The NID DAT Exam takes place every year for students who are interested in the field of design. Conducted by National Institute of Design (NID) that aims to impart quality education in the vast domain of designing to train professionals of excellence who can make their mark in the world of Arts and Design. For the budding designers willing to enter the institution, the most crucial prerequisite is the entry-level test which is referred to as the NID exam. It is conducted separately for varied level courses such as Bachelor of Designing (BDes), Graduate Diploma Programme in Design (GDPD), Master of Design (MDes). If you are planning to appear for any of the NID entrance exams this year, here is a detailed blog comprising of the essentials.
NID DAT Exam Highlights
Exam Name | NID Design Aptitude Test |
Conducted by | National Institute of Design |
Eligibility | BDes: Qualified Class 12th MDes: Graduation in BDes or equivalent |
Fees | INR 1500- INR 3000 |
Exam Level | National level |
Purpose | For admission in courses like BDes, MDes |
Exam Duration | 3 hours |
Exam Mode | Online |
No of Tests | 2 tests (Preliminary and Main) |
Schools Accepting the test | National Institute of Design (Different Campuses) |
This Blog Includes:
NID Exam: List of Programs Offered
Following are the courses which candidates can opt while filling the applications for NID exam:
Courses | Specializations |
BDes Courses | -Ceramic and Glass Design –Product Design -Graphic Design -Film and Video Communication -Furniture and Interior Design -Animation Film Design -Exhibition Design -Textile Design |
GDPD Courses | -Communications Design -Industrial Design -Textile and Apparel Design |
MDes Courses | -Product Design -Universal Design -Design for Retail Experience -Information Design -Toy and Game Design -Lifestyle Accessory Design -Textile Design -Graphic Design -Furniture and Interior Design -Interaction Design -Digital Game Design -Transportation and Automobile Design -Apparel Design -Strategic Design Management -Film and Video Communication -Ceramic and Glass Design |
NID Admission 2021
When applying for the National Institute of Design, you have to fill an online form for the NID DAT exam:
- Sign up for the exam on the website of NID.
- Here, you must fill your nationality,mobile phone number, email address, date of birth and disability, if any.
- After that, you will be directed to the Application form where you must enter your personal and educational details. You must also enter your work experience in case of MDes.
- Upload all your documents like photograph, caste, signature, PWD Certificate, etc.
- Pay the application fee and submit your application.
NID Application Fees
The application fees for both the courses is different for different categories. Here is the application fee for each category for the NID DAT exam.
Category | Fees for BDes | Fees for MDes (1 Discipline) | Fees for MDes (2 Disciplines) |
General | INR 3,000 | INR 3,000 | INR 6,000 |
General-EWS | INR 3,000 | INR 3,000 | INR 6,000 |
OBC NCL | INR 3,000 | INR 3,000 | INR 6,000 |
SC | INR 1500 | INR 1500 | INR 3,000 |
ST | INR 1500 | INR 1500 | INR 3,000 |
General-PwD | INR 1500 | INR 1500 | INR 3,000 |
General-EWS-PwD | INR 1500 | INR 1500 | INR 3,000 |
OBC-NCL-PwD | INR 1500 | INR 1500 | INR 3,000 |
SC-PwD | INR 1500 | INR 1500 | INR 3,000 |
ST-PwD | INR 1500 | INR 1500 | INR 3,000 |
Overseas | INR 5000 | INR 5000 | INR 10,0000 |
NID Entrance Exam Date 2021
Here is a table to have a quick look at the notifications for the NID exam 2021:
Sections | BDes/ GDPD | MDes |
Online Application Form Availability | 17 Feb 2021 | 17 Feb 2021 |
Admit Card for Prelims | 4-March-2021 | 4-March-2021 |
Exam Date Prelims | 14- March- 2021 | 14- March- 2021 |
Results | To be announced | To be announced |
Admit Card for Mains | To be announced | To be announced |
Exam Date Mains | To be announced | To be announced |
Grab Your Chance For A Free Consultation Session! Click Here!
Eligibility Criteria
To enter the globally renowned institution and achieve your career aspirations, it is compulsory for the applicants to fulfil the eligibility requisites listed below. To turn up your zeal of designing into a full-time profession by enrolling into the great institution, let us begin by checking the eligibility for the timely submission of the application:
Bachelor of Design (BDes)/GDPD
The candidates wanting to apply for the Bachelors level programs must keep in mind the following instructions related to the entry for the NID exam-BDes/GDPD level.
Age Limit
- Only the candidates born on or after 1 July 2000, belonging to the General Category and Economical Weaker Section (EWS) are eligible to apply for the exam for the year 2021.
- Only the applicants born on or after 1 July 1997 and belonging to the Indian Nationals in Reserved Category (Other Backward Class- Non-Creamy Layer(OBC-NCL)), Scheduled Class and Tribe (SC & ST) can apply for admission.
- The Indian Nationals in PwD Reserved Category can register for the examination if they are born on or after 1 July 1995.
- For the Foreign Nationals in Overseas (Supernumerary): Only the applicants born on or after 1 July 2000 are qualified.
Educational Qualifications
The admissions in the undergraduate level program for the academic year 2021-2022 will be granted to the students who have passed or will appear in the higher secondary (10+2) examination in the academic year 2020-2021 from any stream Arts, Science, Commerce from a recognised education like CBSE etc.
Overseas Category (Supernumerary) candidates
The candidates who are foreign citizens but hold citizenship of a country other than the Republic of India (India) can apply only under the overseas (supernumerary) category provided they meet every entry requisite mentioned on the official website.
Master of Design (MDes)
To grab a seat under any of the discipline available at the master’s level program, students will have to fall under the eligibility criteria of the NID exam for MDes.
Age Limit
- General Category and General EWS Category: Only candidates born on or after 1 July 1990 are eligible/
- OBC (Non-Creamy Layer)/ SC/ST: Only candidates born on or after 1 July 1987 can apply
- Person With Disability (PwD): Only candidates born on or after 1 July 1985 can apply
- Foreign National Overseas (Supernumerary) Category: Only candidates born on or after 1 July 1990 are qualified for the NID Exam.
Educational Qualification
Desired applicants must possess any one of the below mentioned educational requirements:
- An undergraduate degree of minimum 4-year duration within any specialization after successfully qualifying class 12th or its recognised equivalent. Also, the candidates must have passed the bachelor level examination by the time of document verification. (Tentatively scheduled in April/May 2021)
OR
- Bachelor’s degree of minimum 3 years duration in any specialization after successfully qualify the class 12th examinations. Candidates must have qualified 12th class exams by June 2019
OR
- A 4-year full-time diploma in Design/Fine Arts/ Applied Arts/Architecture after they have cleared class 12th examinations. Students must have cleared all the class 12th examinations by the time of April/ May 2021 to apply for NID Exam.
Note: If the students have a Diploma or Bachelors degree from a university or institution from any other country except India, they must collect an equivalent certificate from the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).
Overseas Category (Supernumerary) candidates
Through the overseas category, the foreign students holding citizenship for a country other than India can apply for master’s course through the NID Exam only if they fulfil all the eligibility criteria mentioned on the official website.
NID Exam Pattern 2021
For the aspirants willing to seek admission in the leading courses of NID, they will have to appear for separate exams for different levels as that of Bachelors and Masters degree. Let us have a look at the bifurcations and exam pattern of both the levels.
For the aspirants willing to seek admission in the leading courses of NID, they will have to appear for separate exams for different levels as that of Bachelors and Masters degree. Let us have a look at the bifurcations and exam pattern of both the levels.
BDes/ GDPD
For the BDes or GDPD courses, applicants will first have to qualify the NID Prelims and the individuals who clear the exam will be allowed to appear in the NID Mains. The Prelims exam is divided into 2 sections i.e., Objective Type Questions and Subjective Type Questions which will together offer 26 questions. The mode of the exam will be offline whereas the medium remains to be English only and the students will have to solve it in a duration of 3 hours. Tabulated below are the details of the NID exam.
BDes/ GDPD Prelims Exam:
Exam Part | Type of Questions | Number of Questions |
Part I | Objective Type Questions | 22 |
Part II | Subjective Type Questions | 4 |
– | Total | 26 |
The exam pattern of NID Exam- Mains (BDes/ GDPD)
Mains exam will be conducted in a Studio set up format and it will be conducted in a time period of maximum three days. The total weightage of the exam would be of 100 marks.
MDes
The gateway for various master’s level courses at the National Institute of Design remains to be the same i.e., the NID exam. For MDes, the candidates have to again qualify for separate tests like Common Design Aptitude Test (CDAT) and a discipline-specific test afterwards. Mode and medium of the exam remain to be the same as that of BDes. The total weightage of the prelims exam is 100 marks including objective (30 marks) and subjective (70 marks) questions. While filling the application form for MDes, applicants are given the privilege to choose more than one discipline for specialization. In such scenarios, the duration of the exam would differ. The table mentioned below elaborates the change in duration.
Number of Disciplines | Duration of the Exam |
For one discipline | 2 Hours 30 Minutes -CDAT: 50 minutes -Discipline-Specific Test: 100 minutes |
For Two Disciplines | 4 Hours 10 Minutes -CDAT: 50 minutes -1st Discipline Test: 100 minutes -2nd Discipline Test: 100 minutes |
The Mains exam for M.Des. programmes consists of two parts:
- Studio Test: This consists of tests in different formats. Total marks of the test will be 100 and the duration will be of 3 hours.
- Interviews: The interviews will be conducted separately for each discipline, immediately after the Studio Test, and at the same centre as the Studio Test.
NID Result 2021
NID Results are declared on the basis of the weightage of the marks obtained in DAT Prelims and DAT Main Exam. The weightage for 2021 is yet to be announced.
Test Centres for NID Exams in 2021
Here are the test centres for NID Exams:
Ahmedabad | Bengaluru | Bhopal |
Bhubhneshwar | Chandigarh | Chennai |
Dehradun | Guwahati | Goa |
Hyderabad | Jaipur | Kolkata |
Kurukshetra | Lucknow | Mumbai |
Nagpur | New Delhi | Patna |
Raipur | Ranchi | Shimla |
Thiruvananthapuram | Vijayawada |
List of Colleges for NID 2021
NID Ahmedabad | NID Andhra Pradesh |
NID Assam | NID Gandhinagar |
NID Madhya Pradesh | NID Bengaluru |
NID Haryana |
Fees for NID Courses
Once you have qualified for the test, you must pay the four year fees for the admission. The fees vary from the nationality of students. Here is the fee structure for students applying from India:
BDes Course in NID
Particulars | Fees | Payment Duration |
Tuition Fees | INR 160,125 | Per Semester |
Hostel Charges | INR 15,000 | Per Semester |
Insurance | INR 200 | Per Annum |
Student Activity Fund | INR 1,000 | Per Annum |
Film Club | INR 200 | Per Annum |
Alumni Fees | INR 5000 | One-Time |
Mess Charges | Will be informed before each Academic Year | Per Annum |
Refundable Deposit | INR 10,000/- | One-Time |
MDes Course in NID
Particulars | Fees | Payment Duration |
Tuition Fees | INR 186,400 | Per Semester |
Hostel Charges | INR 15,000 (Ahmedabad Campus)INR 17,500 (Gandhinagar Campus) | Per Semester |
Insurance | INR 200 | Per Annum |
Student Activity Fund | INR 1,000 | Per Annum |
Film Club | INR 200 | Per Annum |
Alumni Fees | INR 5000 | One-Time |
Mess Charges | Will be informed before each Academic Year | Per Annum |
Refundable Deposit | INR 10,000/- | One-Time |
Thus, we hope that this blog has helped you understand the key features of the NID exam. Designing is a vast domain, and choosing the best specialization for you can be bewildering, reach out to our experts at Leverage Edu who can guide in finding the right specialisation that fits your interests and aspirations thus to ensure that you take an informed step towards an exciting career!