1812 Design colleges in India

Design is one of the most popular courses in India. Design is a career stream that can be pursued by candidates at undergraduate (UG), postgraduate (PG) or doctorate (PhD) level to become designers. It offers vast streams and several opportunities to the students from different backgrounds based on their skills and talent. In India, there are around 1,670 colleges which offer Design course. Out of these around 76% are private, approximately 17% are public/government, and around 7% are public/private.

Many Design colleges in India offer design courses at different levels. The candidates must fulfil the following eligibility criteria for admission to Design colleges in India:

UG Level

• Candidates must have completed Class 12th from a recognised board.
• Candidates from any field, i.e. Science, Commerce, and Arts, can apply for the course.

PG Level

• Candidates should have completed graduation from a recognised college/ institute.
• Most colleges prefer graduates with a Bachelors degree in design stream only. However, candidates from other streams are also eligible to apply for the course based on the required skill-set and aptitude.

Note: The eligibility criteria might vary depending on the course and college opted by the candidate.

PhD Level

• Candidates should have completed their Masters degree in Design or any equivalent degree with a maximum aggregate percentage of 50% from a recognised college.

Note: The percentage of marks might vary from one college to another.

There are several Design colleges in various parts of the country. Some of the cities/states that haveDesign colleges in India are Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Pune, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, etc. Some of the popular Design colleges in India with their fees and location are tabulated below:

Popular Private Design Colleges/ Universities in India

 Popular Government Design Colleges/ Universities in India

Placement Opportunities after Design Course

After completing a course in Designing, there are various placement opportunities provided to the students by the colleges across the country. Good placement opportunities are given to deserving candidates by renowned colleges based on their skills. The salary of a Design graduate varies from one job profile to the other. For instance, a fresh Fashion Designer can earn Rs 2-3 LPA, this can go up to Rs 6-7 LPA for an experienced professional. On the other hand, the average salary of an Interior Designer is Rs 3-4 LPA.

Design colleges in India provide opportunities for students to gain real-time experience and enhance their skills. These colleges with their placement ratings (based on student’s reviews on shiksha.com) and top recruiters are given below:

Some of the other top recruiters are:

• Raymonds
• Arvind Garments
• Benetton
• ITC Ltd.
• Levis
• Lifestyle
• Pantaloon
• Madura Garments
• Spykar
• Swarovski India
• Shoppers Stop
• Pearl Global
• Uni Style India
• Omega Designs
• Orient Craft
• Gokuldas Images
• Indus League Clothing
• Proline
• Texport Overseas
• Modelama Exports
• Span India

Skillset Requirements

The Design skills that the candidates must possess are listed below:

• Creative and artistic mindset
• Good communication skills
• Great sketching skills
• Keen observation
• Knowledge of market requirements
• Knowledge of colours, shades and tones
• Innovativeness
• Visual imagination
• Goal-oriented
• Eye for detail

How affordable is studying Design in India?

Approximately 20% Design colleges in India are expensive. They have a fee structure of more than Rs 5 lakh. Some of these colleges are listed below:

• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Guwahati), Guwahati
• School of Design, MIT WPU, Pune
• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Hyderabad), Hyderabad
• International College of Fashion, Delhi
• National Institute of Fashion Technology, Kolkata

The fee structure of around 20% Design colleges in India comes under the bracket of Rs 1-2 lakh. Some of these colleges are given below:

• Indian Institute of Technology (IIT Bombay), Mumbai
• INIFD, Indore
• International School of Design, Kolkata
• International Institute of Fashion, Pune

With a fee structure of less than Rs 1 lakh, around 32% Design colleges in India are inexpensive/ affordable. These colleges are:

• National Institute of Fashion Technology, Delhi
• New Delhi YMCA, Delhi
• Government Polytechnic, Mumbai
• Amity University, Gwalior
• Banaras Hindu University (BHU), Varanasi

The fees break up with the percentage of Design colleges in India is illustrated in the graph below:

Design Specialisations offered in India

Several specialisations are offered by many Design colleges in India. Fashion Designing is the most common specialisation as around 36% of total Design colleges in India offer this to students. The graph given below depicts some of the popular Design specialisations:

• Retail
• Automotive Design
• Mechanical Engineering
• Electronics Engineering
• Communication Design
• Graphic/Web Design
• 2D/3D Animation
• Visual Effects (VFX)
• Advertising
• Entrepreneurship
• Film and Video Design
• Import and Export
• Textile Engineering
• Computer Science Engineering
• CyberMedia
• Cyber Security
• Electronic Media (TV, Radio, Online)
• Electronics
• Electronics and Communication Engineering
• Exhibition Design
• Finance
• Furniture Design
• Hairstyling and Grooming
• Healthcare and Hospital
• Home Science
• Tool Engineering
• Video Editing

Popular Exams for Design Colleges in India

To get admission to the Design colleges in India, the students are required to clear various national/ state/ university/ college-level entrance exams. The popular exams with their complete names are listed below:

• UCEED- Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design
• GATE- Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
• CEED- Common Entrance Examination for Design
• NIFT Entrance Exam- National Institute of Fashion Technology Entrance Examination
• NID Entrance Exam- NID Design Aptitude Test
• JEE Main- Joint Entrance Examination Main
• MAT- Management Aptitude Test
• NATA- National Aptitude Test in Architecture
• CAT- Common Admission Test 
• UPSEE- Uttar Pradesh State Entrance Examination
• WLCI Aptitude Test– Wigan and Leigh College in India Aptitude Test
• Pearl Academy Entrance Exam@
• XAT- Xavier Aptitude Test
• SEED- Symbiosis Entrance Examfor Design
• CMAT- Common Management Admission Test 
• Karnataka PGCET- Karnataka Post Graduate Common Entrance Test
• TNEA- Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions 
• TANCET- Tamil Nadu Common Entrance Test
• CEPT Entrance Exam
• NICC Entrance Exam
• MITID DAT- MIT Institute of Design, Design Aptitude Test
• NMAT- NMIMS Management Aptitude Test
• LPU NEST- Lovely Professional University National Entrance and Scholarship Test
• Amity JEE- Amity Joint Entrance Examination
• WWI Entrance Exam- Whistling Woods International Entrance Exam

Some of these entrance exams conducted with the percentage of Design colleges in India are given in the graph below:

Scope of Design Course

The demand for designers is increasing every day at a high pace. Various industries with different requirements are looking for adept designers. The career scope of Design courses is extensive. The aspirants can get a job in several fields such as Fashion Designing, Interior Designing, Graphic Designing, Web Designing, Textile Designing, Apparel Designing, Jewellery Designing, Product Designing, Game Designing, Ceramic Designing and so on. The design graduates get opportunities in private as well as public sectors in India and abroad. After completing graduation in Designing, one can go for the following courses:

• Master of Design (MDes)
• Master of Arts (MA)
• Master of Science (MSc)
• Master of Fine Arts (MFA)
• Master of Architecture (M.Arch)
• PG Diploma

One can also pursue a PhD in Design. This will open avenues in major areas such as Information Technology, Environment Design, Textile Industry, Fashion Design, Events Management Companies and so on for various job profiles. Also, as the number of fields available is high, the scope is not limited to India but many countries around the world offer job opportunities to many aspirants. A professional with a degree in design can also set-up a business and work as an entrepreneur.

Some of the job profiles under different specialisations of Design course are:

Fashion Designing

• Fashion Designer
• Fashion Stylists
• Textile Designer
• Retail Manager
• Makeup Artist
• Fashion blogger
• Footwear designer
• Fashion Model

Interior Designing

• Residential Interior Design
• Commercial Interior Design
• Exhibition Design
• Lighting Design
• Kitchen Design

Product Designing

• Product Manager
• Product Marketer
• Product Pattern Maker
• Product Illustrator
• Product Designer
• Product Finisher
• Quality Control Manager
• Product Show Organiser

Web Designing

• Front-end Web Developer
• Design and Layout Analyst
• Senior Web Analyst
• Web Application Developer
• Back-end Web Developer
• Web Marketing Analyst
• UI Designer
• UX Principal
• UX Consultant

Textile Designing

• Textile Designer
• Fabric Resource Manager
• Design Consultant
• Fabric Analyser

Graphic Designing

• Graphic Designer
• Product Designer
• Animator
• Art Director
• Multimedia Artist
• Photo Editor
• Creative Director
• Architecture and Engineering Drafter
• Video and Film Editor