What is a Good Score in NID DAT 2026?
National Institute of Design Entrance Exam 2026 ( NID Entrance Exam )
Result - 12 Feb '26 - 14 Feb '26
While admission to the National Institute of Design 2026 participating institutes is based on NID scores, do you know what a good score is to get admission to your dream institute? If not, then this article is for you, as we bring category-wise scores required for admission to NID-participating colleges.
The National Institute of Design conducts the NID DAT entrance exam for admission to the B.Des and M.Des courses offered by participating colleges. To get admission, especially to one of the top NIDs, one needs to secure a good NID DAT 2026 score or merit rank.
But the TRICKY question is what is a good score (or rank)?
It is because what we call a good rank may vary depending on the category of the candidate, as well as the institute applied for admission. So, to cut the confusion, here we bring you the category-wise minimum marks you need to secure to have a chance of admission at each of the NID DAT 2026 participating institutes.
NID M.Des Prelims result is out at admission.nid.edu. The rechecking window will open at 6 PM. It will close on February 14, 2026.
The NID Entrance Exam is considered to be one of the toughest design entrance exam conducted in the country. In NID DAT, more weightage is given to subjective, drawing related questions. Thus, candidates need to be extremely creative and have a clear understanding of their concepts when appearing for the NID exam.
For preparing the final results for the B. Des program, the DAT Prelims will be allocated 40% weightage, while DAT Mains will be given 60%.
During the DAT Mains, which comprises a Studio Test, the candidate is tested hands-on and have to show their drawing abilities, creativity, innovativeness, and material-handling ability.
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Latest Update:
- NID DAT M.Des Prelims Result 2026 Declared; Check Now
- NID DAT 2026 Result (OUT) LIVE Updates: M.Des Prelims Re-Checking Window @admissions.nid.edu
The application form for NID DAT 2026 is closed now. The NID DAT Entrance Test was conducted on December 21, 2025 for B.Des and M.Des. The scores of the DAT Prelims will be used to shortlist candidates for the DAT Mains. The FINAL results of NID DAT 2026 will be prepared by giving weightage to DAT Prelims and DAT Mains.
- NID DAT 2026 Qualifying Marks
- What is the NID DAT 2026 Score?
- NID DAT 2026 - Good Score
- NID DAT Cut-off 2026
- NID B.Des 2026 Rank and Score
NID DAT 2026 Qualifying Marks
The qualifying marks are the minimum marks a candidate needs to secure in their respective category to qualify for the exam. In other words, only such candidates who qualify in the exam will be considered for the NID DAT 2026 seat allotment.
The following are the Qualifying marks for NID DAT 2025, NID 2026 aspirants can have an idea about the 2026 NID DAT Qualifying Marks.
| Category |
Open |
OBC-NCL |
SC/ST |
PwD |
EWS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Marks |
50 |
45 |
40 |
40 |
50 |
What is the NID DAT 2026 Score?
The NID DAT 2026 scorecard will contain the total score, which will be prepared by giving weightage to the DAT Prelims and DAT Mains. The total score will be used to prepare the merit rank, which will be the basis of the NID DAT 2026 seat allotment.
NID DAT 2026 - Good Score
Listed below are the scores a candidate is expected to secure in order to have a good chance of admission to the B.Des program in one of the top NIDs.
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| Category |
Good Score |
|---|---|
| Open |
90+ |
| Gen-EWS |
60+ |
| OBC-NCL |
70+ |
| SC |
65+ |
| ST |
50+ |
| PwD |
50+ |
NID DAT Cut-off 2026
The cut-off is the minimum mark a candidate needs to secure in their category to get admission to a participating institute (NID institutes). The cut-off for a participating institute will be prepared by considering a host of parameters, including the following:
Admission to the NIDs is conducted through the NID Entrance Examination. The NID exam has two stages - the candidate first appears in the that Prelims. Scores of the that Prelims are used to then shortlist candidates for that Mains. The final merit list for NID DAT 2026 will be prepared by giving weightage to that Prelims and that Mains. Note that the National Institute of Design hasn't yet released the weightage for the that Prelims and that Mains.
The NID DAT 2026 (Prelims) exam will be on December 21, 2025. Meanwhile, the DAT exams for the M.Des programme will be conducted tentatively in March, whereas DAT Mains for the B. Des programme will be conducted in April 2026.
The NID Design Aptitude Test (DAT) is a two-step entrance exam. The candidate first appears in DAT Prelims. If shortlisted, the candidate has to next appear in DAT Mains.
Here are some suggested study material for NID DAT:
Quantitative Aptitude - Physics and Maths syllabus up to Class 10.
Logical Reasoning - Step-by-Step Verbal Reasoning by Philip Kay, How to Pass Diagrammatic Reasoning Test by Mike Bryon.
GK and Current Affairs - Read newspapers daily for current affairs. For static GK, read any good GK book for NID.
English - The Ultimate Guide for NIFT/NID/IIFT Entrance Exam by Arihant
NID evaluates aspirants based on their knowledge, creativity and aptitude for design. Experts share that NID is one of the most challenging design entrance exams conducted in the country. However, if prepared well, the difficulty level of NID Entrance Exam is medium. On of the main reasons why NID is such a competitive exam is there are very limited number of seats. For instance, there are only 425 seats available for the BDes programme through NID. In contrast, the NIFTs offer 2748 seats.
- The NID DAT 2026 merit rank of the candidate
- The seat intake in the participating institute
- The category under which admission is sought
- The number of applications received by the participating institute
- Previous years’ cut-off trends.
NID B.Des 2026 Rank and Score
The NID B.Des Admissions 2025-26: Rank and Score of the Last Candidate Allotted a Seat (as on 12 June 2025) are:
1. NID B.Des 2025 Rank and Score for Open Rank
| Campus | Open Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| NID Ahmedabad | 48 | 59.60 |
| NID Andhra Pradesh | 200 | 54.10 |
| NID Assam | 247 | 53.00 |
| NID Madhya Pradesh | 166 | 55.00 |
| NID Haryana | 193 | 54.30 |
2. NID B.Des 2025 Rank and Score for GEN-EWS Rank
| Campus | GEN-EWS Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| NID Ahmedabad | 16 | 50.90 |
| NID Andhra Pradesh | 20 | 50.40 |
| NID Assam | NE | NE |
| NID Madhya Pradesh | 17 | 50.80 |
| NID Haryana | 21 | 50.30 |
3. NID B.Des 2025 Rank and Score for OBC-NCL Rank are
| Campus | OBC-NCL Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| NID Ahmedabad | 40 | 53.70 |
| NID Andhra Pradesh | 119 | 48.50 |
| NID Assam | 130 | 47.90 |
| NID Madhya Pradesh | 102 | 49.30 |
| NID Haryana | 100 | 49.40 |
4. NID B.Des 2025 Rank and Score for SC Rank are:
| Campus | SC Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| NID Ahmedabad | 24 | 51.70 |
| NID Andhra Pradesh | 66 | 45.60 |
| NID Assam | 74 | 44.80 |
| NID Madhya Pradesh | 44 | 48.20 |
| NID Haryana | 56 | 46.60 |
5. NID B.Des 2025 Rank and Score for ST Rank are:
| Campus | ST Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| NID Ahmedabad | 11 | 47.80 |
| NID Andhra Pradesh | 27 | 42.50 |
| NID Assam | 39 | 40.20 |
| NID Madhya Pradesh | 22 | 43.50 |
| NID Haryana | 29 | 42.20 |
6. NID B.Des 2025 Rank and Score for PwD Rank are:
| Campus | PwD Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| NID Ahmedabad | 7 | 40.60 |
| NID Andhra Pradesh | NE | NE |
| NID Assam | NE | NE |
| NID Madhya Pradesh | NE | NE |
| NID Haryana | 9 | 40.00 |
7. NID B.Des 2025 Rank and Score for Overseas Rank are:
| Campus | Overseas Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|
| NID Ahmedabad | 10 | 52.50 |
| NID Andhra Pradesh | NE | NE |
| NID Assam | NE | NE |
| NID Madhya Pradesh | NE | NE |
| NID Haryana | NE | NE |
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NID M.Des 2025 Rank and Score
The NID M.Des 2025 Rank and Score of the Last Candidate Allotted a Seat as on 18 June 2025 (Round 03) are as follows:
| Discipline | Open Rank | Score | GEN-EWS Rank | Score | OBC-NCL Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animation Film Design | 12 | 55.10 | NE | NE | 6 | 46.65 |
| Ceramic & Glass Design | 6 | 58.10 | NA | NA | 6 | 49.95 |
| Furniture & Interior Design | 10 | 55.90 | 2 | 50.25 | 7 | 47.45 |
| Film & Video Communication | 10 | 67.35 | 2 | 54.20 | 7 | 62.65 |
| Graphic Design | 8 | 62.25 | NE | NE | 9 | 53.90 |
| Product Design | 10 | 59.30 | NE | NE | 14 | 49.60 |
| Textile Design | 8 | 59.25 | NE | NE | 5 | 47.20 |
| Apparel Design | 9 | 54.15 | NE | NE | 6 | 47.95 |
| Lifestyle Accessory Design | 10 | 59.30 | NE | NE | 9 | 48.60 |
| New Media Design | 8 | 57.70 | NE | NE | 8 | 46.55 |
| Photography Design | 16 | 50.15 | NE | NE | 1 | 46.50 |
| Strategic Design Management | 11 | 61.40 | 1 | 50.50 | 5 | 47.35 |
| Transportation & Automobile | 10 | 55.60 | NE | NE | 5 | 47.25 |
| Toy & Game Design | 6 | 72.95 | NA | NA | 6 | 48.70 |
| Digital Game Design | 7 | 66.65 | 2 | 60.00 | 6 | 54.85 |
| Design for Retail Experience | 7 | 59.30 | NE | NE | 8 | 47.60 |
| Information Design | 8 | 67.70 | 3 | 52.10 | 8 | 49.95 |
| Interaction Design | 11 | 57.50 | NE | NE | 7 | 50.35 |
| Universal Design | 14 | 60.55 | 2 | 57.00 | 11 | 48.80 |
| Discipline | SC Rank | Score | ST Rank | Score | PwD Rank | Score | Overseas Rank | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Animation Film Design | 5 | 46.30 | 1 | 52.15 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Ceramic & Glass Design | 3 | 50.50 | NE | NE | NA | NA | 1 | 57.80 |
| Furniture & Interior Design | 4 | 44.85 | 2 | 50.40 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Film & Video Communication | 6 | 56.35 | 1 | 63.45 | NA | NA | 1 | 66.00 |
| Graphic Design | 4 | 55.65 | 1 | 59.80 | 1 | 51.20 | NE | NE |
| Product Design | 3 | 50.70 | 1 | 46.05 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Textile Design | 6 | 40.20 | 1 | 48.40 | NA | NA | NE | NE |
| Apparel Design | 3 | 40.65 | 1 | 43.35 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Lifestyle Accessory Design | 7 | 43.95 | 2 | 46.25 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| New Media Design | 4 | 43.00 | 1 | 52.50 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Photography Design | 5 | 43.50 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Strategic Design Management | 4 | 43.90 | 2 | 55.25 | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Transportation & Automobile | 4 | 45.35 | NE | NE | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Toy & Game Design | 2 | 45.40 | NE | NE | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Digital Game Design | 4 | 54.45 | 1 | 53.15 | 1 | 42.15 | NA | NA |
| Design for Retail Experience | 3 | 55.10 | NA | NA | 1 | 44.95 | NA | NA |
| Information Design | 3 | 53.45 | NE | NE | NA | NA | NA | NA |
| Interaction Design | 5 | 52.80 | 1 | 41.80 | NE | NE | NE | NE |
| Universal Design | 5 | 51.25 | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
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Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?Answered 3 days ago
NIFT and NID are equally tough. NIFT has two stages: NIFT Written exam and NIFT Situation Test and Personal Interview, whereas NID DAT also has two stages: NID DAT Prelims and NID Mains, which include Studio test and Personal Interview.
Candidate who is preparing for NIFT can give NID DAT entrance e
S
Contributor-Level 10
Answered 2 months ago
NID 2026 Application correction Window for B.Des and M.Des was open from December 02, 2025 to December 04, 2025.
S
Contributor-Level 10
It is not mandatory to take coaching to get a good rank in NID DAT. It is because the entrance exam will test the creative, drawing, and innovative skills of the candidate. Now, a coaching institute cannot exactly teach you to be creative or become innovative. Instead, with a little effort these skills can learn these skills yourself. Also, a major thrust of the design aptitude test is to evaluate the drawing skills of the candidate. So, make it a point to work on your design skills, including learning how to draw lines, shadow, figure, gesture, cartoon drawing, etc. When practicing drawing, also keep a tab on the drawing speed, as it will help you complete the paper in the allotted time.