Indian Institute of Art & Design Admissions 2025
Associated with FDCI, CII & IIFTI | Merit-cum-means scholarships to deserving students
NID DAT and UCCED are both very reputed examinations in the field of design. Many students who want to study design often wonder NID vs UCEED which is better for them. To figure it out, it's important to look closely at each exam and see which one fits best with what students want to achieve. These exams are conducted at a national level to select students for undergraduate programmes in designing. NID, known as The National Institute of Design conducts NID DAT exam once every year. In similar manner the UCEED exam is conducted once a year by IIT Bombay to grant admission to various B.Des courses across IITs and other reputed institutions in India. Read the complete article to known NID vs UCEED which one is better.
Particulars | NID-DAT | UCEED |
Exam Name | National Institute of Design- Design Aptitude Test | Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design |
Conducting Authority | National Institute of Design (NID) | Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay |
Application Form Start Dates | September 3, 2024 | First week of October |
Application Form Fee | Rs. 3000 | Rs. 3800 |
Exam Pattern | Prelims - Part 1 MCQ and subjective type question Part 2- drawing Mains- Personal Interview and Studio Test | Part A- NAT, MCQ, MSQ Part B- Drawing skills |
Eligibility Criteria |
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Participating Colleges | NID Ahmedabad, NID Madhya Pradesh, NID Haryana, NID Andhra Pradesh and NID Assam | IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Hyderabad, IIITDM Jabalpur, IIT Guwahati and IIT Roorkee |
Fees | Rs. 15.83 Lakhs | Rs. 6-10 Lakhs |
Courses Offered | Graphic Design Film and Video Communication Exhibition Design Animation Film Design Ceramic and Glass Design Furniture and Interior Design Product Design Textile Design | Product design, user experience design, interaction design, visual design, communication design |
NID DAT - The NID Design Aptitude Test is conducted once a year to choose the best candidates for admission in NID Ahmedabad and other campuses. The NID application form is usually released in early September. The application fee for NID exam is Rs. 3000, which can go up to Rs. 4500 if the application fee is submitted late.
UCEED - UCEED full form stands for undergraduate common entrance exam of design. The UCEED application form is released tentatively in the first week of October. The UCEED regsitration form fee is Rs. 3600. However, there is a concession for female, SC, ST and PWD candidates as they need to pay only Rs. 1800. For late fees the candidate needs to pay Rs. 500 extra for each category.
In order to get admission in IITs or NID, candidates are required to meet the eligibility criteria laid down by the concerned authorities. The eligibility criteria include conditions and requirements related to minimum qualification, age limit, minimum aggregate marks and more.
For UG admission through NID DAT, the students must know the following NID DAT eligibility criteria:
Aspirants must be under the age of 20 years in the year of application. However there is a age relaxation of 3 years for OBC-NCL, SC and ST candidates and a 5 year age relaxation for PWD candidates.
Aspirants must have passed the 12th or equivalent examination in any stream science, arts or commerce. Or the candidate must be appearing for the 12th examination or equivalent in the year of application.
Aspirants seeking admission to BDes course at IITs or other UCEED colleges must know the following eligibility criteria for UCEED set by the conducting authority. UCEED eligibility criteria is as follows:
For the candidates appearing for the UCEED exam, they must know the age limit which is 23. The candidate must be under the age of 23 on or after October 1 of the year of application. There is a relaxation of 5 years for SC, ST and PWD candidates
The candidates can only appear for the UCEED exam, a maximum of two times and that too in consecutive years.
The candidates must have passed all the exams in 12th class or equivalent from a recognised institution.
There are some colleges which state that science stream is compulsory. And some colleges which state Maths is compulsory as a subject. Students must check the eligibility criteria of individual colleges before applying to them.
NID DAT exam consists of two stages: The Prelims and the Mains. Prelims is the first stage of the NID DAT exam which evaluates the candidate's ability in design aptitude and logical reasoning and a test to evaluate visual observation, creativity etc. Based on the NID DAT exam pattern, the NID question paper is a mixture of multiple choice questions, subjective type questions, and sketching. The NID DAT prelims have two parts. Part 1 consists of MCQ questions and subjective-type answers. Part 2 consists of drawing, sketching, and model making. There is no negative marking for NID DAT. The candidates who are shortlisted from the Prelims exam, need to appear for the mains exam, which involves studio tests and personal interviews.
UCEED exam is a three-hour exam consisting of 300 marks. UCEED question paper consists of two parts- Part A and Part B. Further, the UCEED paper A consists of three sections- numerical answer type (NAT), multiple select questions (MSQ), and multiple choice question (MCQ). The total mark for UCEED part A is 200. As per UCEED exam pattern, Part B consists of two questions of 50 marks each which evaluates the student's sketching and design aptitude. There is a negative marking in UCEED.
Many reputed institutes accept the score of UCEED. However, the top IITs that participate in the UCEED exam to intake students are IIT Delhi, IIT Bombay, IIT Hyderabad, IIITDM Jabalpur, IIT Roorkee and IIT Guwahati. However, IIITDM Jabalpur must have a science stream with physics, chemistry, and biology or maths as compulsory subjects. IIT Guwahati and IIT Roorkee prescribe a science stream with mathematics as a compulsory subject.
The total number of seats offered by each college is given in the seat matrix below:
College | Number of Seats |
37 | |
IIT Delhi | 20 |
26 | |
60 | |
20 | |
IIT Guwahati | 56 |
NID DAT gives access to the students across the three NID campuses to join the B.Des. The campuses are in Ahmedabad, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Assam.
Colleges | Seats Available |
NID Ahmedabad | 128 |
NID Madhya Pradesh | 75 |
NID Haryana | 86 |
NID Andhra Pradesh | 75 |
NID Assam | 75 |
NID - The various BDes courses offered at NID are:
College | Courses Offered |
NID Ahmedabad | Graphic Design Film and Video Communication Exhibition Design Animation Film Design Ceramic and Glass Design Furniture and Interior Design Product Design Textile Design |
NID vs UCEED: Courses offered in IITs are:
Institution | BDes Courses offered |
IIT Bombay | Industrial design, communication design, animation design, interaction design, mobility and vehicle design |
IIT Delhi | Product design, visual design |
IIT Guwahati | Industrial design, communication design, ergonomics, usability engineering, design management |
IIT Hyderabad | Product design, visual design, spatial design, interaction design, user experience design |
IIT Roorkee | Product design, material and manufacturing, ergonomics, user experience design, interaction design, visual design |
IIITDM Jabalpur | Product design, visual design, interaction design, communication design, craft design |
Both IIT and NID have good placement opportunities for the candidates.
Table for IIT Placement Report:
Placement Details | Salary Offered |
---|---|
IIT highest salary offered | 1.10 Crore |
IIT lowest salary offered | 6-8 LPA |
Table of NID Placement Reports:
Placement Details | Salary Offered |
---|---|
NID highest salary offered during the industry interface | 46 LPA |
NID lowest salary offered during the industry interface | 4 LPA |
Both are very reputed institutions in terms of design. It depends on the candidates interest in the course he wants to opt for and other factors like fee and living conditions. The candidate needs to qualify the respective examinations for each institution.
The UCEED exam grant admission into IIT for B.Des course and the NID exam grants admission to NID campuses for B. Des.
NID is reputed for its placements and students can expect a salary of around 15 lakh per annum.
No, the marks do not matter, but the student has to qualify 10 + 2 or equivalent examinations.
Students can appear for NID once a year, after their 10 + 2 exam till they are 20 years of age.
Hello,
If you've made the payment for UCEED 2025 and the amount has been deducted from your account but isn't showing up in the application form, here's what you should do:
Wait for Some Time : Sometimes, due to technical delays or processing issues, payments can take a few hours or even up to a day to reflect in the application portal. Waiting for 24 hours before taking further action is advisable.
Check for Confirmation : Verify if you received a payment confirmation email or message from your bank or the payment gateway. This can help assure you that the transaction was processed.
Contact Support : If the payment doesn’t reflect after a reasonable waiting period, reach out to the UCEED application helpdesk or support team. Provide them with your payment transaction details (e.g., transaction ID, date, and amount) for their review.
Avoid Making Duplicate Payments : Do not make another payment until you are certain that the first transaction has failed. Duplicate payments can be inconvenient and may require additional time to process refunds.
If it continues not to show up after 24-48 hours, getting in touch with UCEED's official support is your best course of action.
To know more about UCEED 2025, visit : https://design.careers360.com/articles/uceed-2025
Hope it helps !
Hello,
To attend live classes for your registered free crash course for UCEED, NID, and NIFT, check your communication channels provided during the registration through an email or a confirmation message. For general steps, you may follow:
Check your Email: You should see a few emails from your course provider, which most probably include joining instructions, especially the platform (for instance, Zoom, Google Meet, etc.) with either the link or even the login credentials.
Dashboard on the Course Platform website: Most course providers would have an official website and application. They usually set up a dashboard where students can view live class timings, links, and uploaded content.
Contact Support: If you can't find the information, try contacting the course provider's support team for assistance.
Ensure that you have good internet access and applications that are enabled to attend real-time classes without interruptions.
IIT Bombay has 30 seats for b.des with 30% reservation. To get admission to IIT Bombay, rank should be between 1-14 for the open category. So, you must secure AIR 14 to secure a seat in IIT Bombay.
Safe score in umeed for b .des is between 115 and 125 to get b.des. Various IITs accept umeed score like IIT Delhi, IIT Roorkee, IIT Guwahati etc
IIT Bombay has the highest rank to get a seat than any other IIT for b. des.
Hello,
In exams like NID, NIFT, and UCEED, the use of scales, rulers, and other technical drawing instruments is generally not allowed. These exams focus on assessing creativity, design thinking, and freehand drawing skills. Candidates are expected to draw freehand to demonstrate their ability to think visually without relying on tools. It's essential to carefully check the exam guidelines for any updates regarding permitted tools and materials.
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.
Career as a video game designer is filled with excitement as well as responsibilities. A video game designer is someone who is involved in the process of creating a game from day one. He or she is responsible for fulfilling duties like designing the character of the game, the several levels involved, plot, art and similar other elements. Individuals who opt for a career as a video game designer may also write the codes for the game using different programming languages.
Depending on the video game designer job description and experience they may also have to lead a team and do the early testing of the game in order to suggest changes and find loopholes.
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As part of the interior design career, individuals should also be aware of certain inspection regulations. Interior designing is to enhance the interior of a building to achieve an aesthetically pleasing environment. This is a part of both science and arts to make a certain place healthier and more peaceful for the people.
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Students can opt for various product design degrees such as B.Des and M.Des to become product designers. Industrial product designer prepares 3D models of designs for approval and discusses them with clients and other colleagues. Individuals who opt for a career as a product designer estimate the total cost involved in designing.
A graphic designer career designs products, displays, posters, hoardings, logos, and marketing materials. Graphic designers can get employment in publications, advertising and marketing firms, and much more. A graphic is a form of vision that can be associated with art, imagination, or expression. A graphic designer creates eye-catching images by combining layout, colour theory, and graphics.
A graphic designer combines technical skills with artistic vision to provide visual content. He or she develops layouts for books, brochures, advertisements, and websites using design tools. A graphic designer closely collaborates with teams or clients to comprehend project specifications and brand standards.
The concepts for manufactured products such as cars, home appliances, electronics and toys are developed by industrial designers. They combine art, business and technology to produce daily goods that people need. Individuals who opt for a career as Industrial Designers operate in a number of industries. Ironically, manufacturers employ only 29 per cent of industrial designers directly. Students can pursue Visual Communication to become Industrial Designer.
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No. 1 Design & Fashion Institute by ASSOCHAM, India Today, Outlook and The Week rankings
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Pre-placement as well as placements offered
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