UPES B.Des Admissions 2026
Last Date to Apply: 26th March | Ranked #45 amongst Universities in India by NIRF | Ranked #1 in Academic Reputation in India by QS World University Rankings
IIT Bombay conducts the Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam for Design for admission into B.Des programmes of participating IITs. The goal of the comprehensive and well-rounded UCEED entrance exam is to identify candidates who have exceptional design skills in addition to critical thinking and creative problem-solving abilities. Its structure ensures that candidates will be evaluated on a variety of skills, all of which are essential for a successful design career. The 6 IITs and IIITDM Jabalpur, in addition to several other top design colleges in India offer their admissions through UCEED scores.
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The exam assesses the applicants' technical drawing proficiency, originality, and capacity for problem-solving. It is broken up into two sections: Part B, which is offline and concentrates on drawing, and Part A, which is online and has NAT, MSQ, and MCQ sections. We present you a thorough analysis of the UCEED question paper 2020 in this article. Students will be able to figure out how to study for UCEED 2026 more efficiently. But before delving into a deep analysis of the UCEED 2020 question paper let's first understand its exam structure and marking scheme.
UCEED exam paper of 2020 saw a change in the exam format due to the addition of a drawing question as part of the analysis section of the examination. In the UCEED question paper for 2019, there were 85 questions overall throughout all sections of NAT, MSQ, and MCQ. In contrast, in the UCEED 2020 question paper, there were only 68 questions total with one drawing question.
Last Date to Apply: 26th March | 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
Maximum Marks: 240
Examination Duration: 3 Hours
Mode of Examination: Online (Computer-Based Test)

The marking scheme for UCEED 2025 is tabulated below. The marking scheme is divided into 3 sections of UCEED part A.
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Part A consisted of three sections whose detailed analysis are provided below.
1a | Difficulty Level | The difficulty level was Moderate to Easy |
1b | Ideal Time | 30-45 minutes |
1c | Good Attempt | 12-14 questions (No Negative Marking) |
1d | Focus Areas | Geometrical Concepts + Perspective Understanding + Visual and Logical Aptitude |
After analysis we concluded that the questions were more concerned with the ability to approach problems strategically than they were with requiring a deep understanding of mathematics. Many of the issues might be solved even by someone with only a rudimentary background of mathematics by seeing the difficulties from multiple viewpoints.
The NAT part is the perfect balance of difficult to easy questions and looking at the time limitation one should always approach the questions that seem easy to approach in the first glimpse.
The focus was as per the understanding:
In some questions more than direct knowledge of the subject what matters more is the approach of solving the questions, like in the below-shared example if one identifies the visual symmetry can save a lot of time by just counting intersections of half of the given figure. The other way an individual may count all the intersections, which is not advisable and also time-consuming.
Approach: Question 17, where interactions are more the mirror image if a virtual parting line is drawn vertically.

—Sometimes questions asked under the section Numerical Aptitude are sometimes very unpredictable and interesting with a high chance of scoring. Below is shared an interesting example of counting the difference, which needs sheer observation skills.
Answer: 07 Difference marked

Significant Focus areas were as follows:
Verbal Reasoning (Statement-based Questions)
Light and Shadow + Direction Sense
Visualization Analogy/Pattern
Analysis: The questions asked in this section were usually easy-moderate except a few that were time-consuming. The questions asked were a perfect blend to practical application of two or more concepts like Q-23/25.
2a | Difficulty Level | The difficulty level was Moderate |
2b | Ideal Time | 30-40 minutes |
2c | Good Attempt | 12-14 questions (04 marks for each question but 0.19 negative marking for every wrong option chosen) |
2d | Focus Areas | Graphical Visualization and Spatial Ability + Verbal Reasoning(Statement & Interpretation) |
Verbal Reasoning (Statement Based Questions Particularly), carried a weightage of more than 25% out of all the 18 questions asked, thus making it a good scoring area for the upcoming examinations in future.
A Good Example of Q-28, for Statement-Based Questions (Verbal Reasoning)

This section(MCQ) evaluates critical visual and spatial reasoning skills necessary for design is the goal of UCEED's questions, which include pattern recognition, font identification, and spatial transformations (such as water and mirror images).
Questions involving pattern recognition test a person's capacity to recognize and anticipate sequences, which is essential for comprehending repetition and design progressions. Most questions required candidates to pay close attention to detail in order to ensure
that they are able to see and recognize tiny distinctions.
Essential Topics for MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions)
Approach: Some questions are very easy to attempt and scoring to be attempted via memories from everyday observations, unlike question 49, as shared below. Anyone with logic can tell the impact of load on human body posture, and further eliminating the odd one out would be the best approach to attempt such questions.

In MCQ questions are usually easy, and most of them can be solved by logic and everyday life observations. The most crucial skill required is the fragmentation of the bigger solutions into mental chunks to simplify the visual interpretations. Once this skill is mastered most questions in MCQ become doable. Students can solve multiple UCEED mock tests and use appropriate UCEED study material to get more help. Students can look at the UCEED 2020 question paper pdf for more such examples.
Part B, Drawing questions, is meticulously crafted to test an aspirant to reflect practically within the given time frame. Let’s understand the requirements for part B.
Understanding of Scale and Proportions and Perspective View: As given, the table is a mess, so there would be stuff lying of different shapes and sizes and at a distance from each other, needing an understanding of perspective.
Compositional Drawing: The question needs a great understanding of composition as through sketch, the aspirant has to convey the shady tone of the room with the table in the focus and particularly the objects like a cup of tea(half), a plate of pakodas etc.

Overall, the UCEED question paper 2020 was moderate but time-consuming. Students preparing for this exam can look into strategies like How to prepare for UCEED in a year to get a better hang on preparation and ace the exam.
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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The UCEED exam is a slightly advanced design entrance exam with difficulty ranging from moderate to difficult.
Students are tested based on their logical thinking capabilities, based on topics like Non-verbal reasoning, surface counting, geometry and mensuration, pattern manipulation, etc.
In 2020, there has been an introduction to the drawing section. The exam has become more structured with better and more practical topics assessed each year.
On Question asked by student community
Yes, you can get live classes for preparation to design courses. Kindly refer the attached link below.
Some of the top-ranked UCEED coaching institutes in Noida include BRDS, Pahal Design, Bhardwaj Classes, MY Design Studio, and Design Aspirants.
Hello student,
Please tell me your obtained marks, total marks, and the exam year so I can estimate your UCEED rank and percentile based on previous trends. Once you provide these details, I will calculate an approximate rank and percentile for you. You can also check UCEED college predictor tool
Hello, the UCEED cut-off marks is expected to be higher this year. The UCEED 2026 Part A cutoff score is 83.76 marks which is higher than last year. After also, accounting for marks in Part B, 120-125 marks is expected to be a good score for IIITDM Jabalpur. Additionally, you
Hi Hrishikesh,
In your case, you do not need a separate or additional category validity ceriticate for IITs. Caste validiity certificate only exists for students from Maharashtra. The central format is sufficient for IIT admission.
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