NID Design Aptitude Test Bachelor of Design

Key facts

Conducting body

National Institute of Design

Eligible class

Class-12

Exam level

National

Exam areas

Design

Academic year

2026-2027

Primary goal

A national-level entrance examination conducted to select students for the four-year, full-time Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) undergraduate programme across the five campuses of NIDs:

Syllabus subjects

Design Sensitivity

Exam structure

The NID B.Des admission is a two-stage process: Mode of Exam: Offline, pen-and-paper. Duration: 3 hours. Total Marks: 100 marks. Paper Structure: Evaluates candidate's design aptitude, drawing skills, and visualization abilities. GAT (multiple-choice general aptitude questions) has been completely removed. The exam is entirely focused on creative skills, subjective drawing, visual logic, and written design solutions. Role/Weightage: Purely qualifying. The Prelims score does not contribute to the final consolidated merit list (0% weightage). It is used strictly to shortlist candidates for Stage 2. Shortlist Ratio: Candidates are shortlisted for the Mains stage at a ratio of 1.5 times the total number of available seats under each category. Shortlisted candidates are invited to NID campuses for the practical Mains stage, which consists of two sections: Studio Sensitivity Test: Practical, hands-on tasks assessing model-making, 3D visualization, material exploration, and problem-solving under constraints. Weightage: 60% of the final selection score. In-Person Sensitivity Test: A face-to-face interactive evaluation designed to assess the candidate's design empathy, observation skills, creative depth, and design thinking. Weightage: 40% of the final selection score. Final Merit List Weightage: 100% of the final selection merit rank is determined by cumulative performance in the DAT Mains (60% Studio + 40% In-Person Sensitivity Test). --