The IICD Entrance Exam 2026 or as it is fully known, the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design Entrance Exam 2026 holds the promise of plenty of possible academic ventures for students. The IICD Entrance Exam 2026 admission is open to the 4 year Bachelors programme (B.Des.) and 2 year Masters Programme (M.Des.). Given the pattern of the prior exam which is conducted by the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design, Jaipur, we can expect a similar pattern for IICD entrance exam 2026. The IICD Entrance Exam 2026 application is worth considering given the University’s relevance among design Universities in India.
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The application form for IICD Entrance Exam 2026 can likely commence in the third week of April with the last date ending in the third week of May 2026, may be around May 21 to 25, 2026. The application form for the IICD 2026 can be accessed from the home page window of the official IICD website. As for the IICD Entrance Exam 2026 exam date, it is likely to begin right after the closure of the application period, likely between May 22, 2026 and the end of the month, May 31, 2026.
The IICD entrance exam 2026 allows students to join the Indian Institute of Crafts and Design for the Bachelors Programme (B.Des.) and Masters Programme (M.Des.) in the disciplines of Hard, Soft and Fired Material Design, Fashion Clothing, Jewellery, Crafts Communication and Interior Design along with the addition of a one year PG Diploma.
Particulars | Details |
Conducting Authority | Indian Institute of Crafts and Design |
Full form of IICD Entrance Exam | Indian Institute of Craft and Design Entrance Exam |
IICD Exam Frequency | Once a year |
IICD Exam Level | National (open to International Students) |
IICD Entrance Exam 2026 Application Mode | Online Submission |
IICD Entrance Exam 2026 mode | Online |
Application Fees |
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Much of IICD 2026 entrance exam relies on the follow up of timings that are allocated to each segment of the admission process. To help you gain an understanding of the entire process from registration and application to interviews and admission, a record of the schedule can help put you ahead of IICD schedule.
Important Events | IICD Entrance Exam 2026 Important Dates |
Commencement of IICD 2026 Application | Third week of April 2026 onwards |
Last Date to Submit the IICD 2026 Form | Will end in the third week of May 2026 |
IICD Exam Admit Card cum Question Paper Release Date | The next day after closure of application form |
IICD 2026 IICD Entrance Exam 2026 exam date | One week to prepare and submit their responses after the release of the Admit Card/ Question Paper (ex. May 22, 2026 - May 31, 2026) |
IICD 2026 Personal Interview (via Whatsapp) | Likely conducted in the first week of June 2026 (Exact time of interview declared over email) |
IICD Result Declaration | Declaration made in the second week of June |
Submission of Fees for selected candidates | Last week of June (Tentative - To be declared by Institute) |
The IICD eligibility criteria will be released by the Indian Institute of Craft and Design in the official prospectus for 2026. The prospectus can be accessed on their official website. The prospectus dictates different requirements for candidate eligibility based on their application to a B.Des., M.Des. or PG Diploma application
For the four year Bachelors Programme (B.Des.)
10+2 from a recognized board of education.
Students appearing in the qualifying examination are also eligible to apply
For the two year Masters Programme (M.Des.)
Graduates from Design and Architecture background
B.Des. | B.Arch. | B.A.in deign B.Sc. in Design| B.Voc. in Design
Any other Graduation degree in Design or Architecture
For the one year PG Diploma programme
Graduates from a Non-Design background
The IICD entrance exam application window will be opened on the IICD 2026 official website, accessing the application portal is quite easy, the website puts up a prompt window the moment you load in the website. This prompt window displays the three levels of courses that are available for application, namely, the B.Des., M.Des. and PG Diploma levels.
Based on the previous exams the application period for the IICD 2026 Entrance Exam can be expected to open up from the third week of April onwards (Ex. April 21, 2026). The application period is expected to close by the third week of May (Ex. May 21, 2026).
The steps to apply for IICD Entrance Exam 2026 are as follows:
When the prompt box appears, click on the link that says, “Admission Guidelines with Registration Link”
This opens into a new tab where there are links to “New Admission Registration” and “Application Procedure”.
Click on the “New Admission Registration” link after perusing through the details that are presented on the page
Fill in the necessary details after selecting the “New Registration” option.
The fee payment for the registration for Indian and SAARC nationals stands at Rs.1750/- and for foreign nationals, it stands at Rs. 3500/-.
There is a correction window for uploaded documents ensuring that the candidate will receive an email that requires them to resend the documents in the specified format.
If the candidate has registered with the necessary documents and filled in the details as required by the application portal they will receive a confirmation email with the transaction reference ID.
Failure to receive such an email, necessitates a communication to admissions@iicd.ac.in with the proof of transaction.
The entrance exam will be conducted online with the details of the test being shared in the IICD 2026 Admit card cum Question Paper which can be accessed by registered applicants on the exam registration page.
Based on the guidelines for the IICD exam pattern, applicants must submit their responses before the given time period of one week. There is also a helpline included which candidates can reach out to for clarification.
The personal interview portion of the test will be conducted via Whatsapp in the week following the exam submission. The exact timing will be mentioned in the admit card. The interview is for 20 minutes, during which the candidates need to keep their submitted portfolio with them.
The mark split for IICD exam syllabus is
General Awareness, Creativity & Perception Test (Part A)
Estimation of sizes and proportion, synthesis and visual interpretation, observation, and general awareness.
Material, Color and Conceptual Test (Part B)
Intelligent use of materials, skill of handling material, conceptualize and realize a 3 dimensional form.
To observe, create solutions based on a plan and strategy, think and expand ideas.
Ability to provide multiple solutions to the given problem with written description.
Personal Interview
Aptitude to crafts
Intelligence quotient (IQ)
Communication Ability
General Awareness about Crafts & Design
Overall Personal Achievements in academics and co-curricular activities.
There are 32 questions in total divided into Part A and Part B. The marking scheme dedicates 35% to Part A, 45% to Part B and 20% to the Personal interview.
The IICD admit card will be released on the official page of IICD. Candidates can access their Admit Card cum Question Paper from the Registration Login Page. The admit card will be released the next day after the closure of the admission form, likely in the third week of May 2026. The steps to access the Admit Card are as follows:
Open the official website of IICD 2026
Enter the page for the registration portal
Download the admit card cum question paper
The exam guidelines as well as the question paper for the IICD Entrance Exam 2026 are received along with the admit card download. Following the guidelines on the admit card is necessary with the addition that it also stipulates the scheduled timing for the personal meeting for the discussion of the portfolio.
As for the answer key of the IICD 2026 Entrance Exam, the Indian Institute of Craft and Design will not be issuing an answer key post exam submissions, instead the results are issued to the students directly.
IICD Entrance Exam 2026 shortlists are provided to the students in the second week of June after the completion of the interview as well. There is not a specific IICD Entrance Exam 2026 cutoff either, instead the students are given the results directly.
The IICD entrance exam result can be seen at the official website after the interview round, likely in the second week of June based on prior experience. Candidates can access their IICD results using their login credentials. The merit list presents the results for B.Des., M.Des. and PG Diploma separately.
There is not a formal IICD Entrance Exam 2026 counselling session for admissions. Instead, seat allocation is based on the merit list generated from the entrance exam and subsequent interview performance. Candidates are informed of their seat allocation through an admission letter, and those selected must pay the required fees to confirm admission.
The IICD 2026 Entrance Exam is certainly different from most exams where candidates are given a week to prepare their answers and submit them. However, that does not mean that they are free from any form of preparation. To that end, we have curated a list of the best books for IICD Entrance Exam 2026.
Subject | Name of Book | Author |
General Awareness, Creativity & Perception Test | Manorama Year Book | Arihant General Knowledge |
Indian Art and Culture | Nitin Singhania | |
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain | Betty Edwards | |
Material, Color and Conceptual Test | Design Drawing | Francis D.K. Ching
|
Interaction of Color | Josef Albers | |
Color: A Workshop for Artists and Designers | David Hornung |
In addition one can also prepare in advance IICD sample papers. They’ll give the much needed edge over the competition, and perhaps help secure a much coveted seat in IICD.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The IICD 2026 Entrance Exam syllabus carries two parts: General Awareness, Creativity & Perception Test (Part A) and Material, Color and Conceptual Test (Part B). What follows after the entrance test is the personal interview, which will be conducted via WhatsApp.
The IICD 2026 Entrance Exam admit card will be released in the fourth week of May, right after the closure of the IICD 2026 exam registration. The admit card will be released with the question paper.
The IICD Entrance Examination commences with the written examination which takes place in the third week of June and ends with the interview round with the portfolio in the first week of June.
For B.Des. applicants with a 10+2 from a recognized board of education and students in the qualifying examination can apply. For M.Des. applicants, graduates from Design and Architecture background, like B.Des., B.Arch., B.A.in design, B.Sc. in Design, B.Voc. in Design can apply. For the one year PG Diploma programme, graduates from a Non-Design background can apply.
For Indian and SAARC nationals the fee is Rs. 1750/- and for foreign nationals it is Rs. 3500/-
On Question asked by student community
Hello,
Here is the link to find the sample papers for Indian Institute of Crafts and Design (IICD) entrance exam
https://design.careers360.com/articles/iicd#IICD-2020-Sample-Paper
In the above link you can find an article on IICD exam pattern, syllabus, eligibility criteria, sample paper, application process, exam centers, weightage etc. To download the sample papers you need to click on 'click here'.
Hello,
You can get previous year papers for M.Des from official website of IICD by visiting the following link;
https://www.iicd.ac.in/language/en/downloadable-items/
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