Pearl Academy B.Des Admissions 2026
No. 1 Design & Fashion Institute by ASSOCHAM, India Today, Outlook and The Week rankings
NID DAT Application Date:11 Sep' 25 - 01 Dec' 25
National Institute of Design offers undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in the design sector. NID admissions 2026 are based on two stages of NID entrance exam (Design Aptitude Test - DAT) Prelims and DAT Mains. The interested candidates have to appear and qualify in both the exams to obtain NID admission. Candidates interested need to apply online for BDes and MDes programmes at admissions.nid.edu. The NID DAT 2026 application form has been released online on September 11, 2025. Go through the full article to know more details about the NID admission process 2026.
This Story also Contains
| Particulars | Details |
|---|---|
NID full form | National Institute of Design |
NID Entrance exam name | NID DAT 2026 |
NID official website for admissions | admissions.nid.edu |
NID admission stages 2026 | Stage 1 - NID DAT Prelims Stage 2 - NID DAT Mains |
NID DAT full form | National Institute of Design - Design Aptitude Test |
National Institute of Design has announced the NID admission dates 2026 through the official brochure at admissions.nid.edu. Aspirants looking for admission to the NID courses must know the latest updates with all the dates. Here are some NID important dates 2026 that should not be missed by the aspirants.
Events | Dates | ||
|---|---|---|---|
Availability of NID admission forms start date | September 11, 2025 | ||
| NID Application form last date | December 1, 2025 | ||
NID DAT admit card date | Prelims - December 11, 2025 Mains - February 2026 (MDes) Mains - April 2026 (BDes) | ||
NID exam date | Prelims - December 21, 2025 Mains - March to April 2026 (MDes) Mains - May 2026 (BDes) | ||
NID DAT result date | Exam name | MDes | BDes |
Prelims | February 17, 2026 | April 7, 2026 | |
Mains | May 2026 | May 2026 | |
National Institute of Design is the leading design institution in India offering admission to design aspirants. Candidates willing to obtain NID admission 2026 should go through the NID 2026 admission process. The applicants should check the NID eligibility criteria 2026 before proceeding to apply. Aspirants applying for Bachelor of Design (BDes) and Master of Design (MDes) programmes need to appear for the NID DAT exam 2026.
NID DAT is a national level entrance exam conducted once in a year that comprises of two stages - Prelims and Mains. Candidates who qualify in the NID prelims exam will only be eligible to appear for the NID Mains exam. The NID DAT mains exam for MDes consists of a Studio test and an Interview and for BDes it is a studio sensitivity test and In-person sensitivity test. NID DAT Merit list 2026 will be prepared based on the candidates performance from the NID DAT mains exam. The selected candidates should register and attend the NID 2026 counselling process for seat confirmation.
To obtain NID admission, the applicants should meet the NID eligibility criteria 2026. The authorities will specify the NID DAT eligibility criteria 2026 at the official website - admissions.nid.edu. Candidates are hence advised to check the NID DAT 2026 eligibility criteria before applying for any of the courses. The NID eligibility criteria for BDes and MDes are provided as below.
NID offers a BDes programme for a 4 year duration. The eligibility criteria for BDes includes age limit and academic qualification that are described as follows.
| Category | Age Limit |
| Indian Nationals in General Category & General EWS Category | Candidates must have born on or after July 1, 2005 |
| Indian Nationals in Reserved Category (OBC-NCL, SC, ST) | Candidates must have born on or after July 1, 2002 |
| Indian Nationals in PwD Reserved Category | Candidates must have born on or after July 1, 2000 |
| Foreign Nationals in Overseas (Supernumerary) Category | Candidates must have born on or after July 1, 2005 |
Candidates who have passed class 12 in any stream (science, arts, commerce, humanities) from any recognized board such as CBSE, IB, ICSE or equivalent are eligible to apply.
Candidates who appear for 10+2 in that academic year are also eligible to apply.
NID offers MDes programme for a duration of 2.5 years. The MDes eligibility criteria includes age limit and also academic qualification described below.
Category | Age limit |
For Indian Nationals in General Category & General EWS Category | Candidates must have born on or after July 1, 1994 |
For Indian Nationals in Reserved Category (OBC-NCL, SC, ST) | Candidates must have born on or after July 1, 1991 |
For Indian Nationals in PwD Reserved Category | Candidates must have born on or after July 1, 1989 |
For the Foreign Nationals in Overseas (Supernumerary) Category | Candidates must have born on or after July 1, 1994 |
To be eligible for the NID MDes programmes, the candidates must have one of the following qualifications:
Minimum 4-year of bachelor degree in any specialisation, after 12th standard or equivalent to 12th from any university and/or institute recognized by the law in India.
(or)
Minimum 4-year full-time diploma of duration in Design/ Fine Arts/ Applied Arts/ Architecture, after 12th standard or equivalent to 12th standard, from university and/or institute recognized by the law in India.
(or)
Minimum of 3-year bachelor degree in any specialisation, after 12th standard or equivalent to 12th standard from university and/or institute recognized by the law in India.
Candidates who are in their final year of bachelor degree / full-time diploma programme are also eligible to apply.
Candidates willing to pursue BDes or MDes courses can go through the following list to know about the NID admission process according to campus. The list gives complete features of each NID campus, to help the candidates.
Official website: nid.edu/about/campuses/ahmedabad-campus
NID’s main campus is the NID Ahmedabad which offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in various design disciplines. Aspirants can go through to check the NID Ahmedabad admissions.
Course Offered | Disciplines Offered | NID Admission Process |
Bachelor of Design (BDes) |
| NID DAT Prelims + NID DAT Mains |
Master of Design (MDes) |
| NID DAT Prelims + NID DAT Mains (studio test + personal interview ) |
Official website: nid.edu/about/campuses/gandhinagar-campus
NID Gandhinagar campus offers postgraduate courses as MDes. The below table provides the course information and NID admission process for Gandhinagar Campus.
Course Offered | Disciplines Offered | NID Admission Process |
Master of Design (MDes) |
| NID DAT Prelims + NID DAT Mains (studio test + personal interview) |
Official website: nid.edu/about/campuses/bengaluru-campus
NID Bengaluru Campus also offers postgraduate programmes in design. Candidates can check the table below for the NID admission process at Bengaluru campus.
Course Offered | Disciplines offered | NID Admission Process |
Master of Design (MDes) |
| NID DAT Prelims + NID DAT Mains (studio test + personal interview) |
NID campus at Andhra Pradesh is also one of the campuses of the National Institute of Design, which offers undergraduate courses in design. Candidates can check the NID Admission process Andhra Pradesh as below.
Course Offered | Disciplines offered | NID Admission Process |
Bachelors of Design (BDes) |
| NID DAT Prelims + NID DAT Mains |
Official website: nidh.ac.in
NID Haryana (Kurukshetra) Campus is also a new campus which offers bachelor courses in design. The design aspirants can check the NID Haryana admission process provided below.
Course Offered | Disciplines | NID Admission Process |
|---|---|---|
Bachelor of Design (BDes) |
| NID DAT Prelims + NID DAT Mains |
Official Website: nidmp.ac.in
The NID Madhya Pradesh campus offers undergraduate design courses. The NID Madhya Pradesh admission process from the below table.
Course Offered | Discipline offered | NID Admission Process |
|---|---|---|
Bachelor of Design - BDes |
| NID DAT Prelims + NID DAT Mains |
Official website: nidj.ac.in
The new campus of the National Institute of Design, Assam offers only bachelor courses in design. The NID Assam admission process is provided below in the table.
| Course Offered | Discipline offered | NID Admission Process |
|---|---|---|
Bachelors of Design - BDes |
| NID DAT Prelims + NID DAT Mains |
Candidates should register for the NID entrance exam 2026 in online mode. The NID 2026 application form is available at the official website - admissions.nid.edu. The candidates who register successfully will receive the NID admission login credentials at their registered email id. Aspirants willing to pursue design courses need to fill the NID application form 2026 and submit it online. The applicants should submit the application form before the NID 2026 application form last date. During the NID application process, candidates have to pay the NID application fee provided in the official brochure as per the category.
| Category | Application Fee |
|---|---|
General/General EWS/OBC-NCL | Rs. 3000/- |
| Female candidates (Except SC, ST & PwD) | Rs. 2000/- |
SC and ST candidates | Rs. 1500/- |
| PwD candidates | Rs. 500/- |
| Third Gender | Rs. 500/- |
Overseas (supernumerary) | US $ 125 |
Category | Application Fees | |
Discipline 1 | Discipline 2 | |
General/General EWS/OBC-NCL | Rs. 3000/- | Rs. 6000/- |
| Female candidates (Except SC, ST & PwD) | Rs. 2000/- | Rs. 4000/- |
SC and ST candidates | Rs. 1500/- | Rs. 3000/- |
| PwD candidates | Rs. 500/- | Rs. 1000/- |
| Third Gender | Rs. 500/- | Rs. 1000/- |
Overseas (supernumerary) | US $ 125 | US $ 250 |
The NID 2026 Prelims score will only be used to shortlist the candidates for NID DAT Mains exam. Candidates should be aware that the NID Prelims score will not be carried forward as any weightage for the NID 2026 Mains exam. The NID weightages for BDes and MDes are as follows.
BDes tests | Weightage |
Studio sensitivity test | 60% |
In-Person sensitivity test | 40% |
MDes tests | Weightage |
Studio test | 40% |
Interviews | 60% |
NID counselling is the final stage to offer NID admission 2026. The authorities will conduct the NID counselling process for the students who will be shortlisted in the DAT prelims and DAT mains exams. The selected candidates need to undergo through a document verification process and confirm their seat allotment by making admission fee payment. The NID admission seat allocation will be based on the candidate’s merit list, category, campus preference and the seat availability.
The NID authorities will release the NID DAT 2026 cutoff online for the entrance exams - prelims and mains. NID DAT cutoff is the minimum score required for the candidates to move for the further level of NID admission. The authorities will release the NID cutoff 2026 as per the schedule. The NID 2026 cutoff will be prepared based on certain factors such as the total number of students who appeared for the exam, availability of seats, category reservations, NID DAT exam difficulty levels, and the previous year's cutoff trend. The candidates who meet the NID cutoff marks will be eligible for NID admission to the desired campus, subject to the seat availability, the rank and the score obtained by the candidates.
The National Institute of Design offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses in design. NID admission fees 2026 varies according to the campus, and also the candidate’s category. The NID admission 2026 fee includes NID course fees, student development fund, security deposit, hostel fee, mess charges, and alumni association membership fee.
The NID 2026 fee structure will be released at admissions.nid.edu. The NID admission fees for all campuses such as Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Bengaluru, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, and Assam will be mage available on their respective websites as well.
NID authorities will release the NID 2026 seat matrix as per each campus and the programme through the official brochure on the official website - admissions.nid.edu. NID offers BDes and MDes courses in different specialisations such as Industrial Design, Communication Design, Textile and Apparel Design, and Ceramic and Glass Design. The following tables provide the NID seat matrix for all NID campuses.
Faculty of Communication Design
Discipline | Number of seats (BDes) | Number of seats (MDes) |
|---|---|---|
Animation Film Design | 19 | 19 |
Exhibition Design | 13 | - |
Film & Video Communication | 13 | 19 |
Graphic Design | 19 | 19 |
Faculty of Industrial Design
Discipline | Number of seats (BDes) | Number of seats (MDes) |
Ceramic & Glass Design | 13 | 12 |
Furniture & Interior Design | 13 | 19 |
Product Design | 19 | 19 |
Faculty of Textile, Apparel, Lifestyle and Accessory Design
Discipline | Number of seats (BDes) | Number of seats (MDes) |
Textile and Apparel Design | 19 | 19 |
Discipline | Number of seats (BDes) |
Communication Design | 25 |
Industrial Design | 25 |
Textile and Apparel Design | 25 |
Discipline | Number of seats (BDes) |
Communication Design | 25 |
Industrial Design | 25 |
Textile and Apparel Design | 25 |
Discipline | Number of seats (BDes) |
Communication Design | 25 + 4 Overseas |
Industrial Design | 25 + 4 Overseas |
Textile and Apparel Design | 25 + 3 Overseas |
Discipline | Number of seats (BDes) |
Communication Design | 25 |
Industrial Design | 25 |
Textile and Apparel Design | 25 |
Discipline | Number of seats (MDes) |
Photography Design | 19 |
Toy and Game Design | 12 |
Transportation and Automobile Design | 19 |
| New Media Design | 19 |
| Strategic Design Management | 19 |
| Apparel Design | 19 |
| Lifestyle Accessory Design | 19 |
Discipline | Number of seats (MDes) |
Universal Design | 19 |
Digital Game Design | 19 |
Information Design | 19 |
| Interaction Design | 19 |
| Design for Retail Experience | 19 |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The NID application form 2026 has been released on September 11, 2025.
There are 2 stages of the NID entrance examination. NID Prelims and NID Mains. The candidates who clear the NID prelims will be eligible to appear for NID mains examination.
Candidates should register for NID 2026 admission by applying in online mode on the official website - admissions.nid.edu.
National Institute of Design - NID offers undergraduate, postgraduate, and Ph.D courses in design. They are Bachelor of Design (BDes), Master of Design (MDes), and Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Design.
The cost of NID exam is separate for the candidates of all categories.
The NID minimum score cutoff depends on the factors as the number of total applications received, number of students appeared for the test, seat availability.
On Question asked by student community
Hello,
Yes, if you are in Class 12, you are eligible to sit for the NID DAT 2026 (BDes) exam. The National Institute of Design allows students who are in their final year of Class 12 or have already passed to apply.
To know more access below mentioned link:
https://design.careers360.com/articles/nid-admission-2026
Hope it helps.
You can get the NIT DAT SYLLABUS, updated version from careers 360 in detail from careers 360 article. Follow the link given from The link of the syllabus article is given below from careers 360
https://design.careers360.com/articles/nid-dat-syllabus-2026
Yes you are eligible to appear for NID DAT for the M.Des programme. Since you are in final make sure you will have completed your BA by the required deadline. Also go through the specific specializations you want to apply for, some may require certain specific backgrounds to be eligible to apply for them. You can find more details here design.careers360.com/articles/nid-dat-eligibility-criteria
Hello,
To prepare for M.des exams like CEED or NID DAT, here are some points which you can follow:
Understand the pattern – focus on creativity, design aptitude, and problem-solving.
Practice sketching daily and improve visualization.
Study basics of color, form, and design concepts.
Solve previous papers and build a strong portfolio.
Stay consistent and observe everyday designs for new ideas.
THANKU.
Hi daksh
As 563 rank in nid dat exam cannot guarantee admission in designing college but it could be a good chance to explore some campus as if you are not from general category as category role plays an important role . But now you can do one thing focus on your strengthening your protofile or preparing for the studio test (bdes) or interview (mdes).
Thanks.
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