Design Courses Offered by IITs: Course List, Eligibility Criteria and Fees

Want to be an IITian and pursue design at the same time? Yes, you heard it right. IIT gives an opportunity to pursue design Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses from its department. Almost all the IITs have a design department, which offers B.Des, M.Des, and Ph.D programmes. IIT Bombay has the IDC School of Design, IIT Guwahati and IIT Hyderabad has the Department of Design, etc. Read on to know more.

Design Course offered by IIT

The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) is recognized globally for its academic excellence in science and engineering. Design education is becoming a mainstream course and an important part of IIT programmes. It offers opportunities to students to combine creativity with innovation, science, and technology. IIT offers a career in product design, industrial design, UI/UX, vehicle design, animation, design research, etc. 

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Design Courses Offered by IITs

Almost all UG and PG courses are offered at IITs in India. The programmes include B.Des, M.Des, and Ph.D. The admission in these programmes is through UCEED and CEED, which is conducted by IIT Bombay every year. The application for UCEED and CEED opens in October every year and the exams are conducted in the third week of January.

Undergraduate Design Courses at IITs

The undergraduate course offered at IIT is B.Des. It is offered at IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, etc. The table shows a list of courses offered at IIT.

Entrance Exam: UCEED (Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design), which is conducted by IIT Bombay.

Eligibility Criteria of Undergraduate Courses in IITs

• The candidate should meet the age criteria as prescribed by the UCEED Entrance Examination.
• Candidates from the Science Stream (at 10+2 level) with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics as subjects are eligible to apply to all IITs.
• Candidates from any other stream (Science without Mathematics or Physics or Chemistry, Commerce, and Arts & Humanities) are eligible to apply to IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad and IIT Indore.
• The candidate should have passed all five subjects in the qualifying examination (Class XII or equivalent) in 2025 or 2026. Those who appeared for the first time in their qualifying examination in 2024 or earlier are NOT eligible.
• The candidate should have qualified, i.e., obtained a rank, in UCEED 2026.

Duration of Programme:  4 years

Fees of the UG programmes: 1.2 lakhs – 1.5 lakhs per semester.

Postgraduate Design Courses at IITs

Postgraduate courses at IITs include M.Des. It is offered through the CEED Entrance Examination. The table below shows the list of Master's programmes offered at IIT.

Entrance Exam: CEED (Common Entrance Examination for Design), which is conducted by IIT Bombay.

Eligibility Criteria of Postgraduate Courses in IITs

Candidates must have completed a degree/diploma/post-graduate degree programme of a minimum of THREE years (after 10+2 level), or must be appearing for the final examination of such a program by July 2026, or must have passed the GD Arts diploma programme (10+5 level) by July 2026.

Duration of Programme: 2 Years

Fees of the UG programmes: 1.3- 1.5 lakhs per semester

Doctoral Programmes in Design at IITs

The doctoral programmes in design at IITs comprise a PhD. It is offered in institutes like IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, and IIT Roorkee.

Eligibility Criteria for Ph.D Programme at IITs:

• Must have a Master’s degree in Design.
• Must have passed CEED/GATE/UCG NET (depending on institute)

Fees of the Doctoral Programme: 60,000 to 90,000 per year.

List of Design Specialisations Offered in IIT

The following specialisations are offered in IIT:

• Industrial and Product Design
• Visual Communication & Graphic Design
• Interaction & UX/UI Design
• Mobility & Vehicle Design
• Animation & Film Design
• Ergonomics & Human Factors
• Design for Sustainability
• Human-Computer Interaction

Placements After Design Course at IIT

Placements are very good for Design courses at IITs. IITs have placement cells and industry connections, which benefit the students in getting good placements in India and abroad.

Top Recruiters at IITs

Microsoft, Google, Infosys, Samsung, TCS, Wipro, Ola Electric, Adobe, Flipkart, Amazon, Whirlpool, Siemens, Cognizant, Tata Motors, Byju’s, and several design consultancies and startups.

Domains of Employment for Design at IITs

• UX/UI and Interaction Design
• Industrial and Product Design
• Communication & Graphic Design
• Animation and Film Design
• Automotive & Mobility Design
• Research and Academia

Placement Cell at IITs

• IITs have a dedicated Design Placement Cell, which focuses on placements.
• There are ample opportunities for summer internships, live projects, and industry collaboration.
• There are also opportunities and guidance for start-ups, entrepreneurships, etc.
• Average Package at IITs for Design Courses
  • B.Des Graduates: ₹9–12 LPA
  • M.Des Graduates: ₹12–16 LPA
  • Top Offers: Can go above ₹25 LPA (varies by institute & recruiter).

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