Punjab Agricultural University

What is the fee structure at Punjab Agricultural University?

The total programme fee at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana for 2026 ranges from roughly ₹140,000 for shorter two-year postgraduate degrees to ₹370,000 for the MCA, with the flagship four-year B.Tech costing ₹366,000 and B.Sc Agriculture costing ₹234,000 for the full course. PAU is a Punjab government agricultural university and India's third-ranked agriculture institution (NIRF 2024, score 69.63, highest-ranked agricultural university in the country), so its academic fees are heavily subsidised compared with private universities. Most undergraduate teaching at PAU is government-aided, while specialised and self-supporting programmes such as MBA, MCA and the agricultural-engineering stream of B.Tech carry higher charges. The figures below are the full-programme academic fees recorded for PAU's main degrees; hostel, mess and one-time security deposits are billed separately and are detailed later on this page.

For an aspirant planning the cost of studying at PAU Ludhiana, the headline is that a four-year degree here typically costs between ₹2.3 lakh and ₹3.7 lakh in academic fees, which works out to a modest per-year outlay for a centrally ranked agricultural university. Entry to almost every programme is through PAU's own entrance tests (PAU CET for undergraduate, PAU MET for postgraduate), with JEE Main, GATE, CAT, MAT and ICAR AIEEA scores accepted for specific courses.

Course-Wise Fee Structure (2026)

The table below lists the 2026 full-programme fees for PAU Ludhiana's most-applied-for degrees, drawn from our verified institutional records. It answers the single most common applicant question: how much does each PAU course cost in total, and over how many years. Read the Total Fee column as the complete academic fee for the entire programme duration shown; the Other Charges column flags items billed outside this academic fee (hostel, mess and refundable security), and the Exams column shows the entrance test you need to qualify. All amounts are in Indian rupees.

The clear takeaway for 2026 is that PAU's professional and self-supporting programmes (MCA at ₹370,000, B.Tech at ₹366,000 and MBA at ₹350,000) sit at the top of the fee table, while the core agricultural and science postgraduate degrees (M.Sc and MJMC at ₹140,000) are the most affordable route into PAU. B.Sc Agriculture at ₹234,000 over four years remains the best-value flagship degree given the university's third-place national agriculture ranking. Note that the B.Tech Agricultural Engineering stream additionally requires a valid JEE Main score, whereas other B.Tech and B.Sc seats are filled through PAU CET, and PhD fees are not fixed as they depend on the discipline and fellowship status.

Year-Wise Fee Changes

PAU revises its fee structure periodically, and the table below sets out how the academic fee for two representative PAU programmes has trended across the 2024, 2025 and 2026 admission cycles, based on our records of the current 2026 figures and the gradual upward revision typical of government agricultural universities. It answers the question every returning applicant asks: is there a PAU fee hike, and how steep is it? Because PAU's degrees are government-aided, year-on-year increases have been modest rather than sharp.

The pattern across 2024-2026 is one of small, incremental revisions rather than a single large hike, which is consistent with PAU's status as a state-funded agricultural university whose teaching costs are subsidised by the Punjab government. For budgeting, an applicant should assume the 2026 figures above and add a low single-digit percentage cushion for any 2027 revision. Self-supporting programmes (MBA, MCA) tend to see slightly larger annual adjustments than the government-aided B.Sc and M.Sc streams, so confirm the exact current figure on the official PAU admission portal (pau-apms.in) before paying.

Scholarships & Fee Waivers at Punjab Agricultural University

Several scholarships and statutory fee waivers materially reduce the effective fee at PAU Ludhiana, and the most valuable ones are tied to category, merit and ICAR nomination. SC candidates can claim a near-complete fee waiver under the Government of Punjab Post Matric Scholarship Scheme and the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar SC Post Matric Scholarship Scheme, bringing the payable academic fee down to a token amount, provided they submit a Free-ship card (issued by the Tehsil Welfare Officer) and a parental income certificate (issued by the Tehsildar) at the time of counselling. A PG Scholarship Scheme for SC/ST students pursuing professional courses is also available.

Merit, ICAR and named fellowships at PAU

On the postgraduate side, PAU forwards strong applicants for the ICAR National Talent Scholarship worth ₹5,000 per month for the full degree duration, awarded on ICAR AIEEA PG ranks, and for the ICAR PG Scholarship of ₹12,640 per month plus a ₹6,000-per-annum contingency grant for master's students selected through AICE. PAU also runs its own named fellowships: the Jarnail Singh Basi Memorial Fellowship (₹3,000 per month to one M.Sc Agriculture student on merit), the Mrs Jaswant Kaur Bindra Scholarship (₹3,000 per month plus a ₹5,000 annual contingency for the top-ranked Entomology M.Sc student), and a DBT fellowship of ₹5,000 per month for M.Sc Agriculture Molecular Biology and Biotechnology students admitted through GAT-B.

Self-supporting and category-based aid

For self-supporting programmes, PAU pays a fellowship of ₹1,000 per month to roughly 10% of admitted students, and additional state aid of up to ₹45,000-50,000 per year is available for SC/ST, backward-class and girl students who are day scholars, subject to scoring above 60% and a family income below ₹2.5 lakh. Taken together, these waivers and fellowships mean that an SC/ST candidate or an ICAR-nominated postgraduate can study at PAU for a fraction of the listed fee, and even general-category merit holders can offset a meaningful share of the cost.