NATA 2023: Application Form, Exam Dates (Out), Eligibility

Every year, lakhs of students appear for the NATA Exam to take admission into the best architecture colleges in India that offer a 5-year Bachelor of Architecture program. National Aptitude Test of Architecture (NATA) is an all India level entrance exam conducted by the Council of Architecture (COA). If you are planning to pursue the B.Arch programme and want to know about NATA Exam 2023, then this blog will provide details related to NATA Exam pattern, eligibility, syllabus, NATA colleges and a lot more.

Name of the Exam	National Aptitude Test of Architecture
Conducted by	Council of Architecture (CoA)
Exam Mode	Online
Exam Frequency	Twice ( April & June)
Exam Format	Online (Aptitude Section)Offline (Drawing Section)
Type of Questions	Multiple-Choice Question (MCQ), Multiple Select Question (MSQ)Preferential Choice Question (PCQ) & Numerical Answer Question (NAQ).
Exam Duration	180 minutes
Negative Marking	None
Total Questions	125
Total Marks	200
Correct Answer	1, 2 and 3 marks/per answer
NATA Colleges	300+

Check the eligibility criteria, exam pattern and more for JEE Mains 2021 for Architecture!

What is NATA Exam?

NATA or National Aptitude Test in Architecture is a national level entrance exam conducted by the Council of Architecture (CoA) for those seeking admission to undergraduate courses in Architecture such as BArch. Candidates seeking admission will have the choice of appearing in one or all exams.

NATA Exam Dates 2023

Check out the important dates for NATA Exam 2023:

NATA Phase I	Dates
Beginning of Online Application Process	20-March-2023
Conclusion of the Online Registration Process	13-April-2023
Last Date to Upload Image/s and Payment of Fee	13April-2023
Availability of Confirmation Page for Printing	14-April-2023
Correction Window of Application Form	8-April-2023 to 10-April-2023
Release of Admit Card	18-April-2023
NATA 2023 Phase I	21-April-2023
Declaration of Result	30-April-2023

NATA Phase II	Dates
Beginning of Online Application Process	20-March-2023
Conclusion of the Online Registration Process	24-May-2023
Last Date to Upload Image/s and Payment of Fee	25-May-2023
Availability of Confirmation Page for Printing	25-May-2023
Correction Window of Application Form	20-May-2023 to 22-May-2023
Release of the Admit Card	30-May-2023
NATA 2023 Phase II	3-June-2023
Declaration of Result	13-June-2023

NATA Phase III	Dates
Beginning of Online Application Process	20-March-2023
Conclusion of the Online Registration Process	29-June-2023
Last Date to Upload Image/s and Payment of Fee	29-June-2023
Availability of Confirmation Page for Printing	30-June-2023
Correction Window of Application Form	25-June-2023 to 29-June-2023
Release of the Admit Card	05-July-2023
NATA 2023 Phase III	09-July-2023
Declaration of Result	17-July-2023

NATA 2023 Schedule

Examination shall be conducted in two sessions on the date of the Test, subject to number of candidates registered for the session. The candidates need to indicate their preference for session & city of examination while registering at NATA portal. The session during which the candidate will take the test as well as the Test Centre shall be allotted by the Council, as far as possible, on the basis of preferences provided by the candidate in the application form. The decision of the Council in allotting Test Centre and session to candidates shall be final.

NATA 2023 Eligibility Criteria

Those planning to apply for 5-year B.Arch programmes offered by the educational institutes need to fulfil the following eligibility criteria:

• Age Criteria: There is no age limit to apply for the National Aptitude Test in Architecture 
• Qualifying Examination: Passed in 10 + 2 scheme of examination and 10 + 3 diploma examination. Candidates appearing in 2021 are also eligible to apply.
• Qualifying Exam Subjects: 10+2 physics, chemistry, mathematics, and 10+3 diploma holders (any stream)
• Art Stream Candidates: Art stream students are also eligible if they have qualified physics, chemistry, and mathematics subjects conducted by CBSE

Also Read: Best Country to Study Architecture!

NATA Registration 2023

The registration date for NATA 2023 has been extended up to 29 June, 2023 (up to 11:59 PM) as a last opportunity for those who wish to apply for third session of NATA Test.

NATA Application Form

Candidates must register using their Email ID and Password. The application form is filled out on all the NATA official website. Personal details like name, age, address, category, academic details are compulsory. Applicants must upload an image and signature and pay the fees before submitting the form. 

NATA Exam Fees 2023

After filling the Application Form, candidates are also required to pay the fee online i.e., through net banking/credit card/debit card. Here are the category-wise application fees for the exams:

Admission in B.Arch

Qualifying NATA Exam is not only eligibility to get admission into B.Arch courses. The student has to fulfil the eligibility criteria of college admission authorities or respective counselling as well, which includes  

• Qualify NATA Exam and any other entrance exam accepted by the university.
• Clearing 10+2 with 50% aggregate marks in PCM and 50% aggregate marks in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics each as well, or
• The student must have cleared diploma (10+3) with 50% aggregate, taking Mathematics as a compulsory subject in diploma.

NATA Exam Centres

The examination centres will be allocated to those candidates who have opted to appear for NATA 2023 examination at a Test centre. The allocation of test centre shall be done on the basis of preferences opted by the Candidate.

Also Read: List of Top Architecture Courses!

NATA Admit Card 2023

For each Applicant, an Admit Card will be generated according to the schedule notified indicating the allotted Examination Centre for NATA 2023 and a downloadable version of the admit card will be published on the respective webpage of the candidate concerned. An Examination Roll Number will also be generated for each candidate.

NATA Score Validity 

The validity of the NATA score is one year; NATA 2023 score is valid for only the academic year of 2023-2024. Candidates who want to study in the academic year 2023- 2024 must appear for the NATA exam 2023. 

Top Architecture NATA Colleges 

NATA is one of the most popular exams for B.Arch programmes in India. There is a huge list of universities that accept NATA scores. Let us look at the NATA colleges that give admission to inspiring architects through this exam- 

University	Location	Type of University
Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology University	Ahmedabad	Private
School of Planning and Architecture	New Delhi	Affiliated
Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology	West Bengal	Public University
Sir JJ College of Architecture	Mumbai	Public- Affiliated University
Jamia Millia Islamia	New Delhi	Central University
College of Engineering Trivandrum	Thiruvananthapuram	Public College
Manipal Academy of Higher Education	Manipal	Private
Birla Institute of Technology	Ranchi	Private
BMS College of Architecture	Bangalore	Affiliated University
Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology	Bhopal	Public Technical University
Aligarh Muslim University	Aligarh	Public Central University
Thiagarajar College of Engineering	Madurai, Tamil Nadu	Autonomous College
School of Architecture and Planning – Anna University	Chennai	Public State University
Vellore Institute of Technology	Vellore, Tamil Nadu	Private Deemed University
Javadpur University	Kolkata	Public University
SRM Institute of Science and Technology Chennai	Chennai	Private University

Public/Government NATA Colleges 2023

University	Location
Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda	Vadodara
Andhra University College of Engineering	Visakhapatnam
Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University	New Delhi
Nirma University	Ahmedabad
School of Planning & Architecture – Jawaharlal Nehru Architecture and Fine Arts University (JNA&FAU)	Hyderabad
Goa College of Architecture	Panaji
Dayalbagh Educational Institute	Agra
Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute	Chennai
Shri Mata Vaishno Devi University, Katra	Jammu and Kashmir
Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology	Kottayam, Kerala
Bundelkhand University	Jhansi
Mizoram University	Aizwal

Private Architecture NATA Colleges 2023

Private Colleges	Location
Lovely Professional University	Punjab
Ramaiah Institute of Technology	Bangalore
Apeejay Institute of Technology, School of Architecture & Planning	Greater Noida, UP
Sushant School of Art and Architecture	Gurgaon
Chandigarh University	Chandigarh
School of Architecture & Planning, K.R.Mangalam University	New Delhi
Hindustan Institute of Technology and Science (HITS)	Chennai
Amity University	Noida
Smef’s Brick School of Architecture	Pune
Koneru Lakshmaiah University	Guntur
Dehradun Institute of Technology (DIT)	Dehradun
Pearl Academy	New Delhi

NATA Exam Pattern: Overview

• Number of Sections: 2 sections (Aptitude Section and Drawing Section)
• Mode of Exam: The aptitude Section will be conducted Online and Drawing Section will be (Pen Paper-based).
• Time Duration of Exam: 3 hours ( 60 minutes for aptitude section and 120 minutes for drawing section).
• Marking: 1 mark, 2 or 3 marks are awarded for each correct answer and no negative marking is there in this exam.
• Total Number of Questions: 125
• Total Number of Marks: 200

Given below in tabular form is Distribution of Marks in each section in NATA Exam:

Subjects	Marking Scheme	Total marks
PART A- Aptitude Section	60 Questions	120
Mathematics	20 Questions, 2 Marks Each	40
General aptitude	40 Questions, 2 Marks Each	80
Part –B- Drawing Section	40 Questions, 2 Marks Each	80
Total		200 marks

NATA Exam 2023 Syllabus

The Council of Architecture (COA) has curated the NATA Exam 2023 with a total of 2 sections that aim to examine candidates on various aspects. Given below is a detailed syllabus for this exam:

PART A- Aptitude Section (Mathematics and General Aptitude)

The aptitude section tests students’ ability to learn, problem-solving, reasoning and critical thinking skills. The Aptitude Section consists of 2 parts – Mathematics and General Aptitude. Below is a list of topics that are covered in this part of NATA Exam 2023:

Mathematics Syllabus

Units	Topics Covered
Algebra	A. P. and G.P, Arithmetic/Geometric series, A.M., G.M., General term, etc.
Logarithms	Definition; General properties; Change of base
Matrices	Concepts of m x n (m ≤ 3, n ≤ 3) real matrices, Transpose of a matrix, Properties of determinants (statement only), Solutions of system of linear equations (Not more than 3 variables), Inverse of a matrix, Finding area of a triangle, etc.
Trigonometry	Trigonometric functions, Addition and subtraction formulae, Properties of triangles, Inverse trigonometric functions and their properties, etc.
Coordinate geometry	Distance formula, Section formula, Area of a triangle, Slope of a Line, Equation of lines in different forms, Angle between two lines, Distance between two parallel lines, Lines through the point of intersection of two lines, etc
3-Dimensional Coordinate geometry	Direction cosines and direction ratios, Equation of a straight line, Equation of a plane, Distance between two points, etc.
Theory of Calculus	Functions, Composition of two functions and inverse of a function, Limit, Continuity, Integration as a reverse process of differentiation, Indefinite integral of standard functions, etc.
Application of Calculus	Tangents and normals, Conditions of tangency, Determination of monotonicity, maxima and minima, Differential coefficient as a measure of rate, etc.
Permutation and combination	Permutation of n different things taken r at a time (r ≤ n), Permutation of n things not all different, Basic properties, Problems involving both permutations and combinations, etc.
Statistics and Probability	Measures of dispersion, Mean, Variance and Standard Deviation, Frequency distribution, etc.

General Aptitude Syllabus

The questions which are to be framed under the NATA Exam 2023 under this section are around the following topics:

• Texture related to architecture and built environment
• Mathematical Reasoning
• Visualizing three-dimensional objects from a two-dimensional drawing
• Analytical reasoning
• General Knowledge of national/international architects and famous architectural creations
• Sets and relations
• Visualizing different sides of 3d objects
• Interpretation of pictorial compositions

PART B- Drawing Section

• Conceptualization and Visualization through structuring objects in memory.
• Drawing of patterns – both geometrical and abstract.
• Form transformations in 2D and 3D like union, subtraction, rotation, surfaces and volumes.
• Perspective drawing, urbanscape and landscape sketching.
• Common day-to-day life objects like furniture, equipment, etc., from memory, etc.

NATA Study Material

NATA Exam is one of the most competitive exams for architecture in India. The exam syllabus includes topics like general knowledge, maths, reasoning, language proficiency and drawing section. Let’s look at some of the reference books and NATA study material that will help you prepare for the exams-

Book	Author
NATA Exam Guide	LearnX
Self-Preparation Guide B.Arch. Entrance Examination	GK Publications
NATA Examination (Engineering Drawing) by	N.D.Bhatt and Pancha
A Visual Dictionary of Architecture	Francis D.K Ching
Popular Master Guide B.Arch Entrance Examination	R Gupta
Nata Mock test Series 2020-21	SPA Alumni and CEPT Alumni
NATA & B.Arch complete self-study material: entrance examination	Ar. Shadan Usman
B.Arch Entrance Examination Guide	Surendra Kavimandan
NATA & B.Arch Question Bank	Ar. Shadan Usmani
A Complete Self Study Guide for B.Arch Entrance Examination	PK Mishra
Higher Algebra	Hall & Knight
A Modern Approach to Logical Reasoning	R.S Aggarwal
NATA Examination (Verbal / Non- Verbal / Reasoning)	R.S. Agarwal
NATA / AIEE B.Arch Question Bank

NATA Guidelines for Exam 2023

Candidates must follow the NATA guidelines laid down by CoA on the exam day to avoid undue stress and disqualification. Here are all the rules that candidates must follow and the essential documents to be carried to the assigned test centre-

• Reporting to the exam centre at 9 am on the exam day is essential for registration. The exam duration is 10 am to 1 pm. Students will not be allowed to enter the exam hall after 10:15 am.
• Must carry Admit Card and valid ID proof
• Candidates can not carry any books, electronics or study material inside the exam centre.
• Special covid- 19 instructions and protocols will be followed for the exam and hand sanitisers will be placed around the centre. All candidates will go through thermal screening and are required to wear masks.

NATA 2023 Result 

CoA will release the NATA result 2023 in online mode. To check the NATA result 2023, the candidates will have to log in using their credentials. The obtained scores and qualifying status will be available through the NATA 2023 result. Candidates who will qualify NATA 2023 will be able to apply for admission into the Architecture colleges of India.

Exam	Minimum Percentage/ Marks	Total Marks
MCQ	25% ( 32 Marks)	120
Drawing Exam	25% ( 32 Marks)	120

Previous-Year Cut-Offs 

Once the results have been declared by the official bodies, the next step is launching the cut off list. Through the cut-off lists, candidates can have an idea about how marks have been demanded by a particular university to allow students in seeking admission in their BArch program. Factors like the total number of seats, candidates appeared in the exam, difficulty level of the exam are put into consideration while calculating the cut-off list for Universities. The qualifying Cut-Off list of 2020 released by CEPT University is as depicted below:

Category	Cut off
General/Other	79.33
General (PH)/Other	61
SEBC/Other	57.62
General/Gujarat Board	74.05
SC/Gujarat Board	66.69
ST/Gujarat Board	51.30
SEBC/Gujarat Board	65.78
ESM/Gujarat Board	57.63
General/CBSE	82

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FAQs

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