NIFT vs UCEED: Which is Better?

NIFT 2026 Vs UCEED 2026: Highlights

NIFT Vs UCEED: Registration Process

NIFT - The NTA opens the NIFT application form tentatively in November 2025. Candidates have to register online from the official NTA website - exams.nta.ac.in/NIFT. Candidates have to register and pay the fees within the prescribed deadline.

UCEED - IIT Bombay opens the UCEED application form tentatively in the first week of October at uceed.iitb.ac.in. The application process of UCEED is completely online.

NIFT vs UCEED: Selection Criteria

In order to get admission in IITs or NIFT, candidates are required to meet the following eligibility criteria laid down by the concerned authorities. The eligibility criteria include conditions and requirements relate to minimum qualification, age limit, minimum aggregate marks and more.

NIFT Eligibility Criteria

As per NIFT eligibility criteria, the students must know the following for UG admission:

• Candidates 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.
• The candidate must also be less than 24 years old on August 1 of the year of application. Relaxation of 5 years for SC/ST/PwD category.

UCEED Eligibility Criteria

Aspirants seeking admission to the 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, the age limit is 24 years as on 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.

NIFT vs UCEED: Paper Pattern

The NIFT entrance exam has three parts. The first two parts are the Creative Ability Test (CAT) and the General Ability Test (GAT). The NIFT GAT paper is a computer-based test that tests students' general knowledge, English knowledge, current affair knowledge, quantitative ability etc. The NIFT CAT paper is an offline mode exam meant for the candidates to showcase their creativity on a paper through drawing with a pen. However, B.F.Tech aspirants have only the GAT paper. According to the NIFT exam pattern, there is a -0.25 negative marking.

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 question (MSQ), 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 negative marking in UCEED.

UCEED vs NIFT: Participating Institutes/Colleges

Many reputed institutes accept the UCEED scores for undergraduate 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, it is compulsory for IIITDM Jabalpur to have science stream with physics, chemistry and biology or maths as compulsory subjects. IIT Guwahati and IIT Roorkee prescribe 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:

NIFT Colleges and Seats:

NIFT vs IIT: BDes/B.F.Tech Courses Offered

NIFT Colleges offer BDes and B.F.Tech courses offered at different campus. Here is a list of all the courses:

UCEED: Courses offered in IITs are:

IIT vs NIFT Fee

The NIFT fee structure is provided on the official website in the information brochure. There are also several NIFT scholarship opportunities that the institute offers to deserving candidates. Different semesters have a different fee structure. The overall fee for candidates applying for UG courses across 8 semesters is Rs. 1409400.

Also Check: NIFT Fees structure PDF

IIT is also a reputed central government Institution. The sum of amount required for under graduation course at IIT in B.Des is around Rs. 6-10 Lakhs, depending on the college and the course.

Also Check: IIT BDes Fees Structure

IIT vs NIFT: Placements

Both NIFT and IIT have stellar placement records. Being top design colleges in India, the NIFT placements and IIT design placements provide excellent opportunities for students.

NIFT Salary vs IIT Design Salary