Top Design Entrance Exams in India 2023
A design study focuses on the fundamentals, principles, and concepts of a design with its processes. Some courses engage in design and architecture history, while some are on drawing, photography, modelling, etc.
Popular specialisations are web design, interior design, user experience design, product design, fashion technology, fashion design, graphic design, accessory design, and more. Also, students can choose elective subjects in the design course.
To pursue a design-specific field, obtaining good scores from any of India's top design entrance exams would be ticket-winning
Top Design Exams in India
As entrance tests are of national/state/university level, a candidate must be ready for any test levels.
The below table shows the list of the top design entrance exams in India with the exam dates.
| Exam Name | Course Offered | Conducting Authority |
| CUCET | UG/PG/PhD | NTA |
| iDAT | UG | IIAD |
| SET Exam | UG | Symbiosis International (Deemed University), Pune |
| NID DAT | UG/PG | NID |
| CEED | PG | IIT Bombay |
| KIITEE | UG/PG | KIIT |
| LPUNEST | UG/PG | LPU |
| UCEED | UG | IIT Bombay |
| NPAT | UG/Integrated | NMIMS |
| NIFT Entrance Exam | UG/PG | NIFT |
| UPES DAT | UG/PG | UPES |
| GAT | UG/PG |
JD Institute of Fashion Technology- Corporate Center, Hauz Khas |
10 Popular Design Entrance Exams in India
The schedule of some popular design entrance exams is provided in the table given below. Candidates who are seeking admission to various design colleges in India can check this schedule in order to stay updated with design admissions.
|
Exam Name |
Application Process Starts |
Application Process Ends |
Admit Card Release Date |
Exam Date(s) |
Mode of Exam |
Announcement of Result |
|
NIFT Exam |
Dec 2023 |
Jan 2023 |
Jan 2023 |
Feb 2023 |
Online |
Mar 2023 |
|
UCEED |
Sep 2023 |
Oct 2023 |
Jan 2023 |
Jan 2023 |
Online |
Mar 2023 |
|
CEED |
Sep 2023 |
Oct 2023 |
Jan 2023 |
Jan 2023 |
Online |
Mar 2023 |
|
NID DAT |
Oct 2023 |
Dec 2023 |
Prelims: Dec 23, 2023 |
To be Announced |
Offline & Online Mode |
Jun 2023 |
|
PAF Entrance Exam |
Jan 2023 |
Feb 2023 |
A few days before the exam |
Online: Feb 2023 Offline: Feb 2023 |
Online (Feb Cycle) |
A few days after the exam |
|
FDDI AIST |
Feb 2023 |
Apr 2023 |
Jun 2023 |
Jun 2023 |
Offline |
Jun 2023 |
|
SEED |
Oct 2023 |
Jan 2023 |
Feb 2023 |
Feb 2023 |
Online |
Feb 2023 |
|
AIEED |
Dec 2023 |
To be Announced |
To be Announced |
Jan 2023 |
Online |
7 Days After the Exam (Feb Cycle) |
|
IIAD Entrance Exam |
Sep 2023 |
To be Announced |
To be Announced |
Jan 2023 |
Online |
To be Announced |
| GAT |
Jan 2023 |
Jan 2023 |
Feb 8, 2023 |
Feb 9, 2023 |
Online |
Feb 11, 2023 |
Top National Level Design Exams
These are the various national level design exams that every design course aspirant must give:
UCEED
The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, administers the computer-based Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design, or UCEED. BDes, a bachelor's degree programme in design, is offered by IIT Bombay. Every year, it takes place in Jan. Three hours are allotted for this exam, which gauges candidates' problem-solving and design-thinking abilities and their knowledge of environmental and societal issues. The exam lasts for two hours and thirty minutes.
AIEED
AIEED exam, which comprises two portions, General Aptitude Test and Creative Aptitude Test, is used to get into Arch College of Design and Business. The college offers design-related courses at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Lateral Thinking, Creative Problem Solving, and Awareness of Design Principles are the two areas in which candidates are evaluated. The exam lasts for two hours and offers a maximum score of 100.
CEED
CEED is used to create curriculum for IITs, UPES, and IISc. For candidates seeking an M.Des, the Common Entrance Examination for Design, or CEED, is held. Subjective and objective questions make up the exam's two sections. This exam examines applicants' environmental and social awareness, creativity, and communication abilities. A and B are its two sections.
FDDI
Candidates for the FDDI AIST exam should be primarily interested in footwear design and intend to pursue a career in that field. The Footwear Design and Development Institute offers undergraduate and graduate design programmes. Every year in May, this exam is given, with the topics of general awareness, verbal ability, and quantitative aptitude dominating the course.
Top Institute Level Design Exams
These are some institute specific exams designed for design aspirants:
NIFT
The National Institute of Fashion & Design, the most esteemed college in the nation for fashion and design, accepts students who pass the NIFT exam. The university itself typically administers this test in Jan or Feb. Students who pass this exam are qualified to enrol in programmes leading to bachelor's degrees in design, fashion technology, and master's degrees in design, fashion management, and technology. The pupils are evaluated on their originality, drawing prowess, knowledge of current events, quantitative aptitude, etc. Two hours are allotted for the exam, which is given offline.
SEED
SEED test is given by Symbiosis International University and consists of questions of an objective nature. Within a time limit of 2.5 hours, the applicant must attempt nearly 150 multiple-choice questions. In this exam, candidates are judged on their ability to think creatively, their understanding of general designs, their familiarity with Indian culture, and their knowledge of spheres and geometry. The curriculum emphasises the application of fundamental scientific and mathematical knowledge as well as creative and problem-solving skills.
NID
The National Institute of Design Exam is for them. After passing the NID aptitude test, the candidates are free to investigate undergraduate and graduate programmes at the NID campus. The applicants' abilities in an optical illusion, creativity, outlining for beginners, drawing principles, and colour and pattern patterns are tested. There are both objective and subjective portions in the three-hour exam.
GD Goenka DAT
The format of the GD Goenka DAT is comparable to that of the entrance tests for NIFT and NID. The GD Goenka University administers this test, which lasts three hours. It is carried out offline. Visual Appreciation Skills, Analytical and Critical Thinking, and Conceptual Thinking are all examined in the exam.
UID
The United World Institute of Design administers this test, typically done in Jan. Students can enrol in BDes and MDes courses through UID. Therefore this exam gives them access to those programmes. After taking the UID test, candidates must also pass a situational judgement test and a set of portfolio evaluation tests. UID syllabus emphasises problem-solving abilities and current events. UID entrance exam duration is two hours and 30 minutes.
PAF
PAF is an exam that the Pearl Academy of Fashion typically administers. It comes in two varieties GPT, or General Proficiency Test, and DAT, or Design Aptitude Test, and is often administered throughout several cycles each year. Language proficiency, mathematical prowess, logical reasoning, and other abilities are tested for aspirants. From course to course, the PAF test format changes. PAF duration of each segment is one hour.
GAT
GAT is an admission exam for BDes and MDes in Fashion Design courses. General Aptitude Test (GAT) and Personal Interview (PI) rounds are used to determine admission to its undergraduate and graduate programmes. Interested applicants can apply for admission via the institute's official website. The institute also provides the PG diploma, UG Diploma, Advanced diploma, and diploma courses in various specialisations in addition to its UG and PG programmes. The average CTC provided during JD Institute of Fashion Technology placements was INR LPA.
