National Institute of Design Ahmedabad Course Admissions 2026: Eligibility, Fees & Selection Criteria

The overall cost of NID Ahmedabad is INR 13.18 lakh. The MDes fees might include mutiple other fee components that must be paid during admission. Admission to MDes is based on NID Design Aptitude Test (DAT). Therefore, candidates must register for the exam and pay the NIT DAT application fee. The application fee is tabulated below:

Category	Application Fee	Application + Late Fees
General, Gen-EWS, OBC-NCL	INR 3000	INR 3000 + INR 1500 = INR 4500
SC, ST, PwD	INR 1500	INR 1500 + INR 750 = INR 2250
Overseas (Supernumerary)	INR 5000	INR 5000 + INR 2500 = INR 7500

The mentioned application fee information is as per past records. Hence, is indicative.

No, NID Ahmedabad does not offer direct admission. It is quite competitive to get into NID Ahmedabad. Candidates are admitted based on their score in Design Aptitude Test (DAT) entrance exam that has two stages: prelims and mains.

To take admission in the BDes and MDes programmes at NID Ahmedabad, Candidates have to fulfil the eligibility criteria and apply online by filling application form. The candidates need to qualify two stages of DAT exam (prelims and mains) to get admission.

NID officials will consider the Merit list of that Prelims to shortlist candidates for DAT Mains. The number of candidates shortlisted will be no less than three times in each category. The National Institute of Design will prepare merit lists for GENERAL, GENERAL-EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD & OVERSEAS categories. In the scenario where two or more candidates score the same marks in the DAT Prelims, then a tiebreak policy will be applied to decide the merit rank.

The Interior Design programme is offered both for the BDes and MDes courses. At the BDes level, the Interior Design programme is offered under the faculty of Industrial Design, with a specialisation in Furniture and Interior Design. There are currently 13 seats for the programme. At the master's level, MDes in Furniture & Interior Design course is offered at the NID Ahmedabad campus. The intake capacity for the MDes programme is currently 19 seats. Admission to the Interior Design programme (both Bachelor's and master's) at the NIDs will be through the NID DAT exam.

Interested candidates can check below the eligibility for NID Ahmedabad courses:

Courses	Eligibility Criteria
BDes	Class 12 from any stream from a recognised board Born on/after July 2005 for General/EWS and July 2002 for SC/ST/OBC
MDes	Bachelor's degree from any recognised board Born on/after 1 July 1994 for General/EWS and July 1991 for SC/ST/OBC
PhD	Master's degree in Design

NID Ahmedabad accepts the Design Aptitude Test (DAT) exam for admission to its Bachelor of Design (B.Des) and Master of Design (M.Des) programmes. This national-level entrance exam is conducted in two stages: DAT Prelims  (paper-pencil test) and DAT Mains (studio test/interview). It is quite competitive exam.

The application fee of NID DAT 2026 for the B. Des for General, General-EWS, OBC-NCL candidates is INR 3,000. SC, ST, PwD candidates only ned to pay INR 1,500. However note that the application fees for overseas candidates seeking admission to supernumerary seats is INR 5000. In case of the M.Des programme, the application fees for General, General-EWS, OBC-NCL candidates applying for one discipline is INR 3,000. If two disciplines are chosen, the application fee is INR 6000. Meanwhile, SC, ST, PwD candidate need to pay INR 1,500 for one discipline, and INR 3000 for two disciplines.

The NID DAT 2026 application form is now open.

The National Institutes of Design (NIDs) currently offer the BDes and MDes courses. Admission to these courses will be based on the merit rank of the candidate in the NID DAT exam, which will be prepared by considering the performance of the candidate in DAT Prelims and DAT Mains. The weightage carried by the two exams is notified by the National Institute of Design at the time of declaration of final results. Note that in NID DAT 2025, the DAT Prelims will carry 40% weightage, while DAT Mains will carry 60% weightage.

The candidate has to first appear in DAT Prelims, and if shortlisted has to next appear in DAT Mains. The DAT Mains exam for the BDes comprises a Studio Test, but also an interview for the MDes programme.

Candoidates can check below the NID fees for admission 2026:

Courses	Tuition Fees
BDes	INR 18 Lakh
MDes	INR 13.1 Lakh

Note: The information above has been sourced from various official websites.

No, the date of birth cannot be changed in the NID application correction window. The candidate will also not be able to edit their name, the programme applied for admission, registered email id, and phone number, in the application form. Note that these details are entered by the candidate at the time of registering for the NID DAT exam. Among the particulars that the candidate is allowed to edit in the NID DAT application form include the exam centre, address of communication, uploaded documents, category under which admission is sought, and any other details not covered in the paragraph above. The candidate needs to go through the list of items that can be edited and that can not be edited before filling out the NID DAT application form to avoid trouble afterwards. The application edit window for NID DAT will open within a few weeks of the closure of the application form.

NID Ahmedabad does not offer scholarships of its own. However, students of NID Ahmedabad can avail of various scholarships provided by the state and central government. Some of the popular scholarships are the Central Sector Scheme of Scholarship for College and University Students, the Saksham Scholarship Scheme for Specially-Abled Students (Degree), Post Graduate Scholarship for Single Girl Child, the Ishan Uday Special Scholarship Scheme for North Eastern Region, and many more.

BDes and MDes are the popular courses offered by NID Ahmedabad and the institute also offers PhD courses. BDes is offered in 8 specialisations and MDes is offered in 7 specialisations. 

The two-and-a-half-year Master of Design at NID Ahmedabad is offered in seven specialisations as per the official website. It includes Lifestyle Accessory Design, Textile Design, Product Design, etc.

Check below the category wise offered MDes courses:

• Communication Design is offered under three discipline: Film & Video Communication, Graphic Design, Animation Film Design
• Industrial Design is offered under three discipline: Ceramic and Glass Design, Furniture and Interior Design, Product Design
• Apparel, Lifestyle & Accessory Design offers three discipline: Textile Design