Summary: This article provides an overview of the various design and architecture entrance exams in India, with associated requirements and application processes. It highlights the various entrance exams to help aspirants make informed choices when selecting an institute and course for design and architecture studies.

In India, every year, various Design and Architecture entrance exams are conducted by different colleges, universities, and many top institutes.

These entrance exams are conducted at various levels, such as state level, national level, and university levels. You can apply for any of them, whichever you want to apply.

At the university level, the entrance examination is conducted by the concerned university itself, and the level of that entrance examination is easy. After qualifying for the entrance exam conducted by the university, you will get a direct seat in the course you have applied for.

At the state and national level, you have to give an entrance exam which is conducted by various top institutes and specific conducting bodies which are made by the government.

In this article, you will get to know the top 5 Design and Architecture Entrance exams conducted in India.

Download Free Prep Material for Architecture Entrance Exams

List of Design Entrance Exams 2024 in India

The following are the most popular design entrance exams that are conducted for providing admissions to various design and architecture programs.

Those who wish to choose Design as a career must appear for any one of these exams.

• NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology)
• NID (National Institute of Design)
• FDDI (Footwear Design Development Institute)
• UCEED (Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam for Design)
• SEED (Symbiosis Entrance Exam for Design)

NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology)

The NIFT entrance exam is conducted every year for admission into UG and PG design courses. This design entrance exam is conducted for 16 NIFTs for the 3000+ undergraduate seats.

• The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) primarily has two undergraduate courses i.e. Bachelor of Design (B.Des) and Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B.F.Tech).
• Bachelor of Design (B.Des) is offered for a few specializations like Accessory Design, Leather Design, Fashion Design, Fashion Communication, and Knitwear Design.
• Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B.F.Tech) is a technology-based program, and the eligibility for this program is physics, chemistry, and mathematics in classes 11th and 12th.
• If you have applied for the B.Des entrance exam then you have to appear for the Creative Ability Test (CAT) and a Situation Test also but the B.F.Tech students just have to give the General Ability Test (GAT).

NID (National Institute of Design)

The National Institute of Design (NID) offers a Bachelor in Design program at its three campuses i.e. NID Ahmedabad, NID Bengaluru, and NID Gandhinagar. NID (National Institute of Design) also offers a Graduate Diploma Program in Design (GDPD) in their Andhra Pradesh (AP), Haryana, Madhya Pradesh (MP), and Assam Campuses.

• The NID entrance exam includes Design Aptitude Test (DAT), and it is followed by a Situation Test, and it is followed by a Personal Interview Round also.
• There are around 125 seats for the Bachelor of Design (B.Des) program across all the NIDs combined.

FDDI (Footwear Design Development Institute)

• The Footwear Design Development Institute (FDDI) conducts an entrance exam known as the All India Selection Test (AIST).
• They offer around 2500+ seats in their 12 Footwear Design Development Institutes (FDDIs) across India.
• The FDDI offers various undergraduate programs like a Bachelor of Design (B.Des) in Leather Design, Bachelor of Design (B.Des) in Footwear Design, Bachelor of Design (B.Des) in Fashion Design, and a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Retail and Fashion Merchandise.

UCEED (Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam for Design)

• Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam for Design (UCCED) is conducted by IIT Bombay for admission in 179 seats in the Bachelor of Design (B.Des) program across 4 Indian Institute of Technologies (IITs).
• The 4 IITs for which the UCEED entrance exam is conducted are the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay, the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Jabalpur, Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad.
• The Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam for Design (UCEED) is accepted by 15+ other Institutions across India.

SEED (Symbiosis Entrance Exam for Design)

• The Symbiosis Entrance Exam for Design (SEED) is conducted by the Symbiosis International University for admission to the Bachelor of Design program at the Symbiosis Institute of Design.
• There are 180 seats offered in Communication Design, Industrial Design, and Fashion Design.

List of Architecture Entrance Exams in India 2024

The following are the most popular architecture entrance exams that you need to take if you wish to opt for Architecture as a Career.

• JEE Main Paper II (Joint Entrance Exam for B.Arch program)
• NATA (National Aptitude Test in Architecture)
• HITSEEE (Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science Engineering Entrance Examination)
• GAT GITAM Admission Test (Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management Admission Test).
• BSAUEEE (BS Abdul Rahman University Engineering entrance exam)
• KIITEE (Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Entrance Exam)
• AMUEEE (Aligarh Muslim University Engineering Entrance Examination)

JEE Main Paper II (Joint Entrance Exam for B.Arch program)

• JEE Main is one of the toughest national-level examinations. After qualifying for JEE Main, you can be admission to NIIT, IIT, and GFTI institutes.
• The eligibility criteria for appearing for the JEE Main Paper 2 Exam is that you should have scored a minimum of 75% marks in class 12th, with physics, chemistry, and mathematics as compulsory subjects.
• If you want to take admission in IITs then you have to give JEE Advanced.
• From 2021 onwards, the JEE Main entrance examination will be conducted four times in one year.
• The JEE Main examination will be held in the months of February, March, April, and May.
• You can give JEE Mains examination in any of the months you wish to.

NATA (National Aptitude Test in Architecture)

• You should have scored a minimum of 50% marks in your class 12th with physics, chemistry, and mathematics as compulsory subjects to apply for the NATA Exam.
• If you have done a diploma with maths as a compulsory subject then also you are eligible to apply for the NATA test.
• This is also a national-level entrance examination.
• Your NATA scorecard will have a validity of 1 year. In that one year, you can use that scorecard anytime. And there are some institutes that accept the NATA scorecard at the time of admission.
• The top institutes that accept the NATA scorecard are – Dr Rizvi College of Architecture Mumbai, Chandigarh College of Architecture, Jamia Islamia College of Architecture, Delhi, IES College of Architecture, Dehradun Institute of Technology, Sir JJ College of Architecture, etc.

HITSEEE (Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science Engineering Entrance Examination)

• To take admission to HITs (Hindustan Institute of Technology), you have to give the HITSEEE examination.
• To apply for this entrance examination, you should have secured a minimum of 50% aggregate marks with physics, mathematics, and chemistry/ biology as the main subject.
• If you have done a diploma of 3 years and you have business mathematics or mathematics as a subject, then only you are eligible to apply for the HITSEEE entrance examination.

GAT GITAM Admission Test (Gandhi Institute of Technology and Management Admission Test)

• This entrance examination is conducted by GITAM University only. They offer many undergraduate courses also.
• The basic eligibility criteria to apply for this entrance examination are 50% marks, with physics, chemistry, and mathematics as the main subjects.
• The GITAM University has three campuses that are in Visakhapatnam, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.

Check: NATA Drawing Preparation

KIITEE (Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology Entrance Exam)

• If you want to apply for this entrance examination, you must have scored a minimum of 60% in your class 12th with maths, physics, and chemistry as main subjects.
• The eligibility criteria for the B.Arch course vary from university to university. Some universities want a minimum of 50%, some want 60%, and some want 75% in class 12th as eligibility criteria to apply for the examination.

Check: How To Prepare For NATA In One Month [Preparation Strategy]