Should I go for M.Tech or MS/M.Tech (by research) or direct Ph.D just after GATE?

After GATE exam, one can take admission to M.Tech/ME programmes offered by IITs, IISc, and government/centralized/deemed Universities. But these days, many programmes such as MS [Masters of Science in Engineering – by research], M.Tech [Master of Technology – by research], D.PhD [Direct Ph.D.] are offered by many IITs and IISc apart from their regular M.Tech programmes. The structure, criteria, and eligibility of these programmes are slightly different from a regular M.Tech programme. In this post, I would like to make it clear regarding the admission process, differences, pros, and cons between these programmes in brief.

Regular M.Tech Programme:

The most common program which is offered after GATE is M.Tech/ME in Engineering. This programme is well structured, organized and definite timed base course. Student has to complete the minimum requirement of core courses offered by the department and the elective courses (can be from the same department or other department also) with minimum grade requirement.

This programme is a 2 year course and under some adverse condition it can be extended for another 6 months (who fails to fulfill the minimum requirements for completing ME/M.Tech).

Mostly, the first year consists of coursework and second year is for the project and thesis. By the end of the fourth semester, the student has to submit a project report and/or thesis as per the department/institute stated guidelines.

Admission process:

The admission process is very straight forward. It is solely based on the GATE score only. There are many departments which allow for cross GATE score (for eg: a student with GATE Mechanical Engineering (ME) can apply to Aerospace department for their M.Tech Aerospace Engineering programmes). 

Some IITs may ask for additional suitability test and/or interview for cross GATE scores. There are some M.Tech programmes which might require additional requirements of written test and/or interview.

Master of Science (in Engineering – by research) / M.Tech (by research)

MS in Engineering - by research is offered by IITM, IITK, IITKGP, IITD and M.Tech - by research is offered by IITB and IISc. The concept and the structure of both the courses are almost similar. These programmes are like a mini - Ph.D programme where a student is focused on a particular area of research of his/her own interest and completes the programme accordingly.

The structure of these programme follows the below pattern.

• You will be provided a guide/research advisor (who will play a critical role during the whole program) as per your research interest and the requirement of the lab. The important point to remember is that the research interest of student as well as advisor should match so that at any point of time advisor can provide the guidance.
• After selecting the advisor, student undergoes general courses which are in consistent with the research theme of the lab and student interest. The course work (minimum 5 courses with a CGPA of 7.5 and above is required for MS at IITM), literature review and problem definition is completed mostly within 2-3 semester. 
• The completion of research for the defined MS research problem may take around 1.5 - 2 years after completing the coursework. The minimum criteria such as publication in peer review journals, national/international conferences as per advisor and IIT should be fulfilled for the successful completion of MS/M.Tech program by research.

Advantages: 

• This will help in developing problem solving capability on the cutting edge technologies.
• You would be working on the real time problem/project or futuristic problem/project. 
• This will help you to develop the skills required for research-oriented jobs in labs and industries. You will be directly part of a scientific community where there will be a contribution from your end for the benefit of the society directly or indirectly in some way. 
• The best advantage of these programmes is that even with a lower GATE score, one can expect a call from IITs for admission.
• This will give you an essence/taste of a research programme (such as Ph.D) at very early stage of your life which can help you to mould your career either in research field, academia or into industrial/service jobs accordingly. 
• You can convert your MS program into Direct Ph.D programmes at any time during the course upon fulfilling the minimum criteria required to do so.  This may help you in saving time if you intend to pursue Ph.D after MS/M.Tech.
• You also get a chance for attending a fully funded national and international conference once during your stay at the institute.

Disadvantages:

• These research programmes are independent of time. On an average, it takes around 3 years.
• You will be master of a particular subject or research area while a regular M.Tech guys have a broad and a generalized view about many areas as they undergo many graduate level courses in short period of time (2 years).

Admission process:

• The admission process to this research-based Master programmes is different from the regular M.Tech admission process.
• The candidates are shortlisted for a written test and/or interview on the basis of GATE score with additional requirements such as BE/B.Tech score, projects, professional skills like programming, industrial software tools, projects done during BE/B.Tech etc.
• The general rule is 70:30 weightage for interview and GATE score respectively.

Direct Ph.D. Programmes:

The program is almost similar to the MS program with additional requirements such as 2-3 peer review publications with additional participation in national/international conferences (these requirements vary from advisor to advisor and institutes).

Admission process is also similar to the MS program. On an average duration of direct PhD program is about 5-6 years.

In a nutshell, if you are looking for a job after your post graduation than M.Tech will be a good choice.
If you are looking for a career in research than MS will give you a solid foundation. After MS from IITs, one can get fully funded Ph.D in many foreign universities. 
As I preferred top institute over programme, I went with the MS journey at IIT Madras. This gave me a chance to stay for a longer period at IIT Madras (heaven for me while for some it was hell). Take your own decision and don't think what people will say if you are not successful. You will be happy that you tried something out of the box and what you liked to do. Wishing you all a great luck with the admission. 
I hope this helped you to understand the difference between M.Tech and MS programme and its structure. If you have doubts or information is unclear please feel free to drop a comment. I will be happy to get back to help you.