By Shaun D'Sa
IIT Bombay will conduct the UCEED 2026 exam on January 18, 2026. Part B of the exam will have two questions: 1) an aptitude-based question, and 2) a sketching-based question. Here we bring you the expected questions as well as tips to ace the drawing section of the UCEED exam.
The UCEED exam is conducted by IIT Bombay to shortlist candidates for admission to the B.Des program. The B.Des program currently has an intake of 245 seats. The UCEED 2026 exam will be held on January 18, 2026 (9 am - 12 noon). Part B of the UCEED exam will include two questions: a drawing-based and a design aptitude-based question. As per the UCEED 2026 exam pattern, Part A carries 200 Marks and is 2 hours long. Part B will be of 1 hour and carry 100 marks. The questions for Part B will be displayed on the computer screen, which students will have to answer on an answer booklet that will be provided inside the exam hall. Also, Part B answer booklets will be evaluated only if the candidate qualifies Part A of UCEED 2026.
Latest Updates:
- UCEED 2026 Exam Pattern
- What kind of questions can you expect in the UCEED 2026 drawing section?
- UCEED 2026: Tips for Drawing
UCEED 2026 Exam Pattern
The exam pattern of UCEED for Part A and Part B of the UCEED 2026 exam is given below.
| Particulars | Part A | Part B |
|---|---|---|
| Maximum Time | 2 hours | 1 hour |
| Mode of Exam | Online as a Computer Based Test (CBT) | Offline |
| Medium of Instruction | English | English |
| Sections and number of questions | Numerical Answer Type (NAT) - 14 Multiple Select Question (MSQ) - 15 Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) - 28 |
Sketching-based - 1
Design Aptitude-based - 1 |
| Number of Questions | 57 | 2 |
| Total Marks | 200 | 100 |
Commonly asked questions
UCEED 2027 Application will open from October 01, 2026, on the official website. Last date to apply with regular fees will be in November. Candidates who met the prescribed eligibility criteria were able to apply for admission.
Eligibility criteria for UCEED 2026 are given below.
Age limit - Candidate must be born on or after October 1, 2001. In the case of candidates belonging to SC, ST, and PwD categories, there is a relaxation of 5 years.
Number of attempts - Candidate is allowed to appear in UCEED exam for a maximum of two times and that too in consecutive years.
Academic requirements - Candidate must have passed 10+2 exam in 2025 or 2026. Those who appeared for first time in their qualifying examination in 2024 or earlier are NOT eligible.
The important topics for UCEED 2027 Part B are given below.
- Drawing: Ability to draw products, people or scenes in proportion with good line quality, composition, proportion, perspective and shading.
- Design Aptitude Capability to practically and appropriately respond to problems/situations with ingenuity and empathy.
The application fee (expected) for UCEED 2027 form is
- Female candidates (all categories) and SC/ST/PwD candidates have to pay INR 2,000.
- All other candidates need to pay INR 4,000 as the application fee.
What kind of questions can you expect in the UCEED 2026 drawing section?
All regular questions for the UCEED Part B test could fall under the following categories
- Fine art question- This is a test for pure fine art skills, for example: Draw your hand holding a pencil, draw a person sitting on a chair, still life drawings of bottles, etc. This mainly tests your basic fine art skills for perspective, human, animal, textures, shade, shadow, etc.
- Creative thinking question- This is more like an applied art question that tests your creative thinking ability along with your sketching skills for example - You have magic beans in your hand and you through them out of your bedroom window and you get up in the morning and see something mesmerizing. These questions can be open-ended and real fun to answering, you could showcase your full creative potential in these types of questions. Also, some random lines or shapes can be given and you should generate some doodles or sketches completing those lines.
- Graphic question- These can be like 2D graphic questions asking you to draw posters, book covers, murals, etc, For example, Design a poster to promote awareness to reduce the carbon footprint
- Creative writing- Writing can also be a part of questions, where a student could be asked to write a caption, complete a story, write their opinion for example - write a short story based on some objects/ characters given and sketch a scene of that story or an image could be shown and you could be asked to write the mood the image creates for you.
- Observation type- Here you could be asked many used for a pencil other than writing or given half an image or an object you would have to identify or complete the rest of the part of that object.
- Aptitude type sketch questions- This is where aptitude can be combined with sketching, For example, a surface development of a cube can be shown with certain shapes on each face, you have to imagine when the cube is put together or joined to form a 3D form, you have to draw that cube with the correct orientation of all the shapes on the correct surfaces.
- Design problem type- This could be a popular type of question in which a design problem is given and a solution has to suggested for example - Design a two-wheeler ambulance for rural areas, or develop a phone-based app for farmers so that their products can be directly sold to the market cutting out the middle agents.
Commonly asked questions
Given that UCEED is one of the most important and the toughest design entrance exams in the country, one should not wait till the last moments to prepare for the exam. Ideally, the candidate should have at least an year to prepare for the exam. That being said, if the candidate has above average understand of the basics, he or she can easily prepare for the exam in six months. When preparing for the exam, it is important to have a target in mind. For example, the merit rank the candidate wants to achieve. Note that the cut-off rank varies from one institute to another.
- Go through UCEED syllabus 2026 completely.
- Understand UCEED exam pattern and marking scheme and prepare accordingly.
- Get all study material for UCEED, such as prep books and previous year's question papers.
- Create a monthly plan on how much syllabus to cover daily.
- Solve question papers, sample papers and mock tests.
IIT Bombay will conduct the UCEED 2027 exam on January 17, 2027 from 9 AM- 12 PM. UCEED Test was conducted at the centres. The reporting time was 7 AM.
After JEE session 2 is completed, only those candidates who are aiming for IITs need to start preparing for JEE Advanced after clearing JEE Main. Those who are above the 98th percentile should start preparing for JEE Advanced as soon as possible. Those below this, between the 95th and 98th percentile, should focus on attempting more mock tests and previous year question papers so that they have a better chance of clearing JEE Advanced
Explore colleges based on UCEED
UCEED 2026: Tips for Drawing
- Read the questions carefully and understand the type of question asked
- Understand the intent of the question asked to make sure your solution answers the main purpose of the question asked
- Time is critical - you sketch fast and finish your answer in the given time - this comes with extensive practice
- Do not colour unless asked or only if you have time at the end
- Take all your drawing materials with you / materials you are comfortable with
- Make sure you are well practiced with all your basic fine art
- Don’t hesitate to give bold, very out of the box solutions especially for the creative thinking 2D graphic/ design problem-type questions
- Be yourself with your answers
- Enjoy the drawing section- it is fun!
Apart from this, candidates should also pay attention to the following UCEED exam tips:
- Read the Important instructions on your UCEED admit card
- Go early to your exam center
- Don’t forget to take your Admit card, especially a colour print - keep this ready a day in advance
- Take your ID proof as mentioned in the admit card
- Pencils, sketch pens, poster colours, and other drawing material are permitted
As I mentioned, the sketching part of the exam is actually very interesting and can be good fun. All the very best!
Read More:
| Colleges Accepting UCEED Scores for Admission | 10 Tips to Crack UCEED 2026 |
| 4 Time Management Tips for UCEED | UCEED Sample Questions |
About the Author:
Shaun D’Sa has a Master’s degree in Industrial Design from IIT Delhi. He is Director at Design Quotient Labs (DQ Labs), a coaching platform for Architecture and Design entrance exams. He began his career with General Motors Advanced Design Center at Bangalore, where he had the opportunity to work with design teams for car brands like Hummer, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Holden, Buick to name a few. Shaun has also been a part of many teams of International and Indian designers for design-centric ethnographic studies across India and abroad. Due to his passion for Design and Architecture, he has travelled extensively abroad and has been a part of many design workshops in many countries across Europe.

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Student Forum
Answered 6 days ago
Yes, UCEED Exam score is accepted for NMIMS DAT Admission. Such candidates have to submit their portfolios and appear for a Personal interview.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 weeks ago
Yes, a 30 UCEED score can get you admission at IIT Hyderabad in the first round itself if you belong to the General AI category. The IIT Hyderabad UCEED cutoff 2026 was released till round 3 for the BDes course. All students under the All India quota were eligible for admission if they attained the
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 3 weeks ago
Both institutions offer the BDes course but with completely different admission processes. IIT Indore accepts admission based on the UCEED entrance exam, while BITS Pilani considers the NID Entrance exam/ BITSAT exam result.
See the table below to compare both insttutions on different factors:
| Institution | NIRF Ranking | Tuition Fee |
|---|---|---|
| BITS Pilani | 11 | ₹ 30.8L |
| IIT Indore | 12 | ₹ 8.5L |
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
To get a seat at this institution, students have to first attempt the UCEED entrance exam and then appear for the counselling process to be considered eligible for admission to the UG-level course.
The IIITDM Jabalpur BDes cutoff 2026 was published till round 3 for various All India categories, like
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
To get a seat at IIT Hyderabad for the BDes course, students have to first attempt the UCEED entrance exam and then appear for the counselling process. Only those who have appeared in the counselling process are considered eligible for the UG-level course.
The IIT Hyderabad cutoff 2026 has been publi
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
Yes, you can get into IIT Delhi with a rank of 30 if you belong to the OBC AI quota. As per the IIT Delhi BDes cutoff 2026 for the third round, the cutoff for this category was 32.
Hence, getting admission with a rank of 30 is possible for the OBC AI category. Other categories, rounds, etc., will ha
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
No, you cannot get into IIT Bombay with a UCEED cutoff rank of 20 for the BDes course. IIT Bombay 2026 admission closed at a cutoff rank of 14 for B.Des in the General category under the AI quota. Hence, candidates must target a lower cutoff rank than 2020 to secure a B.Des seat at this college.
N
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
UCEED 2027 Entrance Exam will be on January 17, 2027 on Sunday. The exam is for B.Des programmes at IITs conducted by IIT Bombay.
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered a month ago
No, students can not get admission in Symbiosis Institute of Design Nagpur with UCEED scores. The institute conducts its own entrance exam. Students must appear for the Symbiosis Entrance Exam for Design - SEEED instead.
B
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
Yes, Arch College of Design and Business accepts UCEED scores for admission to BDes course. Students with a valid UCEED rank may be exempt from parts of the AIEED exam, though they still have to complete the interview and situation test rounds. This provides an alternative path for students who have
R
Contributor-Level 9
Sayeba Naushad is a commerce postgraduate from Banaras Hindu University. She has over five years of experience in content writing and editing. She has a nose for current events in design field. At Shiksha.com, she s
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