Rankings of Top Design Colleges in India 2024
The ranking of an institute is an indication of its employability, teaching-learning resources, faculty, infrastructure, projects and case study, and innovation.
With the study of design getting more mainstream, there is a corresponding mushrooming of design institutes across the country. However, these institutes are not all equal. As far as rankings are concerned, the NIFTs continue to dominate. For instance, in the India Today rankings, eight of the top ten positions are occupied by NIFTs. This is precisely why a majority of students want to get admission to the NIFTs. The problem however is the NIFTs have a limited number of seats. So, those missing out on a seat at the NIFTs may end up looking for options elsewhere. And, how do you find your options? By consulting ranking lists!
Note that the Ministry of Education doesn’t publish any NIRF Rankings for Design, unlike it does for categories like Engineering, Management, Medical, and Law. In its absence, the next best option for the candidate is to depend on ranking lists published by recognized names like - India Today, The Week, and Outlook. In this article, we take a look at the rankings of the top design institutes in 2023 published by these institutes, and also by other agencies. This will help the candidate make a fair call on which college to get admission into. So, let’s dive in.
Explore colleges based on NIFT Entrance Exam
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| Name of the Institute |
India Today 2023 Ranking |
India Today 2022 Ranking |
India Today 2021 Ranking |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
1 |
1 |
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| 2 |
2 |
2 |
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| 3 |
3 |
3 |
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| 4 |
4 |
4 |
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| 6 |
5 |
6 |
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| 7 |
6 |
5 |
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| 5 |
7 |
7 |
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| 8 |
8 |
8 |
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| 9 |
9 |
9 |
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| 11 |
10 |
10 |
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| 14 |
11 |
11 |
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| 15 |
12 |
13 |
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| 13 |
13 |
- |
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| 16 |
14 |
12 |
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| 12 |
15 |
- |
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| 18 |
16 |
14 |
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| 17 |
17 |
16 |
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| 20 |
18 |
17 |
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| 19 |
19 |
15 |
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| 22 |
20 |
18 |
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| - |
22 |
23 |
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| - |
23 |
19 |
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| 23 |
24 |
24 |
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| 24 |
25 |
28 |
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| - |
26 |
22 |
|
| - |
27 |
27 |
|
| - |
28 |
25 |
|
| - |
29 |
26 |
|
| Department of Fashion Technology, Sona College of Technology, Salem |
- |
30 |
- |
| - |
31 |
- |
|
| - |
32 |
- |
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| - |
33 |
- |
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| - |
34 |
- |
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| - |
35 |
- |
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| - |
36 |
- |
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| - |
37 |
- |
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| - |
38 |
- |
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| - |
39 |
- |
|
| - |
40 |
- |
|
| - |
41 |
- |
|
| Department of Fashion and Textiles IIS, Jaipur |
- |
42 |
- |
| - |
43 |
- |
|
| - |
44 |
- |
|
| Department of Costume Design & Fashion Kongu Arts and Science College, Erode |
- |
45 |
- |
| - |
46 |
- |
|
| Department of Fashion Designing Sardar Patel Mahavidyalaya Chandrapur, Chandrapur |
- |
47 |
- |
| - |
48 |
- |
|
| - |
49 |
- |
|
| - |
- |
20 |
|
| - |
- |
21 |
|
| - |
- |
29 |
|
| - |
- |
30 |
Top Fashion Design Colleges in India 2022 - India Today Rankings
| Name of the Institute |
India Today 2022 Ranking |
India Today 2021 Ranking |
|---|---|---|
| NIFT Delhi |
1 |
1 |
| NIFT Mumbai |
2 |
2 |
| NIFT Bangalore |
3 |
3 |
| NIFT Chennai |
4 |
4 |
| NIFT Gandhinagar |
5 |
6 |
| NIFT Patna |
6 |
5 |
| NIFT Hyderabad |
7 |
7 |
| NIFT Kolkota |
8 |
8 |
| Pearl Academy New Delhi |
9 |
9 |
| Symbiosis Institute of Design (SID), Pune |
10 |
10 |
| NIFT Raebareli |
11 |
11 |
| Army Institute of Fashion and Design |
12 |
13 |
| NIFT Kannur |
13 |
- |
| NIFT Shillong |
14 |
12 |
| NIFT Bhubaneswar |
15 |
- |
| Pearl Academy Jaipur |
16 |
14 |
| NIFT Kangra |
17 |
16 |
| JD Institute of Fashion Technology |
18 |
17 |
| Amity Institute of Fashion Technology, Noida |
19 |
15 |
| NIFT TEA |
20 |
18 |
| Vogue Institute of Art and Design |
22 |
23 |
| MKSSSs School of Fashion Technology Pune |
23 |
19 |
| Pearl Academy Mumbai |
24 |
24 |
| Amity School of Fashion Technology, Lucknow |
25 |
28 |
| Fashion and Apparel Design, T.John College |
26 |
22 |
| PSG College of Arts and Science |
27 |
27 |
| IMS Design and Innovation Academy |
28 |
25 |
| Whistling Woods International, Mumbai |
29 |
26 |
| Department of Fashion Technology, Sona College of Technology, Salem |
30 |
- |
| BBK DAV College for Women, Amritsar |
31 |
- |
| J.D.Birla Institute, Kolkota |
32 |
- |
| Nehru Arts and Science College, Comibatore |
33 |
- |
| Rathinam College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore |
34 |
- |
| The Oxford College of Science, Bengaluru |
35 |
- |
| Kanya Maha Vidyalaya, Jalandhar |
36 |
- |
| Hindusthan College of Arts & Science, Coimbatore |
37 |
- |
| Dr.N.G.P Arts and Science College, Coimbatore |
38 |
- |
| Sri Krishna Arts and Science College, Coimbatore |
39 |
- |
| Bishop Appasamy College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore |
40 |
- |
| Bon Secours College of Women, Thanjavur |
41 |
- |
| Department of Fashion and Textiles IIS, Jaipur |
42 |
- |
| Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya, Jalandhar |
43 |
- |
| Dr. SNS Rajalakshmi College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore |
44 |
- |
| Department of Costume Design & Fashion Kongu Arts and Science College, Erode |
45 |
- |
| IIFT College of Fashion, Bengaluru |
46 |
- |
| Department of Fashion Designing Sardar Patel Mahavidyalaya Chandrapur, Chandrapur |
47 |
- |
| School of Design JECRC University, Jaipur |
48 |
- |
| K.S.R. College of Arts and Science for Women, Namakkal |
49 |
- |
| - |
20 |
|
| - |
21 |
|
| - |
29 |
|
| - |
30 |
Top Design Colleges in India 2022 - Outlook and The Week Rankings
Name of the Institute |
Ranking |
|
|---|---|---|
| The Week 2020 |
Outlook 2019 |
|
| NIFT Delhi |
1 |
2 |
| NIFT Mumbai |
- |
1 |
| NIFT Bangalore |
2 |
4 |
| NIFT Chennai |
3 |
5 |
| NIFT Patna |
6 |
8 |
| NIFT Gandhinagar |
4 |
- |
| NIFT Hyderabad |
5 |
7 |
| NIFT Kolkota |
7 |
6 |
| Pearl Academy New Delhi |
8 |
3 |
| Symbiosis Institute of Design (SID), Pune |
- |
20 |
| NIFT Raebareli |
- |
- |
| NIFT Shillong |
9 |
- |
| Army Institute of Fashion and Design |
11 |
14 |
| Pearl Academy Jaipur |
- |
- |
| Amity Institute of Fashion Technology, Noida |
- |
15 |
| NIFT Kangra |
- |
- |
| JD Institute of Fashion Technology |
14 |
- |
| NIFT TEA |
- |
10 |
| MKSSSs School of Fashion Technology Pune |
- |
- |
| Apeejay College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar |
- |
- |
| Manipal School of Architecture and Planning |
13 |
- |
| Fashion and Apparel Design, T.John College |
- |
17 |
| Vogue Institute of Art and Design |
- |
22 |
| Pearl Academy Mumbai |
- |
25 |
| IMS Design and Innovation Academy |
15 |
24 |
| Whistling Woods International, Mumbai |
- |
- |
| PSG College of Arts and Science |
- |
- |
| Amity School of Fashion Technology, Lucknow |
16 |
19 |
| Axis Institute of Fashion Technology |
- |
- |
| North India Institute of Fashion Technology |
- |
9 |
Rankings of Design Colleges 2022 - QS World Rankings
QS World University Rankings are published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). QS Rankings are considered among the most reliable, along with Academic Ranking of World Universities and Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
Q: What is the seat intake for the M.Des programme offered by CEED accepting colleges?
There are eight participating institutes of CEED 2025 that offer the M.Des program. Admission to theprogram will be on the basis of CEED 2025 merit rank.
S.No | Participating Institute | Department | M.Des Seat Intake |
1 | IISc Bangalore | Centre for Product Design and Manufacturing | 18 |
2 | IIT Bombay | IDC School of Design (Industrial Design Centre) | 78 |
3 | IIT Delhi | Department of Design | - |
4 | IIT Guwahati | Department of Design | 33 |
5 | IIT Hyderabad | Department of Design | 30 |
6 | IIT Kanpur | Design Programme | - |
7 | IIT Roorkee | Department of Design | 20 |
8 | IIT Jodhpur | School of Liberal Arts | - |
Candidates who have been assigned a merit rank in CEED 2025 need to apply directly to the participating institute. Counseling registration will commence soon after CEED 2025 results are declared.
Q: How many B.Des seats are offered by the participating institutes of UCEED 2024?
There are SIX participating institutes of UCEED 2024.
IIT Roorkee has newly joined the list of UCEED 2024 participating colleges.
These participating institutes offer a combined intake of 225 (up from 205 seats in the previous edition) seats for the B. Des programme. Admission to the B. Des programme will be based on UCEED 2024 merit. Of the five participating institutes, IIT Jabalpur has the highest intake at 66 seats. Meanwhile, IIT Bombay, which is the most sought after college has an intake of 37 seats. Note that the seat intake has been divided into various categories like Open, SC, ST, OBC-NCL, and PwD.
Q: What are NIFT Score accepting colleges other than participating colleges?
Note that there are 18 NIFTs that will accept NIFT 2025 scores for admission purposes. These institutes are known as participating colleges.
However, in addition to the participating colleges, there are other private colleges that will also consider NIFT 2025 scores for admission to their UG and PG design courses.
One major difference is these institutes will not participate in the counseling process conducted by the National Institute of Fashion Technology. Further, these institutes may also accept scores of other popular entrance exams like NID, UCEED, etc.
Here is a list of NIFT score-accepting colleges.
CMR University, Bangalore
World University of Design, Sonipat
Vishwakarma University, Pune
ISDI School of Design and Innovation, Mumbai
Alliance University, Bangalore
LPU University
Somaiya School of Design, Mumbai
Riidl Academy, Mumbai
QS World University Rankings for Arts and Design 2022 is out now. The rankings are topped by the Royal College of Art, London, with an overall score of 99.6.
The University of the Arts London, London with an overall score of 94 came second, while The New School, New York came third with a score of 92.8.
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Find out which design college in India made the list.
QS World Rankings of Design Colleges 2022
| Name of the Institute |
Ranking |
Rating* |
|---|---|---|
| 51-100 |
- |
|
| 51-100 |
- |
|
| 151-200 |
- |
*No ratings were assigned to these Indian institutes.
Also Read:
- NIFT 2023 exam - admission notification, exam date, syllabus
- UCEED 2023 application to open soon
- CEED 2023 - application expected to open anytime
Top Private Design Colleges Colleges 2022 (IIRF Rankings)
Indian Institutional Ranking Framework (IIR)F has published a list of top 40 private design colleges in India 2022. The rankings are based on parameters like employability, teaching-learning resources, faculty, infrastructure, projects and case study, and innovation.
Rankings of Top Private Design Colleges 2022
| Name of the Institute |
IIRF Ranking 2022 |
|---|---|
| UID - Unitedworld Institute of Design, Gandhinagar |
1 |
| Pearl Academy, Mumbai |
2 |
| Apeejay Institute of Design, New Delhi |
3 |
| Pearl Academy Delhi |
4 |
| MAEER’s MIT |
5 |
| WWI - Whistling Woods International, Mumbai |
6 |
| Pearl Academy, Bengaluru |
7 |
| WUD - World University of Design, Delhi |
8 |
| ISDI - Indian School of Design and Innovation |
9 |
| Srishti Institute of Art and Design |
10 |
| VDA - Vadodara Design Academy |
11 |
| Pearl Academy, Jaipur |
12 |
| DJ Academy of Design |
13 |
| Pearl Academy, Kolkota |
14 |
| GLS Institute of Design, Ahmedabad |
15 |
| SSIV - Venus School of Design, Ahmedabad |
16 |
| KSD - Khyati School of Design, Gandhinagar |
17 |
| ARCH Academy of Design, Jaipur |
18 |
| Acharya School of Design, Bengaluru |
19 |
| PSG College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore |
20 |
| INIFD, Mumbai |
21 |
| TDV - The Design Village |
22 |
| Chitkara School of Arts & Design, Chitkara University, Chandigarh |
23 |
| Department of Design, Nirma University, Ahmedabad |
24 |
| SOFT - School of Fashion Technology, Pune |
25 |
| JD Institute of Fashion Technology, Bengaluru |
26 |
| JIET - Institute of Design & Technology, Jodhpur |
27 |
| JD Institute of Fashion Technology, Hauz Khas |
28 |
| Creative Academy of Design -CAD, Coimbatore |
29 |
| Amity School of Fashion Technology, Noida |
30 |
| Apparel Training & Design Centre - ATDC, New Delhi |
31 |
| Instituto Marangoni, Mumbai |
32 |
| Anant National University, Ahmedabad |
33 |
| UPES school of Design, Dehradun |
34 |
| Indian Institute of Art & Design |
35 |
| INIFD, Kolkota |
36 |
| Amity University, Lucknow |
37 |
| IMS Design and Innovation, Noida |
38 |
| Poornima University, Jaipur |
39 |
Top Private Fashion Design Colleges 2022
Outlook-ICARE has released the rankings for the top private fashion design colleges for 2022.
| Name of the Institute |
Outlook-ICARE Ranking 2022 |
|---|---|
| Pearl Academy, New Delhi |
1 |
| Symbiosis Institute of Design (SID), Pune |
2 |
| Pearl Academy, Jaipur |
3 |
| Amity School of Fashion Technology, Noida |
4 |
| JD Institute of Fashion Technology, Bangalore |
5 |
| Manipal Institute of Arcchitecture & Planning, Udupi |
6 |
| MKSSSs School of Fashion Technology Pune |
7 |
| Fashion and Apparel Design, T.John College |
8 |
| Pearl Academy, Mumbai |
9 |
| The Oxford College of Science, Bangalore |
10 |
| J.D.Birla Institute, Kolkota |
11 |
| Vogue Institute of Art and Design, Bangalore |
12 |
| IMS Design and Innovation Asacdemy, Noida |
13 |
| Amity Institute of Fashion Technology, Lucknow |
14 |
| Department of Fashion Technology, Sona College, Tamil Nadu |
15 |
| PSG College of Arts & Science, Coimbatore |
16 |
| Hindustan College of Arts and Science, Tamil Nadu |
17 |
| Instititute of Management Studies, Noida |
18 |
| Nehru Arts and Science College, Coimbatore |
19 |
| Axis Institite of Fashion Technology, Kanpur |
20 |
| ARCH College of Design and Business, Jaipur |
21 |
| Rathinam College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore |
22 |
| JD Institute of Fashion Technology, New Delhi |
23 |
| University Institute of Fashion and Design, Chandigarh University, Mohali |
24 |
| Pearl Academy, Bangalore |
25 |
Ranking Parameters:
The following parameters have been used to rank the institutes:
Q: How can I select a UCEED 2024 participating institute for admission to the B.Des programme?
Q: What is the admission process for SEED 2025?
Admission to the B.Desprogrammeoffered by the Symbiosis Institute of Design (SID) will be in the following sequence:
Filling of online application - Eligible candidates need to fill out the SEED 2024 application form before the last date.
Appear in SEED 2024 exam - The candidate has to download the admit card and appear in the SEED 2024 entrance exam on the designed day.
Declaration of results and shortlist - The results will be declared around the 4th week of January, followed by the released of shortlist for PRPI.
Upload PRPI Task and Portfolio - Eligible candidates will have to upload their portfolio and PRPI task within the given deadline.
Appear in Portfolio Review and Personal Interaction round.
Declaration of first merit list - The merit list will be prepared by considering the cumulative performance of the candidate in Symbiosis Entrance Exam for Design (SEED), Portfolio Review, PRPI Task and Personal Interaction.
Q: How many seats are there in CEED?
Q: Is SEED 2025 exam compulsory for admission to the B.Des program?
Yes, candidates seeking admission to the B.Desprogrammeneed to compulsory appear in the SEED 2025 exam.
The scores of the SEED 2025 exam will be used to shortlist candidates for a Portfolio Review and Personal Interaction (PRPI) round.
Note that the final merit list will be prepared by considering the cumulative performance of the candidate in the Symbiosis Entrance Exam for Design (SEED), Portfolio Review, PRPI Task, and Personal Interaction (PRPI).
So, any candidate who appears in the SEED but doesn’t appear in the PRPI will not be considered for admission.
The B.Des is a 4-year course carrying 160 credits.
Q: Do the participating colleges of UCEED 2024 offer M.Des programme?
| Ranking Parameter |
Weightage |
|---|---|
| Academic and Research Excellence |
300 |
| Industry Interface & Placement |
200 |
| Infrastructure and Facilities |
200 |
| Governance and Admission |
150 |
| Diversity and Outreach |
150 |
| Total |
1000 |
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