NID DAT M.Des Exam 2025: Registration (Started), Fees, Dates, Eligibility, Pattern, Process

NID DAT M.Des Exam 2025: Registration (Started), Fees, Dates, Eligibility, Pattern, Process

Edited By Rajyalaxmi Venkatapuram | Updated on Sep 05, 2024 11:57 PM IST | #NID DAT

The National Institute of Design (NID) announced the NID DAT MDes application dates 2025 at admissions.nid.edu. The NID DAT MDes application form 2025 has been released on September 3, 2024. Aspirants seeking MDes admission at list of NIDs in India are required to appear and qualify for the entrance exam. The NID DAT exam 2025 will be held on January 5. Continue reading for more details on NID DAT MDes admission 2025.

NID DAT M.Des 2025 - Overview

The National Institute of Design conducts a national-level exam ‘NID DAT’, that consists of two parts - ‘Prelims’ and ‘Mains’ exams. NID offers MDes programme at its three campuses, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, and Gandhinagar. The applicants have to appear for both the prelims and mains examinations to obtain admission to the MDes programme at NID. To know more about the MDes programme admission information, the aspirants have to go through the complete article.

NID DAT MDes 2025 - Overview

NID Particulars

Details

Full exam name

National Institute of Design - Design Aptitude Test

Short exam name

NID DAT

Type of exam

Postgraduate - PG

Level of exam

National

Exam medium

English

Number of stages

2 - Prelims and Mains

Application mode

Online

NID DAT Exam Date 2025 for MDes

The most crucial part for the applicants is to know about the NID DAT MDes 2025 application dates. Aspirants are to check the below dates to proceed further.

NID DAT MDes Application & Prelims Exam Dates 2025

NID DAT Exam Particulars

Dates

NID DAT MDes application form 2025 start date

September 3, 2024

NID DAT MDes 2025 application form last date

December 3, 2024

Application form correction window dates

December 4 to 9, 2024

NID DAT Prelims admit card 2025 release date

December 24, 2024

NID DAT 2025 Prelims exam

January 5, 2025

NID DAT Prelims exam 2025 result

February 17, 2025


NID DAT MDes Mains Exam Dates 2025

NID DAT Mains admit card 2025 release date

February 24, 2025

NID DAT 2025 Mains exam

March 3 to April 6, 2025

NID DAT Mains exam 2025 result

May 6, 2025

Seat allotment, semester fee payment & uploading of documents

May 6 and 7, 2025

Provisional offer letter

May 20, 2025

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NID DAT MDes 2025 Eligibility Criteria

The applicants must meet the NID DAT MDes eligibility criteria 2025 before proceeding to fill the application form. The NID DAT MDes 2025 eligibility criteria for the aspirants are described as follows.

Age limitations

  • General category and general EWS category candidates must be born on or after July 1, 1993

  • OBC, OBC-NCL, SC, ST - candidates must be born on or after July 1, 1990

  • PWD candidates born on or after July 1, 1988

Educational qualifications required

  • Bachelor's degree of 4 years in any specialisation from any recognized institute/university, after class 12 or equivalent, or

  • Full-time diploma of 4 years in design/fine arts/applied arts/architecture from any recognised university or institute, after class 12 or equivalent, or

  • Bachelor's degree of 3 years in any specialisation from any recognized institute/university, after class 12 or equivalent

  • Candidates in their final year of bachelor's degree / full-time diploma programme may also apply


NID DAT MDes 2025 Application Form

The NID DAT MDes application form 2025 released online at admissions.nid.edu on September 3, 2024. Aspirants need to check the NID DAT MDes 2025 application form last date, i.e December 3, 2024 and submit it before the deadline. Below are the steps provided for filling out the NID DAT MDes 2025 application form.

Steps

Process

Registration

  • Applicants are to visit the official website - admissions.nid.edu and click on register.

  • Update valid mobile number and email address as every communication will be through SMS/email.

  • Applicants will be allocated with login credentials such as the user Id and the password.

Application form

  • Applicants to log in using the login credentials and fill out the NID DAT MDes application form 2025.

  • Update personal and educational details.

  • Pay the application fee online using debit/credit card/net banking (fee amount based on category)

  • Upload the required scanned documents.

  • Click ‘save & proceed’.


Required documents to be uploaded

Documents

Required file size

Coloured scanned copy of the recent passport-size photograph

Between 50 KB - 200 KB in JPEG format

Scanned signature of the candidate

Between 50 KB - 200 KB in JPEG format

General EWS category certificate issued by the competent authority

Max 1 MB in PDF format

OBC-NCL/SC/ST category certificate issued by the competent authority

Max 1 MB in PDF format

PWD certificate, if applicable

Max 1 MB in PDF format

Overseas category candidates have to upload the first and last pages of their passport

Max 1 MB in PDF/JPEG format


NID DAT MDes Registration Fees

Category

Application fee

Application fee + Late fee


Discipline 1

Discipline 2

Discipline 1

Discipline 2

General/General-EWS/ OBC-NCL

Rs. 3000

Rs. 6000

Rs. 4500

Rs. 9000

SC/ST/Gen-PwD/ Gen-EWS-PwD/ OBC-NCL-PwD/ SC-PwD/ST-PwD

Rs. 1500

Rs. 3000

Rs. 2250

Rs. 4500

Overseas (Supernumerary)

Rs. 5000

Rs. 10000

Rs. 7500

Rs. 15000


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NID DAT BDes 2025 Complete Guide
NID DAT BDes eBook gives in-depth information about the entrance test including the list of courses offered by NID, exam pattern, seat matrix, section-wise analysis, preparation strategy and more.
Download EBook

NID DAT Exam Centres Prelims 2025

The authorities released the list of NID DAT Prelims 2025 exam centres through the official brochure. The applicants have to select their preferred NID DAT exam centre during the process of NID application submission. Below is the provisional list of the NID DAT Prelims exam centres 2025 where the exam will be conducted in the following cities in India.

  • Ahmedabad

  • Bengaluru

  • Bhopal

  • Bhubaneshwar

  • Chandigarh

  • Chennai

  • Dehradun

  • Guwahati

  • Hyderabad

  • Jaipur

  • Kochi

  • Kolkata

  • Kurukshetra

  • Lucknow

  • Mumbai

  • Nagpur

  • New Delhi

  • Patna

  • Raipur

  • Ranchi

  • Thiruvananthapuram

  • Vijayawada

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Pre-placement as well as placements offered

NID DAT Exam Centres Mains 2025

The candidates will be shortlisted for the NID DAT mains exam based on the scores of the NID DAT prelims exam 2025. The NID DAT mains exam consists of 2 parts: Studio test and interviews.

Note: The NID DAT exam centre mains 2025 will be released later.

NID DAT MDes Admit Card 2025

The candidates need to use their login credentials to view and download the NID DAT MDes 2025 admit card. The hard copy of the downloaded NID DAT MDes admit card 2025 has to be brought by the candidate to the exam centre on the exam day. Also, the candidates must bring a valid photo identity card along with the NID DAT MDes admit card.

Steps to download the NID DAT 2025 MDes admit card

  • Visit the official website - admissions.nid.edu

  • Select the ‘Download NID DAT MDes admit card’ link

  • Use login credentials and click ‘Submit’ button

  • Download the NID DAT MDes admit card

  • Take a printout of the NID DAT admit card

Details that will be mentioned in the NID DAT MDes admit card are:

  • Name of the candidate

  • Photograph of the candidate

  • Signature of the candidate

  • Category

  • Exam centre name

  • Exam date and time

  • Exam instructions

NID DAT MDes Exam Pattern 2025

The NID DAT exam 2025 comprises of two stages - Prelims and Mains. The NID DAT exam pattern will be released by the NID authorities. The NID DAT exam pattern for prelims and mains exam is different. Having the prior knowledge of the NID DAT exam pattern and the NID syllabus helps the candidates to crack the entrance exam in an easier way. Below provided is the each individual exam pattern.

NID DAT MDes Prelims Exam Pattern 2025

The NID DAT prelims MDes exam will be for total of 100 marks. The NID DAT MDes prelims exam consists of objective and subjective questions. The candidates who will be through in the NID DAT MDes prelims exam will be able to attempt the NID DAT mains exam.

NID DAT MDes Mains Exam Pattern 2025

The shortlisted candidates from the NID DAT prelims exam will be eligible to appear for the NID DAT MDes mains exam. There are 2 parts in NID DAT MDes mains exam which are the studio test and the interviews.

Studio test: Consists of tests in different formats and will be conducted in English only.

Interviews: Will be conducted immediately after the studio test and is separate for each discipline.

NID DAT MDes Result 2025

The NID DAT MDes 2025 results for Prelims will be declared by the authorities on February 17 and Mains results on May 6. The candidates will be able to check the NID DAT 2025 MDes results using their login credentials.

Weightages of DAT Prelims & DAT Mains for the final result

Programme

DAT Prelims

DAT Mains

MDes

30%

70% (Studio test - 40% & Interviews 30%)

Also check:

NID Full Form

NID DAT MDes Seat Allotment 2025

The NID offers MDes for 2.5 years duration at its Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Gandhinagar campuses. The candidates will be allocated with the seats based on the merit obtained and the choice during the registration process of NID DAT MDes Counselling 2025.

Provided are the number of seats allotted in each campus based on the programme specialisation for the previous academic year 2024.

Faculty of Communication Design

Discipline

Campus

Number of seats

Animation film design

Ahmedabad

19

Film and video communication

Ahmedabad

19

Graphic design

Ahmedabad

19

Photography design

Gandhinagar

19


Faculty of Industrial Design

Discipline

Campus

Number of seats

Ceramic and glass design

Ahmedabad

12

Furniture and interior design

Ahmedabad

19

Product design

Ahmedabad

19

Toy and game design

Gandhinagar

12

Transportation and automobile design

Gandhinagar

19

Universal design

Bengaluru

19


Faculty of Information Technology-Integrated Programmes

Discipline

Campus

Number of seats

Digital game design

Bengaluru

19

Information design

Bengaluru

19

Interaction design

Bengaluru

19

New media design

Gandhinagar

19


Faculty of Interdisciplinary Design Studies

Discipline

Campus

Number of seats

Design for retail experience

Bengaluru

19

Strategic design management

Gandhinagar

19


Faculty of Textile, Apparel, Lifestyle, and Accessory Design

Discipline

Campus

Number of seats

Apparel design

Gandhinagar

19

Lifestyle accessory design

Gandhinagar

19

Textile design

Ahmedabad

19


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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the NID DAT 2025 MDes registration start date?

The NID DAT MDes 2025 registrations were started on September 3, 2024.

2. In how many stages will be the NID DAT MDes 2025 exam conducted?

The NID DAT MDes 2025 exam will be conducted in two stages, i.e. Prelims and Mains.

3. What is the mode of NID DAT MDes application form 2025?

The aspirants need to apply for NID DAT MDes 2025 application form in online mode through admissions.nid.edu.

4. What is the NID DAT MDes application form fee for 2025?

The NID DAT MDes application fee differs from one category to the other. Please refer to the NID DAT MDes Registration Fees section for detailed information.

5. When will be the NID DAT MDes 2025 exam conducted?

The NID DAT 2025 MDes exam will be held in two parts - Prelims and Mains. Both of these tests will be conducted separately.  

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Questions related to NID DAT

Have a question related to NID DAT ?

Hello,

Yes, it's possible to prepare for the NID DAT 2025 exam on your own, even with limited time, by following these steps:

  1. Understand the Syllabus : Focus on key areas like design principles, creativity, visualization, and observation skills.
  2. Solve Previous Papers : Practice with past NID DAT papers to understand question types and patterns.
  3. Time Management : Dedicate daily hours to sketching, problem-solving, and revision.
  4. Strengthen Drawing Skills : Practice daily to improve speed and accuracy.
  5. Use Online Resources : Utilize free tutorials, sample papers, and design blogs.
  6. Mock Tests : Take regular mock exams to assess progress and manage time efficiently.

Hope it helps !

Hello,

There are numerous websites which give free study material and classes to prepare for entrance exams NID DAT, UCEED, or NIFT. Here are a few popular ones:

YouTube: YouTube has many educators as well as institutes, which have been uploading free video lectures on important topics, on aptitude for design, and how to give these exams. Useful content can be found in the channels "Design Coach" and "NID Preparation".

You can download free courses offered on websites like Coursera, edX, and Khan Academy on the topics of design principles, creativity, and problem-solving skills.

Official Websites: Both NID and UCEED and also NIFT would usually release sample papers and previous question papers for self-preparation.

Study Groups: One can join online forums or social media groups which are dedicated to NID, UCEED, and NIFT preparation for peer-to-peer learning assistance.

The resource utilization would bring in good preparation for the exams and, therefore, increase in confidence.

Hello,

Preparing for the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) entrance exam involves focusing on several key areas. Here’s a structured approach to get you started:

1. Understand the Exam Structure

Familiarize yourself with the NIFT entrance exam format:

  • General Ability Test (GAT): Tests general knowledge, current affairs, and quantitative ability.
  • Creative Ability Test (CAT): Assesses your creative and visual ability through sketching and design-based questions.
  • Situation Test (for B.Des): Evaluates your ability to create a design from given materials.
  • Group Discussion and Personal Interview (for M.Des/MFM): Tests your communication skills, understanding of the fashion industry, and design knowledge.

2. Gather Study Materials

  • For GAT: Use general knowledge books, current affairs magazines, and quantitative aptitude guides.
  • For CAT: Practice sketching and drawing regularly. Books on design and creativity can be useful.
  • For Situation Test: Practice creating models from various materials and understanding design principles.
  • For GD/PI: Prepare by staying updated on fashion trends, industry news, and developing a strong portfolio.

3. Create a Study Plan

  • Daily Study: Allocate time for each section based on your strengths and weaknesses.
  • Weekly Goals: Set goals for completing practice papers and revising key concepts.
  • Mock Tests: Regularly take mock tests to simulate the exam environment and improve time management.

4. Enroll in Coaching Classes (if needed)

Consider joining a coaching institute that specializes in NIFT preparation. They can provide structured guidance, practice tests, and expert feedback.

5. Work on Your Portfolio

If you’re applying for design courses, develop a strong portfolio showcasing your creative work. Include sketches, designs, and any relevant projects.

6. Refer to Previous Years’ Papers

Solving past years' question papers helps you understand the exam pattern and types of questions. It also aids in identifying important topics.

7. Stay Updated

  • Follow fashion industry news to stay informed about trends and innovations.
  • Read relevant books and articles about design and fashion.

8. Practice Creativity

Engage in activities that boost your creativity, such as drawing, painting, or crafting. Keep experimenting with new ideas and techniques.

By focusing on these areas, you'll build a solid foundation for the NIFT entrance exam. Good luck with your preparation!

You can also refer to the following articles to better understand the NIFT examination and its preperation strategy :-

1. https://design.careers360.com/articles/how-prepare-for-nift-entrance-exam

2. https://design.careers360.com/exams/nift-entrance-exam


Hope it helps !

No, diploma or polytechnic students are generally not eligible to apply for the NID DAT exam.
The eligibility criteria for NID DAT typically requires a 10+2 qualification or its equivalent. This means you must have completed your higher secondary education to be eligible for the exam.

I hope this information helps.


Stages of the Exam:

The PG NID entrance exam typically consists of two stages:

  • Prelims: This written test might include objective and subjective questions to assess your design aptitude, creativity, problem-solving skills, and knowledge of design principles.

  • Mains: Candidates who qualify in the prelims are called for the mains stage, which usually involves a studio test, design exercises, and sometimes a personal interview. The specific format might vary depending on the chosen M.Des. specialization.

Prelims Exam Pattern (General Expectations):

Here is a general idea of what the prelims might cover, though the specific weightage and question types can vary:

  • Design Aptitude: This section might assess your visual thinking, observation skills, ability to identify patterns, and spatial reasoning. Expect questions on visual perception, mental ability tests, and basic design principles.

  • Discipline-Specific Test (for some programs): Certain M.Des. specializations might have a separate test focusing on the specific design discipline.

  • General Aptitude Test: This section might include questions on analytical reasoning, verbal ability, and general knowledge.

Mains Exam Pattern (General Expectations):

The mains exam format is more program-specific, but might involve elements like:

  • Studio Test: This hands-on test assesses your design skills, creativity, and ability to translate ideas into visual form. The specific task or materials used can vary depending on the chosen specialization.

  • Design Exercises: You might be presented with design challenges or problems to solve creatively. This assesses your approach to design thinking and problem-solving.

  • Personal Interview (for some programs): Some specializations might have a personal interview to assess your motivation, interest in the field, and understanding of the program.

I hope it helps!

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