UPES B.Des Admissions 2026
Last Date to Apply: 25th Feb | Ranked #45 amongst Universities in India by NIRF | Ranked #1 in Academic Reputation in India by QS World University Rankings
The National Institute of Design (NID) conducts the NID DAT Mains for its UG and PG programmes. NID DAT Mains is the second stage of evaluating the candidates for design admission. NID DAT Mains comprises a studio test and an interview. The students who have scored above the NID DAT Prelims cutoff are eligible for NID 2026 mains studio test. NID studio test 2026 will be conducted on separate dates for BDes and MDes programmes. NID DAT 2026 studio test is conducted to evaluate the candidate's skills, creativity, understanding levels, and sensitivity. The NID Mains exam dates (tentative) for the studio test are provided in detail on this page based on the previous year's trends. Read the complete article to know more about the NID studio test 2026 dates.
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Candidates can check the NID studio test dates 2026 in detail in the table below.
Events | NID Dates 2026 |
NID DAT Mains admit card release date | Second week of April 2026 |
NID DAT Mains exam date | First week of May 2026 |
NID Mains result date | Third week of May 2026 |
Campus preference submission dates | Third week of May 2026 |
Request dates for rechecking of NID DAT Mains | Third week of May 2026 |
| NID BDes seat allotment, token fee payment and document upload date | Last week of May 2026 |
| NID DAT BDes provisional offer letter | Second week of June 2026 |
| NID DAT BDes payment of remaining semester fees | From second week of June 2026 |
| Subsequent round of seat allotment | To be announced later |
Events | NID 2026 MDes Dates |
NID DAT Mains admit card release date | February 23, 2026 |
NID DAT MDes studio test date | March 8, 2026 |
NID result for Mains | First week of May 2026 |
Request dates for rechecking of NID DAT Mains | First week of May 2026 |
| NID MDes seat allotment, token fee payment and document upload date | First week of May 2026 |
| NID DAT MDes provisional offer letter | Third week of May 2026 |
| NID DAT MDes payment of remaining semester fees | May 2026 |
| Subsequent round of seat allotment | To be announced later |
| Faculty Stream | Discipline | Date of the Interviews | Test Centre City for Interviews |
| Industrial Design | Ceramic & Glass Design | March 21-23, 2026 | Ahmedabad |
| Toy & Game Design | |||
| Furniture and Interior Design | March 21-25, 2026 | ||
| Product Design | |||
| Transportation and Automobile Design | |||
| Universal Design | |||
| Interdisciplinary Design Studies | Design for Retail Experience | March 21-25, 2026 | Bengaluru |
| Strategic Design Management | |||
| Textile, Apparel and Lifestyle Accessory Design (TALAD) | - Lifestyle Accessory Design | March 21-24, 2026 | |
| Gandhinagar | |||
| - Apparel Design | March 21-25, 2026 | ||
| - Textile Design | |||
| Communication Design (CD) | - Photography Design | March 27-30, 2026 | Ahmedabad |
| - Animation Film Design - Film & Video Communication | March 27-31, 2026 | ||
| - Graphic Design | March 27-April 1, 2026 | ||
| Faculty Stream | Discipline | Date of the Interviews | Test Centre City for Interviews |
| IT-Integrated Design (ITID) | - Digital Game Design - Information Design - New Media Design | March 27-31, 2026 2026 | Bengaluru |
| - Interaction Design | March 27-April 1, 2026 |
National Institute of Design is one of the most reputable exams that provide admissions to the undergraduate and postgraduate programmes based on the Design Aptitude Test called DAT. In short, it is called NID DAT 2026. NID offers various specialisations under Bachelor of Design (BDes) and Master of Design (MDes) courses.
NID provides admission to its courses based on the stages of the entrance exam. The 2 stages are NID Prelims and NID Mains. The shortlisted candidates from NID Prelims exam will only be eligible to appear for NID Mains. NID Mains exam comprises NID studio test and interview.
The NID Studio test included questions on specific topics like drawing and sketching, making of a model, group discussions, and presentations. Candidates need to check the NID interview questions for the NID studio test 2026.
NID Studio Test 2026 is the final stage of the admissions process at NID, where the candidates have to showcase their portfolios and appear for a personal interview. The NID 2026 studio test dates are provided above in the table according to the NID schedule. The NID Studio Test syllabus 2026 is based on the specialisation and may vary accordingly.
The authorities will release an interface for the aspirants to select the NID DAT 2026 Mains test centre. The NID 2026 studio test centre selection portal for BDes will be opened tentatively in April. All the updates will be through the official website only. Candidates to follow the steps below to select the NID studio test centre 2026.
Last Date to Apply: 25th Feb | Ranked #45 amongst Universities in India by NIRF | Ranked #1 in Academic Reputation in India by QS World University Rankings
No. 1 Design & Fashion Institute by ASSOCHAM, India Today, Outlook and The Week rankings
Note: The exact timings of the NID studio test and the test centre details will be communicated to the candidate through the NID Mains admit card.
Candidates can find the seating capacity at each of test centre as per the previous year to have an idea. However, the NID authorities will release the NID 2026 seating capacity as per the schedule.
Test centre city | Seating capacity |
Ahmedabad | 533 |
Bengaluru | 300 |
Andhra Pradesh | 300 |
Haryana | 450 |
Madhya Pradesh | 200 |
| Jorhat | 120 |
The authorities will release the NID mains admit card 2026 for MDes & BDes online at the official website. The candidates have to download the NID DAT 2026 Mains admit card accordingly.
Steps to download the NID 2026 Mains admit card are as follows.
The candidates who will appear for the NID DAT Mains studio test 2026, must prepare themselves to ace the exam smoothly. Aspirants to check the NID studio test sample papers PDF to get an idea about the paper pattern. The questions may not be the same. However, the candidates will get a clear picture of what type of questions will be asked and how to answer them in the specified time.
Check Design Colleges:
NID studio test previous year questions allow aspirants to gather more information about what to ask in the interview process. Candidates can also refer to some of the NID studio test previous year questions and answers for practice and guidance. These questions and answers can help you understand the pattern and difficulty level of the NID studio test 2026.
Question 1: Doodle Exercise - 12 boxes are given (4 on each sheet). Fill in the lines in the given boxes and do what you think. You can turn the box to any side. It would be great if you could give your sketch a title.
Question 2: Design a Playful Toy (No use of adhesive) with the following materials:
(Write about your model)
Question 3: Make an object using the following material:
The material should be appropriate for the given setting. Given is an image of a corporate house building with a desk, a chair, a laptop, and a background.
Question 4: Audio Visual Test
Visual Test:
Audio Test:
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Here are some of the tips mentioned below to prepare for the NID studio test.
Click for Top Design Entrance Exams
National Level | Institute Level |
NID DAT | |
The tasks included in the NID Studio test are as follows.
Also Check:
Book Names | Author/Publisher |
Creative Confidence | Tom Kelley and David Kelley |
100 Things Every Designer Needs to Know About People (Voices That Matter) | Weinschenk Susan |
Universal Principles of Design | William Lidwell |
Emotional Design: Why We Love (or Hate) Everyday Things | Don Norman |
The Design of Everyday Things | Don Norman |
Don’t make me think | Steve Krug |
The authorities will conduct the NID portfolio presentations and personal interview rounds separately for each of the specialisations. These interviews will be followed along with the NID Studio Test at an appropriate test centre venue. This interview session will be conducted to assess the candidate’s knowledge and interest in the field of design. The panel members of NID will interview the candidates based on their communication skills, professional attire, focus, and intellectual ability.
NOTE: The candidates should bring their portfolio that includes their original artwork, creative writings, 3D model portraits and posters, and graphic art.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Candidates who qualify in the NID DAT Prelims exam are eligible to appear in the DAT Mains exam. NID DAT Mains for the BDes course includes a Studio Sensitivity Test and In-Person Sensitivity Test, and the DAT Mains for MDes course includes studio test and interview.
The NID DAT 2026 studio test dates for MDes has been announcedd and the same will be held on March 8, 2026.
NID studio test includes the tasks of clay modelling, story illustrations, 3D model making, doodling exercises, wire moulding, psychometric test, and thematic appreciation, etc.
The NID studio test 2026 for BDes and MDes will be on different dates. The schedule will be released by the NID authorities as per the events.
NID DAT final result date 2026 for BDes and MDes will be tentatively in May.
NID studio test is a hands-on test for the students who clear their NID DAT entrance examination (Prelims).
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:
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
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
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
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