What were the KUCAT-CBT 2026 dates, and how long does the Kathmandu University cycle take?

The notice went out on 17 June 2026, registration ran 19 June to 9 July, the tests ran 16 to 26 July across six centres, the rank list came on 28 July and the first admission list on 4 August. The quota and Expression of Interest lists followed on 18 and 19 August.

Kathmandu University’s 2026 engineering admission ran from the application notice on 17 June to the Expression of Interest admissions on 20 and 21 August, about nine weeks end to end, and every date in it was published on apply.ku.edu.np before it fell. Registration opened at 10:00 on 19 June and closed at midnight on 9 July, with form filling and payment closing on 10 July; both were extended dates. The application fee is Rs 2,000, non-refundable and payable through eSewa only. Admit cards were released between 9 and 15 July. The computer-based tests then ran centre by centre: Biratnagar and Butwal on 16 and 17 July, Lalitpur from 19 to 23 July, Dhulikhel from 20 to 23 July, and Pokhara and Birgunj on 25 and 26 July. The rank list was published on 28 July, programme changes were allowed on 29 and 30 July, the programme-wise lists and the Architecture aptitude test came on 3 August, and the first admission notice on 4 August.

The full 2026 calendar, as published

Scroll the table sideways for Where.

Where the tests are held

The 2026 call page lists six centres: KU’s central campus at Dhulikhel, its School of Education at Hattiban in Lalitpur, Aspire College in Biratnagar, Radiant College at Manigram in Rupandehi, Ashoka College of Engineering and Management at Simalchour in Pokhara, and Southcity College of Science and Technology in Birgunj, which is marked as new. The test-information PDF, dated the same month, lists five and omits Birgunj; the call page is the later document and is the one the schedule follows. You pick one centre when you apply and cannot change it after the deadline.

Two things to know about the published schedule

First, the call page says in its own words that the schedule "may be adjusted on requirements" and that any change will be notified on the KU website, and two of the 2026 deadlines were in fact extended. Second, the schedule table on the call page still carries a leftover line from an earlier cycle, referring to an admit-card notice on 16 November 2021. Treat that line as an artefact, not a date.

Dates are from the "Important Schedules and Deadlines" table on the 2026 call page, section 6 of the procedure document, the Results/Admission notice list on the portal, and pages 1 and 3 of the 4 August admission notice. Admission windows for the quota and EOI lists are from the notices of 18 and 19 August.

Last reviewed 2 September 2026 by Ram Raj Thapa, Admissions Officer, Imperial College of Engineering. Every figure on this page is cited to the document it came from.

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Related answers

• What happens after the KUCAT-CBT rank list, and which of KU’s lists is the actual admission offer?

  The rank list and the programme-wise score lists are not offers; KU says so on both. Offers come from the School of Engineering’s admission notices: a first list on 4 August 2026, a second on 11 August, a third on 14 August, a reservation-quota list on 18 August and an Expression of Interest list on 19 August.

• How does the KUCAT-CBT entrance exam work, and how is it scored?

  Two hours, 120 multiple-choice questions, 40 each in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics (or Biology). The test adapts: a right answer raises the next question’s difficulty, a wrong one lowers it, and harder questions are worth more. Scores run from 0 to 2220.

• Who is eligible for Kathmandu University’s engineering programmes, and which test group do you sit?

  A +2 or equivalent with GPA 2.0 or 50% aggregate, and Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics in both class 11 and 12 for the PCM group. Computer, Geomatics, Architecture and AI also accept Physics, Mathematics and Computer Science. Biology-stream students need Additional Mathematics.

• What is the IOE central admission timetable, and how many merit lists are there?

  Three, and all three are centrally scheduled. In the 2083/84 cycle they were published on 23 August, 30 August and 6 September 2026, each by 10:00, each with a complaint window from 11:00 to 14:00 and a revised list by 18:00. Anything after the third list is run by the individual campus.