UCEED 2026 Drawing Section: Pattern, Types of Questions, Marks & Tips

Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design 2026 ( UCEED )

DeskCalelnderResult - 6 Mar '26

Sayeba
Sayeba Naushad
Assistant Manager
Updated on Oct 10, 2025 12:02 IST
Experts share what to expect and tips to ace the drawing section of UCEED 2026 exam. The application form for UCEED 2026 is open now till Oct 31, 2025. UCEED 2026 exam will be conducted in January 18, 2026.Note the the UCEED 2026 syllabus and pattern was revised in the previous edition.

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.

Expected Questions in UCEED Drawing Section

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.

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Table of contents
  • 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
Q:   When will the UCEED 2026 application form open?
A:

UCEED 2026 Application was open from October 01, 2025, on the official website. Last date to apply with regular fees was on November 05, 2025. Candidates who met the prescribed eligibility criteria were able to apply for admission.

Q:   What is the eligibility criteria for UCEED 2026?
A:

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.

Q:   What are the important topics candidates need to prepare for Part B of UCEED 2026?
A:

The important topics for UCEED 2026 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.

 

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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.
Q:   What is the application fee for UCEED 2026 exam?
A:

The application form for UCEED 2026 is open till October 31, 2025.

Here we provide the category-wise UCEED application fee.

  • 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.

Mode of fee payment

The fee has to be paid online using credit card/ debit card/ internet banking. Note that the UCEED application fee is no-refundable. This means, once the fee is paid, it will not be refunded whether you appear in the UCEED 2026 exam or not.

Q:   When should I start preparation for UCEED 2026?
A:

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.

Q:   How can I prepare for UCEED Entrance Exam in 6 months?
A:
  • 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.

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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!

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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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Sayeba Naushad
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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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Answered 10 hours ago

To fill the Common application form for B.Des released by IIT Bombay,  

  • Digital copies of relevant supporting documents, and the signed copy of the completed application form. 
  • Supporting documents required for the application are digital copies of photograph, signature, UCEED Score Card, qualifying e

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 11 hours ago

The qualifying cut-off for UCEED 2026 will be prepared based on the following formulae:  𝜇 + (𝜎⁄2) = 𝛿, where 𝜇 and 𝜎 are the average marks and standard deviation of distribution of marks obtained by all the candidates in Part-A of UCEED 2026. 

  • 𝜇, 𝜎, and 𝛿 will be rounded-off to two decimal p

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 11 hours ago

UCEED 2026 question paper will have two parts, Part A and Part B. Part B answer booklet will be checked only if a candidate qualifies Part A or meets cut-off. The qualifying cut-off for Part A will be determined by admission committee. It will be used to shortlist candidates for Part A. All candidat

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 11 hours ago

Yes, UCEED Cutoff will be round specific. It will be released separately for each round of seat allotment. Candidates who meet cut-off criteria in their categories will be considered for admission to the B. Des programme.

Cut-off for each round will be different for various categories like OPEN, OBC-

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 11 hours ago

The closing rank for IIT Hyderabad was 43. So, if you secure a merit rank of 100 in the UCEED 2026 exam, you chances of admission to the B. Des will be very low. To have a good chance of admission into the institute, you must target a UCEED merit rank within the top 40. However, note that if you bel

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 11 hours ago

Admission cutoff for UCEED 2026 is the minimum marks a candidate needs to secure in their category for admission to B.Des programme.

Candidates who meet cutoff criteria will be considered for admission. If the candidate fails to meet the cutoff, he or she will not be considered for admission. Admissi

...Read more

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 11 hours ago

If you have biology as a subject in 10+2, then you can apply for B.Des programme at IIITDM Jabalpur, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad and IIT Indore.

To apply at IIITDM, you need to have Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics/Biology subjects in 10+2.

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 11 hours ago

No, you cannot apply for B.Des programme at IIT Roorkee even if you have cleared the UCEED Entrance Exam because Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics are compulsory subjects in 10+2. But you can apply for B.Des programme at IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad and IIT Indore.

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 11 hours ago

To be eligible to apply for B.Des programme through UCEED, candidates should have Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics as subjects in 10+2. 

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 11 hours ago

Yes, students from all the streams can apply for B.Des programme at IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad and IIT Indore. They can fill the Joint seat allocation form if they have cleared the UCEED 2026 Entrance Exam.

S

Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10