NIT Rourkela

The National Institute of Technology Rourkela (NIT Rourkela or NITR) was established in 1961 as Regional Engineering College Rourkela and conferred NIT status in 2002. Located in Rourkela, Odisha, it is an Institute of National Importance offering B.Tech, B.Arch, M.Tech, MBA, M.Sc, and PhD programmes across 20 departments.

NIT Rourkela ranked #13 in NIRF 2025 Engineering (score 66.62), #34 Overall, #30 in Research Institutions, and #7 in Architecture and Planning. The 650-acre fully residential campus houses over 6,276 students across 11 halls of residence, with 101 granted patents, 19,164 publications, and 309,522 citations to its research credit.

NIT Rourkela Snapshot

Courses and Fees

B.Tech (4 years, 17 branches)

Total sanctioned intake: approximately 851 seats across 17 branches. Tuition fee is Rs 62,500 per semester (Rs 1,25,000 per year) for all categories; total 4-year tuition is approximately Rs 5,00,000. With other institute charges, the total programme cost is approximately Rs 6.28 lakh. SC/ST students receive full tuition waiver; students from families with annual income below Rs 1 lakh receive full tuition waiver; income between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 5 lakh receive a 2/3rd waiver.

B.Arch (5 years)

20 seats (10 Home State Odisha, 10 Other State). Admission via JoSAA using JEE Main Paper 2 (Architecture). NIT Rourkela B.Arch ranked #7 nationally in NIRF Architecture and Planning 2025. Tuition fee same as B.Tech (Rs 1.25L/year); total 5-year tuition approximately Rs 6.25 lakh.

Dual Degree B.Tech-M.Tech (5 years)

Four branches offer 5-year Dual Degree programmes: Chemical Engineering (12 seats), Metallurgical and Materials Engineering (13 seats), Mining Engineering (12 seats), and Ceramic Engineering (13 seats). Admitted through JoSAA; JEE cutoffs generally tighter than standalone B.Tech in the same branch.

Integrated M.Sc (5 years)

Chemistry (22 seats) and Life Sciences (20 seats). Admitted through JoSAA.

M.Tech (2 years)

Approximately 775 seats across 35+ specializations spanning all major departments including Computer Science, Electronics, Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Chemical, Ceramic, Metallurgical, Mining, Biomedical, and Industrial Design. Admission via CCMT using GATE score. Self-financed seats available post-CCMT in select specializations.

Fee for GATE-qualified students: total approximately Rs 2.09 lakh for 2 years (Rs 1.04 lakh per year). GATE-qualified students receive a Ministry of Education stipend of Rs 12,400 per month for up to 22 months. SC/ST fee waiver applies. Self-financed M.Tech total fee: approximately Rs 1.24 lakh.

MBA (2 years)

75 seats, offered by the School of Management. Total fee Rs 4,69,000 (Rs 2.35 lakh per year approximately). Admission via CAT / XAT / MAT / CMAT followed by Group Discussion and Personal Interview at NIT Rourkela.

PhD / MS by Research

PhD programmes across all 20 departments. Admission via national-level entrance (GATE/NET/CSIR-UGC JRF) with institute interview. Monthly fellowship: Rs 37,000 (JRF) for first two years, rising to Rs 42,000 (SRF). Tuition fee waiver for fellowship holders. Apply through nitrkl.ac.in/Academic/PhD/.

Admissions

B.Tech and B.Arch are admitted through JoSAA counselling using JEE Main 2026 rank. NIT Rourkela's institute code in JoSAA is 223. Candidates may receive Home State (HS) quota seats if Odisha domicile is declared; Other State (OS) quota is open to all. The HS quota generally has somewhat higher closing ranks (more seats available relative to fewer HS applicants at many ranks); OS quota closes tighter for top branches. Category-wise (SC/ST/OBC-NCL/EWS) seats are filled through JoSAA reservation rounds.

M.Tech is admitted through CCMT using GATE 2026 score. NIT Rourkela participates in all CCMT rounds. Candidates apply online at ccmt.admissions.nic.in. GATE paper eligibility depends on the specialization applied for.

MBA requires shortlisting through CAT/XAT/MAT or CMAT score, followed by GD and PI conducted at NIT Rourkela. Minimum eligibility: Bachelor's degree with 60% aggregate marks. The CAT percentile typically required to receive a GD-PI call is in the range of 70-80 percentile for General category candidates.

Fees

B.Tech tuition fee: Rs 62,500 per semester (Rs 1,25,000 per year); 4-year total tuition Rs 5,00,000; total with institute charges approximately Rs 6.28 lakh. Hostel rent approximately Rs 10,000 per year; mess charges approximately Rs 36,000 per year. All-in annual cost including hostel and mess: approximately Rs 2.2 lakh per year.

M.Tech (GATE-qualified): total Rs 2.09 lakh for 2 years. The GATE scholarship of Rs 12,400 per month effectively offsets this entirely.

MBA: total Rs 4.69 lakh for 2 years.

SC/ST tuition waiver is full across all programmes. Students from families with annual income below Rs 1 lakh receive full tuition waiver; income Rs 1-5 lakh receives 2/3rd waiver via the MCM scheme.

Scholarships

Government / NIT-level fee waivers:

• MCM (Merit-cum-Means): Full tuition waiver for annual family income below Rs 1 lakh; 2/3rd tuition waiver for income Rs 1-5 lakh. Benefit applied at admission via income certificate.
• SC/ST: Full tuition waiver across all programmes; no separate application needed.
• GATE Scholarship (M.Tech): Rs 12,400/month for GATE-qualified M.Tech students for up to 22 months, funded by the Ministry of Education.
• PM YASASVI: Rs 20,000-2,00,000 for OBC/EBC/DNT students via NSP portal.
• PMSS: Rs 2,500-3,000/month for wards of defence personnel.

Corporate scholarships (institute-facilitated):

• Bharti Airtel Scholarship: 100% tuition and hostel fee waiver plus laptop (preference for women and PwD students; for top 50 NIRF institutes).
• Infosys Foundation Scholarship: Up to Rs 1 lakh per year for female students with family income below Rs 8 lakh (up to 4 years).
• Kotak Kanya Scholarship: Rs 1.5 lakh per year until graduation for girl students with family income below Rs 6 lakh.

Alumni/institute endowment scholarships: NITROAA Endowment Scholarship, 1972 Batch Alumni Scholarship, and several memorial scholarships administered through the NITRis portal.

State government scholarships: Odisha Post-Matric Scholarship (SC/ST/OBC domicile); Bihar Student Credit Card; Madhya Pradesh MMVY Scholarship (up to Rs 1.5 lakh). Applicable via respective state portals.

Campus

NIT Rourkela's 650-acre campus in Sector 1, Rourkela, Odisha is fully residential. All students are required to live on campus in one of 11 halls of residence.

Halls of residence: Satish Dhawan Hall (boys, largest, ~2,026 residents, 6 blocks), Vikram Sarabhai Hall (boys/PhD, 1,024 rooms, 8 blocks), G.D. Birla Hall (boys, ~640 students), M.S. Swaminathan Hall (boys, ~550 residents), C.V. Raman Hall (girls, ~1,200 students), Kiran Majumdar Shaw Hall (girls, 1st year B.Tech, ~450 residents), Homi Bhabha Hall (girls, ~400 residents), M. Visvesvaraya Hall (boys, ~255 rooms), Dhirubhai Ambani Hall (mixed PG, 600 students), Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Hall (married research scholars, ~145 units), Verghese Kurien Hall (married scholars and faculty, 156 quarters). Hostel rent approximately Rs 10,000 per year; mess charges approximately Rs 36,000 per year.

Health Centre: Full-time health centre with 5 allopathic doctors, 3 visiting specialists, and 24/7 emergency services. Apollo Pharmacy outlet on campus. Five empanelled hospitals in Rourkela for referrals.

Sports: Dilip Tirckey Stadium (football and hockey), Sachin Tendulkar Cricket Ground (floodlit), two swimming pools (men's 50m 8-lane, women's 25m, both floodlit), tennis courts, basketball courts, gymnasium, and indoor facilities in each hostel.

Library (Biju Patnaik Central Library): Established 1965; 85,000+ print books; 18,000+ journal back volumes; 2,000+ subscribed e-journals; RFID-automated; open extended hours.

Research infrastructure: Central Research Facility with 30+ high-end instruments (confocal microscopes, mass spectrometers, X-ray fluorescence, etc.) available to external institutions and industry; 19,164 publications, 309,522 citations, 101 granted patents, 230 patents filed (as of early 2026).

Student life: HackNITR (largest student-run hackathon in India), TEDxNITRourkela, Monday Morning (student media since 2006). On-campus amenities include 4 canteens, SBI branch with ATMs, Axis Bank ATM, post office, guest houses, shopping centre, and Kendriya Vidyalaya.

Notable alumni

• C. P. Gurnani: Former Managing Director and CEO of Tech Mahindra; Chemical Engineering graduate and recipient of the NIT Rourkela Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2010.
• Soma Mondal: Former Chairperson of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and the first woman to head a major Indian steel company; Electrical Engineering graduate.
• Nalini Ranjan Mohanty: Former Chairman and Managing Director of Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL); Mechanical Engineering graduate.
• Ashutosh Dutta: Senior wireless research scientist and 5G strategist at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory; IEEE Fellow and former IEEE Communications Society President.
• Sandip Das: Former Managing Director of Reliance Jio Infocomm and former CEO of Maxis Communications in Malaysia.