Applications open · closes 5 Oct 2026
Today is the last date to apply (5 Oct 2026)
Who can apply for a VTU change of branch
Backlogs can apply under the base rule — recent annual notices required all-clear. SNQ and lateral entry cannot. Second shift can. Answer six questions and get your verdict with the exact clause.
INTERACTIVE
Can you apply? Thirty seconds
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Can you apply? Answer six questions
Every verdict cites the exact clause of the VTU regulation. Nothing is stored — this runs entirely in your browser.
Which programme are you in?
A verdict here is not an allotment. COB 6: change of branch cannot be claimed as a matter of right — a vacancy must exist, and the college works strictly down VTU's merit list.
THE COMPLETE MATRIX
Eligibility at a glance
The 2020 regulation identifies which categories are included, excluded or placed after regular students. Your category is here.
| Student category | Answer | VTU clause |
|---|---|---|
| Regular student eligible for 3rd semester | Yes — irrespective of admitted quota | COB 3(7)(a) |
| Backlog student eligible for 3rd semester | Base rule: yes; the 2024–25, 2025–26 and 2026–27 notices required all subjects passed | COB 3(7)(a), 3(9)(d) + annual notice |
| Fee waiver / SNQ | No | COB 3(7)(b) |
| Diploma lateral entry | No | COB 3(7)(c) |
| Second shift | Yes | COB 3(7)(d) |
| GOI | Yes — considered within sanctioned intake | COB 3(7)(e) |
| Foreign national / PIO | Only after regular students, if a vacancy remains | COB 3(7)(f) |
The annual invitation can tighten practical eligibility for a cycle: the 2025-26 notice required the student to have passed every first- and second-semester course, and the 2026-27 notice 3278 says the same. Always read the new annual notice together with the founding regulation — the notification tracker carries each year's PDF.
CLAUSE BY CLAUSE
Every answer, with its clause
Written as one claim, one clause, one line — the format AI assistants can lift whole. Click any card to expand.
YES, IF ELIGIBLECan I apply if I have a backlog?
The 2020 base regulation says yes if you remain eligible for third semester — but COB 3(9)(d) places every all-clear student above you.
In practice the disadvantage is brutal: across RVCE's 2024 and 2025 allotment records, none of the 88 successful applicants had a backlog.
Cycle caveat: the 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27 invitations all required every first-year subject to be passed. The 2026-27 notice 3278 says only a student who has passed all first- and second-semester subjects is eligible to apply — read it before paying the ₹600.
NOCan lateral-entry students change branch?
COB 3(7)(c): “Diploma Lateral Entry students are not eligible for Change of branch.” Direct, with no CGPA exception.
Lateral-entry students join at third-semester level — outside the first-year cohort this whole process is built around. Do not confuse “branch-change students may attend classes with the lateral-entry cohort” with lateral-entry students being eligible to apply.
NOI'm an SNQ student — can I apply?
COB 3(7)(b) excludes fee-waiver / Supernumerary Quota students under Karnataka State Government norms. The annual notice also makes the principal certify that no SNQ student was permitted a change.
SNQ seats sit outside the sanctioned-intake arithmetic that creates ordinary vacancies — a vacancy in the regular cohort cannot convert an SNQ admission into an eligible application.
YESDoes the second-shift rule apply?
Second-shift students are expressly eligible — COB 3(7)(d) says exactly that.
The contrary sentence circulating online belongs to government guidance for change of college: a different process, notified separately. Applying one process's exclusion to the other produces the wrong answer.
CONDITIONALWhat about GOI, foreign-national and PIO students?
GOI students may apply, considered within sanctioned intake (COB 3(7)(e)). Foreign-national and PIO students may apply, placed after regular students and only against vacancies that remain (COB 3(7)(f)).
COB 3(9)(d) also places these applicants last in the merit list, preserving the all-clear/backlog ordering inside that group.
NO FIXED NUMBERWhat CGPA do I need?
VTU publishes no CGPA threshold. First a vacancy must survive the intake formula, the 75% floor and the full-branch rule — then the year's applicants are ranked within your college.
Historical figures describe what happened, not what will happen. The RVCE record labels every number as the lowest CGPA observed in an allotment list — never a future bar.
NOCan I change back?
COB 3(9)(j): a branch once changed cannot be reverted or changed again. Your college records student and parent confirmation before recommending to VTU.
Decide on the programme, the additional equivalence courses and the fee consequences before accepting — not after.
SPECIAL CASES
Three answers that need one more sentence
COB 3(2) limits this facility to B.E./B.Tech programmes. It is not permitted for B.Arch or B.Plan.
No such restriction exists. Any branch with a clear vacancy can be applied to — though course-equivalence rules may add subjects you must pass before graduating.
COB 3(9)(e) breaks ties by the applicant's 10+2 / PUC percentage. A tie-break cannot create an extra vacancy.
2025 SCHEME · VTU CIRCULAR 3262
What changing branch costs you academically (2025 scheme)
VTU's circular of 21 Sep 2026 sets out what happens to your credits and marks after a branch change. It applies to B.E./B.Tech students admitted under the 2025 scheme.
What you keep. The credits you earned in your first and second semesters remain credited. The extra courses you pick up are not added to the total credits required for your B.E./B.Tech degree.
What it costs you: two extra courses. You take the new branch's Programme-Specific Course (PSC, 3 credits) and its Programme-Specific Course Laboratory (PSCL, 1 credit) as additional courses. You register for them and complete their continuous internal evaluation (CIE) in the ensuing summer semester, and you must secure the minimum prescribed CIE marks. The semester-end examination (SEE) for them is in the summer semester conducted after your fourth semester.
If you do not clear them, you can register again in any subsequent summer semester before you complete the degree, subject to University regulations. A later SEE appearance is treated as a subsequent attempt and recorded on your grade card.
How the marks are treated. The credits and grades of these additional courses are not counted for your SGPA, CGPA, University rank or vertical progression. They do appear on the grade card for the session in which you complete them.
Students admitted under the 2025 scheme who are permitted to change branch at third-semester level, moving from an autonomous scheme to the VTU affiliated scheme, or from one affiliated scheme to another. Students admitted under earlier schemes are not covered by this circular.
Students transferring from another university are handled separately: the University or college determines course, credit, marks and grade equivalence against the previous university's scheme, and the additional courses are taken in the summer semester only.
This circular sets rules only. It is not the application notice and carries no dates, fees or portal. For the application itself, see the notification tracker.
Source: VTU circular VTU/BGM/CoC Equiv/1057/2026-27/3262, dated 21-09-2026.
QUICK ANSWERS
Eligibility FAQs
Can I apply for VTU branch change with backlogs?
Are SNQ students eligible for branch change?
Can diploma lateral-entry students change branch?
Are second-shift students eligible?
Is there a minimum CGPA?
Can a branch change be reversed?
Does changing branch affect my CGPA under the 2025 scheme?
Do I keep my first-year credits if I change branch?
What extra courses does a branch change involve under the 2025 scheme?
What if I fail the additional courses?
PRIMARY RECORD
Sources
- VTU Regulations Governing Change of Branch — COB 3(7), 3(9), COB 4.
- VTU notice VTU/Aca/SA/2026-27/3278 for 2026-27, dated 21-09-2026 — the current cycle's eligibility language, fees and schedule (students apply 22 Sep – 5 Oct 2026). Checked 24 Sep 2026.
- VTU circular 3148 for 2025-26 — the previous cycle-specific eligibility language.
- VTU circular VTU/BGM/CoC Equiv/1057/2026-27/3262, dated 21-09-2026 — change of branch and course/credit equivalence at 3rd-semester level under the 2025 scheme. Rules only; not the application notice.
- Plain-English VTU change-of-branch guide.
✓ Current cycle checked against VTU notice 3278 on 24 Sep 2026
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