What is Difference Between UCEED and CEED?

What is Difference Between UCEED and CEED?

Ongoing Event

UCEED Application Date:01 Oct' 25 - 31 Oct' 25

Sumeet SudarshanUpdated on 19 Sep 2025, 03:33 PM IST

Both UCEED and CEED exams are conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, to select the best design students. However, one major difference between UCEED and CEED is that through the UCEED exam, candidates secure admission into undergraduate design courses, while the CEED exam allows students to join postgraduate design courses. Candidates appearing for UCEED 2026 and CEED 2026 can get the UCEED vs CEED comparison in this article to understand the difference between the UCEED and CEED exams, based on eligibility, counselling process, fee, and more.

This Story also Contains

  1. UCEED 2026 vs CEED 2026: Overview
  2. CEED 2026 vs UCEED 2026: Registration
  3. UCEED 2026 vs CEED 2026: Eligibility Criteria
  4. CEED 2026 vs UCEED 2026: Counselling
  5. UCEED 2026 vs CEED 2026: Participating Colleges:
  6. CEED 2026 vs UCEED 2026: Courses
What is Difference Between UCEED and CEED?
Difference Between UCEED and CEED

UCEED 2026 vs CEED 2026: Overview

Particulars

UCEED 2026

CEED 2026

Full form

Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design

Common Entrance Examination for Design

Conducting Authority

Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay

Official Website

uceed.ittb.ac.in

ceed.iitb.ac.in

Application Form Start Date (tentative)

October 1, 2025

October 1, 2025

Application Form Fee

Rs. 4000

Rs. 4000

Course Offered

Undergraduate

Postgraduate and PhD

Eligibility Criteria

Under the age of 25

Can appear for the exam a maximum of two times

Qualified 10+2 or equivalent

No Age Limit

Must have completed under graduation

No limit on the number of attempts

Participating Colleges

IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Hyderabad, IIITDM Jabalpur, IIT Guwahati, and IIT Roorkee

IISc Bangalore, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Jodhpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, IIITDM Jabalpur, IIITDM Kancheepuram

Fees

Rs. 6-10 Lakhs

Rs. 30K- Rs. 3.75 Lakhs per annum

Courses Offered

Product design, user experience design, interaction design, visual design, communication design

M.Des in Product Design and Engineering, Industrial Design, Communication Design, Animation, Interaction Design, Mobility and Vehicle Design, Visual Design, XR Design, Industrial Design, PhD in Design

CEED 2026 vs UCEED 2026: Registration

The registration process for both exams is similar. There is hardly any difference between UCEED and CEED registration process as both of them are conducted by IIT Bombay. However, the difference between UCEED and CEED registration is that the students need to visit the designated website for the specific exam.

The UCEED 2026 application form will be released on the official website - uceed.iitb.ac.in. The candidates need to pay a fee of Rs 4000 as the UCEED application form fee. Similarly, the CEED application form will be released on the official website- ceed.iitb.ac.in, and the students need to pay the application form fee Rs. 4000.

UCEED 2026 vs CEED 2026: Eligibility Criteria

Another difference between UCEED and CEED lies in the eligibility criteria, which are given below.

UCEED Eligibility Criteria

The students seeking admission into the BDes courses in IITs and other UCEED colleges must know the following UCEED eligibility criteria that need to be fulfilled.

  • Candidates must be under the age of 25 on the year of application. Relaxation of 5 years for the SC, ST, and PwD categories.

  • Candidates can appear for the UCEED exam twice in consecutive years.

  • The students must have completed the 10 + 2 level of education or equivalent.

CEED Eligibility Criteria

The MDes aspirants of IITs should fulfil these CEED eligibility criteria to join the Institution.

  • The students must have completed their degree/diploma / postgraduate degree of a minimum of 3 years after 10 + 2.

  • There is no age limit

  • There are no restrictions on the number of attempts for the exam

CEED 2026 vs UCEED 2026: Counselling

The UCEED counselling will be conducted after the declaration of the results of the UCEED entrance exam. The students need to register themselves on the UCEED exam portal through the official website, fill out their preferences for college, and upload the necessary documents, which also include a valid UCEED result. Followed by this, the candidates need to make a payment of the registration fee. The candidates who will be allotted seats in the counselling session. Allotted candidates are required to accept the seat and pay the prescribed fee before the deadline.

The CEED counselling, on the other hand, is done by each participating institution individually. The candidates need to fill in the application form on each institution’s website, and they need to pay for each college individually. The candidates also need to appear for an entrance exam and a personal interview for further selection. The results of the colleges will be declared individually, and a list of selected candidates will be published on the website. These candidates need to pay a seat acceptance fee before the deadline to secure their seats.

UCEED 2026 vs CEED 2026: Participating Colleges:

The top IITs that take part in the UCEED and CEED are as follows:


CEED 2026 vs UCEED 2026: Courses

Various courses are available at undergraduate and postgraduate level at various IITs. The students can refer to the difference between UCEED and CEED courses from the table given below.

UCEED Courses

Institution

BDes Courses offered

IIT Bombay

Industrial design, communication design, animation design, interaction design, mobility and vehicle design

IIT Delhi

Product design, visual design

IIT Guwahati

Industrial design, communication design, ergonomics, usability engineering, design management

IIT Hyderabad

Product design, visual design, spatial design, interaction design, user experience design

IIT Roorkee

Product design, material and manufacturing, ergonomics, user experience design, interaction design, visual design

IIITDM Jabalpur

Product design, visual design, interaction design, communication design, craft design

CEED Courses

Institution

MDes Courses offered

IIT Bombay

MDes in Industrial Design, Communication Design, Animation, Interaction Design, Mobility and Vehicle Design , PhD in Design

IIT Delhi

MDes in Industrial Design

IIT Guwahati

MDes in Design, PhD in Design

IIT Hyderabad

MDes in Visual Design, PhD in Design

IIT Roorkee

MDes in Industrial Design

IIITDM Jabalpur

MDes in Design

IIT Kanpur

MDes in Design, PhD in Design

IISc Bangalore

MDes in Product Design and Engineering , PhD in Design

IIITDM Kancheepuram

MDes in Integrated Product Design

IIT Jodhpur

MDes in XR Design

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Who is eligible for the CEED exam?
A:

Anybody who has completed under-graduation course is eligible apply for the CEED exam.

Q: What happens after you qualify for UCEED ?
A:

Students who qualify for the UCEED exam and have fulfilled all the eligibility criteria mentioned can join the BDes program.

Q: How many times can I give CEED?
A:

Students can appear in CEED as many times as they want.

Q: Can I get into IIT with UCEED?
A:

Yes, if a candidate has a good UCEED rank and he/she fulfils all the required eligibility for UCEED they can get into IIT.

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Questions related to UCEED

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to UCEED ?

Hello,

NIFT 2026 admission - Applications release around November–December 2025.

UCEED 2026- Registrations open around September–October 2025.

Pearl Academy - They have multiple admission cycles (Jan, April, June). Applications usually open by October 2025 for Jan cycle.

Keep checking official sites regularly since dates shift slightly every year.

Thank you!

Hello!

UCEED is a competitive exam for design aspirants, testing design aptitude, logical thinking, creativity, and visualisation skills. To improve your score out of 300, start by understanding the exam pattern—Part A (objective) and Part B (subjective). For Part A, practice reasoning, numerical aptitude, and environmental & social awareness questions. For Part B, focus on drawing, sketching, and presenting your ideas clearly. Solve past year UCEED papers and join online mock test series. Spend at least 2–3 hours daily practising creative problem-solving and sketching. Also, work on time management because the exam requires quick thinking.

Thank you for reading, and I wish you the best


Hello Akanksha,

For NID DAT 2026, your eligibility is established based on your born date as you are born on or after July 1st 2005. For UCEED 2026, your eligibility is dependent on your born date by category. You are eligible if you are OPEN/EWS/OBC-NCL category and born on or after October 1, 2001. If you are SC/ST/PwD category you must be born on or after October 1, 1996 in order to be eligible. Based on your born date of December 20th, 2006 for both NID DAT 2026 and UCEED 2026; you will be eligible.

The UCEED exam is conducted by IIT Bombay, and the previous year’s question papers  you can download the papers along with answer keys directly from the link given below :

https://design.careers360.com/articles/uceed-previous-year-question-papers

Thank you and all the best!