, a 1/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer.

  • Likewise, for a 2-mark MCQ, a 2/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer.

  • There is no negative marking for wrong answer(s) to MSQ or NAT questions.

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GATE 2025 Life Sciences Question Papers

GATE previous year question papers are some of the key resources in preparing for the Life Sciences exam. These question papers not only provide students with valuable information and instructions that need to be followed on the exam day, but they also give essential insights into the question papers, and let them know what to expect from the GATE 2025 Life Sciences question paper. You can download several previous years’ question papers of GATE from the official website, or click on the links below. 

Also Check - GATE 2025 Paper Codes

GATE 2025 Life Sciences Expected Cutoff

GATE cutoffs are released by the organizing institute after the announcement of official results. The cutoff or qualifying marks typically vary each eyar depending on the exam's difficulty level, the total number of examinees, your category, and so on. Till the official cutoff marks are released, you can refer to the expected GATE 2025 cutoff based on the past year's trends here:-

Category

Expected GATE 2025 Life Sciences Cutoff

GATE 2024 Cutoff

GATE 2023 Cutoff

General

29-33

29.3

32.9

OBC-NCL/EWS

26-30

26.3

29.6

SC/ST/PwD

19-22

19.5

21.9

List of IITs Offering Life Sciences through GATE 2025

Several IITs offer postgraduate courses in Life Sciences based on GATE scores, and some of the best IITs offering Life Sciences through GATE 2025 are IIT Madras, IIT Bombay, and IIT Guwahati. Find more IITs offering Life Sciences course through GATE 2025 exam from the list below: 

List of NITs offering Life Sciences through GATE 2025

NIT Rourkela, NIT Durgapur, and NIT Trichy are well-known for their campus and dynamic Life Sciences courses. However, many other NITs offer similar courses, some of these are: 

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We hope this article on GATE 2025 Life Sciences will help you prepare for the upcoming exam. For the latest updates, stay tuned to CollegeDekho!

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FAQs

How many students appeared in the GATE Life Sciences exam?

A total of 36,275 students appeared for the GATE Life Sciences exam in 2024. 

What is a good score in GATE Life Sciences?

A score of more than 70 marks is considered a great score in the GATE Life Sciences exam.

When is the GATE 2025 Life Sciences exam?

The GATE 2025 Life Sciences exam will be held on Sunday, 16 February 2025.

Where can I get the GATE 2025 Life Sciences syllabus?

You can download the official GATE 2025 Life Sciences syllabus from the official GATE 2025 exam website, gate2025.iitr.ac.in. 

How many life sciences subjects are there in GATE 2025?

There are a total of 6 Life Sciences subjects in the GATE 2025 Life Sciences exam namely, Chemistry, Biochemistry, Botany, Microbiology, Zoology, and Food Technology.

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