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CEED full form is the Common Entrance Exam for Design. IIT Bombay conducts CEED for admissions into PG design and PhD programmes of participating IITs and other institutes. It is a national-level entrance examination conducted to select students into M.Des programmes with different design specialisation options. The CEED entrance exam is conducted once a year. As per past trends seen in the CEED 2026 schedule, IIT Bombay will tentatively conduct CEED 2026 in January 2026. Read on to get all the details of the Common Entrance Exam for Design.
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Particulars | CEED |
CEED exam Full form | Common Entrance Examination for Design |
Conducting Authority | Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay |
Official Website | ceed.iitb.ac.in |
Application Form Start Date | October 2025 (tentative) |
CEED Exam Fees | Rs. 3800 |
Exam Pattern | Part A: NAT, MSQ, MCQ Part B: Drawing |
Course Offered | Postgraduate and PhD |
CEED Exam Eligibility Criteria | No Age Limit Must have completed graduation No limit on the number of attempts |
Participating CEED Colleges | IISc Bangalore, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Jodhpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, IIITDM Jabalpur, IIITDM Kancheepuram |
Fees | Rs. 30K- Rs. 3.75 Lakhs per annum |
CEED Courses Offered | M.Des in Product Design and Engineering, Industrial Design, Communication Design, Animation, Interaction Design, Mobility and Vehicle Design, Visual Design, XR Design, Industrial Design, PhD in Design |
The CEED full form is Common Entrance Examination for Design. As the CEED full form suggests, the exam is conducted at a national level by the IIT Bombay every year to select design students. To understand the CEED exam for what purpose, read below.
The CEED conducting body is the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, which sets the rules and regulations of the exam and also releases the notification on the official website regarding the entrance and other updates.
The students should know about the CEED official website, which is ceed.iitb.ac.in. Candidates can check the updates regarding the exam, from the application to the results, on the official website. The students can also find the official brochure for reference here.
CEED is a national-level entrance exam for students who want to join MDes courses. The purpose of the CEED exam is to select the best candidates for the MDes and PhD course admission. Various IITs and other CEED colleges accepting CEED results offer courses specialised in design studies. These are the subjects offered in the top colleges at MDes level.
The Common Entrance Examination for Design has some set CEED exam eligibility criteria that the students’ need to fulfil. Not fulfilling the CEED exam eligibility criteria might mean that the students will not be able to take admission into the desired college. All the CEED colleges participating in this exam have different sets of eligibility criteria. However, the most common ones that are required as the CEED exam eligibility criteria are listed below.
The student must have completed and graduated from any recognized institution. He/she must have completed the degree/diploma / postgraduate degree of a minimum of 3 years after 10 + 2.
There is no upper age limit of the student who is appearing for the exam.
The number of attempts in this exam also does not have a restriction.
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The duration of this exam is 3 hours, and the total marks is 250. Within the three hours the students need to attempt two parts of the exam. Part A of the exam is 1 hour and duration and is conducted online. Part B of the exam is conducted offline and has a duration of 2 hours. The details of the pattern of the exam are discussed below.
As per CEED exam pattern, part A has a duration of 1 hour in which the students need to attempt online questions which consist of Numerical Answer Type, Multiple Select Questions and Multiple-Choice Questions. The CEED total mark for part A is 150. The number of questions that the students need to attempt in part a of CEED exam is 44. Each type of question in Part A has a different marking pattern to it and it also has negative markings. The marking scheme of part A has been explained below.
Type of Question | Number of Questions | Question Number | CEED Marking of Correct Answer | CEED Negative Marking | CEED Marking if Question Not Attempted | Total Marks |
NAT | 8 | 1-8 | 4 | -0 | 0 | 32 |
MSQ | 10 | 9-18 | Partial Marking | -1 | 0 | 40 |
MCQ | 26 | 18-44 | 3 | -0.5 | 0 | 78 |
Total | 44 | 1-44 | 150 |
The CEED Part B has 5 questions for 20 marks each. This part is conducted offline, and the students need to draw the answers on sheets of paper. The total mark of this part is 100. The students need to show their creativity and drawing skills.
Section | Number of Questions | Question Number | Partial Marks | Negative Marks | Marks |
Sketching | 1 | 1 | Yes | No | 20 |
Creativity | 1 | 2 | Yes | No | 20 |
Form Sensitivity | 1 | 3 | Yes | No | 20 |
Visual Sensitivity | 1 | 4 | Yes | No | 20 |
Problem Identification | 1 | 5 | Yes | No | 20 |
Total | 5 | 1-5 | 100 |
To score well in the exam, it is suggested that the students refer to the CEED previous year question papers which can help them understand the questions better. The CEED's previous year question papers are available on the official website.
The full form of the CEED exam reveals that the exam is for Design courses. It is a national-level exam in which top CEED colleges offering Master of Design courses take part. The students who want to take admission into the top IITs must appear for this exam. Many top institutions in India that offer M.Des, who are a part of this exam, are - IISc Bangalore, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Jodhpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, IIITDM Jabalpur, IIITDM Kancheepuram.
Institution | MDes CEED Courses offered |
IIT Bombay | MDes in Industrial Design, Communication Design, Animation, Interaction Design, Mobility and Vehicle Design , PhD in Design |
MDes in Industrial Design | |
MDes in Design, PhD in Design | |
MDes in Visual Design, Product Design, Interaction Design, Design Studies, PhD in Design | |
MDes in Industrial Design | |
MDes in Design | |
MDes in Design, PhD in Design | |
MDes in Product Design and Engineering , PhD in Design | |
MDes in Integrated Product Design | |
MDes in XR Design |
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The institutes that accept the CEED 2026 score are Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design & Technology, Jain (Deemed-to-be-University), JK Lakshmipat University, etc.
Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IITB) conducts the CEED entrance exam.
CEED exam is for MDes and PhD aspirants.
CEED exam is an entrance exam conducted nationally to screen out the MDes and PhD aspirants of IITs and other top colleges.
Students who have an undergraduate degree of minimum 3 years can apply.
After qualifying the CEED exam candidates need to apply for MDes and PhD in various IITs. They need to appear in another written test and an interview and finally if they qualify all the rounds, they get a seat and need to pay a seat acceptance fee and admission fee.
On Question asked by student community
Hii
Common Entrance Examination for Design is a test includes design aptitude, your creativity, visualisation, problem-solving, and also analytical ability.
CEED exam structure is divided in 2 parts (PART A & PART B) and you can check what to study and syllabus of CEED on career360 https://design.careers360.com/articles/ceed-syllabus-2025
CEED syllabus includes:
Visualization and spatial ability
Design thinking and problem solving
Drawing skills
Creativity
Communication skills
Analytical and logical reasoning
Environmental and social awareness
Observation and design sensitivity Also includes topics on form, function, aesthetics, and technical drawing.
Hello Anushka,
Thanks for reaching out!
You can definitely prepare for CEED to pursue UI/UX design.since you're not from design background you'll need 4-6 months of focused prepration.
Focus on:
Sketching
Visual communication
Design concepts
User experience basics
Problem - solving skills
Past CEED papers.
Practice drawings, story boarding, Idea generation daily.
You can also take online courses to learn design fundamentals and tools.
Consistency and practice matter most!
get all the detailed info here:
https://design.careers360.com/articles/ceed-syllabus
All the best!
Hello sir,
Thanks for reaching out!
Yes, you still have a good chance even with a mid CEED score, if the rest of your profile is strong. While the CEED score is important, most of the institutes use full selection process that includes your CEED score(Part A and B), Portfolio and often an interview or studio tests.Your 6 years of experience, strong portfolio and relevant coursera certificates can add significant value during admission in IITDM, Srishti etc which consider the overall profile not just the rank.
You can get free study material for the CEED (Common Entrance Exam for Design) from several reliable sources. Here's a simple list of where to find it:
Official CEED Website
Go to the
CEED official site (ceed.iitb.ac.in)
for previous year question papers and sample papers. They are the best for understanding the exam pattern.
NID and CEED Prep YouTube Channels
Many educators and toppers upload free tutorials, sketching tips, design aptitude tricks, and analysis of previous papers.
Telegram Groups
Search for “CEED preparation” on Telegram. Many groups share PDFs, notes, sketching practice sheets, and mock tests.
Free Blogs and Websites
Look for blogs like Pahal Design, BRDS, and Design Aspirants. They often post free reading material, tips, and past year questions.
Reddit and Quora
On platforms like Reddit or Quora, search for CEED preparation threads. Toppers often share their notes and resources.
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