PAU: Admission 2026, Fees, Courses, Cutoff, Ranking, Placement

PAU Admission Dates 2026

Admissions for the 2026-27 academic session were anchored by PAU-CET, the university’s own Common Entrance Test. The application window opened in April 2026 and closed in May 2026. The exam was conducted in June 2026 and centralised counselling followed in July 2026.

The 2026-27 cycle has fully concluded. The table below provides tentative dates for the 2027-28 admission cycle based on PAU’s established scheduling pattern.

PAU accepts both its own entrance test and select national-level examinations. The course-wise breakdown of accepted exams is listed below.

PAU Courses and Fees

PAU offers over 80 programmes across its six constituent colleges spanning agriculture, horticulture, engineering, community science, basic sciences, and humanities. The fee range runs from INR 1.06 Lakhs for the Diploma in Agriculture to INR 7.68 Lakhs for B.Tech Biotechnology and Food Technology. The table below covers all major programme families.

M.Tech specialisations are offered in Farm Machinery and Power Engineering, Process and Food Engineering, Soil and Water Engineering, Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Artificial Intelligence and Data Science, and Remote Sensing and GIS. The integrated B.Sc+M.Sc programme is available in Biochemistry, Botany, Chemistry, Microbiology, Physics, and Zoology.

PAU Admission Process

All admissions at PAU are merit-based through PAU-CET or equivalent national-level exams. The university does not offer management quota or NRI seats. Application and counselling are conducted centrally through the PAU admission portal at pau-apms.in.

B.Sc (Hons.) Agriculture and Horticulture

B.Sc Agriculture and Horticulture are the flagship UG programmes at PAU. These programmes carry the highest enrolment and competition.

• Eligibility: 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry, and Biology (or Mathematics) at 50% aggregate marks
• Entrance: Valid PAU-CET (UG) score is mandatory
• Selection stages: PAU-CET merit rank, choice filling at counselling, seat allotment, document verification, and admission confirmation
• The application fee is INR 3,500 for the first test and INR 1,500 per additional test

PAU-CET is an offline objective-type exam with 200 questions for 200 marks, conducted over 3 hours. The merit list is drawn strictly on PAU-CET score.

B.Tech Programmes (Agricultural Engineering, Biotechnology, Food Technology)

B.Tech programmes at PAU accept both PAU-CET (UG) and JEE Main scores. A separate merit list is prepared for JEE Main qualified candidates.

• Eligibility: 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics (or Biology for Biotechnology), 50% aggregate
• Entrance: PAU-CET (UG) or JEE Main score
• Selection: Programme-wise combined merit list, centralised counselling at PAU Ludhiana

Postgraduate Programmes (M.Sc, MBA, M.Tech, MCA, MJMC)

PG admissions are through PAU-CET (PG) conducted separately every July. ICAR AIEEA qualified candidates are admitted to M.Sc seats under the ICAR nominees quota without appearing in PAU-CET, and GATE qualified candidates are eligible for M.Tech seats.

• M.Sc eligibility: Bachelor’s in the relevant discipline with 60% aggregate
• MBA and MBA Agri-Business eligibility: Bachelor’s degree in any discipline, 50% aggregate
• M.Tech eligibility: B.Tech in a relevant engineering field, 60% aggregate
• MCA eligibility: Bachelor’s degree with Mathematics at 10+2 or graduation level, 50% aggregate

ICAR nominees admitted through ICAR AIEEA PG receive a scholarship of INR 5,000 per month and are exempt from the PAU-CET requirement.

PhD Programmes

PhD admission is through the PAU PhD Entrance Test, conducted twice yearly. ICAR SRF holders and university-funded fellows are considered in their respective seat categories. Eligibility is a relevant Master’s degree with 60% marks. UGC-NET and CSIR-NET qualified candidates may be considered for fellowship-linked PhD seats.

Diploma in Agriculture and Certificate Programmes

The Diploma in Agriculture (2 years) requires Class 10 pass from a recognised board. Certificate courses in Interior Designing and Early Childhood Care and Education each run for one year. Selection for all these programmes is based on merit in the qualifying examination.

PAU Placements

PAU’s placement activity spans agri-input, food processing, banking, and engineering sectors. As per NIRF 2025 data for the 2023-24 graduating batch, the median placement salary is INR 4.80 LPA. The highest offer reported stands at INR 18 LPA. The placement rate reported in NIRF data is 78% of eligible UG and PG students.

B.Tech and MBA graduates see higher private-sector placement participation. B.Sc Agriculture and Horticulture graduates most commonly pursue M.Sc studies, ICAR JRF fellowships, state agricultural department roles, and UPSC agricultural services alongside campus placements.

PAU’s Green Revolution legacy and active ICAR affiliation give its graduates strong credibility for roles in government agricultural research, state KVKs (Krishi Vigyan Kendras), and public sector agri-input companies. Alumni also take the Punjab State Civil Services, Agriculture Officer examinations, and Bank Specialist Officer roles in rural and agricultural banking.

PAU Rankings

PAU consistently ranks among the top three agricultural universities in India. In NIRF 2025, PAU retained its 3rd rank in Agriculture and Allied Sectors with a score of 75.83, placing just behind ICAR-NDRI Karnal at 2nd. At the institutional level, PAU ranks among the top 100 universities in India in the NIRF Overall category.

PAU’s NIRF Agriculture score of 75.83 reflects strong performance across teaching and learning resources, research publication output, and graduation outcomes. The university has been ranked in the NIRF Agriculture category consistently since the framework was introduced.

PAU Scholarships

PAU offers a layered scholarship system covering tuition fee waivers for reserved categories, monthly fellowships for PG students, ICAR-funded national scholarships, and institutional merit awards. Students from SC/ST backgrounds and high-merit performers are the primary beneficiaries.

Girls students are eligible for additional concessions and a separate aid programme is available for students from rural and backward class backgrounds. Students may apply for multiple scholarships simultaneously, subject to conditions of each award.

PAU Campus and Infrastructure

PAU’s 1,500-acre campus at Ludhiana is one of the largest agricultural university campuses in India. The campus hosts six constituent colleges, research farms, experimental crop plots, orchards, a seed production centre, and a technology commercialisation unit. PAU’s Biannual Farmers’ Fair, held every November and March since 1967, draws over 100,000 farmers from across Punjab and neighbouring states.

Campus facilities include a central library with extensive agricultural research holdings, dedicated biotechnology and food science laboratories, computer centres, a language lab, and a sports stadium that has hosted Ranji Trophy cricket matches. Separate hostel facilities are available for male and female students. Hostel fees are up to INR 36,980 per year for both boys and girls hostels. On-campus amenities include a post office, bank branch, and a university hospital serving students and staff.

PAU also operates an outstation campus at Ballowal Saunkhri in Shaheed Bhagat Singh Nagar district, housing the PAU-College of Agriculture for students from that region. The university’s research farms and experimental plots are used by faculty and students for applied field work, giving students direct field exposure alongside classroom instruction.

PAU vs GBPUAT Pantnagar vs CCSHAU Hisar

Aspirants considering PAU for agricultural programmes typically also evaluate G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology (GBPUAT), Pantnagar in Uttarakhand and CCS Haryana Agricultural University (CCSHAU), Hisar in Haryana. All three are top government agricultural universities in north India with similar flagship UG programmes and state-supported fee structures.

PAU leads among the three in NIRF Agriculture rank and has the strongest industry linkage with Punjab’s large agri-input and food processing sector. GBPUAT Pantnagar, as India’s first agricultural university (1960), operates the largest campus and has comparable research credentials. CCSHAU Hisar serves primarily Haryana-domicile aspirants with particular strengths in dryland cropping systems and livestock sciences. State domicile eligibility and proximity to home state are key factors for most aspirants choosing between these three institutions.