NID Ahmedabad Admission 2024: Check Entrance Exams, Courses Offered, Admission Details

Janki Sharma

National Institute of Design starts its admission process in the month of October every year. NID Ahmedabad admissions are made on the basis of the performance of the applicant in its national-level entrance test known as the Design Aptitude Test(DAT). DAT is held in two stages - Prelims and Mains. NID offers various courses like Bachelor of Design program, Master of Design program, and Graduate Diploma Programme in Design program.  

NID Ahmedabad Admission 2024

• Candidate have to be eligible and register online for admission, appear for DAT and qualify for the same to take admission in any courses offered.
• The Institute mainly considers the performance of a candidate in Design Aptitude Test (DAT) for NID Ahmedabad admission 2024.

NID Ahmedabad Admission Contents

• Courses Offered by NID Ahmedabad
• Application Form
• Admission Fees
• Entrance Exams
• NID Ahmedabad B.Des Admission 2024
• M.Des Admission 2024
• Ph.D Admission 2024
• Admission Helpline
• Admission FAQs

Courses Offered by NID Ahmedabad

• NID Ahmedabad is the only NID which offers four-year-long Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) programme.
• It also offers two-and-a-half year long Master of Design (M.Des.) .
• The specializations available in some of the courses are as given below:

NID Ahmedabad Application Form

National Institute of Design Ahmedabad have same type of application forms for B.Des and M.Des courses but different form for PhD.

NID Ahmedabad B.Des & M.Des Application Form

• Log in and proceed.
• Fill in all the details. 
• Note: Allotment of seat/campus will be purely based on merit in their respective category. Supernumerary seats under Overseas category are ONLY available at NID Ahmedabad and NOT available at other NIDs. 
• Click ‘Save & Exit’ to complete the form. 
• After filling all the details in the form, click ‘Save & Proceed’ to proceed to the next section ‘Upload Document’.

NID Ahmedabad Ph.D Application Form

• Read and get familiar with the eligibility criteria and other relevant information related to PhD programme.
• Fill up the Application Form
• Payment of Application Fees of INR 5000/-. Candidates applying under SC/ST and PH categories will be given 50% reduction. Application fee is NEITHER refundable NOR transferable. Application Fees should be paid via a DD(Demand Draft) in favour of ‘National Institute of Design’ payable at Ahmedabad.
• Sending Physical Documents to NID Ahmedabad before the due date:
• Complete Application Form.To complete the application process, candidates must send a printout of the application form along with self attested physical copies of all supporting documents mentioned above in a single envelope.
• Research proposal of 2000-3000 words as a hard copy
• Recommendation letter from three referees
• No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the employer.
• Candidates applying under the SC and ST categories are required to upload their valid Caste Certificate issued by a competent authority as per the guidelines of the Government of India. 
• Candidates applying for Persons with Disability(PwD) category are required to submit their valid Disability Certificate issued by a component medical authority as per the guidelines of the Government fo India.
• Two recent passport size photographs. These must be coloured taken at a professional studio.
• Address for sending Demand Draft, printed copy of Application Form and copies of all documents: 

                       PhD Admissions,

                       National Institute of Design,

                       Paldi,Ahmedabad-380007

NID Ahmedabad Admission Fees

For different courses in NID Ahmedabad fees structure varies, according to the course duration and other factors. For Indian students the B.Des fee is around Rs 14k - 18k per semester. M.Des applicants from the rest of the candidates around the world it will be around 6k-7k USD per semester. Mess fee amount will be informed later. For PhD scholars the Admission fee is around Rs. 318k/- per year.

Entrance Exams Accepted by NID Ahmedabad

Entrance Exam by NID Ahmedabad for B.Des

• Admission to all the design courses in NID Ahmedabad is based on the candidates’ performance in the two-stages of Design Aptitude Test (DAT). The objective of these exams is to assess the knowledge, skills and behavioural abilities of candidates. 

1st Stage: Design Aptitude Test (DAT) Prelims:

Design Aptitude Test (DAT) Prelims will be conducted at various test centres across India. Candidates should keep in mind that appearing for DAT Prelims / being ranked in the shortlist does not guarantee automatic entitlement to admission.

2nd Stage:  Design Aptitude Test (DAT) Mains:

Students who get shortlisted in DAT Prelims will be invited to attend the Stage 2 DAT Mains exam at Ahmedabad or at any of the campuses of NID ie; Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Gandhinagar, Kurukshetra and Vijayawada. Details of Test Centre will be mentioned in DAT Mains Admit Card. 

• DAT (Prelims) for Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) is usually conducted on the first week of January 2024.
• ABOUT DAT PRELIMS :
• It is for 100 marks and has a time duration of 3 hours which evaluates the Design aptitude of the candidate. It consists of a mix of objective and subjective questions.
• Question paper is in English.
• On the basis of DAT Prelims scores a separate merit lists shall be prepared for each category (OPEN, OBC-NCL, SC, ST & PwD).  Only shortlisted candidates of DAT Prelims will be eligible to appear for the DAT Mains exam as per the schedule announced.
• A Separate merit list will be out for Overseas candidates.
• ABOUT DAT MAINS :
• The Admit Card for shortlisted candidates will be available for download only on the official NID admissions website.
•  DAT mains will be conducted over two days. It consists of tests in multiple formats such in a studio set up. 
• It is for 100 marks. The tests will be conducted only in English.
•  Exact details of the Test Centre will be mentioned in the DAT Mains Admit Card. NID reserves the right to change the test centre.
• Weightages of DAT Prelims & DAT Mains for final result:

                      DAT Prelims has a weightage of 30%

                      DAT Mains has a weightage of 70%

Entrance Exam by NID Ahmedabad for M.Des

• The Design Aptitude Tests will be conducted in two stages:

 Stage 1: Design Aptitude Test (DAT) Prelims 

 Stage 2: Design Aptitude Test (DAT) Mains

• DAT (Prelims) for  Master of Design (M.Des.) is usually conducted on the first week of January 2024.
• About DAT PRELIMS :
• It is for 100 marks and has a time duration of 2 ½ hours which evaluates the Design aptitude of the candidate. It consists of a mix of objective and subjective questions.
• Question paper is in English.
• It consists of a Common Design Aptitude Test and a faculty-specific Domain Test.(Word “Faculty” here refers to the five existing faculty streams at NID:

                            (i) Communication Design

                            (ii) Industrial Design

                            (iii) Information Technology Integrated Programmes

                            (iv) Interdisciplinary Design Studies

                            (v) Textile, Apparel, Lifestyle and Accessory Design)

• For applicants applying only in one discipline (course) of M.Des Programme:          Such applicants have to appear in DAT Prelims which comprises of the CDAT [Common Design Aptitude Test] and domain-specific test of the faculty stream of the course selected by them. Time duration of DAT Prelim will be 2.5 hrs.
• For applicants applying in two disciplines of M.Des. Programme:

          Such applicants are required to appear in DAT Prelims which comprises of :

The CDAT [Common Design Aptitude Test] and ONE domain-specific test if the two disciplines selected falls under same Faculty Stream. Time duration of DAT Prelim will be 2.5 hrs. 

                                                  ( OR )

 The CDAT [Common Design Aptitude Test] and TWO domain-specific tests if the two disciplines selected fall under different Faculty Streams. Time duration of DAT Prelim will be 4.5 hrs.

• On the basis of DAT Prelims scores a separate merit lists shall be prepared for each category (OPEN, OBC-NCL, SC, ST & PwD).  Only shortlisted candidates of DAT Prelims will be eligible to appear for the DAT Mains exam as per the schedule announced.
• A Separate merit list will be out for Overseas candidates.
• About DAT MAINS :
• The Admit Card for shortlisted candidates will be available for download only on the official NID admissions website.
•  DAT mains will be conducted in two parts for M.Des. programmes:

1. Studio Test: This might consist of tests in different formats. The test will be out of 100 in total and the duration will be of 3 hours. The DAT Mains will be conducted in English. 
2. Interviews: For each discipline the interviews will be conducted separately, immediately after the Studio Test, and at the same centre as the Studio Test. 

• Weightages of DAT Prelims & DAT Mains for final result:

                      DAT Prelims has a weightage of 20%

                      DAT Mains has a weightage of 80%

Entrance Exam by NID Ahmedabad for Ph.D

• Admission to PhD programme in design will be granted on the basis of a three-stage selection process. 
• The main objective of the process is to assess the research ability,design thinking,  creative skills and knowledge base of the candidates. 
• Final selection will be mainly based on the quality of proposals and suitability of topics to NID’s research priorities.

STAGE 1: Shortlisting of Applications:

Applicants will be shortlisted on the basis of eligibility criteria and the proposal submitted by the candidate.The basic content of the proposal will be checked from the point of view of alignment with NID’s appropriateness of content, plagiarism , research objectives and the overall potential of the research. Shortlisted candidates will only proceed to the next stage.

STAGE 2:Design Research Test (DRT)

It will be conducted at NID Ahmedabad or Gandhinagar Campus. Appearing for the DRT or being included in the shortlist doesn’t mean admission is guaranteed.

STAGE 3: Interview

Candidates shortlisted after the DRT will be invited to appear in an interview and later make a presentation for a committee at NID.

• ABOUT DESIGN RESEARCH TEST (DRT) & INTERVIEW:
  • Creativity and design thinking
  • Knowledge and worldview
  • Observation and imagination
  • Analysis and synthesis
  • Comprehension and articulation
  • Numerical ability and reasoning
• It has a time duration of 6 hours.
• Question paper is in English.
• DRT will be conducted in NID campus, either at Ahmedabad or Gandhinagar.
• It evaluates each and every student based on the following abilities:
• DRT has two parts:

PAPER I: This paper has fieldwork and have questions testing design aptitude and research abilities.

PAPER II: This paper will test the students’ general awareness, basic numeric and design abilities.

• Only those candidates who will be shortlisted in the DRT will be invited for the personal interview.

NID Ahmedabad B.Des Admission 2024

NID Ahmedabad B.Des eligibility for admission and admission procedure is mentioned below:

NID Ahmedabad B.Des Eligibility

Reservation of Seats:

The number of seats reserved for each of these categories are as follows (Out of total 100 seats):

• OBC-NCL (27%) - 27 seats
• Scheduled Caste (15%) - 15 seats
• Scheduled Tribe (7.5%) - 8 seats
• Persons with Disability (5%) - 5 seats
• Overseas Category (15%) - 15 seats

NID Ahmedabad B.Des Application Process

1. Students will have to visit the official NID admissions website. Read and be familiar with the Admissions Handbook.
2. All applicants have to register / sign up online and proceed to fill the application form, where they will be asked to provide email id,contact number etc. Log in to your account using login and password to proceed further.
3. Fill the online Application Form
4. Upload important documents like:
   • Recent passport size photograph in JPG/JPEG format and having a maximum size of 100 KB.
   • Your scanned signature in JPG/JPEG format and having a maximum size of 100 KB. 
   • Candidates applying under the OBC-NCL category have to upload a recent and valid OBC-NCL Certificate, candidates under the SC and ST categories have to upload their valid Caste Certificate issued by a competent authority while candidates applying under the Persons with Disability (PwD) category have to upload their valid Disability Certificate issued by a competent medical authority as per the guidelines of the Government of India.The certificate must be in JPG/JPEG format and not exceed 150 KB in size.
   • Candidates applying under the Overseas category have to upload the first and last page of their valid passport, clearly showing all of their personal information. The certificate must be in JPG/JPEG format and having a maximum size of 150 KB. 
   • After you finish uploading all the necessary documents, click ‘Save and Exit’ to complete the form.
   • Click ‘Save & Proceed’ to go to the next section and then pay the Application Fees. Only after successful payment of the application fees your your Application Form will be accepted .
5. Payment of Application Fee & Print-out. Application Fees are different for different categories.(Make sure you keep an eye on the last date to pay the fees, there might be fine applicable beyond a particular date).

   • For B.Des programme, general category and OBC-NCL it comes around Rs.2000. For categories including SC, ST, General-PwD, OBC-NCL-PwD, SC-PwD, ST-PwD it is Rs.1000/- and for Overseas candidates it is Rs.3000/-.

   • For M.Des programme,  general category and OBC-NCL it comes around Rs.2000 for 1 course, so Rs 4000/- for 2 course. Categories including SC, ST, General-PwD, OBC-NCL-PwD, SC-PwD, ST-PwD it is Rs.1000/- and Rs.2000/- for 2 disciples. Overseas candidates it is Rs.3000/- for 1 course so for 2 courses it is Rs.6000/-.

6. Select method of payment— (a) ONLINE (via credit/debit card) or (b) OFFLINE only by Demand Draft. Enter the required details as specified.  

ONLINE:

You will be directed to the payment page. After completing the payment process, you will be redirected to the ‘Print’ section where you can save your form as a PDF file and print it. You are DO NOT have to send the print-out of your application form if you are paying online via debit/credit card. 

OFFLINE:

• Prepare a Demand draft of the amount in favour of ‘All India Management Association’ payable at New Delhi. Fill in the details of the Demand Draft online to complete the submission process. Save the Application Form as a PDF File and print it.(should be done before the given date)
• To complete the application process, you must send the demand draft and a printout of your application form in a single envelope to the following  address (via Speed Post/Courier), so it reaches before a given date: 

The Project Manager–CMS 

All India Management Association Management House, 14, Institutional Area, Lodhi Road, New Delhi 110 003 India

7.   A 2 days time will be given to edit the Application Form

NID Ahmedabad M.Des Admission 2024

• NID Ahmedabad have M.Des programmes for two-and-a-half years.
• Animation Film Design, Ceramic & Glass Design, Furniture & Interior Design, Film & Video Communication etc. are some of the PG courses being offered by NID presently.
• Those who are interested can apply for the same through DAT (an Entrance Exam conducted by NID).

 NID Ahmedabad M.Des Eligibility

Reservation of Seats:

For Disciplines(courses) with 15 seats each:

• 27% reserved for OBC-NCL - 4 seats
• 15% reserved for Scheduled Caste - 2 seats
• 7.5% reserved for Scheduled Tribe - 1 seat
•  5% reserved for Persons with Disability (PwD) - 1 seat

For Disciplines(courses) with 10 seats each:

• 27% reserved for OBC-NCL - 3 seats
• 15% reserved for Scheduled Caste - 1 seat
• 7.5% reserved for Scheduled Tribe - 1 seat
•  5% reserved for Persons with Disability (PwD) - 1 seat

 National Institute of Design Ahmedabad Ph.D Admission 2024

• NID recently started a PhD in Design programme.
• This programme gives motivation to design research priorities for its current faculty in collaboration with researchers who are also selected as PhD scholars under faculty supervision.

NID Ahmedabad Ph.D Eligibility

Reservation of Seats:

Maximum number of seats for the PhD programme are 10. Institute follows the reservation policy of the Government of India.

National Institute of Design Ahmedabad Admission Helpline

NID Ahmedabad Important dates

National Institute of Design starts accepting Application Forms online for B.Des from October 1st usually. Last date for submitting online application is in the 2nd week of November mostly. DAT Prelims are usually conducted in the month of January and DAT Mains is conducted in May. It’s result is usually published by May end. 

NID Ahmedabad Admission FAQs

• Will the National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA) score considered for the NID entrance test?
  - No, the NATA score won’t be considered for the NID entrance test. All applicants will have to undergo NID’s Design Aptitude Test (DAT) for admission in B.Des or M.Ds at NID Ahmedabad.

•  Explain the procedure of admissions at NID?
  - The process of admission to NID for M.Des., B.Des. and GDPD programmes consists of Design Aptitude Test with two stages. Stage 1: Design Aptitude Test (DAT) Prelims and Stage 2: Design Aptitude Test (DAT) Mains.

• Is it possible to choose exam centres?
  - Students can select test centre of their choice while submitting their application online for DAT Prelims. NID reserves the right to add/remove any of the centres and allot a test centre that may not be of student’s choice. 

• Will there be any waiver for the DAT Prelims?
  -No, there won’t be any waiver for the DAT Prelim. 

• Are there any other test which can act as a substitute for DAT Prelims?
  -No, there are no other tests which works as a substitute for DAT Prelims for admission in NID Ahmedabad. 

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