Candidates seeking admission to the various courses offered by the NIFTs must meet the program-specific eligibility criteria before applying for admission. These criteria may relate to age, qualifying exam passed, marks obtained, etc. If the candidate fails to meet the criteria, his or her candidature can be canceled. Read detailed NIFT 2027 eligibility criteria here.
Eligibility for NIFT UG and PG Programmes
Candidates seeking admission to the design courses need to meet the program-specific NIFT 2027 eligibility criteria. The eligibility criteria for NIFT will be outlined in the NIFT 2027 exam prospectus. You can download the prospectus from the NIFT admission portal - nift.ac.in/admission. It will outline the age limit, academic qualification, number of attempts, etc. that the candidate needs to meet for admission. If the candidate doesn't meet the requirements, he or she could be disqualified at any stage of the admission process. So, before filling out the NIFT application form, it is wise to go through the eligibility requirements.
NIFT 2027 entrance exam will be conducted in the first or second week of February 2027 (Tentatively).
- NIFT 2027 Eligibility Criteria - Why is it important?
- NIFT Eligibility Criteria 2027 - Bachelor Programs
- NIFT Eligibility Criteria for B.Des
- NIFT 2027 Eligibility Criteria for Master's Programs
- NIFT 2027 Eligibility - M.F.M (Master of Fashion Management)
- NIFT 2027 Eligibility - M.F.Tech. (Master of Fashion Technology)
- NIFT Eligibility Criteria for Artisan 2027
- NIFT Eligibility Criteria for B.Des and B.F.Tech (NLEA) 2027
NIFT 2027 Eligibility Criteria - Why is it important?
NIFT institutes offer the following design courses - B.Des, M.Des, M.F.M, B.F.Tech, and M.F.Tech. NIFT eligibility criteria for admission to each of these courses are different. This means if you are applying for admission to the B.Des program, you need to meet the eligibility criteria specific to that program. This goes for all the other courses.
So, when applying for admission at NIFT, you must carefully check that you meet the eligibility conditions for your chosen program. If not, the candidate may not be considered for admission.
Candidates are urged against using counterfeit documents to fake their eligibility because it could lead to disqualification; further, legal action may also be taken against candidates adopting such practices.
Note that all originals will be cross-checked during the NIFT counseling process. Any candidate found to be using fake information in the NIFT application form will be disqualified. The program-wise eligibility criteria for the design courses are given below.
NIFT Eligibility Criteria 2027 - Bachelor Programs
The National Institute of Fashion Technology offers a B.Des and a B.F.Tech program at the undergraduate level. Candidates appearing in board exams in the admission year may also apply, provided they fulfill the eligibility conditions at the time of counseling/admission.
NIFT Eligibility Criteria for B.Des
| Programme |
Educational Eligibility Criteria (expected) |
|---|---|
|
Bachelor of Design (B. Des.) |
Passed the plus 2 level examination in the 10+2 pattern of examination from any recognized Central/State Board of Secondary Examination, such as the Central Board of Secondary Education/State Board New Delhi/Council for Indian School Certificate Examination, New Delhi. OR A pass grade in the Senior Secondary School Examination conducted by the National Open School with a minimum of five subjects. OR 3 or 4 years diploma recognized by AICTE or a State Board of Technical Education after secondary examination/10th standard. OR Any Public School/Board/University Examination in India or in foreign countries recognized by the Association of Indian Universities as equivalent to the 10+2 system. OR General Certificate Education (GCE) Examination (London/Cambridge/Sri Lanka) at the Advanced (A) level/International Baccalaureate (IB). |
| Parameter |
Other Eligibility Criteria (expected) |
|---|---|
| Age Limit |
The candidate should be less than 24 years on August 1, 2027. Relaxation in the upper age limit of FIVE years is applicable for candidates belonging to SC, ST, and PwD categories. |
| Number of Attempts |
There is no limit on the number of attempts |
Commonly asked questions
Candidates will be able to check the cutoff for NIFT Delhi on the website of NIFT: nift.admissions.nic.in. The opening and closing rank of all the programmes is given on this page.
The expected cutoff for NIFT 2027 for B.Des is:
| Category | Expected Cutoff for B.Des |
|---|---|
| Open | 30-80 |
| EWS | 26-29 |
| OBC | 26-29 |
| SC | 22 |
| ST | 19 |
The cut-off of NIFT for the various academic courses is not fixed. This is because the cut-off depends on variables like seat intake, the performance of applicants in the NIFT exam, total number of applications received for admission, etc. Now these variables may change from year to year. For instance, the number of candidates appearing in NIFT and qualifying the exam may be different across the years. And when that happens, the cut-off also changes. Typically, if the seat intake increases, the cut-off goes down and vice versa. Likewise, if the number of applicants increases, expect a higher cut-off.
Also Read:
NIFT Eligibility Criteria for B.F Tech is given below.
| Parameter |
Eligibility Criteria (expected) |
|---|---|
| Age Limit |
The candidate should be less than 24 years as on August 1, 2027. Relaxation in the upper age limit of FIVE years is applicable for candidates belonging to SC, ST, and PwD categories. |
| Qualifying exam |
The candidate must have completed ANY of the following.
Candidates appearing in board exams in the admission year may also apply, provided they fulfill the eligibility conditions at the time of counseling/admission. |
| Number of attempts |
There is no limit on the number of attempts |
Commonly asked questions
The expected cutoff for NIFT M.Des is given below:
| Category | Expected Cutoff M.Des |
|---|---|
| Open | 26-70 |
| EWS | 22 |
| OBC | 22 |
| SC | 16 |
| ST | 16-18 |
The category-wise cut-off for the Accessory Design programme for NIFT Bangalore campus is given below:
Category | Opening Rank | Closing Rank |
EWS | 1099 | 2179 |
OBC (NC) | 438 | 1333 |
Open | 35 | 482 |
SC | 2034 | 4214 |
ST | 2839 | 7286 |
Note that reserved category candidates will be considered for admission to both their reserved and open categories.
The Cut off for NIFT Mumbai 2025 for B.Des in Textile Design will be out soon. In the meanwhile, we can have a look at the Cutoff 2024 to get a rough idea.
The following table presents the Cutoff for Round 1 under All India Quota for NIFT Mumbai 2024:
Category | Opening Rank | Closing Rank |
|---|---|---|
| OBC | 722 | 2044 |
| Gen-EWS | 581 | 2653 |
| Open | 301 | 570 |
| Open (PwD) | 5654 | 5654 |
| SC | 3522 | 4385 |
| ST | 5076 | 5499 |
Explore colleges based on NIFT Entrance Exam
Want better recommendations?
There is a 90% more chance of getting best college recommendations by sharing preferences.
- Chat with our counselor
- Get your personalised list of colleges & exams matching your preferences
NIFT 2027 Eligibility Criteria for Master's Programs
The National Institute of Fashion Technology currently offers three programs at the master’s level.
- M.Des (Master of Design)
- M.F.M (Master of Fashion Management)
- M.F.Tech. (Master of Fashion Technology)
The eligibility criteria for each of these programs are given below.
NIFT 2027 Eligibility - M.Des (Master of Design)
| Parameter |
Eligibility Criteria (expected) |
|---|---|
| Age Limit |
There is no upper or lower age bar for admission. |
| Qualifying exam |
|
| Understanding of fundamentals in design |
M.Des being an advanced course, demands an understanding of the fundamentals of design. Consequently, the candidate should be familiar with the basic skills and theories for the successful completion of the program. Further, the course will not provide any basic knowledge and skill development in design as part of the program. |
| Number of attempts |
No limit on the number of attempts |
NIFT 2027 Eligibility - M.F.M (Master of Fashion Management)
| Parameter |
Eligibility Criteria (expected) |
|---|---|
| Age Limit |
There is no upper or lower age bar for admission. |
| Qualifying exam |
|
| Number of attempts |
No limit |
Commonly asked questions
The Cutoff for NIFT Mumbai for B.Des in Fashion Design 2026 for round 2 are out . We can get a fair idea by looking at the Cut offs for NIFT Mumbai Fashion Design 2026
The following table presents the Cutoff for Round 2under All India Quota:
Category | Closing Rank |
|---|---|
| Open | 84 |
| OBC | 382 |
| EWC | 371 |
| SC | 536 |
| PwD | 1746 |
| ST | 4321 |
The National Instituite of Fashion Technology will release the NIFT 2026 at the time of seat allotment and counseling.
The cut-offs will be available institute and category-wise for all the program at nift.admissions.nic.in.
The cut-offs will be prepared by considering factors like the seat intake, the merit rank of candidates, admission category, etc. Note that if the seat intake is increase the cut-off would likely go down and vice versa.
The cut-offs are available for the following titles:
- Opening and Closing Rank Details for NIFT UG Counselling 2026
- Opening and Closing Rank Details for NIFT UG (Lateral Entry) Counselling 2026
- Opening and Closing Rank Details for NIFT PG Counselling 2026
To download the cut-offs, visit: https://nift.admissions.nic.in/or-cr/
Candidates can check NIFT cutoff 2026 online on the official website of the National Institute of Fashion Technology. NIFT cutoff is released as a PDF file containing the opening and closing ranks. The cut-off would be category-specific. So, the candidate needs to check the cut-off for the category they belong to. Also, note that candidates from reserved categories will be considered for admission under general category as well. However, candidates belonging to open category will not be considered for admission under reserved categories.
NIFT master's programme is offered in Master of Design (M. Des. ), Master of Fashion Management (M. F. M) and Master of Fashion Technology (M. F. Tech. ).
The cut-off would be released separately for all these courses. This means, if the candidate meets the cut-off criteria for M. Des but fails to meet the cut-off for M. F. Tech, in that case the candidate will only be eligible for admission to the M. Des programme. So, the candidate needs to check out the cut-off or closing ranks for the programme they are seeking admission to. The cut-off would be determined by considering factors like total applicants, seat intake, merit ranks of the applicants, and also admission category.
NIFT 2027 Eligibility - M.F.Tech. (Master of Fashion Technology)
| Parameter |
Eligibility Criteria |
|---|---|
| Age Limit |
There is no upper or lower age bar for admission. |
| Qualifying exam |
|
| Number of attempts |
No limit |
NIFT Eligibility Criteria for Artisan 2027
Read the eligibility for NIFT Artisan Category.
| Programme | Eligibility Criteria |
|---|---|
| Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) | Passed the plus 2 level examination in the 10+2 pattern of examination of any recognized Central/ State Board of Secondary Examination, such as Central Board of Secondary Education / State Board New Delhi / Council for Indian School of Certificate Examination, New Delhi. OR A pass grade in the Senior Secondary School Examination conducted by the National Open School with a minimum of five subjects. OR 3 or 4-years Diploma recognized by AICTE or a State Board of Technical Education after secondary school examination. OR Any Public School/Board/University Examination in India or in foreign countries recognized by the Association of Indian Universities as equivalent to 10+2 system. AND Artisan/Ward of Artisan can seek admission under this category on submission of a valid Artisan Card issued to Self/ Father/ Mother by the Development Commissioner (Handicraft), or Development Commissioner (Handlooms), Ministry of Textiles, Government of India or have applied for the Artisan Card before the launch of Prospectus for Admissions-2026. |
Also Read: NIFT Artisan Category: Who can Apply, Programmes, Application and Exam Components
NIFT Eligibility Criteria for B.Des and B.F.Tech (NLEA) 2027
| Programme | Eligibility Criteria |
|---|---|
|
Bachelor of Design (B.Des.) NLEA
|
Candidates having minimum 1- or 2-years diploma recognized by AICTE/AIU/ UGC / National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF)/ITI or a State Board of Technical Education in courses related to Fashion / Apparel / Textile and Accessories / Home Science/ Handloom Technology / Products / Visual Communication / Graphic Design / Industrial Design / Interior Design / Multimedia Design / Apparel Technology / Leather/ Fine arts after passing Secondary Examination / 10th standard AND Two-year full-time industry experience in the related field after completion of Diploma before launch of Admissions. |
| OR | |
| Candidates having minimum 1 year diploma recognized by AICTE/AIU/ UGC / National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) /ITI or a State Board of Technical Education in courses related to Fashion / Apparel / Textile and Accessories / Home Science/ Handloom Technology / Products / Visual Communication / Graphic Design/ Industrial Design / Interior Design / Multimedia Design / Apparel Technology / Leather/ Fine arts after passing Senior Secondary Examination / 12th Standard. AND One-year Full Time Industry Experience in the related field after completion of Diploma before the launch of Admissions. |
|
| OR | |
| Candidates who have completed 2-year regular UG Diploma Programme at NIFT after passing Senior Secondary Examination/ 12th standard. | |
|
Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B.F.Tech) NLEA
|
Candidates having minimum 1- or 2-years diploma recognized by AICTE/AIU/ UGC/ National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF) / ITI or a State Board of Technical Education in courses related to Fashion/Apparel/Textile/ Home Science/ Handloom Technology after passing Secondary Examination / 10th Standard with Mathematics. AND Two-year Full Time Industry Experience in the related field after completion of Diploma before the launch of Admissions |
| OR | |
| Candidates having minimum 1-year diploma recognized by AICTE/AIU/ UGC / National Skills Qualification Framework (NSQF)/ ITI or a State Board of Technical Education in courses related to Fashion/Apparel/Textile/ Home Science/ Handloom Technology after passing Senior Secondary Examination /12th Standard with Mathematics. AND One-year Full Time Industry Experience in the related field after completion of Diploma before the launch of Admissions. |
|
| OR | |
| Candidates who have completed a 02-year UG Diploma Programme at NIFT after passing Senior Secondary/12th standard recognized by AIU with Mathematics. |
Also Read:
Commonly asked questions
NIFT cutoff for a participating NIFT is the last rank for which admission is offered in for a particular programme and category. This means, if a candidate fails to score a rank equal to or higher than the cutoff rank, they don't get admission. Typically, a higher ranked institute will invite: More applications Higher-ranked candidates This in turn pushes up the cutoff in higher ranked (or popular) institutes. Likewise, a lower-ranked institute will receive comparatively fewer number of applications, and mostly from lower-ranked candidates. This means, cut-off in these institutes are lower making it much easier to get admission.
Candidates applying for B. Des course need to have passed 10+2 exam from a recognised institute and should be less than 24 years as of August 1, 2027. Relaxation of 5 years in the upper age limit applies for candidates belonging to SC, ST and PwD categories.
Yes, the NIFT 2025 exam will also include the expected cut-off for the exam. Note that the expected cut-off is shared by candidates who have appeared in the entrance exam. In addition, the leading NIFT 2025 coaching institutes will also release the expected cut-off, which would be updated here. The cut-off would depend on a host of factors like the number of applicants, difficulty level of the paper, etc. The candidate by consulting the cut-off would get a rough idea about ones admission process.
Note that as per the student feedback so far, the NIFT question papers for both CAT and GAT were easy to moderate. So, expect the cut-off to stay high.
Explore more Design exams with upcoming dates
25 Mar '26 - 14 Aug '26
22 Aug '26
1 Sep '25 - 31 Aug '26
8 Sep '25 - 31 Aug '26
1 Oct '26
11 Sep '26 - 1 Dec '26
6 Aug '26 - 31 Dec '26
News & Updates
Explore Other Exams
Sep '26 | NID DAT 2027 Registration Date |
Dec '26 | NID DAT 2027 Application Corre... |
1 Oct '26 | UCEED 2027 Notification |
17 Jan '27 | UCEED 2027 Exam DATE |
Jul '26 | UID General Category Window Ad... |
25 Mar '26 - 5 Apr '26 | UID Tier 2: Situation Test for... |
Sep '25 | Pearl Academy Application Form... |
23 Jun '26 | Pearl Academy Personal Intervi... |
15 Jun '26 | AIEED 2026 Batch Starts |
6 Apr '26 - 18 Apr '26 | AIEED Examination (Situation T... |
27 Jan '26 | ISDI Challenge 2026: Result |
15 Dec '25 | ISDI Challenge 2026: Last date... |
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?
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
Read Full Bio