Record number of students chase new farming careers at Punjab Agricultural University.

Ludhiana: Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has secured a record-breaking surge in student demand, logging 7,800 applications across its undergraduate and postgraduate programmes for the upcoming academic year 2026-27.

University officials reported a 22% spike in Common Entrance Test participation, with 4,258 applicants sitting the examination as opposed to 3,497 last year. Global interest also climbed significantly, with the institute drawing 738 international applications.

Specialised admission testing mirrored an upward trajectory. The applicants for Agricultural Eligibility Test (six-year BSc Honours) rose to 1,104 from 849 last year, while those for Ballowal Saunkhari Entrance Test (four-year BSc Honours) increased to 770 from 667 last year.

The surge was most pronounced in postgraduate disciplines, where several courses attracted more than double the number of applicants than available seats. High-demand fields included food and nutrition, agribusiness MBAs, journalism, forestry, soil science, plant breeding, and agricultural meteorology.

University leadership attributed the competitive numbers to shifting employment trends and a growing recognition of agriculture as a diverse, modern professional field.

"PAU has established itself as a premier global institution in agricultural research and education," vice-chancellor Satbir Singh Gosal said, citing the university's modernized curriculum and deep ties to rural communities.

Registrar Rishi Pal Singh said the overwhelming response across such a broad spectrum of subjects reinforced the university's ongoing relevance in an evolving educational market.