What are Qualifying Marks For NIFT 2026? Check Weightage & Minimum Score

What are Qualifying Marks For NIFT 2026? Check Weightage & Minimum Score

Rajyalaxmi VenkatapuramUpdated on 16 Sep 2025, 03:15 PM IST

The National Institute of Fashion Technology, is the most prestigious institute spread across India with its 19 campuses. To obtain NIFT admission into its campuses in India, there is a huge demand among the fashion industry. Every year, thousands of students appear for the NIFT entrance exam to get admitted into the design programme. Due to this heavy competition, candidates want to know “What are the qualifying marks for NIFT?”. Go through the full article to know the answer for the asked question.

This Story also Contains

  1. What are the qualifying marks for NIFT?
  2. Understanding of the qualifying marks for NIFT exam
  3. NIFT Weightage and Qualifying Marks
  4. Factors affecting the NIFT qualifying marks
  5. How do NIFT qualifying marks help
What are Qualifying Marks For NIFT 2026? Check Weightage & Minimum Score
What are Qualifying Marks For NIFT?

What are the qualifying marks for NIFT?

Understanding the qualifying marks is the concept of scores that has to be achieved by the students in the NIFT 2026 exam. The qualifying marks are the scores that the students must get for NIFT admission. The NIFT exam will be conducted in stages based on the BDes and MDes programme. To get admitted into these programmes of the NIFT participating institutes, the students must score the minimum marks and these marks vary every year.

Understanding of the qualifying marks for NIFT exam

The NIFT entrance exam will be conducted in February tentatively as per the previous year's trend. Aspirants need to know that the NIFT exam is conducted in two stages. The stages will be different for UG and PG programmes which are provided in the table below. GAT is the General Ability Test and CAT is the Creative Ability Test.

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Programme name

NIFT exams

BDes

GAT

CAT

Situation test

BFTech

GAT

NA

NA

MDes

GAT

CAT

Personal Interview

MFM

GAT

NA

Personal Interview

MFTech

GAT

NA

Personal Interview

NIFT Weightage and Qualifying Marks

Aspirants can refer to the table below that provides the NIFT weightage according to the test for each programme and the required marks to get through in the exam.

Programme

Test

Weightage

BDes

GAT

30%

CAT

50%

Situation test

20%

BFTech

GAT - Section A

30%

GAT - Section B

70%

MDes

GAT - Section A

30%

CAT

40%

Personal Interview

30%

MFM

GAT - Section A & Section B

70%

Personal Interview

30%

MFTech

GAT

70%

Personal Interview

30%

Candidates need to score near about 45% to 55% marks in GAT & CAT for BDes whereas for BFTech, MDes and MFM the qualifying marks should be 40% to 50% followed by the further stages of admission. However, these percentage of qualifying marks vary every year. Also, NIFT has got the reservation policies where there will be a slight relaxation of marks for the candidates based on their categories. The categories include General, SC, ST, OBC-NCL, EWS and PwD.

Factors affecting the NIFT qualifying marks

There are several factors that affect the qualifying marks of NIFT. They are as follows.

  • Difficulty levels of the exam

  • Total number of applicants

  • Seat intake

  • Category reservations

  • Candidates overall performance

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How do NIFT qualifying marks help

Securing the NIFT qualifying marks is the top most important step towards NIFT admission. Students who are shortlisted from the first stage, i.e. NIFT entrance exam, will be eligible for the second stage of admission. The second stage of NIFT admission might be either situation test or a personal interview, based on the programme.

Obtaining the NIFT qualifying marks does not guarantee the admission into the preferred campus. Candidates must score high marks and secure All India Rank (AIR) to obtain NIFT admission into their desired campus. For this the students must have strong preparation plans and ensure that they manage time in completing the NIFT exam with problem-solving techniques.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q: Are the NIFT qualifying marks same for UG & PG courses?
A:

Yes, the qualifying marks for NIFT UG & PG courses differ.

Q: Do the qualifying marks guarantee NIFT admission?
A:

The qualifying marks do not guarantee NIFT admission. It only helps the candidates to be eligible for the next round of selection process for admission.

Q: Are the NIFT qualifying marks the same for every year?
A:

No, the NIFT qualifying marks vary each year depending on the factors such as the difficulty level of the exam, total number of applicants, seat availability, category reservations and the previous year trends.

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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 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

Dear Candidate ,
Yes , you are eligible for NIFT - UG 2026 . Based on your birthdate , you will be 19 years old as of August 1 , 2026 , which is well within the age limit .
NIFT requires applicants to be under 24 years of age on August 1 of the admission year , with a 5 year relaxation for SC/ST/PwD candidates .

Hello

The syllabus of NIFT 2026 will be released on October 2025 by Nift officials on their official website nift.ac.in . The syllabus comprises of topics General Ability Test (GAT) and Creative Ability Test (CAT). The syllabus is different for UG and PG programmes. The GAT syllabus consists of :

  • Communication ability and English comprehension
  • Quantitative ability
  • Analytical and Reasoning
  • Case study
  • General knowledge and current affairs

The CAT syllabus consists important topics like

  • Creative ability
  • Observation power
  • Discernment ability
  • Design ability
  • Colour combination ability

To download the complete syllabus kindly refer this

https://design.careers360.com/articles/nift-syllabus

Good luck !