NIFT Chennai Admission 2026: Eligibility, Application Form, Fees, Cutoff, Courses, Placement

NIFT Chennai Admission 2026: Eligibility, Application Form, Fees, Cutoff, Courses, Placement

Rajyalaxmi VenkatapuramUpdated on 06 Nov 2025, 10:42 AM IST

The NIFT Chennai admissions are offered on the basis of the scores obtained in the NIFT entrance exam and situation test (UG course) and personal interview (PG course). The NIFT admissions at the Chennai campus is done based on the candidate's rank and choices filled by them. The NIFT 2026 official brochure is yet to be released. However, as per the previous year trends, the NIFT 2026 application form will be released in November 2025. Candidates to meet the NIFT eligibility criteria before proceeding to register. The NIFT entrance exam will be held tentatively in February 2026 and is conducted by NTA.

This Story also Contains

  1. NIFT Chennai Admissions 2026: Overview
  2. NIFT Chennai Admission Process 2026
  3. NIFT Chennai Eligibility 2026
  4. NIFT Chennai Application 2026
  5. NIFT Chennai Entrance Exam 2026 and Situation Test
  6. NIFT Chennai Counselling 2026
  7. NIFT Chennai Seat Allotment 2026
  8. NIFT Chennai Cut off
  9. NIFT Chennai Fees Structure 2026
  10. NIFT Chennai Seat Matrix 2026
  11. NIFT Chennai Courses
  12. NIFT Chennai Placements 2026
NIFT Chennai Admission 2026: Eligibility, Application Form, Fees, Cutoff, Courses, Placement
NIFT Chennai Admission

For the finally shortlisted candidates for NIFT 2026 , there will be a total of three rounds of NIFT counselling followed by a spot round. The authorities will also publish the NIFT cut-off for all the rounds along with the seat allotment. Read more to know about the NIFT Chennai admission 2026.

NIFT Chennai Admissions 2026: Overview

Particulars

Details

Entrance exam for NIFT Chennai admission

NIFT entrance exam

NIFT Chennai selection process

NIFT entrance exam + situation test + counselling

NIFT application form start date

November 2025

NIFT application form end date

First week of January 2026 (without late fee)

Second week of January 2026 (with late fee)

NIFT exam date

February 2026

NIFT Chennai admission criteria

Should have passed 10+2

Should have a valid NIFT score

Also Check:

NIFT Chennai Admission Process 2026

For NIFT admission, candidates must be qualified in the fashion design entrance exam conducted by the National Testing Agency. NIFT entrance exam will be conducted in February 2026. Aspirants who qualify in the NIFT entrance exam must appear for a situation test, followed by counselling and seat allotment. To understand the National Institute of Fashion Technology Chennai admission process, we have dissected all the steps in this article.

NIFT Chennai Eligibility 2026

Aspirants are required to meet certain NIFT Chennai eligibility criteria to get admissions into NIFT Chennai. The NIFT eligibility criteria 2026 vary for undergraduate and postgraduate courses.

NIFT Chennai Admission 2026: Eligibility for undergraduate courses

Aspirants should have completed the 10+2 level of education. There are no stream restrictions for B.Des students. But BFTech aspirants need to have math, physics, and chemistry as compulsory subjects. Besides that, the students also need to be under the age of 24 on the 1st of August in the year of admission.

NIFT Chennai 2026 Admission: Eligibility for postgraduate courses

For admission to NIFT PG courses, candidates should have completed their bachelor’s degree in any stream with minimum 3 years. The students can also have a diploma degree of a minimum of 3 years from NIFT or NID. There are no age restrictions for post graduate courses in NIFT.

NIFT Chennai Application 2026

To begin with, candidates have to first fill out the online NIFT application form 2026 as per the schedule. The NIFT application form 2026 will be made available at nift.ac.in after its release. The students should submit the details regarding name, contact, address, educational qualification, and choice of centres along with required documents. They should pay the non-refundable application fee, without which their application will not be considered.

NIFT Chennai Entrance Exam 2026 and Situation Test

The National Testing Agency conducted the NIFT entrance exam which consisted of CAT and GAT. The CAT Exam stands for creative ability test which was drawing based and only the aspirants of BDes and MDes had to appear for it. The general ability test or GAT is compulsory for all aspirants, and it tests the aptitude of students.

The students who qualified the written examination had to appear in the NIFT situation test at undergraduate level and personal interview at postgraduate level. The situation test is only for the students of B.Des who need to show their material handling skills in the exam. The personal interview round is compulsory for all postgraduates which test the communication abilities and personality of the aspirants.

See Also:

Pearl Academy B.Des Admissions 2026

No. 1 Design & Fashion Institute by ASSOCHAM, India Today, Outlook and The Week rankings

UPES B.Des Admissions 2026

Ranked #45 amongst Universities in India by NIRF | Ranked #1 in Academic Reputation in India by QS World University Rankings

NIFT Chennai Counselling 2026

Proceeding with the National Institute of Fashion Technology Chennai admissions, the NIFT results will be declared at exams.nta.ac.in/NIFT/. After the NIFT final results are declared, students need to appear for the counselling session. The NIFT counselling requires the students to register themselves through the official portal for choice filling of the preferred subjects and campus. The students need to submit another application form for counselling registration with the choice of their campus and subject. To understand the National Institute of Fashion Technology Chennai admission counselling process read the section given below.

Online Registration & Choice Filling

The students should register themselves for NIFT Chennai counselling process through the following given steps.

  • Visit nift.admissions.nic.in

  • Login using the NIFT roll number/application number and password.

  • Select the preferred campus and program after the document verification. They must note that the chosen options will be locked on the deadline. The students must take a printout of the lock choices for further reference.

NIFT 2026 Most Important Topics
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Document Verification

The documents which are submitted by the students need to be verified online within a stipulated date. The students need to also report the campus for physical document verification and resubmit the documents in case of discrepancies.

NIFT Chennai Seat Allotment 2026

Candidates have to see the published list in each round of NIFT seat allocation. The students will be allowed to download the provisional allotment letter online. The students are given three options to select from, which are freeze, float, and slide.

The students need to choose the float option if they want to prefer a higher choice across all NIFT campuses and programs in the next round. If a student has chosen the slide option they indicate that they prefer a higher option within the same campus. By choosing the freeze option one indicates that they accept the offer that has been given to them. Once the students accept the seat they need to pay the fees within the stipulated time. The students will be called to report to the campus on a scheduled date.

NIFT Chennai Cut off

The NIFT cut off will be released online at nift.admissions.nic.in. The NIFT Chennai cutoff is released in the form of opening and closing ranks. The students must be aware of the NIFT Chennai cutoff, which will help them to estimate a range of whether or not they will get the course that they prefer. NIFT Chennai Cutoff varies every year depending on the course and category. To get admission into NIFT Chennai, aspirants need to secure a rank within the expected range.

NIFT Chennai Cutoff 2025 - Open Category (Round 3)

ProgrammeOpening RankClosing Rank
Bachelor of Design (Fashion Design)521521
Bachelor of Design (Textile Design)7161179
Bachelor of Design (Textile Design)-NRI Sponsored40684068
Bachelor of Fashion Technology (Apparel Production)351381
Bachelor of Fashion Technology (Apparel Production)-NRI Sponsored447579
Bachelor of Design (Leather Design)15501623
Bachelor of Design (Knitwear Design)7571373
Bachelor of Design (Accessory Design)631664
Bachelor of Design (Fashion Communication)381381
IIAD Admissions 2026

EXAMS dates- 13-14 Dec | Leading Design College | Highest CTC: ₹12 LPA | Average CTC: ₹7.5 LPA | Scholarships for Deserving Students

IIFT Design Admissions 2026

Recruiters: Aditya Birla, Wildcraft, Tommy Hilfiger, Vero Moda etc | Only Fashion Institute in India to have entered the LIMCA BOOK OF RECORDS

NIFT Chennai Cutoff 2025 - Open category (Round 2)

BranchOpening RankClosing Rank
Bachelor of Design (Fashion Communication)302371
Bachelor of Design (Fashion Design)434515
Bachelor of Design (Textile Design)10131112
Bachelor of Fashion Technology (Apparel Production)171333
Bachelor of Design (Leather Design)13001504
Bachelor of Design (Knitwear Design)7181370
Bachelor of Design (Accessory Design)563607

NIFT Chennai Cutoff 2025 - Open category (Round 1)

BranchOpening Rank
Closing Rank
Bachelor of Design (Fashion Design)-NRI Sponsored22163885
Bachelor of Design (Textile Design)18972
Bachelor of Design (Textile Design)-NRI Sponsored50995099
Bachelor of Fashion Technology (Apparel Production)32253
Bachelor of Fashion Technology (Apparel Production)-NRI Sponsored650650
Bachelor of Design (Leather Design)8431420
Bachelor of Design (Knitwear Design)5851220
Bachelor of Design (Fashion Design)90471
Bachelor of Design (Accessory Design)361551
Bachelor of Design (Accessory Design)-NRI Sponsored50796963
Bachelor of Design (Fashion Communication)185299
Bachelor of Design (Fashion Communication)-NRI Sponsored29944384

Previous Year NIFT Cutoff

NIFT Chennai Fees Structure 2026

The National Institute of Fashion Technology Chennai fee structure is similar to all other NIFTs. The NIFT fees structure for undergraduate and postgraduate courses varies from each other. The undergraduate National Institute of Fashion Technology Chennai fee structure is about Rs 15 lakhs and postgraduate courses have a fee of about Rs. 7 Lakhs.

NIFT Chennai Seat Matrix 2026

The NIFT Chennai offers different seats for various courses. The NIFT seat matrix for Chennai campus has been given below.

Total Seats in NIFT Chennai

Programmes

All Category

Bachelor Programmes- Bachelor of Design (B.Des)

Fashion Design (FD)

38

Leather Design (LD)

38

Accessory Design (AD)

38

Textile Design (TD)

38

Knitwear Design (KD)

38

Fashion Communication (FC)

38

Bachelor Programme- Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B.FTech)

Apparel Production (AP)

38

Master Programmes


Master of Fashion Management (M.F.M)

38

Total

304

NIFT Chennai Courses

NIFT Chennai offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses to the students. At undergraduate level NIFT Chennai has BDes and BFTech specialisations. The B.Des specialisations include fashion design, leather design, accessory design, textile design, knitwear design, fashion communication. The NIFT BFTech has apparel production specialisation. At master's level the courses offered is MFM.

NIFT Chennai Placements 2026

The NIFT campuses have centralised placements which allows the students and companies to get equal opportunities. In the year 2016, 118 students took part in the placements where 37 companies offered jobs. The highest package received was of Rs. 7.5 LPA.

Also Check:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: How many seats are there in NIFT Chennai?
A:

NIFT Chennai has 304 seats.

Q: When can one apply for NIFT 2026?
A:

NIFT 2026 registration is expected to begin in the last week of November 2025, based on the previous year trends. 

Q: How can one apply for NIFT Chennai?
A:

To apply for NIFT Chennai the students have to fill the application form and must be qualify in the entrance exam with a rank above the cut off.

Q: Which is better, NIFT or NID?
A:

NIFT is a fashion-based design institute while NID teaches the core of design.

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Questions related to NIFT Entrance Exam

On Question asked by student community

Have a question related to NIFT Entrance Exam ?

Hello,

Yes, a diploma holder in Computer Engineering can apply for the NIFT entrance exam , but only through the lateral entry route.

NIFT allows candidates with a 3-year or 4-year engineering diploma from a recognized board to apply for B.F.Tech (Fashion Technology) through lateral entry. The diploma must be approved by AICTE or the State Technical Board.

The age limit is usually 24 years for the general category.

So yes, you are eligible, as Computer Engineering is an engineering diploma.

Hope it helps !

Hello aspirant,

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has determined the official date for NIFT 2026 applicant registrations, which is expected to open in November 2025. Online applications will be accepted through January 2026.

For complete information, you can visit our site through following link:

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

Thank you

Hello Neharika

These are the topics which are most important in the Current affairs section in respect to NIFT Entrance Exam:

1. National and International Awards and Honors
2. Government Schemes and Initiatives
3. Sports
4. Appointments and Newsmakers
5. Science and Technology
6. Indian and World Economy
7. International Relations
8. Fashion Industry Updates
9. Books and Authors
10. Art and Culture
11. Environmental and Social Issues

To know more about NIFT Entrance Exam: NIFT Entrance Exam by CAREERS360

Hope this answer helps! Thank You!!!


Hello,

According to the sources, the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) entrance exam for 2026 will be held in February 2026. Also, the registration period may open from November 2025.

I hope it will clear your query!!

Hello,
It’s completely understandable to feel disheartened after not getting a seat in the first and second rounds, especially when you’ve filled all the colleges and have your hopes set on a particular course like Fashion Communication . With an OBC rank of 1910 and CMR 7192, your chances can improve in the upcoming counselling rounds as more students withdraw or shift to other colleges.
So make sure to check the further rounds of counselling and don’t lose hope. Many students get seats in the 3rd, 4th, and mop-up rounds. You can also consider updating your preference list or keeping a wider range of courses and campuses open in case you're okay with related fields.
Keep checking the official NIFT website for updates on seat allotment and further counselling instructions.
Thank you