NIFT Lateral Entry Admission 2025 - Application Open, Exam Date, Pattern

Candidates seeking admission to the B. Des and M.Des course also need to take the Creative Ability Test CAT written exam, in addition to the GAT. The CAT exam will be conducted in an offline, pen-pencil mode. CAT will be a drawing-based exam of 3 hours duration. The CAT will evaluate various skills of the candidate including Intuition skill, power of observation, innovation in the development of a concept as well as design ability. Further, it will examine the creative as well as innovative use of color and illustration skills of aspirants. It is mandatory for B. Des and M.Des candidates to appear in the CAT paper, or else they will not be invited for the Situation Test.

As per the official exam pattern released by NIFT, the question paper for GAT M.FTech will be of 180 minutes. The exam will be conducted in a LAN-based, CBT mode. The GAT paper will have 150 multiple-choice questions. These questions will be asked from - Communication Ability and Comprehension, Case Study, Quantitative Ability, Analytical & Logical Ability, and GK and Current Affairs. Also, the GAT paper will be bilingual, meaning the candidate can appear in the GAT paper either in English or Hindi language. The choice of language has to be made when filling out the NIFT 2024 online application form.

Candidates will be shortlisted for the Situation Test on the basis of their performance in the CAT and GAT written exams. The Situation Test will evaluate the - material handling and the innovative ability - of the candidate. Some of the key parameters that will be evaluated include Space Visualization, Innovative and creative use of given material, the composition of elements, color scheme, construction skill, the finesse of the model and overall presentation, etc. After making the model, the candidate will also have to draft a write-up explaining the model. The write-up should clearly explain the concept/idea behind the model constructed. Also, the write-up should be in English only. Write-ups in any other language will not be accepted. The candidate has to make the model using material provided inside the exam hall. No other material will be allowed.

NIFT Lateral Entry Admission (NLEA) provides an opportunity to candidates who have completed their Diploma in relevant or related fields of Design & Technology for direct admission to the third semester of UG programmes of NIFT. 

Eligible candidates have to appear in the NIFT 2025 entrance exam to get lateral admission. Admission under lateral entry scheme will be strictly on merit of NIFT 2025 exam, which will include written examination, studio test/ technology aptitude test, and a personal interview. 

Candidates selected through lateral entry will join the regular UG students of NIFT in their second year. 

The seat intake under this scheme will be displayed on the website prior to seat allocation.

The exam analysis for the NIFT 2025 written exam will be available soon after the completion of the CAT and GAT written exams. The exam analysis will throw insights into the written exam, including the difficulty level, types of questions asked, marking scheme, and expected cut-off. In addition, the analysis will highlight if candidates faced any technical issues during the exam. The candidate by consulting the exam analysis will be able to assess their performance and check what went right and what went wrong. Future aspirants also can go through the NIFT exam analysis to learn about the exam.

The GAT paper for the M.Des programme will be of 120 minutes and will include 120 multiple-choice questions. The questions will be set in English and Hindi the candidate will be able to select their language at the time of filling out the NIFT 2025 application form. Questions will be asked from the following topics - Communication Ability, English Comprehension, Quantitative Ability, Analytical Ability, and GK and Current Affairs. The Communication Ability, English Comprehension, Quantitative Ability sections will each include 30 questions, whereas Analytical Ability will have 20 questions, and GK and Current Affairs will have 15 questions. The candidate must strictly follow the official exam pattern only, as questions will be asked as the given syllabus.

Under the NIFT lateral entry admission (NLEA) scheme, the candidate can get admission directly to the 3rd semester of the B. Des programme. Candidates opting for the NLEA scheme need to first appear in the General Ability Test (GAT). Candidates who get shortlisted has to next appear in a Studio Test, and finally in a Personal Interview. The GAT test will carry 40% weightage, Studio Test carries 40% weightage, while the Interview carries 20% weightage. It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in all the stages of the exam. If not, he or she will not be included in the admission merit list.

The participating institutes of NIFTs offer a 4-year B.FTech programme. Admission to the programme is based on GAT scores. The NIFT 2024 GAT question paper for the programme will be of 180 minutes and will be bilingual. Candidates will have the option to take the exam either in English or Hindi. The question type will be multiple-choice. The question paper will have a total of 150 questions. Questions will be asked from the following FIVE sections - Communication Ability and Comprehension, Case Study, Quantitative Ability, Analytical & Logical Ability, and GK and Current Affairs. The mode of NIFT 2024 exam for the GAT paper will be computer-based-test (or CBT).. .