IIT Dharwad vs IIT Kanpur: Courses, Seats, Cutoffs, Fees, Placements and Research (2026)
IIT Kanpur attracts 30.8 times as much research funding (₹363.43 crore vs ₹11.80 crore, FY 2024-25). IIT Kanpur does 49.0 times as much consultancy business (₹113.61 crore vs ₹2.32 crore, FY 2024-25). IIT Kanpur employs 5.6 times as much faculty (636 vs 114, NIRF 2026).
Last updated: 14 Oct 2026.
Who should pick which (our analysis)
IIT Dharwad
Our analysis: IIT Dharwad suits you if you want a young IIT with B.S. options. Alongside eight B.Tech branches, it offers B.S. Majors in Mathematics and Physics (15 seats each). Branch change was discontinued from 2024-25, so pick your branch carefully at JoSAA.At a glance
Swipe sideways. The first column stays put.
| Point | IIT Dharwad | IIT Kanpur | Source (year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Established (year) | 2016 | 1959 | JoSAA 2026 institute profile |
| Location (city, state) | Chikkamalligawad, Dharwad, Karnataka | Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh | JoSAA 2026 institute profile josaa.admissions.nic.in |
| Campus area | 470 acres | 1,055 acres | JoSAA 2026 institute profile |
| Official website | iitdh.ac.in | iitk.ac.in | iitdh.ac.in |
| NIRF Overall rank | Not published | 5 | NIRF 2025 |
| NIRF Engineering rank | 77 | 4 | NIRF 2025 |
| B.Tech tuition per semester | ₹1,00,000 | ₹1,00,000 | 2026-27 |
| First-semester academic fees | ₹1,58,500 | ₹1,58,415 | 2026-27 |
| Fee waiver notes | SC, ST and PwD: no tuition. Family income below ₹1 lakh: full tuition remission; ₹1–5 lakh: two-thirds remission. | SC, ST, PwD and family income below ₹1 lakh: no tuition. Family income ₹1–5 lakh: one-third tuition (₹33,333). | 2026-27 |
| Hostel / mess fee | Per semester: room rent ₹1,000 + hostel establishment ₹2,500 + electricity and water ₹2,500 + mess advance ₹20,000 | Mess establishment charges ₹13,360 (first semester); seat rent and hall charges are inside the ₹13,855 semester fee | 2026-27 |
| Total JoSAA seats | 355 | 1,240 | JoSAA 2026 |
| UG 4-year median salary | ₹13.25 lakh | ₹21.7 lakh | 2024-25 |
| UG 4-year placed / graduated | 110 placed of 159 graduates | 855 placed of 1,205 graduates | 2024-25 |
| PG 2-year median salary | ₹8 lakh | ₹15.7 lakh | 2024-25 |
| PG 2-year placed | 25 | 674 | 2024-25 |
| UG 4-year went for higher studies | 31 | 257 | 2024-25 |
| Total UG 4-year students | Not published | 4,932 | 2024-25 |
| Faculty count | 114 | 636 | NIRF 2026 |
| Full-time PhD students | 202 | 2,172 | 2024-25 |
| Full-time PhDs graduated | Not published | 294 | 2024-25 |
| Sponsored research received | ₹11.80 crore | ₹363.43 crore | FY 2024-25 |
| Consultancy received | ₹2.32 crore | ₹113.61 crore | FY 2024-25 |
How IIT Dharwad and IIT Kanpur differ
- IIT Kanpur attracts 30.8 times as much research funding (₹363.43 crore vs ₹11.80 crore, FY 2024-25).
- IIT Kanpur does 49.0 times as much consultancy business (₹113.61 crore vs ₹2.32 crore, FY 2024-25).
- IIT Kanpur employs 5.6 times as much faculty (636 vs 114, NIRF 2026).
- IIT Kanpur has 10.8 times as much full-time PhD students (2,172 vs 202, 2024-25).
- IIT Kanpur has a 249% bigger JoSAA intake (1,240 vs 355, JoSAA 2026).
- IIT Kanpur reported a ₹8.45 lakh higher 4-year UG median salary (₹21.7 lakh vs ₹13.25 lakh).
- Same tuition at both: ₹1,00,000 per semester.
- IIT Kanpur ranks higher in NIRF 2025 Engineering (4 vs 77).
- IIT Kanpur has more 4-year B.Tech CSE seats (129 vs 65).
- Only IIT Dharwad offers Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, Electronics and Communication Engineering, Engineering Physics, Mathematics and Computing among these two.
- Only IIT Kanpur offers Aerospace Engineering, Biological Sciences and Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering, Civil Engineering among these two.
Worked out from the official numbers above.
Courses and seats
IIT Dharwad
- B.Tech (4 years)
- B.S. (4 years)
IIT Kanpur
- B.Tech (4 years)
- B.S. (4 years)
- BT-MT and BS-MS dual degrees
- B.Cyber
Seats per branch
| Branch | IIT Dharwad | IIT Kanpur |
|---|---|---|
| Chemical and Biochemical Engineering | 30 | Not offered |
| Computer Science and Engineering | 65 | 129 |
| Electronics and Communication Engineering | 45 | Not offered |
| Engineering Physics | 30 | Not offered |
| Mathematics and Computing | 30 | Not offered |
| Mechanical Engineering | 65 | 149 |
| Civil and Infrastructure Engineering | 30 | Not offered |
| Electrical and Electronics Engineering | 30 | Not offered |
| B.S. Mathematics | 15 | Not offered |
| B.S. Physics | 15 | 45 |
| Aerospace Engineering | Not offered | 69 |
| Biological Sciences and Bioengineering | Not offered | 53 |
| Chemical Engineering | Not offered | 104 |
| Civil Engineering | Not offered | 148 |
| Electrical Engineering | Not offered | 192 |
| Materials Science and Engineering | Not offered | 85 |
| Intelligent Systems | Not offered | 30 |
| B.S. Chemistry | Not offered | 49 |
| B.S. Economics | Not offered | 52 |
| B.S. Mathematics and Scientific Computing | Not offered | 64 |
| B.S. Earth Sciences | Not offered | 43 |
| B.S. Statistics and Data Science | Not offered | 28 |
Source: JoSAA 2026 · JoSAA 2026
IIT Dharwad and IIT Kanpur share 3 branch names; the rest are offered by only one of them. How seats are counted →
JoSAA cutoffs: opening and closing ranks
OPEN closing ranks, 2024–2026. Lower is harder.
| Branch | IIT Dharwad | IIT Kanpur | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | 2024 | 2025 | 2026 | |
| Aerospace Engineering | – | – | – | 3638 | 3805 | 4015 |
| Biological Sciences and Bioengineering | – | – | – | 6952 | 7105 | 7837 |
| Chemical and Biochemical Engineering | 15739 | 16680 | 17789 | – | – | – |
| Chemical Engineering | – | – | – | 4015 | 4280 | 4436 |
| Chemistry | – | – | – | 10498 | 10482 | 11668 |
| Civil and Infrastructure Engineering | 15945 | 17472 | 17968 | – | – | – |
| Civil Engineering | – | – | – | 5948 | 6161 | 7177 |
| Computer Science and Engineering | 6375 | 7208 | 8332 | 252 | 271 | 283 |
| Earth Sciences | – | – | – | 10058 | 10108 | 10774 |
| Economics | – | – | – | 3106 | 3310 | 3650 |
| Electrical and Electronics Engineering | 9778 | 11051 | 11099 | – | – | – |
| Electrical Engineering | – | – | – | 1290 | 1146 | 1171 |
| Electronics and Communication Engineering | 8772 | 9476 | 9848 | – | – | – |
| Engineering Physics | 12851 | 15353 | 14696 | – | – | – |
| Intelligent Systems | – | – | – | – | – | 1134 |
| Interdisciplinary Sciences (5-yr) | 16968 | 18979 | – | – | – | – |
| Major in Mathematics | – | – | 17372 | – | – | – |
| Major in Physics | – | – | 18223 | – | – | – |
| Materials Science and Engineering | – | – | – | 6008 | 6337 | 6533 |
| Mathematics and Computing | 7381 | 8222 | 9148 | – | – | – |
| Mathematics and Scientific Computing | – | – | – | 990 | 1179 | 1270 |
| Mechanical Engineering | 13435 | 14852 | 15332 | 2776 | 2771 | 3178 |
| Physics | – | – | – | 5508 | 5691 | 5723 |
| Statistics and Data Science | – | – | – | 1030 | 1270 | 1409 |
All categories and seat pools
| Institute | Branch | Category | Seats | Year | Round | Opening | Closing |
|---|
Source: josaa.nic.in, final rounds.
M.Tech (GATE) cutoffs
No verified GATE cutoffs yet. How M.Tech admission works →
CSE OPEN closing ranks: IIT Dharwad 8,332 (2026), IIT Kanpur 283 (2026). Opening and closing ranks explained →
Fees
Fee waiver notes: IIT Dharwad: SC, ST and PwD: no tuition. Family income below ₹1 lakh: full tuition remission; ₹1–5 lakh: two-thirds remission.. IIT Kanpur: SC, ST, PwD and family income below ₹1 lakh: no tuition. Family income ₹1–5 lakh: one-third tuition (₹33,333)..
Hostel / mess fee: IIT Dharwad: Per semester: room rent ₹1,000 + hostel establishment ₹2,500 + electricity and water ₹2,500 + mess advance ₹20,000. IIT Kanpur: Mess establishment charges ₹13,360 (first semester); seat rent and hall charges are inside the ₹13,855 semester fee.
The first-semester bill is higher at IIT Dharwad than at IIT Kanpur by ₹85. Who pays less tuition →
Research, labs and projects
Notable labs / facilities
IIT Dharwad
- Sophisticated Central Instrumentation Facility (SCIF): AFM, FESEM, NMR, HPC
iitdh.ac.in (2026)
IIT Kanpur
- Airstrip on campus (used by the Aerospace Engineering department and the Gliding Club)
josaa.admissions.nic.in (JoSAA 2026 institute profile)
For industry consultancy, IIT Kanpur earns the most of the two. Research money, explained →
IIT Dharwad: what these numbers mean
The first-semester total is ₹1,58,500 for GEN, EWS and OBC-NCL students and ₹58,500 for SC, ST and PwD students. Tuition is ₹1,00,000 a semester. Families earning under ₹1 lakh get full remission, and those earning ₹1–5 lakh get two-thirds off. A merit scholarship also gives full tuition waiver to five students per batch with a JEE (Advanced) rank below 4000. Hostel items include room rent of ₹1,000 and a mess advance of ₹20,000 per semester. NIRF 2026 data shows 110 of 159 four-year graduates placed in 2024-25, at a median of ₹13.25 lakh. 31 went for higher studies. Sponsored research was ₹11.80 crore in FY 2024-25. The Sophisticated Central Instrumentation Facility offers AFM, FESEM, NMR and HPC access. The NIRF list names 114 faculty.How to choose
- Start with the cutoffs: can your rank reach the branch you want? CSE OPEN closing ranks: IIT Dharwad 8,332 (2026), IIT Kanpur 283 (2026).
- IIT Dharwad and IIT Kanpur share 3 branch names; the rest are offered by only one of them. Look for your branch in both lists.
- The first-semester bill is higher at IIT Dharwad than at IIT Kanpur by ₹85. Who pays less tuition →
- IIT Dharwad is in Chikkamalligawad, Dharwad, Karnataka; IIT Kanpur is in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh. City and cost of living count too.
FAQ
Is the B.Tech fee the same at IIT Dharwad and IIT Kanpur?
Yes: ₹1,00,000 tuition per semester at both.
Which has better placements, IIT Dharwad or IIT Kanpur?
By median pay, IIT Kanpur leads (₹21.7 lakh against ₹13.25 lakh).
How many CSE seats do IIT Dharwad and IIT Kanpur have?
IIT Dharwad: 65. IIT Kanpur: 129.
Which does more research, IIT Dharwad or IIT Kanpur?
IIT Kanpur, by sponsored research money: ₹363.43 crore vs ₹11.80 crore.
Sources
- josaa.admissions.nic.in › InstProfile
- iitdh.ac.in
- nirfindia.org › EngineeringRanking
- iitdh.ac.in › B.Tech-BS fee pdf.pdf
- iitdh.ac.in › Indian Institute Of Technology Dharwad-20…
- iitdh.ac.in › sophisticated-central-instrumentation-fac…
- josaa.admissions.nic.in › InstProfile
- iitk.ac.in
- nirfindia.org › OverallRanking
- iitk.ac.in › Fee-Structure-for-New-UG-for-2026-2027-1st…
- iitk.ac.in › Overall-2026.pdf
- josaa.admissions.nic.in › openingclosingrankarchieve
- josaa.admissions.nic.in › CurrentORCR
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