Punjab Agricultural University

Latest Admission Updates (2026)

The single most important deadline for the 2026 undergraduate cycle has already closed: the PAU CET 2026 online application window ran from 16 April 2026 to 8 May 2026, with a computer-based-test (CBT) registration extension accepted till 8 June 2026. Below is the current status of the Punjab Agricultural University admission cycle as of June 2026.

• 16 April 2026: PAU CET 2026 application portal opened on pau.edu / pau-apms.in for B.Sc Agriculture, B.Sc Horticulture and other UG programmes.
• 8 May 2026: Last date to submit the PAU CET 2026 application form (CBT registrations extended to 8 June 2026).
• 11 June 2026: PAU CET 2026 admit card released on the official portal.
• 14 June 2026: PAU CET 2026 entrance examination conducted (3-hour, 200-mark objective paper).
• 2nd-3rd week of July 2026 (expected, based on 2025 schedule): PAU CET counselling Round 1 and Round 2, merit list, seat allotment and document verification.
• March-April 2026: PAU MET (for M.Sc, M.Tech, MCA, MJMC) and PAU PET (for Ph.D.) notifications released; PG and doctoral admissions run on a parallel timeline.
• B.Tech (Agricultural Engineering) route: admission via valid JEE Main 2026 score; candidates must hold a JEE Main rank to be eligible for this branch at the College of Agricultural Engineering and Technology, PAU.

Punjab Agricultural University reserves 85% of UG seats for the Punjab state quota (filled through PAU CET) and 15% for the national quota filled through ICAR AIEEA UG counselling. Aspirants who missed the 8 May 2026 CET window but hold a valid ICAR AIEEA rank can still secure a PAU seat through the ICAR centralised counselling and then report to PAU for final admission.

Punjab Agricultural University Admission 2026: Eligibility Criteria

The most common question aspirants ask is "Am I eligible for PAU?" - and the answer is strictly programme-specific because PAU runs distinct gateways for its agriculture, engineering, science, management and doctoral streams. The table below maps each Punjab Agricultural University programme to its minimum academic qualification, the qualifying marks expected, and the single entrance exam that PAU accepts for it. Read it row by row: the "Accepted Entrance Exam" column tells you which test you must clear, while "Qualifying Marks" is the floor below which your application will not be considered. Note that B.Tech Agricultural Engineering is the only undergraduate branch here that needs a national exam (JEE Main) rather than the in-house PAU CET.

The key takeaway for 2026 applicants is to match your gateway exam before anything else: agriculture and allied UG hopefuls compete in PAU CET, engineering aspirants ride on JEE Main, and management seats hinge on CAT/MAT. Reserved-category candidates (SC/ST/BC/EWS) receive marks relaxation, typically to 40%, but must upload valid category certificates at counselling. Ph.D. applicants who hold an ICAR-NET qualification get a major shortcut - they skip the PAU written test and go straight to the interview. Confirm your exact percentage requirement on pau.edu before paying the application fee, as PAU revises cut-off OCPA norms each cycle.

Course-Wise Admission Status

This section answers "Which PAU courses are open right now, and how many seats are on offer?" As of June 2026, the undergraduate application window has closed and the process has moved to the examination and counselling stage, while postgraduate and doctoral admissions follow their own March-June rhythm. The table groups each programme by its current application status, the mode of admission (in-house CET vs national exam), and the entrance test PAU accepts. Use the "Mode" column to understand whether you compete in PAU's state-quota merit list or in a centralised national pool. Seat figures are indicative of PAU's published intake and are confirmed afresh each year in the prospectus.

The practical next step depends on your stream: B.Sc Agriculture and Horticulture aspirants should now focus on the July 2026 counselling rather than the application form, since the 8 May 2026 deadline has passed. B.Tech aspirants should keep their JEE Main 2026 scorecard ready for the engineering counselling. PG and Ph.D. candidates still inside the PAU MET/PET window should complete registration on pau-apms.in without delay, because PAU fills discipline-wise seats strictly on combined entrance-plus-degree merit and seats in popular departments like Agronomy, Plant Breeding and Food Technology close quickly.

Application Fees

A frequent applicant query is "How much does it cost just to apply to PAU?" - distinct from the much larger tuition fee paid after admission. For the PAU CET 2026 undergraduate cycle, the non-refundable application fee is modest and follows a two-tier structure based on category. The table below lists the application (form) fee by category and year so you can see that PAU has held its UG application fee steady. Keep in mind this is only the registration charge; the programme tuition fees are covered separately in the next sections.

The takeaway is that PAU's application fee has remained stable between the 2025 and 2026 cycles, with reserved-category candidates paying half the general rate. Pay only through the official pau-apms.in payment gateway and retain the transaction receipt, because it is checked again at document verification. Remember that this application fee is separate from - and far smaller than - the annual tuition you will commit to once admitted, which is detailed below for each programme.

Entrance Exam Requirements

PAU does not accept a single common exam; it routes each programme through a specific gateway, so the answer to "Which exam do I need for my course at PAU?" changes by stream. Undergraduate agriculture and allied seats hinge on PAU CET; engineering needs JEE Main; postgraduate science and technology seats run on PAU MET (with GATE accepted for M.Tech); management uses CAT/MAT; and doctoral entry is via the PAU Entrance Test. The table below pairs each exam with the programmes it feeds, the 2026 exam date where known, and a realistic competitive score band for PAU. Treat the "Typical Qualifying Score" column as guidance - actual cut-offs shift each year with the applicant pool.

The most important action point is to register for the correct gateway well ahead of its deadline, because PAU treats these exams as non-interchangeable - a JEE Main rank will not help you in B.Sc Agriculture, and a PAU CET score is useless for B.Tech. M.Tech aspirants have a genuine advantage if they hold a valid GATE score, as it is accepted alongside PAU MET. For the 15% national UG quota, your ICAR AIEEA rank must clear ICAR's centralised counselling first; only then do you report to PAU to finalise admission.

Cutoff Analysis (2024-2026)

The question "What rank do I need to get into PAU?" has very different answers for engineering and agriculture. For B.Tech Agricultural Engineering, PAU's historically verified JEE Main closing ranks are strikingly low (i.e., highly competitive at the top), driven by a small, specialised intake and the requirement of a valid JEE Main score. The table below presents PAU's verified JEE Main B.Tech closing ranks by category, anchored to the years on record, so you can see exactly how tight the General and EWS bands have been versus the wider SC/ST bands. Read "closing rank" as the worst rank that still secured a seat that year - a lower number means stiffer competition.

The trend is volatile and worth understanding before you bank on a number: PAU's verified JEE Main B.Tech General closing rank tightened dramatically from 377893 in 2019 to just 157 in 2020, with EWS also closing at 157, OBC at 240, and both SC and ST at 1397 in 2020. That swing reflects how a small Agricultural Engineering intake makes closing ranks hypersensitive to the applicant pool and counselling round. Reputable 2025 portals indicate the general-category band has since widened to roughly the 2-9 lakh rank zone across counselling rounds. The practical lesson: do not treat any single year as a guarantee - apply with a valid JEE Main rank and participate in every counselling round, because PAU's B.Tech cut-offs have historically moved across a very large range. For B.Sc Agriculture, PAU CET is qualifying at 50% but admission is rank-based, so aim well above the floor.

Counselling Process

Punjab Agricultural University runs an online registration followed by physical document verification for its UG counselling, typically in the 2nd-3rd week of July 2026 (expected, based on the 2025 schedule). Follow these steps in order:

1. Result & merit list: PAU publishes a course-wise and category-wise merit list based on PAU CET 2026 scores after the 14 June 2026 exam.
2. Online counselling registration: Qualified candidates register on pau-apms.in for the counselling round announced for July 2026.
3. Choice filling: Candidates fill and lock their programme/branch preferences (e.g., B.Sc Agriculture, Horticulture, Community Science) in order of priority.
4. Seat allotment: PAU allots seats strictly on entrance rank, category and seat availability across the 85% state quota; results are intimated to the registered email/mobile.
5. Document verification: Allotted candidates report in person with originals - admit card, Class 10 & 12 mark sheets, category/SC-ST/BC/EWS certificate, residence certificate for state quota, and photo ID.
6. Fee payment & admission confirmation: Pay the programme fee within the stipulated window to lock the seat; failing to report or pay on time forfeits the claim, and the seat moves to the next ranked candidate in a subsequent round.
7. Subsequent rounds: Round 2 (expected 3rd week of July 2026) and any spot/mop-up rounds fill vacant seats; the 15% national quota is filled separately through ICAR AIEEA centralised counselling, after which candidates report to PAU.

Important Dates (2026)

This master calendar answers "When is everything happening for PAU admission 2026?" in one view. It consolidates the application, exam, admit card and counselling milestones for the PAU CET undergraduate cycle, with each event's confirmed or expected status. Use the "Status" column to distinguish facts officially released for 2026 from dates we have marked as expected based on the 2025 schedule. Because PAU updates its calendar on pau.edu, treat expected dates as planning estimates and verify them before acting.

The non-negotiable deadline to remember is 8 May 2026 (form submission), with the CBT registration grace extending to 8 June 2026 - both have now passed as of June 2026, so the live focus for UG aspirants is the 14 June 2026 exam and the July 2026 counselling. PG and Ph.D. candidates should track the PAU MET/PET notifications separately, as those run on the March-June window. Bookmark pau.edu and pau-apms.in and check them weekly, because counselling dates and any mop-up rounds are released at short notice.