Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) Architecture Aptitude Test
JEE Advanced AAT is the qualifying drawing and design test for B.Arch at IITs. Check eligibility, dates, syllabus, paper format and how the pass result works.
JEE Advanced AAT Study Material
The JEE Advanced AAT, or Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) Architecture Aptitude Test, is the test you must pass to take a B.Arch seat at an IIT. Only candidates who have qualified in JEE (Advanced) can sit it, and it is run by the same organising IIT a few days after the JEE (Advanced) result. IIT Roorkee conducted the 2026 cycle, and AAT 2026 was held on 4 June 2026.
AAT does not give you a rank. It is a pass or fail test, and B.Arch seats are then allotted on your JEE (Advanced) category rank through JoSAA. This page covers the latest official dates, the eligibility chain, the official syllabus, what is and is not published about the paper, and how to prepare. The 2027 information brochure was not out when this page was written in October 2026, so the details below follow the 2026 brochure.
Table of Contents
JEE Advanced AAT at a Glance
Particular | Details |
|---|---|
Full name | Joint Entrance Examination (Advanced) Architecture Aptitude Test (AAT) |
Purpose | Qualifying test for the B.Arch programme at IITs |
Conducted by | The organising IIT of JEE (Advanced); IIT Roorkee for 2026 |
Latest cycle | AAT 2026, held on 4 June 2026 |
Next cycle | AAT 2027; dates and organising IIT not officially announced yet |
Who can appear | Only candidates who qualified in JEE (Advanced) of the same year |
IITs offering B.Arch | IIT (BHU) Varanasi, IIT Kharagpur and IIT Roorkee |
Programme length | 5 years (Bachelor of Architecture) |
Paper | One paper of three hours; question paper in English only |
Result | Pass or fail; no separate AAT rank |
Seat allotment | On JEE (Advanced) category-wise All India Rank, through JoSAA |
Official website |
Latest Update: AAT 2026 and the 2027 Cycle
The 2026 cycle is complete. JEE (Advanced) 2026 was held on 17 May 2026 and its result was declared on 1 June 2026. AAT registration ran from 1 to 2 June 2026, the test was held on 4 June 2026, and AAT results were declared on 7 June 2026. Candidates who passed could then take B.Arch choices into JoSAA 2026.
For 2027, the official JEE (Advanced) website had not announced a schedule or an organising IIT as of October 2026. Some websites name an expected organiser based on rotation; treat that as unconfirmed until the official brochure is released. The 2027 brochure and AAT schedule will appear on the official JEE (Advanced) website.
AAT Important Dates
The table shows the official 2026 schedule, the latest completed cycle. It is a useful reference for how tightly AAT follows JEE (Advanced).
Event | Date (2026 cycle) |
|---|---|
JEE (Advanced) 2026 registration | 23 April 2026 to 5 May 2026 (closing date extended from 2 May 2026) |
JEE (Advanced) 2026 exam | 17 May 2026 |
JEE (Advanced) 2026 result | 1 June 2026 |
AAT 2026 online registration | 1 June 2026 (10:00 IST) to 2 June 2026 (17:00 IST) |
AAT 2026 exam | 4 June 2026, 09:00 to 12:00 IST (report by 08:00 IST) |
AAT 2026 result | 7 June 2026 (17:00 IST) |
AAT 2027 | Not announced yet |
AAT 2027 dates will come from the 2027 brochure and can differ from these. Track the official JEE (Advanced) website and your registered email. Note how short the window was in 2026: registration was open for about a day and a half, and the test came two days after it closed.
Which IITs Offer B.Arch Through AAT
According to the 2026 brochure, the B.Arch programme is available at only three IITs, and all three run it as a five-year Bachelor of Architecture:
IIT (BHU) Varanasi: B.Arch admission through JEE (Advanced) and AAT.
IIT Kharagpur: B.Arch admission through JEE (Advanced) and AAT.
IIT Roorkee: B.Arch admission through JEE (Advanced) and AAT.
Seat numbers change each year and are published in the JoSAA seat matrix, so check the current matrix rather than an old figure. Opening and closing ranks from previous years are available in the JoSAA opening and closing rank archive.
AAT Eligibility
There is no open application for AAT. You first need to clear JEE (Advanced), and that has its own eligibility chain. The rules below are from the 2026 brochure; the year-based criteria move forward by one year each cycle.
Step 1: Be eligible for JEE (Advanced)
JEE (Main) performance: Be among the top 2,50,000 successful candidates, across all categories, in the B.E./B.Tech. paper of JEE (Main). The B.Arch paper of JEE (Main) does not count for this.
Age limit: For 2026, born on or after 1 October 2001. SC, ST and PwD candidates get five years of relaxation (born on or after 1 October 1996).
Attempts: A maximum of two attempts at JEE (Advanced), in two consecutive years.
Class XII: First appearance in Class XII (or equivalent) in 2025 or 2026, with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics as compulsory subjects.
Earlier IIT admission: You should not have been admitted to an IIT programme earlier, with limited exceptions listed in the brochure.
Step 2: Qualify in JEE (Advanced)
Writing JEE (Advanced) is not enough. You must score the minimum percentage of marks in each subject and in aggregate for your category to be included in a rank list, and only qualified candidates can register for AAT. For the common rank list in 2026, the minimum was 10% in each subject and 35% in aggregate. The full category-wise table is on our JEE Advanced AAT eligibility page.
Step 3: Meet the Class XII performance rule
To take an IIT seat, you also need at least 75% aggregate marks in Class XII (65% for SC, ST and PwD candidates), or a place in the category-wise top 20 percentile of your board. The brochure confirms this rule applies to B.Arch admission in the same way.
AAT Registration and Fee
AAT registration happens on the JEE (Advanced) online portal after the JEE (Advanced) result. In 2026 the window opened at 10:00 IST on 1 June and closed at 17:00 IST on 2 June. The 2026 brochure does not list a separate fee for AAT; check the 2027 brochure, as this can change.
The fee you pay earlier is the JEE (Advanced) registration fee. For examination centres in India, the 2026 fee was:
Category (Indian nationals) | JEE (Advanced) 2026 registration fee |
|---|---|
Female candidates (all categories) | Rs. 1,600 |
SC, ST and PwD candidates | Rs. 1,600 |
All other candidates | Rs. 3,200 |
These amounts exclude payment gateway and bank charges, and the fee is non-refundable. Fees for foreign nationals, OCI/PIO candidates and centres abroad are listed separately in the brochure.
How to register for AAT
Check your result: Confirm on the JEE (Advanced) portal that you are in a rank list.
Register in the window: Log in to the JEE (Advanced) online portal and complete AAT registration before the deadline.
Request PwD support if eligible: Submit the required form during registration for compensatory time or a scribe.
Print your admit card: No separate AAT admit card is issued. Carry the printed JEE (Advanced) admit card and an original photo ID.
Prepare your kit: Bring your own drawing and colouring aids to the centre.
AAT Exam Pattern
AAT is one paper of three hours. In 2026 it ran from 09:00 to 12:00 IST, and candidates had to reach the centre by 08:00 IST. The test was held at seven IIT centres listed on the official website, and the question paper is in English only.
Feature | Details |
|---|---|
Number of papers | One |
Duration | 3 hours (one extra hour for eligible PwD candidates) |
Language | English only |
Admit card | Printed JEE (Advanced) admit card plus original photo ID |
Materials | Your own drawing and colouring aids |
Marks, questions and sections | Not published in the official brochure |
Result | Pass or fail against a cut-off decided by the Joint Implementation Committee |
What this means for you:
Practise in three-hour blocks: Your hand speed and stamina matter as much as ideas, so time full sessions, not just single sketches.
Do not plan around a marks split: Pages that show a marks table for AAT are not quoting the brochure. Prepare across all five syllabus areas.
Know your tools: You bring your own aids, so practise with the exact pencils, scales and colours you will carry.
Some pages show a mathematics, aptitude and drawing split with marks. The official AAT brochure publishes no such split, so follow the brochure. Read more on the JEE Advanced AAT exam pattern page.
AAT Syllabus
Annexure-I of the brochure lists five areas for AAT. There is no physics, chemistry or mathematics in it; the test is about drawing, visualisation and design sense.
Area | What it covers | Start with |
|---|---|---|
Freehand drawing | Simple drawings of a whole object in correct form and proportion, with surface texture, relative location and details of its parts, to scale. Common everyday objects such as furniture and equipment, drawn from memory | Ten-minute sketches of objects around you, then the same objects from memory |
Geometrical drawing | Lines, angles, triangles, quadrilaterals, polygons and circles. Plan (top view) and elevation (front or side views) of simple solids such as prisms, cones, cylinders and cubes | Plan and elevation of a cube, a cylinder and a cone |
Three-dimensional perception | Understanding three-dimensional forms with building elements, colour, volume and orientation. Visualising objects by structuring them in memory | Drawing one simple object from two or three viewpoints |
Imagination and aesthetic sensitivity | Composition exercises with given elements, context mapping, creativity tests built around familiar objects, and a sense of colour grouping and application | Short compositions using a fixed set of shapes and three colours |
Architectural awareness | General interest in and awareness of famous architectural works in India and abroad, and of places and personalities such as architects and designers | A weekly notebook of buildings with architect, city and one design feature |
The brochure gives a short description of each area but no weightage. The full topic checklist is on the JEE Advanced AAT syllabus page.
Admission Process for B.Arch at IITs
JEE (Main) B.E./B.Tech. paper: Reach the top 2,50,000 shortlist for JEE (Advanced).
JEE (Advanced): Appear in both Paper 1 and Paper 2 and qualify in a rank list.
AAT registration and test: Register in the short window and sit the three-hour paper.
AAT result: Be declared PASS.
JoSAA: Fill choices including B.Arch programmes; seats are allotted on your JEE (Advanced) category-wise rank.
Class XII criterion: Meet the 75% aggregate or top 20 percentile rule for admission.
Qualifying and filling choices do not by themselves secure a seat. Admission depends on your rank and on the seats available in each JoSAA round.
AAT Result and Qualifying Marks
AAT results are declared as pass or fail. The Joint Implementation Committee of JEE (Advanced) decides the cut-off marks for passing, and candidates who score above it are declared PASS. There is no separate AAT ranking, and the brochure does not state a fixed cut-off number.
Your JEE (Advanced) rank decides which B.Arch seat you can get, while AAT decides whether you can take one at all. For how to set targets, see the JEE Advanced AAT cut-off page.
How to Prepare for JEE Advanced AAT
AAT preparation has to run alongside JEE (Advanced) preparation, not after it. In 2026 there were only three days between the JEE (Advanced) result and the AAT.
In the months before JEE (Advanced)
Daily sketching habit: Spend 20 to 30 minutes a day drawing objects from life and from memory, checking proportion each time.
Views of solids: Practise plans and elevations of simple solids until you can draw them cleanly without guesswork.
Architecture notebook: Add a few buildings and architects each week with the city and one design feature.
Between the JEE (Advanced) paper and AAT
Timed full sessions: Do two or three three-hour practice sessions with a mix of all five areas.
Composition and colour: Practise quick compositions with given shapes and limited colours.
Kit and logistics: Pack your drawing aids early and note your centre and reporting time.
Practice and study material
Self-review is the core of AAT practice: compare each sketch against the object, note what went wrong and redo it. If you are preparing for JEE (Advanced) at the same time, timed online tests on Testkart with section-wise analysis help you track your rank-deciding subjects. For AAT revision, JEE Advanced AAT study notes on Testkart can keep the five syllabus areas organised in one place.