List of NIDs in India: Courses, Fee, Eligibility & Admission Process 2025

NID Ahmedabad admission 2024 is based on NID Design Aptitude Test conducted for both B. Des and M.Des courses. The Design Aptitude Test comprises two steps:

DAT Prelims - The applicant takes the Prelims test initially.

DAT Mains - Candidates are chosen for DAT Mains based on their performance in that Prelims.

For admission to the BDes or MDes course, it is mandatory to appear in both that Prelims and that Mains. NID DAT Prelims comprises both objective- and subjective-type questions. Candidates must have a well-thought-out NID study plan if they want to ace the test. Candidates might adhere to the following preparation schedule for the NID Entrance Exam 2024: 

1. Know the NID DAT exam pattern and marking scheme well 
2. Get well-versed with the NID DAT syllabus
3. Prepare a time-table and strictly adhere to it
4. Attempt NID DAT previous year question papers 
5. Solve NID DAT sample papers and mock tests 
6. Keep revising.

NID Bangalore offers a fulltime MDes course. The total seat intake of NID Bangalore MDes is 95, divided among five specialisations:

In case of the B. Des and B.FTech programmes, the candidates should be less than 24 years as on July 1 of the admission year. There is relaxation of 5 years for candidates belonging to SC, ST, and PwD categories. However, there is no age limit for applying to the postgraduate programmes at NIFT. When applying for admission to design courses at the NIFTs, the candidate must also carefully go through the academic requirements. Note that even if a candidate qualifies the NIFT Entrance Exam but doesn't meet the prescribed eligibility criteria, he or she will not be considered for admission.

The eligibility criteria may differ depending on the course opted by the candidate. For instance, candidates seeking admission to the B. Des course needs to have passed 10+2 exam from a recognised institute and should be less than 24 years as of August 1, 2025. Relaxation of 5 years in the upper age limit applies for candidates belonging to SC, ST and PwD candidates.

It is not compulsory to have studied Maths in Class 12 to appear for NIFT Entrance Exam. However, some questions from Mathematics are asked in the NIFT GAT section. Therefore, it is always beneficial to have some knowledge about the subject. The NIFT question paper for GAT will include questions from sections like logical and analytical reasoning, general awareness, verbal reasoning, and English . General knowledge questions may include topics like fashion industry, both local and global, and news of political and economic importance. The GAT paper will be conducted in a computer-based mode and will be for 120 minutes.

There is no official notification on the number of applicants for NID DAT 2024.

However, as per unofficial sources, around 15,000 applicants appeared in the NID DAT 2024 (Prelims) exam. Note that only shortlisted candidates were eligible to appear in DAT Mains. The DAT Prelims was held on December 24, 2023.

If the National Institute of Design releases the exam statistics for the NID DAT exam, the details will be updated here. Note that the current session of the NIFT exam is conducted by the NTA. Now considering the NTA releases the exam stats, including the number of applicants registered, appeared, qualified - it is likely the details will also be released for the NIFT 2024 exam.

The results of the DAT Prelims will include the qualifying status of the candidate. If the candidate fails to qualify in DAT Prelims, he or she will not be eligible to appear in DAT Mains.

Note that the Desing Aptitude Test (DAT) conducted by the National Institute of Design (NID) has two sub-exams: DAT Prelims and DAT Mains.

Both the exams are mandatory.

Also, the final merit list is prepared by giving weighatage to DAT Prelims and DAT Mains. So, if a can candidate fails to qualify DAT Prelims or doesn’t appear in DAT Mains, the candidate will be disqualified from the admission process.

A pass in Class 12 in any stream is required to apply for the BDes course. Only Indian citizens born on or after 1 July 2003 are eligible for admission under the General Category or the General EWS Category. Applicants born on or after 1 July 2000 in the Reserved Category (Other Backward Classes-Non-Creamy Layers (OBCNCL), Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) may apply.For Indian Nationals in PwD Reserved Category: Only those candidates born on or after 1 July 1998 are eligible to apply for admission.

• Educational Qualification: Candidates may apply for the academic year 2023-24 who have passed or will appear for the higher secondary (10+2) qualifying examinations in the academic year 2022–23 in any stream (Science, Arts, Commerce, Humanities etc.) from a recognised educational board like CBSE, IB, ICSE, or equivalent.