Top 10 NID Colleges in India 2025: Fees, Admission, Courses, Eligibility, Placements

The NID (National Institute of Design) with excellence is design education, producing world-class designers who redefine creativity. NID is renowned for global opportunities and it has become the dream destination for aspiring designers.

The NIDs Is a premier design institution of India, offering UG courses in BDes and PG courses in MDes programmes. Admissions to NIDs is through the Design Aptitude Test (DAT), which assesses candidates design skills and aptitude.

Here’s a look at the top 10 NID colleges in India that are shaping the future of design along with their eligibility criteria, courses offered, fee structure, etc.

Top 10 NID Colleges in India: Eligibility Criteria 2025

To get admission in top NID colleges in India, students need to fulfill their eligibility criteria, which may vary from for different programmes. Listed below is the general eligibility criteria for admission to the best NID colleges in India:

For B.Des: Candidates should have either completed or be in the process of completing their Class 12 qualification from a recognized board such as CBSE, ISC, or State Boards.
For MDes: Applicants must possess a bachelor’s degree with a minimum duration of 4 years in any specialization. Candidates with a three-year Bachelor’s degree may also apply, provided they completed it in the previous year.
For PhD in Design: Candidates must hold a master’s degree in design or a related field from a recognized university.

Top NID Colleges in India: Admission Process 2026

Admission to all NID programmes in best NID colleges in India is based on an aspirant's performance in the NID Design Aptitude Test (NID DAT).

The step-wise admission process for NID DAT 2026 is given below, starting from application submission to the allotment of seats:

Fill out the Application Form - Eligible candidates have to duly fill out the form and submit it before the last date. Use only genuine and verifiable information for filling out the form. Note that all information will be checked at the time of NID DAT counseling and seat allotment. If any discrepancy is found, the candidate may be disqualified.
Download Admit Card - On the day of the exam, the candidate must bring with them the admit card and a valid photo ID proof. The admit card will carry details like the date and time of the exam, roll number, exam center address, and exam-day guidelines. Admit cards will be released separately for DAT Prelims and DAT Mains.
Appear in DAT Prelims - DAT Prelims will be conducted offline as a paper-and-pen(pencil) exam. The full details of the DAT Prelims exam pattern will be outlined in the admit card.
Check DAT Prelims Result - The results for DAT Prelims can be checked by entering one's email address, date of birth, and roll number/application number. DAT Prelims scores will be used to shortlist candidates for DAT Mains.
Download DAT Mains Admit Card - All registered candidates will be issued admit cards that have to be downloaded online. After downloading the admit card, take a printout of the admit card.
Appear for NID DAT Mains - DAT Mains will comprise a Studio Test; M.Des candidates will also have to appear in an online interview round. In the studio test for NID admissions, aspirants are given hands-on practical assignments, which they need to complete within the stipulated time.
Check NID DAT final Result - DAT Prelims and NID DAT Mains performance are considered to prepare the FINAL results. Note that the final result or merit rank will be considered for the admission or seat-allotment process.

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Top NID Colleges in India: Courses Offered, Seat Intake, Tuition Fee, Salary, Top Recruiters

Listed below are the NID top colleges in India along with their description, courses offered and their tuition fees, their placement package, etc.

NID Ahmedabad:

Established: 1961

Courses Offered: BDes and MDes

Seat Intake:

BDes: 128
MDes: 126

Specialisations Offered:

Animation Film Design, Exhibition Design, Film & Video, Graphic Design, Ceramic & Glass Design, Product Design, Textile Design

Tuition Fee: INR 12 lakh – INR 17 lakh

Average Placement Package: INR 21 LPA

Notable Recruiters: Wipro, Whirlpool, Cognizant, HUL, Infosys, Microsoft, etc.

NID Gandhinagar:

Established: 2004

Courses Offered: MDes

Seat Intake:

MDes: 146

Specialisations Offered:

Apparel Design, Lifestyle Accessory Design, New Media Design, Photography Design, Toy and Game Design, Transportation and Automobile Design, etc.

Tuition Fee: INR 10 lakh – INR 11 lakh

Highest Placement Package: INR 46 LPA

Notable Recruiters: Microsoft, Tech Mahindra, Infosys, HCL Technologies, Borosil, etc.

NID Bangalore:

Established: 2006

Courses Offered: MDes

Seat Intake:

MDes: 95

Specialisations Offered:

Retail Experience, Digital Game Design, Information Design, Interaction Design, and Universal Design, etc.

Tuition Fee: INR 11 lakh

Notable Recruiters: Nalli Silk, Oracle, Nokia, Tanishq, Tata Enterprise, Wipro, Trident Group, etc.

NID Bhopal:

Established: 2019

Courses Offered: BDes

Seat Intake:

BDes: 258

Specialisations Offered:

Industrial Design, Communication Design, Textile and Apparel Design, etc.

Tuition Fee: INR 1 lakh – INR 11 lakh

Average Placement Package: INR 12 LPA

Notable Recruiters: Adidas, Amazon, Adobe, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Wipro, Designhill, etc.

NID Vijayawada:

Established: 2015

Courses Offered: BDes

Seat Intake:

BDes: 75

Specialisations Offered:

Industrial Design, Communication Design, Textile and Apparel Design, etc.

Tuition Fee: INR 6 lakh

Average Placement Package: INR 12 LPA

Notable Recruiters: Adidas, Amazon, Adobe, Google, IBM, Microsoft, Wipro, Designhill, etc.

NID Haryana:

Established: 2016

Courses Offered: BDes

Seat Intake:

BDes: 75

Specialisations Offered:

Industrial Design, Communication Design, Textile and Apparel Design, etc.

Tuition Fee: INR 11 lakh

Average Placement Package: INR 9 LPA

Notable Recruiters: Deloitte, Accenture, TCS, OnePlus, Apple, Adani Group, etc.

NID Jorhat:

Established: 2019

Courses Offered: BDes

Seat Intake:

BDes: 75

Specialisations Offered:

Industrial Design, Communication Design, Textile and Apparel Design, etc.

Tuition Fee: INR 5 lakh

Notable Recruiters: Adobe, Ashok Leyland, Axis Bank, Myntra, Wipro, Microsoft, Trident Group, etc.

Top 10 NID Colleges in India: Courses Offered and Tuition Fee

Among the top 10 NID colleges in India, some of them are mentioned below along with their courses offered and their tuition fees:

Top 10 NIDs in India	Courses Offered	Tuition Fee
NID Ahmedabad	B.Des and M.Des	BDes: INR 17 lakh MDes: INR 12 lakh
NID Gandhinagar	M.Des	INR 10 lakh – INR 11 lakh
NID Bangalore	M.Des	INR 11 lakh
NID Bhopal	B.Des	INR 1 lakh – INR 11 lakh
NID Vijayawada	B.Des	INR 6 lakh
NID Haryana	B.Des	INR 11 lakh
NID Jorhat	B.Des	INR 5 lakh

Top NID Colleges in India: BDes Courses Offered

BDes is a long 4-year bachelor design programme offered at NID Ahmedabad. NID Vijayawada, NID Haryana, etc. in various areas specialisations like:

Faculty of Industrial Design
Faculty of Communication Design
Faculty of Textile
Apparel Design
Lifestyle & Accessory Design
Ceramic & Glass Design

Top NID Colleges in India: BDes Courses Offered

MDes is a 2.5 year programme offered at NID Ahmedabad, NID Bangalore, and NID Gandhinagar. The course offered in various areas of specialisations like:

Faculty of Communication Design
Faculty of Industrial Design
Faculty of Interdisciplinary Design
Faculty of IT Integrated Design
Faculty of Textile, Apparel
Lifestyle and Accessory Design

Top NIDs in India: Seat Intake

The table below shows the top NID institutes in India along with their BDes and MDes seat intake:

Top NIDs in India	BDes Seat Intake	MDes Seat Intake
NID Ahmedabad Courses	128	126
NID Gandhinagar Courses	-	146
NID Bangalore Courses	-	95
NID Bhopal Courses	258	-
NID Vijayawada Courses	75	-
NID Haryana Courses	75	-
NID Jorhat Courses	75	-

Top NIDs in India: Cutoff 2025

To determine the cutoff 2024 for the top NID colleges in India, click on the below links: