Sayeba
Sayeba Naushad
Assistant Manager
Updated on Jan 7, 2026 16:28 IST
UCEED 2026 exam will have 59 questions that candidates need to answer in 3 hours duration. Go through tips & tricks to complete the UCEED exam paper on time. The exam will have two parts: Part A and Part B. Exam will be conducted on January 18, 2026 in 27 cities.

UCEED 2026 question paper has two parts - Part A and B. Part A will include 57 objective questions that have to be attempted in 2 hours; Part B will include a sketching-based and aptitude-based question that has to be completed in i hour. Here we bring you easy but effective tips to manage time better in the UCEED entrance exam.

UCEED Time Management Tips

UCEED Time Management Tips

UCEED is one of the most competitive entrance exams for B.Des admission in the country. So, if you intend to do well in the exam and get a good score, you must learn time management, among other things. It is because while many candidates do develop the skill to solve a problem, they find themselves high and dry on exam day because of their tortoise-esque speed. Many times, they also lack time-management tricks. So, here we bring some useful UCEED 2026 time-management tips to help you ride the tide! 

Latest Updates:

UCEED 2026 question paper will have two Parts - A and B. Part A will be conducted in a computer-based mode and comprise 57 questions that candidates need to answer in two hours. Meanwhile, Part B will include a sketching-based and an aptitude-based question, which have to be attempted in 60 minutes. The total mark for the UCEED exam is 300. Part A of the UCEED exam will be further divided into three sections. The first section would consist of Numerical Answer Type (NAT) questions and the second and third sections would have Multiple Select Questions (MSQ) and Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ), respectively.

Table of contents
  • Question Paper Pattern of UCEED 2026
  • Updates on the UCEED 2026 Exam
  • 4 Time Management Tips for UCEED 2026

Question Paper Pattern of UCEED 2026

Check out the exam patten of UCEED Question paper.

Particulars  Part A  Part B
Maximum Time 2 hours 1 hour
Mode of Exam Online as a Computer-Based Test (CBT) Offline
Medium of Instruction English English
Sections and number of questions
  • Numerical Answer Type (NAT) - 14
  • Multiple Select Question (MSQ) - 15
  • Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) - 28

Sketching-based - 1

Design Aptitude-based - 1

Number of Questions  57 2
Total Marks 200  100 
Q:   What is the difficulty level of UCEED exam?
A:

If you consider the question paper of UCEED 2026, then the exam can be considered to be moderately difficult. For instance, of the 68 questions asked, around 18 questions fall in the moderate category, 18 in the moderate to difficult category, while the rest can be tagged easy to moderate. 

In contrast, NIFT and NID DAT are considered to be tougher. This is because in NID DAT, more weightage is given to subjective and drawing-related questions. Consequently, the candidate needs to be very creative and have strong fundamentals to answer the questions. In NID DAT for the B. Des programme, DAT Prelims carries 40% weightage, while DAT Mains carries 60% weightage. 

Q:   What was the difficulty level of the UCEED 2026 exam?
A:

UCEED 2026 question paper included a total of 59 questions. The section-wise questions asked in Part A was: NAT (14), MSQs (15), and MCQs (28). Part B included a solitary Drawing-based question. The section-wise difficulty level of UCEED 2026 is given below.

Part A

Number of questions

Total marks

Difficulty level

NAT

14

56

Moderate

MSQ

15

60

Moderate to difficult

MCQ

28

84

Easy to moderate

Part B of the question paper included a sketching-based question of moderate difficulty level. The question will carry100 marks.

Q:   What are the important topics candidates need to prepare for Part B of UCEED 2026?
A:

The important topics for UCEED 2026 Part B are given below.

  • Drawing: Ability to draw products, people or scenes in proportion with good line quality, composition, proportion, perspective and shading.
  • Design Aptitude Capability to practically and appropriately respond to problems/situations with ingenuity and empathy.

Updates on the UCEED 2026 Exam

IIT Bombay will conduct the UCEED exam 2026 on January 18, 2026. The exam will be held in 27 cities. The UCEED 2026 admit card is available for download on the website. Candidates must carry the Admit card to the UCEED Exam centre. The exam is from 9 AM to 1 PM. The reporting time is 7 AM.

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4 Time Management Tips for UCEED 2026

Here are the tips that will help you complete the UCEED 2026 question paper on time. So, go through them carefully. 

1) Allot time for each question

UCEED 2026 will comprise 59 questions that aspirants need to attempt in a 3-hour duration. There is a further bifurcation in the time allotted to solve each section of the exam. There are 57 questions in Part A, which need to be solved in 2 hours, and 2 questions (one drawing and one aptitude-based question) in Part B, which need to be solved in 1 hour. This means the candidate has very limited time to solve the paper. However, aspirants are advised to keep two minutes for solving each question and save the remaining time for re-visiting the questions that they couldn't complete in the first attempt.

Since Part A of UCEED 2026 will be a computer-based test, the candidate can easily navigate to questions that they mark for re-checking or questions that they do not answer in the first go. So, it is quite easy for aspirants to go back and solve the questions that they did not attempt initially.

2) Concentrate on picture-type questions

There are many time-consuming questions in UCEED, such as aptitude questions and puzzles. However, there are some picture-based questions as well, which are quite easy and quick to solve. Also, as soon as you solve these questions you are confident of having solved them correctly. So, we advise that you practice as many picture-based questions as you possibly can (during UCEED preparation time) to score well in UCEED 2026.

3) Prioritize exam sections

Every candidate has some strong and weak points. Start attempting questions that reflect your strength first. This will not only improve your speed in solving the paper but also build up your confidence level in attempting the UCEED 2026 test paper.

As per the test pattern of UCEED, there is a negative marking in Part A; so every aspirant should refrain from making wild guesses and concentrate on minimizing the effect of negative marking as much as possible.

4) Time for revision

Candidates should manage their time in a way that they have at least 15-20 minutes at the end to check for the unsolved questions. This is extremely necessary because such an initiative can help improve the score of a candidate tremendously.

One of the best ways to perform well in the UCEED exam is to practice as many previous years' UCEED question papers along with UCEED sample questions. Such a task will not only help aspirants understand their speed in solving the UCEED test paper but also help them understand their strengths and weaknesses. Apart from this, aspirants should also go through some UCEED preparation tips in order to ensure that they have covered all the critical topics necessary to score well in the exam.

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About the Author
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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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Answered 5 days ago

To fill the Common application form for B.Des released by IIT Bombay,  

  • Digital copies of relevant supporting documents, and the signed copy of the completed application form. 
  • Supporting documents required for the application are digital copies of photograph, signature, UCEED Score Card, qualifying e

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Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 5 days ago

The qualifying cut-off for UCEED 2026 will be prepared based on the following formulae:  𝜇 + (𝜎⁄2) = 𝛿, where 𝜇 and 𝜎 are the average marks and standard deviation of distribution of marks obtained by all the candidates in Part-A of UCEED 2026. 

  • 𝜇, 𝜎, and 𝛿 will be rounded-off to two decimal p

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Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 5 days ago

UCEED 2026 question paper will have two parts, Part A and Part B. Part B answer booklet will be checked only if a candidate qualifies Part A or meets cut-off. The qualifying cut-off for Part A will be determined by admission committee. It will be used to shortlist candidates for Part A. All candidat

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Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 5 days ago

Yes, UCEED Cutoff will be round specific. It will be released separately for each round of seat allotment. Candidates who meet cut-off criteria in their categories will be considered for admission to the B. Des programme.

Cut-off for each round will be different for various categories like OPEN, OBC-

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Sayeba Naushad

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Answered 5 days ago

The closing rank for IIT Hyderabad was 43. So, if you secure a merit rank of 100 in the UCEED 2026 exam, you chances of admission to the B. Des will be very low. To have a good chance of admission into the institute, you must target a UCEED merit rank within the top 40. However, note that if you bel

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Sayeba Naushad

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Answered 5 days ago

Admission cutoff for UCEED 2026 is the minimum marks a candidate needs to secure in their category for admission to B.Des programme.

Candidates who meet cutoff criteria will be considered for admission. If the candidate fails to meet the cutoff, he or she will not be considered for admission. Admissi

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Sayeba Naushad

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Answered 5 days ago

If you have biology as a subject in 10+2, then you can apply for B.Des programme at IIITDM Jabalpur, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad and IIT Indore.

To apply at IIITDM, you need to have Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics/Biology subjects in 10+2.

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Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 5 days ago

No, you cannot apply for B.Des programme at IIT Roorkee even if you have cleared the UCEED Entrance Exam because Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics are compulsory subjects in 10+2. But you can apply for B.Des programme at IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad and IIT Indore.

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Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 5 days ago

To be eligible to apply for B.Des programme through UCEED, candidates should have Physics, Chemistry, and Mathematics as subjects in 10+2. 

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Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10

Answered 5 days ago

Yes, students from all the streams can apply for B.Des programme at IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Hyderabad and IIT Indore. They can fill the Joint seat allocation form if they have cleared the UCEED 2026 Entrance Exam.

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Sayeba Naushad

Contributor-Level 10