Difference Between NID and UCEED, Which is Better NID or UCEED?

NID DAT Vs UCEED: Highlights

The details given below about NID DAT and UCEED are based on the previous year's examination pattern. All the dates provided below are tentative, updated information will be announced soon:

NID VS UCEED: Registration Process

NID DAT - The NID Design Aptitude Test is conducted once a year to choose the best candidates for admission to NID Ahmedabad and other campuses. The NID application form will be tentatively released in September 2026. The application fee for the NID exam is expected to be around Rs. 3000 for general candidates and Rs. 1500 for SC/ST candidates. The below given application fee for NID DAT exam is based on previous year's data:

NID DAT Application Fee

UCEED: UCEED stands for Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam of Design. The UCEED 2027 application form will be released tentatively in October 2026. The UCEED registration form fee will be around Rs. 4000. However, the registration fee for each category varies.

NID vs UCEED Eligibility

In order to get admission in IITs or NID for design admission, candidates are required to meet the eligibility criteria laid down by the concerned authorities. The difference between NID and UCEED eligibility needs to be checked before filling out the application form. The eligibility criteria include conditions and requirements related to minimum qualification, age limit, minimum aggregate marks, and more.

NID DAT Eligibility Criteria

For UG admission through NID DAT, the students must know the following NID DAT 2027 eligibility criteria:

• Aspirants must be under the age of 20 years in the year of application. However, there is an 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.

UCEED Eligibility Criteria

Aspirants planning to obtain BDes admission at IITs or other UCEED colleges must know the following UCEED eligibility criteria set by the conducting authority. UCEED 2027 eligibility criteria are as follows:

• Candidates appearing for the UCEED exam 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 that state that the science stream is compulsory. And some colleges state that Maths is compulsory as a subject. Students must check the eligibility criteria of individual colleges before applying to them.

NID vs UCEED: Paper Pattern

Candidates need to know the difference between the NID and UCEED patterns, which are described in the article below. Knowing this, the aspirants have to compare UCEED and NID to determine which is better based on their views.

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 shortlisted candidates from the Prelims exam need to appear for the mains exam, which involves studio tests and personal interviews.

As per the revised NID selection process, the NID prelims will not have any weightage in the final selection of the candidates.

NID B.Des 2026 Revised Weightage

NID M.Des 2026 Revised Weightage

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 questions (MCQ). The total marks for UCEED Part A are 200. As per the UCEED exam pattern, Part B consists of two questions of 50 marks each, which evaluate the student's sketching and design aptitude. There is negative marking in UCEED.

UCEED vs NID DAT: Participating Institutes / Colleges

Many reputed institutes accept the UCEED scores for design admission. 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, biology, or maths as compulsory subjects. IIT Guwahati and IIT Roorkee prescribe a science stream with mathematics as a compulsory subject.

UCEED Colleges with Seats

The total number of seats offered by each college is given in the seat matrix below:

NID DAT gives access to students across the three NID campuses to join the BDes programme. The campuses are in Ahmedabad, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Gandhinagar, and Assam.

NID DAT Colleges with Seats

NID vs IIT: BDes Courses Offered

NID - The various BDes courses offered at NID are:

NID vs UCEED: Courses offered in IITs are:

IIT vs NID: Placements

Both IIT and NID have good placement opportunities for the candidates.

Table for IIT Placement Report:

Table of NID Placement Reports: