Design Colleges in Delhi - Courses, Fees, Admissions 2025, Cutoff, Placements

Delhi is home to about 170 Design colleges. The number 1 design college in Delhi is National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT Delhi). The National Institute of Fashion Technology Delhi (also known as NIFT Delhi), which was founded in 1986, initially only provided one Design course from a temporary two-room setup. NIFT Delhi moved to its permanent campus, which was created by Dr. BV Doshi, in 1994. NIFT is a statutory institute governed by the NIFT Act 2006 and was established in 1986 under the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India. Tabulated below the college with their total tuition fee and top recruiters: 

College Name	Total Tuition Fee	Top Recruiters
NIFT Delhi	INR 70,800- INR 12,300	Titan, Blackberry, Nike, Boat, etc.

 

Delhi is home to about 170 Design colleges in Delhi. Out of these,  83 colleges are owned by the Private sector 25 colleges are owned by the Public sector. Amity University Noida, National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi, World University of Design, Indian Institute of Art and Design, and many more are the most popular Design colleges in Delhi. Tabulated below the colleges with their total tuition fee: 

College Name	Total Tuition Fee
NIFT Delhi	INR 70,800- INR 12.3 lakh
Pearl Academy	INR 2.2 lakh- INR 12.8 lakh
DTU	INR 2.9 lakh- INR 6.4 lakh

 

Delhi offers design courses at various levels like UG, PG and PHd. The basic eligibility criteria for admission to a design course at the UG, PG  and Doctorate levels are mentioned in the table below.

Course	Eligibility Criteria
UG Design Courses	Candidates can secure admission in a UG-level design course if they have completed 10+2 from a recognised board with passing marks. Aspirants from any stream (Science/ Commerce/ Arts) are eligible to apply for admission to a UG design course.
PG Design Courses	To secure admission in a PG-level design course, candidates should have completed graduation from a recognised college/ institute. It may be noted that for PG-level admissions, most colleges prefer graduates with a bachelor’s degree in design stream only. However, aspirants from other streams are also sometimes eligible to apply for admission in a PG design course if they possess the required skill set and aptitude.
PhD in Design	The applicants for the PhD in Design programme must hold a Master's degree in design from an accredited institution or university, or any degree that is an equivalent. A candidate is required to have received at least 50% in their postgraduate exams.

The application form for CEED 2025 will open in October 2024.

Applications will open online mode at ceed.iitb.ac.in.

All the details pertaining to the CEED 2025 application form will be updated on the admission portals, including the information brochure. The candidate needs to carefully go through the brochure to check their eligibility. Note that information entered by the candidate at the time of submitting their application form will be verified at the time of counseling. Any candidate who doesn’t meet the criteria will be disqualified.

IIT Bombay released the admission notification for UCEED 2025 on October 1, 2024.

Candidates can check out the notification online at the UCEED admission portal uceed.iitb.ac.in. IIT Bombay has launched a new admission portal for UCEED 2025 - https://www.uceed.iitb.ac.in/2025/index.html. 

The admission notification carry updates about the exam, for instance, when will the exam be conducted, the deadlines to fill out the application form, etc. It also contain the eligibility criteria that candidates need to fulfill for admission. The candidate needs to careful go through the admission notification to learn about the upcoming exam, especially if any new update is released. 

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.

NID (National Institute of Design) and NIFT (National Institute of Fashion Technology) are two of the most prestigious design institutes in India. Admission to the NIDs is conducted through the NID DAT entrance exam, while admission to the NIFTs is based on NIFT entrance exam scores.

Both institutes offer undergraduate and postgraduate programs in various design disciplines, including fashion design, textile design, graphic design, product design, and more. However, there are some basic and also major differences between the programs offered at the two institutes. 

NID is primarily focused on design education and research, and offers a wider range of design programs compared to NIFT. The academic curriculum of the NIDs emphasizes on design thinking, innovation, and problem-solving. It also offers programs in specialised areas such as Transportation & Automobile Design, Toy & Game Design, and Ceramic & Glass Design, which are not offered by NIFT.

The NIFTs, on the other hand, are primarily focused on fashion education and offers a specialised curriculum in fashion design, textile design, fashion management, and other related areas. The academic curriculum of the NIFTs emphasizes on fashion trends, design aesthetics, and technical skills. It also has a strong industry connect and offers numerous internship opportunities, which can be beneficial for students seeking career opportunities in the fashion industry.

In terms of placements, both NID and NIFT have a good track record of placing students in top design firms and companies. However, the placement opportunities may vary depending on the specialisation and individual skills.

Ultimately, the choice between NID and NIFT depends on your interests, career goals, and the type of design education you are looking for. Both the NIDs and NIFTs are among the top-ranked design colleges in the country and offer an excellent academic platform for design aspirants, so you must do the necessary due diligence, research and evaluate the programs offered by both institutes before making a decision.

The NIFT exam is among the competitive and is also considered among the toughest. So, it is recommended that the candidate starts their exam preparation well in advance, say with around 1 years time in hand. Note that the NIFT exam has various components like written exam and Situation Test /Personal Interview. Candidates seeking admission to the B. Des and M.Des courses need to prepare for both the CAT and GAT. The CAT is a drawing-based exam, meaning the candidate will be evaluated on parameters like intuitive ability, power of observation in concept development, and design ability. Now unless the candidate is already well-versed, developing these skills will take time. So, it is prudent to start early. The same goes for the GAT.

NIFT cutoff for a participating NIFT is the last rank for which admission is offered in for a particular programme and category. This means, if a candidate fails to score a rank equal to or higher than the cutoff rank, they don't get admission. Typically, a higher ranked institute will invite: More applications Higher ranked candidates This in turn pushes up the cutoff in higher ranked (or popular) institutes. Likewise, a lower-ranked institute will receive comparatively fewer number of applications, and mostly from lower-ranked candidates. This means, cut-off in these institutes are lower making it much easier to get admission.