Civil engineering has emerged as the biggest surprise in the first round of IIT seat preferences for 2026, with top-ranked students showing renewed interest in the branch even as computer science engineering continues to remain the most sought-after choice. The biggest changes were seen at IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi, where civil engineering attracted candidates with much higher ranks compared with last year, a TOI report stated.
At IIT Bombay, civil engineering opened at an All India Rank of 385 in 2026, a major improvement from 2,666 in 2025. IIT Delhi also saw the opening rank move sharply from 3,030 last year to 179 this year. Similar changes were reported at IIT Roorkee and IIT Bhubaneswar, highlighting a shift in how some students are looking at traditional engineering fields.
