Unlike MTech, admission to MS or Ph.D. is based more on their interview and aptitude test than on GATE score.

• For some of the master's programs, like MS candidates are shortlisted after a round of technical interviews. IIT Madras prefer students with GATE scores of at least 90 percentile or more.
• For Ph.D. too, candidates will be considered if they score between 1000-2000. Here, a rank less than 800 is considered excellent and such candidates will be considered for Ph.D. courses through GATE scores.

Thus we can say that the cut-off required for joining MS and Ph.D. programs at IIT Madras, for example, is lesser compared with the cut-off required for admission into the MTech program