Top Design Entrance Exams in India

Today, Designing is one of the most popular sought-after courses amongst the youth worldwide and the same passion is growing in India as well.

In India, various institutes offer Design courses at UG and PG levels. To get admission to these courses in any top colleges, you have to appear for the entrance exams conducted separately by each institute. 

These entrance exams are conducted by the colleges and universities at the national level for admissions every year.

Read through the post that will give you a complete insight into the list of designing exams in India.

List of National Level Designing Exams in India

If you want to pursue a career in design, you must appear for the entrance exams conducted separately by each institute.

Download NIFT Question Papers & Sample Papers PDF

The following are some of the most popular designing entrance exams conducted at the national level.

• NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology)
• NID (National Institute of Design) Aptitude Test
• UCEED (Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam for Design)
• FDDI AIST (Footwear Design and Development Institute All India Selection Test)
• IIAD (Indian Institute of Art and Design Entrance Exam)
• SEED (Symbiosis Entrance Exam for Design)
• AIEED ( All India Entrance Exam for Design)
• AIFD CAT (Army Institute of Fashion & Design Creative Aptitude Test)
• DE-CODE (Design Aptitude Test of Centre for Design Excellence)

List of University Level Design Exams in India

You can also pursue fashion designing courses at the university level. The following are the most popular institutes that conduct fashion designing entrance exams at the university level.

• MDAT (Manipal University Design Aptitude Test)
• MUST-CFDM (Modi University Science and Technology - College of Fashion Design and Merchandising)
• CUCET (Chandigarh University Common Entrance Test)
• MUSAT (Modi University Scholarship cum Admission Test)

Top 5 Design Exams in India

The following are the most popular and sought Design entrance exams conducted to provide admissions to various colleges.

• NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology)
• NID (National Institute of Design) Aptitude Test
• UCEED (Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam for Design)
• AIEED ( All India Entrance Exam for Design)
• IIAD (Indian Institute of Art and Design Entrance Exam)
• SHIATS Entrance Exam

NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology)

The NIFT entrance exam is a national level exam conducted by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) which comes under the MINISTRY OF TEXTILE as an autonomous institute for providing admission into the Bachelor of Design (B.Des), Master of Design (M.Des), Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B.F.Tech), Master of Fashion Technology (M.F.Tech), and Master of Fashion Management (MFM) courses.

NIFT is considered one of the prestigious institutes for fashion and design-related courses in India. The institute has a total seat intake of 3547 for both UG and PG programs. 

If you wish to apply for the NIFT Entrance Exam, you must have completed your 10+2 from a recognized university, and your age should not exceed 24 years as of 01 August of the year of the exam.

The final selection will be based on the written exam marks, a situation test, and a personal interview ( for Masters only ).

NID (National Institute of Design) Aptitude Test

NID's  Design Aptitude Test is a national level entrance exam conducted by the National Institute of Design for providing admission to UG and PG programs in the Design category.

The exam is conducted in two stages, i.e., DAT Prelims and DAT Mains. Both the stages are required to be cleared by the candidate for admission into the college.

To apply for the NID Entrance Exam, you must have completed your 10+2 or equivalent exam from a recognized board (AISSE/ICSE/CBSE).

Also, you must have been born on or after 01 July 2002 to be eligible for the exam.

UCEED (Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design)

Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam for Design, known as UCEED, is a national-level entrance exam conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay for providing admissions to the Bachelor’s of Design (B.Design) program.

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 exam comprises two parts: Part A (computer-based screening test) and Part B (Offline exam). The admission will be provided by considering the marks obtained in both part A and part B.

AIEED ( All India Entrance Exam for Design)

Arch College of Design & Business conducts the AIEED entrance exam annually for providing admissions to undergraduate and postgraduate courses in design.

Those who have cleared class 12 from any recognized university are eligible to apply for the exam.

The entrance exam consists of GAT (general aptitude test) and CAT (creative ability test). Both are qualifying in nature.

IIAD (Indian Institute of Art and Design Entrance Exam)

Indian Institute of Art & Design is a very popular institute for providing fashion designing courses like BA in fashion design, MA in fashion design, BA and MA in fashion business management.

The IIAD entrance exam comprises a written exam followed by a studio test and a personal interview.

Those who have completed class 12 or equivalent exam in any stream (science, humanities, commerce, arts) with an aggregate of a minimum of 50% can apply for the exam.