Graphic Design Courses after 10th - Admission Process, Job Options, Salary

National Institute of Fashion Technology Entrance Exam 2026 ( NIFT Entrance Exam )

DeskCalelnderExam On - 8 Feb '26

Sayeba
Sayeba Naushad
Assistant Manager
Updated on Sep 25, 2025 17:31 IST
Graphic design courses after 10th. Candidates seeking to make a career in graphic design may take up a graphic design course after 10th. An early start may give them a better chance to succeed and become a better graphic designer. Application form for NIFT 2025 will open in December 2024.

Candidates seeking to make a career in graphic design may take up a graphic design course after 10th. An early start may give them a better chance to succeed and become a better graphic designer.

Graphic design is a popular academic course for candidates after completing their class 10 exam. Other popular academic options include fashion design, interior design and textile design. Degree courses are not available after 10th grade for graphic design. So you will have to opt for a diploma in graphic design or some certificate courses. Admission is merit based and there is no entrance exam involved. So you need not bother preparing for entrance exams like NIFT 2025, NID DAT 2025, or UCEED 2025

During graphic design course candidates will be using a variety of software, such as Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and CorelDRAW to make professional designs. A graphic design course may also include practical projects and assignments to give students an opportunity to apply their skills in real world scenarios.

Table of contents
  • Graphic Design Courses after 10th
  • Graphic design courses after 10th - Admission Process
  • How to apply to a graphic design course after 10th
  • Graphic design course after 10th - Eligibility Criteria
  • Why do a Graphic Design Course after 10th?
  • Graphic design courses after 10th - Curriculum
  • Career Options after completing graphic design course after 10th
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Graphic Design Courses after 10th

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 A few course options for candidates opting for a graphic design course after 10th are here.

Graphic Design Course

Course Duration

Course Fees (INR)

Certificate Program in Graphic Design

3 to 6 months

42k to 45k

Professional Course in Graphic Design

10 months

1.8 lakhs

Certificate in Graphic Design

6 months

78k

Certificate Course in Graphic Design

6 months

60k to 65k

Diploma in Graphic Design

-

-

Q:   What is the NIFT closing rank for admission to NIFT Panchkula?
A:
The cut-off for NIFT Panchkula is released category and programme-wise. So, candidates seeking admission to a particular programme need to consult the cut-off in their reserved or open category. For the year 2022, the opening CMR of Dom. OBC category for the Fashion communication was 6023; the closing CMR was 6414. The opening CMR for admission to the Fashion Design course was 5182, while the closing CMR was 5298. Meanwhile, for the M.Des programme, both the opening and closing CMR for the Dom. OBC category was 528. Note that CMR stands for common merit rank.
Q:   What are NIFT Score accepting colleges other than participating colleges?
A:

There are 19 NIFTs that will accept NIFT 2026 Scores for admission purposes. These institutes are known as participating colleges.

However, in addition to the participating colleges, there are other private colleges that will also consider NIFT 2026 scores for admission to their UG and PG design courses. The candidates are urged to go through the list of result-sharing institutes.

Q:   How many seats are sanctioned for the Masters programme through NIFT?
A:
The Masters programs at NIFT (M. Des, M. F. Tech, and MFM) has a combined intake capacity of 1034 seats. The General Ability Test (GAT) is common for all courses, while candidates seeking admission to the M. Des programme also need to appear in the Creative Ability Test (CAT). The final merit list for admission to the M. Des programme will be prepared by giving weightage to the CAT, GAT and Interview. Meanwhile, the merit list for the M. F. Tech and M. F. M programs will be prepared by considering the performance of the candidate in the GAT and Interview. The candidate can select their programme of study at the time of filling out the NIFT application form. Note that the allotment of seats will be as per the merit rank of the candidate.
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Graphic design courses after 10th - Admission Process

Admission to a graphic design course after 10th, which may be a diploma or a certificate course, will more or less be based on merit of candidate in class 10 exam. In many cases, admission may be offered on a first come, first served basis. This means if seats get filled up, candidate may not get admission even if they are higher ranked.

Diploma or certificate courses have a limited number of applicants, and seat intake is also not an issue. In case candidate changes their mind and decides to do a graphic design course after 10+2 they will have to appear in entrance exams like NIFT, NID DAT, UCEED, etc. for admission.

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How to apply to a graphic design course after 10th

Application form for a graphic design course after 10 will open at institute offering course. So, to apply for program, you need to visit admission portal and fill application form.

When applying, make sure that you submit all necessary documents and fill in information correctly. If you enter incorrect data your application may get rejected. Application process for graphic design course will be conducted online. 

Graphic design course after 10th - Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria for graphic design course will be determined by the academic institute offering the course.

Here we bring the basic criteria to pursue the graphic design course after 10th.

Q:   What is the seat intake for the BDes and BFTech programme at NIFT Bengaluru?
A:

NIFT Bengaluru has 190 BDes and 38 BFTech seats. NIFT Bengaluru is one of the leading fashion design colleges in India. The admission cut-off for the institute tends to be higher, so the candidate must have a high merit rank to have a good chance of admission. Admission to both the BDes and BFTech courses at the institute will be conducted on the basis of the merit rank of the candidate in the NIFT 2023 exam. Candidates seeking admission to the BDes programme need to appear in the CAT GAT and Situation Test. However, BFTech applicants only need to take the GAT exam.

Q:   How can I select my preferred NIFT participating institute for admission to the B.Des programme?
A:

The candidate will be able to select their choice of NIFT 2025 participating institutes (in the order of priority) at the time of filling out the NIFT 2025 counseling registration form.

Online registration for NIFT 2025 counseling will start soon after the final results are declared.

The counseling registrations for NIFT 2025 will be open to candidates who have qualified in the NIFT 2025 entrance exam.

The allotment of seats (or campus) to the B. Des programme will be on the basis of merit rank of the candidate in the NIFT 2025 entrance exam and campus selected. So, candidates who are higher in the NIFT 2025 merit rank will be given preference in the seat allotment.

Q:   What is the fee structure for regular admission through NIFT 2026?
A:

The fee structure for the design courses offered by the NIFTs is published in the information brochure. The NIFT fee structure includes components like tuition fees, library fees, exam fees, mediclaim, etc. Additional, the fee may also be divided into refundable and non-refundable types.

We can have a look at 2025 fee structure and understand the NIFT fee structure (Regular): 

Academic Fee Semester Wise For Non-NRI Category (In INR) 

 

2023-24

2024-25

2025-26

2026-27

 

Semester 1

Semester 2

Semester 3

Semester 4

Semester 5

Semester 6

Semester 7

Semester 8

Tuition Fee (Non-Refundable)

143000

143000

150000

150000

158000

158000

166000

166000

Library Fee (Non-Refundable Per Year Payment)

9500

0

10000

0

10500

0

11000

0

Mediclaim & Student Development Fee (Non-Refundable Per Year Payment)

4700

0

4900

0

5100

0

5400

0

Exam Fee (Per Year)

4700

0

4900

0

5100

0

5400

0

Total

161900

143000

169800

150000

178700

158000

187800

166000

One Time Payments

Security Deposit (Refundable)

12000

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Alumni Association Membership Fee (Non-Refundable)

0

0

0

0

0

0

5900

0

Registration Fee (One Time)

9300

0

0

0

0

0

0

0

Total

21300

0

0

0

0

0

5600

0

Total

183200

143000

169800

150000

178700

158000

193700

166000

Name of the program

Eligibility Criteria

Certificate course

Certificate courses typically have very lax eligibility conditions.


  • Admission is based on merit of class 10 exam. 
  • Seats are most available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Diploma course

Unlike certificate courses, diploma courses are considered more professional and so are valued highly.


  • Admission is merit-based
  • Entrance exams may or may not be conducted.

Why do a Graphic Design Course after 10th?

There are multiple reasons why you may want to become a graphic designer after 10.

  1. Give wings to your creative urges - At the ripe age of 16-17, your mind is ready to go on a creative voyage. A graphic design course could be the perfect foil to unleash your creative genius.
  2. Graphic design offers flexible working hours and style - You need only a laptop and internet to do your graphic design work, meaning you can work from almost anywhere. As a fresher, this flexibility can do wonders to achieving your career goals.
  3. You get to learn how to use the latest software. Being a graphic designer, your work will revolve around software like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe InDesign, CorelDRAW, Adobe Premiere, etc. This will not only help you learn all the finer points about the software, but also make you more appealing to job creators.
  4. Unlimited career options - Graphic designers are in great demand across various sectors, including advertising, web design, and marketing. Starting early will give the student a head start in the job hunt.
  5. Do a degree course to boost job options - The student may later on do a B.Des or related course to make their academic resume stand out. An add-on degree to the curriculum vitae can open more job opportunities for the student.
  6. Improve design aptitude - A diploma or certificate course in graphic design can help the candidate hone their design aptitude. In other cases, the candidate can learn the ABC’s of design aptitude, which is the cornerstone to becoming a good designer.

Graphic design courses after 10th - Curriculum

 Graphic design course after 10th may include the following or similar topics.

  • Fundamentals of Design Drawing
  • Concept Of Graphic Illustrator
  • Graphic Design
  • Image Editing
  • Concept Of Web Designing
  • Web Page Designing
  • Interactive Design
  • Video editing
  • Page Layout

During the graphic design course, the candidate will be using software like Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Indesign, Coreldraw, and Adobe Premier. Other popular software includes Adobe Illustrator and After Effect.

Career Options after completing graphic design course after 10th

The student after completing his or her certificate or diploma course in graphic design after 10th, has many career options in front of them. Some of the popular career options after completing a graphic design course are mentioned below.

  • Graphic Designer
  • Illustrator
  • Web/Interactive
  • Design
  • Artist
  • UI Designer
  • DTP Operator
  • Layout Artist
  • Digital Storyboard
  • 2D Animator
  • Designer for Interactive E-learning
  • Advertising Art Director
  • Packaging Designer
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About the Author
author-image
Sayeba Naushad
Assistant Manager

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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