NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF DESIGN (NID) ADMISSIONS 2027–28: APPLY NOW

 

1. DAT – Design Aptitude Test

The Design Aptitude Test (DAT) is the entrance examination for admission to NID’s B.Des. and 5.5-year Professional Education Master of Design (Integrated Pathway) programmes. DAT is designed to assess candidates’ knowledge, skills and behavioural abilities.

Candidates submit one online application for both DAT Prelims and DAT Mains.

2. IMPORTANT DATES

Event	Date
Online Application Begins	10 September 2026
Last date to apply	30 November 2026, 11:59 PM
Application Edit Window	1 December 2026, 4:00 PM – 3 December 2026, 11:59 PM
DAT Prelims Admit Card	10 December 2026, 4:00 PM
DAT Prelims Examination	20 December 2026 (Sunday)
Category Certificate Edit Window	16–28 February 2027
DAT Prelims Result	16 March 2027, 4:00 PM
DAT Mains Admit Card	To be announced
DAT Mains Examination	To be announced
DAT Mains Result	To be announced
Counselling/Seat Allotment	To be announced

Dates may be modified by NID in unforeseen circumstances.

3. ELIGIBILITY

Candidates must satisfy both age and educational qualification requirements.

Educational Qualification

Candidates must have passed or be appearing for the 10+2/equivalent examination in the academic year 2026–27, from a recognised board. Candidates from Science, Commerce, Arts, Humanities or any other stream can apply.

For candidates appearing in Class XII in 2026–27:

·         The qualifying examination must be passed in the first attempt.

·         The Class XII marksheet must be submitted by 15 July 2027.

·         Candidates with backlog, compartment or supplementary examination are not eligible for admission.

4. AGE LIMIT

Category	Date of Birth
General / General-EWS	On or after 1 July 2006
OBC-NCL / SC / ST	On or after 1 July 2003
PwD Reserved Category	On or after 1 July 2001
Overseas/Supernumerary	On or after 1 July 2006

These age limits apply to the programmes covered by the 2027–28 handbook

5. COURSES / PROGRAMMES

A. 5.5-Year Professional Education Master of Design – Integrated Pathway

·         Duration: 5½ years / 11 semesters

·         Offered through 15 design disciplines under 5 design streams.

Major streams and disciplines include:

Industrial Design

·         Ceramic & Glass Design

·         Transportation & Automobile Design

·         Product Design

Communication Design

·         Animation Film Design

·         Film & Video Communication

·         Graphic Design

Spatial Experience Design

·         Exhibition Design

·         Furniture & Interior Design

·         Design for Retail Experience

Textile & Apparel Design

·         Textile Design

·         Apparel Design

·         Lifestyle Accessory Design

Digital Design Futures

·         Digital Game Design

·         Interaction Design

·         Information Design

B. Bachelor of Design (B.Des.)

NID Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh offer B.Des./Integrated M.Des. programmes. Exact disciplines and seat details are to be checked on the respective institute websites.

6. DAT PRELIMS – STAGE 1

·         Common examination for all NIDs.

·         Conducted at designated test centres across India.

·         DAT Prelims score is used only for shortlisting candidates for DAT Mains.

·         Prelims marks are not carried forward as weightage to DAT Mains.

·         Appearing in Prelims or being shortlisted does not guarantee admission.

·         The question paper is in English only.

·         Candidates must arrange their own travel and accommodation.

7. DAT MAINS – STAGE 2

Candidates shortlisted on the basis of DAT Prelims will be called for DAT Mains.

DAT Mains consists of: 1. Studio Sensitivity Test 2. In-Person Sensitivity Test

For each category, the number of candidates shortlisted for DAT Mains will be 2.5 times the available seats.

The DAT Mains score is used for admission to the respective NID. Details of the Mains examination will be announced later.

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8. APPLICATION FEE

Category	Fee
General / Gen-EWS / OBC-NCL	₹3,000
Female candidates except SC/ST/PwD	₹2,000
SC / ST	₹1,500
PwD	₹500
Third Gender	₹500
Overseas – Supernumerary	US$125

The fee is applicable for all NIDs and is non-refundable and non-transferable. Bank/convenience charges are extra.

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9. APPLICATION PROCEDURE

Apply online only:

1.    Visit the official NID admissions website.

2.    Read the eligibility, seats, test centres and reservation information.

3.    Register/Sign up using programme, nationality, category, valid email and active mobile number.

4.    Fill in the online application form.

5.    Upload photograph, signature and applicable certificates.

6.    Pay the application fee.

7.    Submit the application.

8.    Download/print the automatically generated application form and keep it safely.

9.    Download the Admit Card from the NID website when released.

Important: Programme, name, date of birth, registered mobile number and registered email ID cannot be changed during the edit window

For more details and application visit: https://admissions.nid.edu/NIDA2027/Default.aspx

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