NMIMS-Design Aptitude Test-2026
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Interior designing specialisation is among the popular study options for candidates pursuing design courses. Aspirants can join interior design specialisations at the diploma, undergraduate, and postgraduate levels. Candidates have to complete the 10 + 2 level of education to get into a formal educational setup for UG interior designing courses in India. Although interior design admission can be taken based on class 12th scores, top colleges consider performance in the design entrance exams for admission. Read the complete article to know more about interior design admission 2026 including eligiblity criteria, top colleges, courses, and more.
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The interior designing courses in India require the candidates to fulfil certain eligibility criteria. The candidates can find the eligibility criteria for various design colleges on their official website. The eligibility criteria of most of the colleges are different however the common ones are listed below.
The candidates must have completed 12th class education from a recognised Institute to get into an undergraduate Interior Design Program.
Although it is not compulsory, having a 50% minimum aggregate in 12th is welcomed by most of the design universities.
The candidates can be from any stream however a science stream with basic knowledge of maths and physics is preferred.
Similarly for postgraduate interior design aspirants it is compulsory to have completed a bachelor's degree with the minimum aggregate of 50% to be on the safer side.
For various diploma courses in interior designing the candidates can have a 10th or 12th degree depending on the college they are applying to.
Interior designing courses might also require the candidates to have qualified certain entrance examinations.
The candidates interested for an Interior Designing degree must know the process of applying to various colleges. To apply for interior designing courses candidates must check out the websites of top interior designing colleges. Once the candidates have made a preferred list of various colleges they want to apply to, they can proceed with filling the application forms, submitting the documents and application fee before the due date. The candidates must fill the application with all correct details to ensure their candidature is secured. If required the aspirants will have to appear for certain entrance examinations.
To get into interior designing courses the candidates need to qualify some entrance examinations. The most commonly opted for entrance examinations are listed below.
UCEED: This National level design entrance examination is conducted by Indian Institute of Technology Bombay. Through UCEED, conducted once every year candidates can get into many top interior designing colleges.
Pearl Academy Entrance Exam: One of the best privately owned design colleges is Pearl Academy. It conducts the entrance examination five times a year to select the best students for the design courses it offers. Pearl Academy entrance exam scores are accepted by top interior design colleges.
CUET UG: Conducted by National Testing Agency CUET grants admissions into various central universities across India. The scores of CUET are accepted by many design colleges both private and government to get students admitted into interior design courses.
NIFT Entrance Exam: This National level design entrance exam is conducted by the National testing agency once every year to select students for NIFT admissions. The scores of this NIFT entrance exam are accepted by several other institutions which offer interior designing.
Interested students must know about the various interior designing courses available for them to pursue. Here is a list of the top interior design courses in India.
BDes: A bachelor of Design Program specialised in interior designing is 4 years in duration. The candidates can join this course after the completion of that 12th. This course teaches the basics of interior designing from the scratch which can be helpful for a novice. Further the placement percentage of this course is usually high.
BID: A bachelor and interior designing is a 4 Year program especially designed for students who are interested in interior designing. This is a thorough course that teaches interior designing from the start. This course is especially beneficial for students who are sure that they want to build a career in interior designing.
MDes: A masters course in interior designing is helpful for those students who want to switch that career after graduation. The 2 years course goes into the in-depth of interior designing which is also helpful for higher studies.
Diploma: Diploma courses in interior designing are usually short term courses opted by aspirants who want to have an experience in the field.
The top 10 interior designing colleges in India are listed below for the candidates to explore.
Top 10 Interior Design Institutes in India
S. No | List of top 10 interior design colleges in India | Location | Careers360 Ranking |
1 | Ahmedabad | AAAA+ | |
2 | Mumbai | AAAA+ | |
3 | Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Bangalore | Bangalore | AAAA+ |
4 | Ahmedabad | AAAA+ | |
5 | Ahmedabad | AAAA | |
6 | MSAP Manipal - Manipal School of Architecture and Planning, Manipal | Manipal | AAAA |
7 | School of Design, UPES Dehradun - School of Design, UPES, Dehradun | Dehradun | AAAA |
8 | Sonipat | AAAA | |
9 | Noida | AAA+ | |
10 | Bangalore | AAA+ |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
One can appear in CUET, Pearl Academy entrance exam, UCEED etc to join interior design courses.
To become an Interior Designer one needs to have a formal education in interior designing. After that one can build a resume with relevant skills to get jobs.
The top colleges for interior designing are CEPT University, Pearl Academy, SMIT etc.
There are certain diploma courses offered after 10th in interior designing.
On Question asked by student community
Hello Romika, Please check the FDDI AIST BDes sample paper here . You can also check all the FDDI previous year sample papers for a better understanding and better preparation. Please let me know if I can assist you with anything else.
Hello Ishika,
For CUET 2026 exam preparation, you can refer to the CUET study materials such as NCERT books which are foundational textbooks covers all the important subjects, for science focused books you can refer to R.S. Aggarwal books and for current affairs you can refer to McGraw-hill books. These
Hello Dixita, most colleges in Maharashtra that offer design courses accept MAH B.Des CET scores. Some of these colleges include MIT Academy of Engineering,Alandi, Pune, Terna Engineering College (Nerul, Navi Mumbai), Savitribai Phule Pune University (Pune), and Dr. D. Y. Patil Vidyapeeth (Pimpri, Pune). You can also check the list
Hello. Yes VIT offers a 4-year degree programme in BDes in Industrial Design. You can check more about VIT School of Design BDes by visiting the college link given here.
No specific stream is required in Class 11 for BDes admissions. You can join B.Des (Bachelor of Design) with any stream in Class 11th (Science, Commerce, or Arts/Humanities). Top design institutes like NID ( NID DAT scores) and NIFT ( NIFT Entrance Exam ), as well as IITs (via UCEED),
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