Rankings of Top Design Colleges in India 2027
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Top Design Colleges
With the study of design getting more mainstream, there is a corresponding mushrooming of design institutes across the country. However, these institutes are not all equal. As far as rankings are concerned, the NIFTs continue to dominate. For instance, in the India Today rankings, eight of the top ten positions are occupied by NIFTs. This is precisely why a majority of students want to get admission to the NIFTs. The problem, however, is that NIFTs have a limited number of seats. So, those missing out on a seat at the NIFTs may end up looking for options elsewhere. And, how do you find your options? By consulting ranking lists!
Note that the Ministry of Education doesn’t publish any NIRF Rankings for Design, unlike it does for categories like Engineering, Management, Medical, and Law. In its absence, the next best option for the candidate is to depend on ranking lists published by recognized names like India Today, The Week, and Outlook. In this article, we take a look at the rankings of the top design institutes in 2026, published by these institutes and also by other agencies. This will help the candidate make a fair call on which college to apply to. So, let’s dive in.
- Top Fashion Design Colleges in India 2026 - India Today Rankings
- Top 20 Private Colleges of Design: IIRF Ranking 2025
- Rankings of Design Colleges 2026 - QS World Rankings
- Top Design Colleges in India - Outlook
Top Fashion Design Colleges in India 2026 - India Today Rankings
Check the table below for Top Fashion Design Colleges.
| Name of the Institute |
India Today Ranking 2026 |
India Today Ranking 2025 |
India Today Ranking 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
1 |
1 |
|
| 2 |
3 |
2 |
|
| 3 |
2 |
3 |
|
| 5 |
5 |
5 |
|
| 6 |
6 |
6 |
|
| 6 |
6 |
8 |
|
| 4 |
4 |
5 |
|
| 8 |
8 |
7 |
|
| 10 |
10 |
9 |
|
| NIFT Jodhpur |
9 |
9 |
10 |
| 12 |
12 |
12 |
|
| 15 |
13 |
14 |
|
| 16 |
15 |
16 |
|
| 11 |
11 |
11 |
|
| 14 |
14 |
15 |
|
| 13 |
- |
13 |
|
| 18 |
17 |
18 |
|
|
|
16 |
17 |
|
|
|
- |
19 |
|
|
|
18 |
20 |
|
|
|
21 |
22 |
|
|
|
|
- |
|
|
|
|
28 |
|
|
|
19 |
- |
|
|
|
20 |
- |
Commonly asked questions
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 |
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.
Shift | NIFTEE Stage 1 2026 Exam | Registered (expected) | Appeared (expected) |
|---|---|---|---|
Shift 1 | General Ability Test (GAT) | 18000+ | 17000+ |
Shift 2 | Creative Ability Test (CAT) | 16000+ | 15000+ |
Total |
| 34000+ | 32000+ |
Pearl Academy 2026 results for June cycle will be released in June. It will be declared for all candidates who have appeared in the written exam and online personal interview.
Top 20 Private Colleges of Design: IIRF Ranking 2025
Check out the top 20 Private colleges of Design.
|
All India Rank(Survey & Perceptive Based)
|
Name of Institutes | State | State Rank | Overall Index Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
1
|
Karnavati University, Unitedworld Institute of Design, Gandhinagar | Gujarat | 1 | 80.17 |
|
2
|
Woxsen University, Woxsen School of Arts and Design, Hyderabad | Telangana | 1 | 79.83 |
|
3
|
Amity University, Amity School of Fashion Technology, Noida | Uttar Pradesh | 1 | 79.27 |
|
3
|
TDV - The Design Village, Noida | Uttar Pradesh | 1 | 79.29 |
|
4
|
NMIMS University, NMIMS School of Design, Mumbai | Maharashtra | 1 | 78.8 |
|
5
|
IIFD Chandigarh - Indian Institute of Fashion and Design, Chandigarh | Punjab | 1 | 78.56 |
|
6
|
Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal School of Architecture and Planning, Manipal | Karnataka | 1 | 78 |
|
7
|
Chitkara University, Chitkara School of Planning and Architecture, Patiala | Punjab | 2 | 77.61 |
|
8
|
Parul University, Parul Institute of Design, Vadodara | Gujarat | 2 | 77.16 |
|
9
|
MIT-ADT University, MIT Art, Design & Technology University, MIT Institute of Design, Pune | Maharashtra | 2 | 76.72 |
|
10
|
Avantika University, Ujjain | Madhya Pradesh | 1 | 76.38 |
|
11
|
UPES, School of Design, Dehradun | Uttarakhand | 1 | 75.91 |
|
12
|
Nirma University, Institute of Design, Ahmedabad | Gujarat | 3 | 75.38 |
|
13
|
AID - Apeejay Institute of Design, New Delhi | Delhi | 1 | 74.81 |
|
14
|
Suryadatta Institute of Design, Pune | Maharashtra | 3 | 74.41 |
|
15
|
B.S. Abdur Rahman Crescent Institute of Science and Technology, Crescent School of Architecture, Chennai | Tamil Nadu | 1 | 74.1 |
|
16
|
Poornima University, Faculty of Design and Arts, Jaipur | Rajasthan | 1 | 73.6 |
|
17
|
Pearl Academy, Mumbai | Maharashtra | 4 | 73.12 |
|
18
|
WUD- World University of Design, School of Design, Sonipat | Haryana | 1 | 72.68 |
|
19
|
Manav Rachna International Institute of Research and Studies, School of Design, Faridabad | Haryana | 2 | 72.22 |
|
20
|
IIFD Kolkata - Indian Institute of Fashion & Design, Kolkata | West Bengal | 1 | 71.76 |
Rankings of Design Colleges 2026 - QS World Rankings
QS World University Rankings are published by Quacquarelli Symonds (QS). QS Rankings are considered among the most reliable, along with Academic Ranking of World Universities and Times Higher Education World University Rankings.
The QS World University Rankings 2026 for Art & Design are as follows:
| Name of the Institute |
Ranking |
Score |
|---|---|---|
| Royal College of Art, London, United Kingdom | 1 | Overall Score: 97.4 |
| University of the Arts, London, United Kingdom | 2 | Overall Score: 93.8 |
| The New School, New York City & Paris | 3 | Overall Score: 92.1 |
| Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) location Providence, United States |
4 | Overall Score: 91.6 |
| Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) location Cambridge, United States |
5 | Overall Score: 88.9 |
| Politecnico di Milano, Milan,, Italy | 6 | Overall Score: 84.4 |
| Pratt Institute, New York City, United States | 7 | Overall Score: 84 |
| Aalto University, Espoo, Finland | 8 | Overall Score: 82.8 |
| School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, United States | 9 | Overall Score: 82.4 |
| Design Academy Eindhoven, Eindhoven, Netherlands | 10 | Overall Score: 81.4 |
Commonly asked questions
Pearl Academy entrance exam is conducted in multiple cycles, in January, April and June. Candidate has the option to choose any of these cycles. Note that applications are received separately for each cycle.
Application form is open for UG and PG programmes.
Graduates from B.Des programmes can explore careers in:
UI/UX Design
Product Design
Graphic Design
Animation & VFX
Industrial Design
Interaction Design
Game Design
Advertising & Branding
The qualifying cut-off is the minimum marks a candidate needs to score in the paper to get shortlisted. Part B answer booklets will only be evaluated if the candidate gets shortlisted.
So, if you don't meet Part A cut-off marks, you will not get shortlisted and you Part B answer booklets will not be evaluated. Also, note that only shortlisted candidates will be assigned a merit rank in CEED.
The cut-off marks for CEED 2026 is 39.35 and 16.89. Mean and standard deviation for Part-A (CEED 2026) are 39.35 and 16.89, respectively.
Explore colleges based on SEED
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1 Oct '26 - 5 Nov '26
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29 Sep '26 - 25 Dec '26
1 Nov '26 - 31 Dec '26
1 Nov '26 - 31 Dec '26
1 Oct '26 - 31 Dec '26
Top Design Colleges in India - Outlook
The top design colleges in India 2026 are:
| RANK 2026 | Institutes | ACADEMIC & RESEARCH EXCELLENCE 200 | INDUSTRY INTERFACE & PLACEMENT 250 |
Total Score 1000
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | PEARL ACADEMY NEW DELHI | 192.3 | 227.56 | 930.7 |
| 2 | PEARL ACADEMY JAIPUR | 192.2 | 227.46 | 928.76 |
| 3 | SCHOOL OF ARTS & DESIGN WOXSEN UNIVERSITY HYDERABAD | 191.71 | 227 | 926.5 |
| 4 | AMITY SCHOOL OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY NOIDA | 191.51 | 226.21 | 924.92 |
| 5 | SYMBIOSIS INSTITUTE OF DESIGN PUNE | 190.89 | 225.98 | 922.4 |
| 6 | MKSSS’S SCHOOL OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY PUNE | 190.26 | 225.1 | 919.98 |
| 7 | PEARL ACADEMY MUMBAI | 189.88 | 224.43 | 917 |
| 8 | JD INSTITUTE OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY BANGALORE | 189.35 | 223.58 | 913.46 |
| 9 | AMITY SCHOOL OF FASHION TECHNOLOGY MUMBAI | 188.66 | 222.95 | 911.55 |
| 10 | FACULTY OF ART AND DESIGN M.S. RAMAIAH UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES BENGALURU | 188.18 | 222.6 | 909.42 |
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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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