The National Institute of Design will notify the NID mains exam date 2026 on its official website- admissions.nid.edu. The NID mains 2026 is the second stage in the NID entrance exam. Candidates who are shortlisted in the NID DAT 2026 prelims will be invited to participate in the NID 2026 mains. In this article, get the NID mains exam date 2026 as per past year trends, and other details.
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Candidates must appear for all components of the NID mains exam to be able to secure NID admission. As per the revised NID 2026 selection criteria, only the scores obtained in NID mains will be considered for final selection.
The NID mains 2026 will be conducted across several days in offline mode. Candidates have to appear for the NID mains 2026 at the designated exam centres. The NID Mains exam for B.Des and M.Des programmes is expected to be conducted separately.
The table below provides the tentative dates for the NID Mains exam 2026 as per trends seen last year.
Particulars | Dates |
NID B.Des mains exam date 2026 | Fourth week of April 2026 to First week of May 2026 |
NID M.Des mains exam date 2026 | First week of March 2026 to First week of April 2026 |
The NID Mains exam is the second stage in the NID 2026 admission process. The NID syllabus for the mains is designed to assess the candidate's creative aptitude, practical skills, and overall personality. Only the score in the NID mains exam will be considered for the final selection of the candidate.
The NID B.Des mains consists of a studio sensitivity test and an in-person sensitivity test, while the NID M.Des mains consists of a studio test and an interview. For NID M.Des mains, a faculty stream-specific studio test will be conducted for all disciplines under each faculty stream; however, interviews will be conducted discipline-wise.
Particulars | Weightage |
Studio Sensitivity Test | 60% |
In-person Sensitivity Test | 40% |
Particulars | Weightage |
Studio Test | 40% |
Interviews | 60% |
The National Institute of Design has notified that the candidates qualifying for NID B.Des mains will be 1.5 times the number of seats available. The authorities have not specifically mentioned the number of students who will be called for the NID M.Des mains exam.
On Question asked by student community
Dear Student,
For NID DAT exam preparation, you can follow the preparation tips provided by Careers360. The article covers important aspects such as understanding the exam pattern and syllabus, choosing the right study material, practising previous-year papers, and taking mock tests.
Use these strategies
Hello Student,
To start your NID DAT and UCEED preparation, begin with the syllabus, exam pattern, and previous years' question papers. You can also refer to the Careers360 preparation resources and sample papers for regular practice using the links provided below.
No, the NID DAT Prelims paper is not exactly the same for B.Des and M.Des aspirants.
You can check these resources for more clarity:
https://design.careers360.com/articles/nid-dat-sample-papers
https://design.careers360.com/articles/nid-mdes-previous-year-question-papers-with-solution
Hello Dear Student,
Could you provide more information so that i could help you further
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