Pearl Academy B.Des Admissions 2026
No. 1 Design & Fashion Institute by ASSOCHAM, India Today, Outlook and The Week rankings
UCEED Admit Card Date:08 Jan' 26 - 08 Jan' 26
Hey there students, Choosing between NID and UCEED is an important and intimidating decision for aspiring designers in India. Both the exams NID and UCEED are gateway to prestigious design institutions but they differ significantly in their approach of selection, assessment, syllabus and teaching methodologies as well. This article is curated especially for students to understand the approach for both the exams and detailed comparison to help students prepare and understand for NID and UCEED exams for a glorious design career.
This Story also Contains
Students are advised to go through an in-depth analysis of detailed comparison between NID and UCEED based on the student’s and experts' feedback. For the analysis the questions were categorized by the topic, skills required, difficulty level, and according to the NID DAT 2026 Exam Pattern and UCEED 2026 Exam Pattern by carefully analysis of NID: Previous years Sample Papers and UCEED: Previous years Question papers.
Although NID and UCEED have their own assessment criteria that evaluates students on different skills and abilities in design thinking and creativity, it has been found by students feedback over the years that UCEED is a little more intimidating and difficult to score. But recent years have found both the NID and UCEED exam to have similar difficulty levels as both focus on creative thinking and innovation with reasoning questions.
Students are advised to go through and understand the exams according to the NID 2026 DAT Exam Syllabus and UCEED 2026 Exam Syllabus. For a detailed comparison between the NID and UCEED exam, questions from previous year papers were categorised for clear understanding for the following parameters:
Detailed Exam Structure
Skills Comparison
Difficulty Level Trends
Selection Format
Students can refer to the table below to understand what different topics and questions are asked for different sections of the NID or UCEED exam:
Question Type | NID-GAT (General Aptitude Test) | UCEED (Part-A) | NID-DAT | UCEED |
Numerical Answer Type (NAT) | Rare/None | Prominently Asked (2023-25) | N/A | N/A |
Multiple Select Questions (MSQ) | Rare/None | Prominently Asked (2023-25) | N/A | N/A |
Multiple Select Questions (MSQ) | Highly Prominent | Prominently Asked (2023-25) | N/A | N/A |
Drawing/Sketching | Frequently asked | Frequently asked | Frequently asked | Frequently asked |
Creative Writing/ Storytelling | Frequently asked | Rare/None | Present | Rare/None |
Problem Solving (Design Context) | Frequently asked | Frequently asked | Present | Present |
Visual Analysis/ | Frequently asked | Frequently asked | Present | Present |
3D Visualization/ Creation | Frequently asked | Asked | Present | Present |
Students are also advised to go through these Articles:
EXAMS dates- 13-14 Dec | Leading Design College | Highest CTC: ₹12 LPA | Average CTC: ₹7.5 LPA | Scholarships for Deserving Students
Recruiters: Aditya Birla, Wildcraft, Tommy Hilfiger, Vero Moda etc | Only Fashion Institute in India to have entered the LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS
UCEED: Part A questions (NAT, MSQ, MCQ) often test for a variety of questions from Complex Visual Puzzles, Spatial Reasonings etc. testing fundamental concepts and quick thinking. The questions are detailed in nature where the visual problems and accuracy is required.
NID DAT: The GAT Section’s difficulty lies in the vast syllabus including analytical reasoning, General knowledge etc, providing open-ended creative challenges that required innovative thinking and strong visualization skills.
Both NID and UCEED exams broadly test creative thinking with a potential for Problem Solving Mindset, but each of them have some specific skillset they are looking for in students in their evaluation process:
Skillset Required | NID-GAT (General Aptitude Test) | UCEED (Part-A) | NID-DAT | UCEED |
Creativity | Moderate | Moderate | High | High |
Drawing | Low (Conceptual Level) | Low (Conceptual Level) | High | High |
Problem-Solving | High (Logical/ | High (Logical/ | High (Logical/ | High (Logical/ |
Logical Reasoning | High | High | Moderate | Moderate |
Visual Perception | High | High | High | High |
General Awareness | High | Moderate | Low | Low |
Quantitative Aptitude | High | High | Low | Low |
Communication | Moderate (Creative Writing) | Low | High (Explaining your design concept) | High (Reflection based to a given challenge) |
Observation | Moderate | Moderate | High | High |
Related Articles:
Both the NID and UCEED exam possess a mix of easy, moderate, and difficult questions. However, the difficulty and assessment style may vary for which a detailed comparison as provided below:
Aspect | UCEED Exam | NID-DAT |
Exam Structure |
|
|
Challenging Sections |
|
|
Exam Trends |
|
|
Below is the detailed comparison of exam structure for the NID and UCEED exams, for UCEED Part-A, it demands strategic management and accuracy. NID GAT may also have negative marking in specific cases only, but the DAT sections have more room for creative freedom .
Aspect | NID-DAT | UCEED |
Paper Structure (Prelims) | GAT (Objective) | Typically two parts: MSQ, MCQ) Part B (subjective - drawing/design). |
Duration | 03 hours | 3 hours (Part A: 2 hours, Part B: 1 hour) |
Marking Scheme | Varies by section and question type. | Part A has negative marking for MCQs and MSQs (partial marking for MSQs). Part BScheme DAT has no negative marking. |
Negative Marking | Generally, no negative marking for DAT | Yes, for MCQs and incorrect/partially correct MSQs in Part A. |
NID emphasises on creativity and broader general awareness. It is ideal for aspirants with a vision for versatility in design, capable of addressing the diverse challenges. UCEED is suitable for the students with strong analytical problem solving skills, visual reasoning inclined to ways more technical and systematic aspects of the design. By carefully considering each exam with different factors like syllabus, questions types and marking, skills requirement and selection process, students can understand what exam they find tougher between NID and UCEED.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
NID DAT focuses on open-ended questions, subjective evaluation, storytelling, conceptual-sketching and Problem-Solving through design thinking. Whereas, UCEED looks for objective formats testing the visual reasoning, logical deduction, and analytical precision.
According to the feedback from students in recent years, NID and UCEED exams have similar difficulty levels as both focus on creative thinking and innovation with reasoning questions.
On Question asked by student community
Hello,
Careers360 offers free UCEED Mock tests. You can access the mock test by this link : UCEED Mock Test 2026: Free Online Practice Test Series
Hope it helps !
Hello,
For admission to Ajeenkya D.Y. Patil University (ADYPU), you must score a minimum of 50% in your 12th grade for the general category. However, ADYPU conducts its own entrance exam, known as the ACET ADYPU Common Entrance Exam, which includes a studio test and a personal interview. So, you would have a chance for admission based on how well you score in the entrance exam.
Hope it helps!!!
If you’re looking for free courses for NID, NIFT, and UCEED preparation, that’s a great idea to get started without spending much. Many platforms offer free foundation and crash courses covering topics like design aptitude, logical reasoning, general awareness, and sketching. You can go through the link I’ll attach from Careers360, which provides free preparation material and courses for these exams. It will help you access mock tests, previous year papers, and video lectures to build a strong base for the entrance exams.
https://design.careers360.com/nift-nid-uceed-entrance-exam-free-crash-course
Hello Dear Candidate,
Here's the full study material for UCEED 2026: https://design.careers360.com/download/ebooks/uceed-full-study-material Thank You
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!
World-class design education with a global curricular collaboration with Parson’s School of Design
Ranked 2nd in the IIRF 2023 Design School Ranking | Approved by AICTE | Highest CTC 13 LPA
Among top 100 Universities Globally in the Times Higher Education (THE) Interdisciplinary Science Rankings 2026
No. 1 Design & Fashion Institute by ASSOCHAM, India Today, Outlook and The Week rankings
EXAMS dates- 13-14 Dec | Leading Design College | Highest CTC: ₹12 LPA | Average CTC: ₹7.5 LPA | Scholarships for Deserving Students
Courses offered in- Fashion Design, Product Design, Communication Design, Interior & Spatial Design & Animation & VFX Design