CEED 2026: Exam Date (Jan 18), Registration (OPEN), Syllabus, Pattern, Question Paper & Preparation Tips

Seats available for CEED admission vary from one institute to the other (that accept the exam scores for admission). For e. g, IIT Hyderabad has 30 seats, while IISc Bangalore has 18 seats. Candidates are informed that CEED is just a qualifying exam. Thus, any aspirant who clears CEED exam may have to appear in further admission rounds that may be conducted by the participating college. The application process at the participating colleges typically open once the CEED entrance exam results are announced.

 The CEED score is valid for a period of one year from the date of declaration of the result. This means you can use CEED 2026 scores for admission in the current academic session only. You can't use for admission in the next year.

Likewise, you can't use CEED 2025 scores for admission in the upcoming session.

The result of CEED 2026 will be prepared by giving weightage to the Part A and Part B sections. Part A will carry 25% weightage, whereas Part B will be worth 75% weightage. 

CEED FINAL Score = 0.25 x (Marks obtained in Part A) + 0.75 x (Marks obtained in Part B)

Note that it is mandatory for candidates to qualify for Part A to be included in the CEED 2026 merit list. In case the candidate fails to qualify for Part A, his or her Part B answer booklets will not be evaluated.

The CEED 2026 exam is expected to be conducted in the second week of January 2026. So, the candidate has plenty of time to prepare for the exam. Given the CEED 2026 syllabus is of moderate to difficult, you would ideally need 6 months or so to prepare for the exam. 

That being said, if your fundamentals are strong, you can cover the syllabus in less time. Before starting you preparation, go through the syllabus and pattern, and draft a plan. Once the plan is ready, get going with full guns blazing.

Note that to fully prepare for the exam, you need to solve sample papers and take mock tests.

It is very much possible to prepare for CEED without coaching. But before you embark on exam preparation on your own, you need the conviction that you can do it. If you are not convinced yourself and only decide to forgo coaching on the advice of others, the journey may be difficult.

If you prepare for the exam on your own, you need to be serious and plan the preparation smartly. For instance, after going through the syllabus, you must be able to decide the difficulty level, time it will take to cover the syllabus, and do revision. 

Remember, there are many instances of toppers who managed to ace the CEED exam without the aid of any coaching. Further, the final outcome may not depend on whether you do coaching or not, but the quality of your preparation.

Yes, CEED is a national-level exam for admission to M.Des and PhD courses offered by participating colleges. The exam is conducted by IIT Bombay.

Note that, in addition to the participating colleges, a number of other institutes, known as result-sharing institutes, will also use CEED scores for admission purposes.

The CEED 2025 exam will be conducted on Janaury 19, 2025.

The application form the exam is currently open.

The candidate may note that the eligibility criteria for appearing in the CEED 2026 exam and the eligibility criteria for admission to the M.Des programme are not the same.

The eligibility criteria for appearing in the CEED 2026 exam will be determined by IIT Bombay. The institute will verify all the documents submitted the candidate during the application process. 

Meanwhile, the participating colleges will also determine the eligibility of the candidate during the counseling process, which will be conducted institute-wise. The candidate will have to furnish original documents, which will be used to determined the veracity of information furnished by the candidate in the CEED 2026 application form.

IIT Bombay will release the qualifying cut-off for Part A in the first week of February 2026. Cut-off is released in the form of mean and standard deviation. 

The mean and standard deviation for Part-A (CEED 2025) are 45.48 and 16.98, respectively and for Part A (CEED 2024) were 41.90 and 16.72, respectively.

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 2026.

The eligibility criteria for appearing in the CEED 2026 exam is prescribed by IIT Bombay. The criteria are outlined in the information brochure. The candidate needs to carefully go through the criteria and only apply for admission if they meet the requirements.

Note that if the candidate fails to meet the CEED 2026 eligibility criteria, he or she could be disquafied at any stage of the admission process. Also, the participating colleges will have a document verification session, where all documents will be cross-checked.

IIT Bombay will release the admission schedule for the CEED 2026 exam, including the application start and last dates, at the time of the release of the application form. The CEED application form is expected to open in the first week of October 2025.

The candidate will also has the option to apply with late fees of INR 500 in the first week of November 2025. IIT Bombay may also extend the last dates for submission of the form.

To appear in the CEED 2026 exam, the candidate must have passed a degree, Diploma, or postgraduate degree exam of minimum three years. There is no limit on the upper age limit or number of attempts for appearing in CEED.

The eligibility criteria that candidates need to meet for appearing in the CEED have been explained below.

• Qualifying exam: The candidate must have completed a degree, Diploma, or postgraduate programme of a minimum of THREE years (after 10+2). Or, Appearing for the final exam of such a programme by July 2026 or, Must have passed the GD Arts Diploma programme (10+5) level by July 2025.
• Age limit - No upper age limit.
• Number of Attempts - The CEED exam can be attempted any number of times.

It is incumbent on the candidate to carefully go through the eligibility criteria before filling out the CEED application form. It is because if the candidate doesn't meet any of the criteria, then he or she can be disqualified at any stage of the admission process.

Candidates can know the status of their CEED 2026 application form on the official registration portals of the exam. In a situation wherein any more information or document is required then the CEED office gets in touch with aspirants through their registered email. It may be note that complete applications will be rejected.

The application form for CEED 2026 will open tentatively in October 2025. The candidate must carefully go through the step-wise process to fill out the form.

Yes, IIT Kanpur will offer a PhD in Design course through CEED 2026. Candidates seeking admission to the program need to take the CEED 2025 entrance exam. The application forms for CEED will open in October 2025.

Note that IIT Bombay will not consult any joint counselling for PhD candidates. As such, shortlisted candidates will have to apply directly to the participating institute.

Part A of the CEED 2026 question paper will have three types of questions:

• NAT (Numerical Answer Type): 8 questions
• MSQ (Multiple Select Question): 10 questions
• MCQ (Multiple Choice Question): 26 questions 

The MSQ and MCQ type questions will have partical scoring.

For instance, each NAT question carries 4 marks. Also, each MSQ may have one or more than one correct choice(s) out of the four given. 

If you get all the correct options, you will be awarded 4 marks. However, if all four options are correct, and you select only three correct options, you will get 3 marks.

IIT Bombay conducts the CEED entrance exam for M.Des and PhD courses. So, yes, you can take the CEED 2026 exam if you plan to get admission to the PhD program offered by participating colleges. 

Fill out the CEED 2026 application form before the last date. Applications will open in the first week of October 2025.

If you qualify in the CEED exam, you will have to apply directly to the participaiting institute. The institute may have additional admission rounds or eligibility criteria.

The topics listed in the CEED syllabus is indicative in nature. Also, the syllabus is exhaustive in the sense that questions may be asked from all or some of the topics. So, the candidate can’t skip any topics when preparing for CEED. 

The candidate is urged to go through the previous years' question papers to get an idea about the paper structure and types of questions asked. That being said, keep in mind that the syllabus has been revised for CEED.

The CEED syllabus can be daunting for some candidates. So, if you are not able to complete it, don'tpanic. The trick in these situations is to first focus on the easy topics and complete the first. If you manage that your anxiety levels will automatically come down. Next move on the moderate difficult topics. If you are able to tackle them, you can start working on the difficult ones. If you get stuck with a topic or problem, it is best to not spend prodigious time trying to master it. Instead move on to the next topic. You can revisit the difficult topic, if you have time.

IIT Bombay has released the syllabus for CEED 2024. When preparing for the exam, the candidate had to also pay special attention to the important topics as they carry more weightage and also have a higher chance of being asked in the exam.

Here are important topics of CEED:

The CEED question paper has two sections - Part A and Part B. Part A will include NAT, MSQ, and MCQ questions, and there is negative marking for M.Sc and MCQ-type questions. However, there is no negative marking for NAT-type questions.

Meanwhile, Part B will be a subjective paper and will have no negative marking.

The candidate needs to bear this things in mind when preparing, and also attempting the CEED exam. 

The sketching part of CEED will include stages like - representation, in the form of geometric figures like lines, squares, and triangles, outline drawing, detailing, and shading. If you are a beginner, focus more on outline drawing, representation, and the easier aspects, rather than focusing on detailing and shading. As you become more adept, you can start adding nuances to your drawing. When making a sketch, focus on the following points:

• Shape of the figure
• Proportion
• Line quality

In Part A of the CEED exam, candidates have to attempt 44 questions. Part A of the CEED exam includes MSQs, MCQs, and NAT questions. Maximum marks that aspirants can secure in the CEED Part A exam are 150. Its weightage is 25%.

Part A will be a computer-based exam of 1 hour duration. Note that the CEED exam has two parts - Part A and Part B. Both parts are mandatory.

If a candidate attempts Part A, but doesn’t attempt Part B, he or she will not be considered for admission.

It is very much possible for candidates to prepare for the UCEED 2025 exam at home.

To prepare for the exam follow these tips:

1. Make a study plan
2. Divide the syllabus into smaller chunks and allocate time accordingly. 
3. Refer to the exam pattern
4. Take notes during study
5. Work on your drawing and visulalization skills
6. Work on your creativity.
7. Solve sample papers and also previous years' papers.
8. Take mock tests.
9. Take help from your peers, if need be.

Candidates may note that qualifying in CEED is no guarantee for admission to any program. 

After qualifying in the exam, the candidate must apply to the respective institutes for admission and fulfil other requirements, such as tests and/or interviews. Each participating institute may have its own set of eligibility criteria and admission rounds.

So, visit the institute portal for the latest updates.

The announcement for admission to the postgraduate programmes in design will be notified separately by these institutes. 

Since CEED is a general aptitude test, you can benefit greatly by practicing previous year question papers. Also, after practicing the papers, it is highly important to analyse your strong and weak areas for the exam and then work on them accordingly. 

But that being said, you can’t prepare for the CEED only on the strength of solving the sample papers. You need to read the text books to learn the concepts, understand the various dynamic. Note that unless your theoretical knowledge is sound, you won’t be able to feel truly confident. 

Rohit Ravindra Waghmare topped the CEED topper list 2025 with 82.38 marks out of 100.

CEED 2023 exam was topped by Khyati Rathor, who secured the AIR 1. She secured 68.85 marks in the exam, out of a total of 100 marks. The 2nd position was occupied by Simon George Cherian, who scored 66.63 marks. The final place in the podium, of AIR 1 rank, was occupied by Aritra Guha Ray. 

Both CEED and UCEED exams are conducted by IIT Bombay. However, CEED scores are used to shortlist candidates for admission to the M.Des courses, whereas UCEED is an entrance exam for admission to the B. Des course. IIT Bombay also conducts a Joint Admission Process (or counseling) for UCEED qualified candidates. However, IIT Bombay doesn't conduct any joint counseling for CEED qualified candidates. Instead, candidates who have been assigned CEED merit ranks will have to apply directly to the participating college.

To be considered for admission to the PhD courses, the candidate needs to first qualify in the CEED 2026 entrance exam.

Next, the candidate needs to apply directly to the participating college. 

Note that the participating college may conduct further admission rounds, inclduing interviews. The institute's admission portal will have the detailed admission process and requirements. 

If you start solving sample papers late in your exam preparation, you must be able to solve around 10-12 sample papers. However, if you start solving sample papers early on, it is not exactly the quantity that you are focusing on.

For instance, if you complete a chapter and solve all the relevant problems givn in the sample paper, it will also be very effective. And you can repeat this model for other topics as well. The only difference here is you are not solving the entire sample paper in one go in this case. Rather attacking it one chapter or topic at a time.

And once you complete the entire syllabus, you can then attempt the complete sample paper.

You can start solving sample papers for CEED very early on in your exam preparation. For instance, you can do the exercise after completing a chapter. All you have to do is find the relevant questions in the sample papers and start solving. As you move on in your CEED 2026 exam preparation, you the sample papers will be more useful. In fact, as you complete the syllabus, you can attempt the complete sample paper.

By solving the sample papers you can improve your problem-solving and time-management skills. Also, you can solve sample papers right up to the exam-day. 

IIT Bombay releases the answer keys of the CEED exam along with the question paper. The answer keys contain the answers to the questions asked in the entrance exam. 

So, if you download the question paper and the corresponding answer key, you can use them for practice. Once you solve a problem, refer to the answer key and check if you have managed to correctly solve the problem.

Currently, the CEED admission portal has question papers starting from 2010. Meanwhile, the answer keys are available from 2020 onward.

But note that IIT Bombay will not release the detailed solution to a question, but release only the answer option. 

To get the detailed solutions, you have to check out with the coaching websites and other online sources.

IIT Delhi will release the list of provisionally selected candidates on its admission portal - https://design.iitd.ac.in/latest-news.html. The list will include the names and application reference numbers of candidates selected for admission. Shortlisted candidates will have to complete the remaining formalities to confirm their admission. 

IIT Bombay will not release any admission cut-offs for CEED 2026. Note that unlike UCEED, IIT Bombay doesn’t conduct any Joint Seat Allotment.

In fact, IIT Bombay is only responsible for conduct of the CEED 2025 exam and declaration of results.

Candidates will have to apply to the participating institute themselves based on their CEED 2026 scores. These participating institutes will then prepare admission cut-off based on parameters like number of applicants, seat intake, category under which admission is sought, etc.

Note that the Part A cut-off for CEED 2026 will be released tentatively in the 2nd week of February 2026.

The CEED exam has two parts - Part A and Part B. The Part B answer booklet will be evaluated only if the candidate qualifies Part A. The minimum marks needed to qualify Part A is the qualifying cut-off for CEED - Part A.

On the other hand, the admission cut-off would be released by the CEED participating institutes. It is the minimum score one needs to score for admission to the M.Des programmein their chosen category.

The design task/interview for admission to the M. Des. in Department of Design, IIT Delhi will be held in May 2025 (tentative).

As part of the design task/interview, the candidate is required to upload your digital portfolio.

The portfolio must include five best projects (maximum size 10 MB) of the candidate.

The official site reads" To merge and compress your works in a single PDF, you may use online tools such as (https://smallpdf.com/compress-pdf)".

The filename of the pdf must be your IIT Delhi application number. The candidate may carry their physical portfolio on the day of the interview as well, but it is not mandatory.   

The counseling process for CEED 2025 will commence within a few days of the declaration of results.

Note that CEED 2025 results are scheduled to be declared on March 5, 2025.

Candidates who have been shortlisted and allocated a merit rank can participate in the counseling. The counseling application form will open at indiividual participating colleges. 

IIT Bombay will not conduct any Joint Counseling for CEED 2025. 

Instead the participating colleges will conduct the counseling at an institute-level. The candidate will have to go to the admission portal of the institute and fill in the counseling registration form.

The counseling admission portal will have all the relevant details pertaining to the admission process, seat matrix, eligibility, etc. 

Note that IIT Bombay will conduct a Joint Admission Process or Counselling for UCEED 2025.

IIT Bombay is exam conducting body for CEED 2026. The institute, however, doesn’t prescribed any study material for the exam. 

So, in a bid to help the candidate, we bring you a list of recommended books for CEED 2026 after consulting previous years’ CEED question papers. The names suggested by toppers and experts have also been taken into account when compiling this list.

CEED ENTRANCE by Academy of Fashion & Art	Academy of Fashion & Art
CEED Common Entrance Exam for Design Pattern & Scheme Preparation Book 2022	Examinspect
CEED & NID M.Des Entrance Books and Test Series	Ashish Popli, Pradosh Swain, Rishabh Rhode
Question Bank for NID, NIFT, CEED & UCEED (Revised 2024 edition)	Ashok Goel and Arjun Kamal
Introduction to Design UCEED | CEED | NID | NIFT	Sanjay Reddy, Mukti Masih, et al.

The CEED admission portal has many useful resources including previous years’ question papers and answer keys. 

To download the question papers and keys:

1. Go to CEED admission portal

2. Click on the “Download” .

3. The screen containing the question papers and answer keys will open

4. Click on the question paper or answer key you want to download.

5. You can download the document in PDF format.

The CEED admission portal has question banks starting from 2010 onward. 

To improve your English language skills, you should develop a habit of reading English newspapers daily.

Apart from this, you can also practice grammar by attempting past year question papers and mock tests. There are many good books in the market to polish your English comprehension skills. Word Power Made Easy is one example.

Check out the list of recommended books for the English language and start working. Note that it is not enough to just read the book with your eyes, you need to bring out your pen and paper and do sufficient practice. Also, when reading, make it a habit to read out loud. It will improve your pronunciation and give you a better grip on vocabulary.

The best books for CEED 2026 preparation are:

• Cracking CEED & UCEED (2022 Edition) by Ashok Goel and Arjun Kamal
• CEED+NID (M.DES) [Paperback] Academy of Fashion & Art Preparation Kit
• CEED Common Entrance Exam for Design Pattern & Scheme Preparation Book 2022 [Paperback] Examinspect
• CEED ENTRANCE by Academy of Fashion & Art
• Ceed & Nid (M.Des) Entrance Books And Test Series by TRENDZ ACADEMY 

The candidate can download the previous years’ question papers for the CEED exam from the CEED 2025 - IIT Bombay admission portal - ceed.iitb.ac.in. Alternatively, the candidate can also download the question papers from this page.

The candidate can download the question papers along with the answer keys. 

However, note that the question paper and answer keys for the current academic session (or CEED 2025) will only be available after the exam has been conducted. 

The previous years’ question papers can be used by the candidate to improve their problem-solving ability and improve conceptual understanding.

The difficulty level of CEED exam has been maintained by authorities over the years. However, most design aspirants share that if difficulty level of all design entrance exams conducted for PG level courses is compared then CEED is slightly easier than NID Entrance Exam. This is primarily because the drawing questions asked in NID that are considered to be tougher than those put forth in CEED exam. Note that CEED exam is for admission to the M.Des courses offered by the eight participating colleges. Meanwhile, the NID that for the M.Des programme has three participating colleges.

The updated application fee that candidates have to pay an application fee when applying for the CEED exam is shown below.

Women candidates - INR 2000

SC, ST, PwD candidates - INR 2000

All other candidates - INR 4000

The candidate will have to pay a fee as per the category they belong. If the candidate selects the wrong category and pay the wrong feels, he or she may be disqualified. So, care must be taken when selecting ones category.

CEED Entrance Examination 2026 will be conduced on January 18, 2026. The exam timing will be 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM. 

Yes, candidates from engineering, architecture, arts, science, or commerce backgrounds can apply. Candidates must have completed a graduate degree/diploma/postgraduate degree program of a minimum of THREE years (after 10+2 level).

CEED 2026 application is expected to start in the first week of October 2025. The official notification will be out by October 1, 2025. 

No, mock tests are not the same as CEED question or sample papers. 

It is because the main purpose of the mock tests is to help the candidate get acquainted with the exam pattern and system, especially if the exam is conducted in an online mode. The mocks will allow the candidate get accustomed with the exam mode, navigation, scoring, and answering patterns. To some extent it also may help the candidate improve problem-solving and time-managment skills, which are typically the exclusive domain of CEED sample papers.

Additionally, mock tests are meant to be taken in the last few days of the exam. On the other hand, sample papers are typically solved even in the early stages of exam preparation.

The candidate must note that IIT Bombay is only responsible for conducting the CEED Entrance exam. Unlike UCEED, it will not conduct any Joint Seat Allotment.  

This means the eligibility criteria prescribed by IIT Bombay is limited to appearing in the CEED 2026 exam. Further, the participating institutes of CEED 2026 will individually determine the eligibility criteria for the M.Des courses. The eligibility criteria will be uploaded on the admission portals of these institutes.

A total of 6037 candidates registered for CEED 2023, out of which 4,910 candidates appeared, and 1,886 candidates qualified in the exam. By comparison, in 2020, 5,564 students took CEED exam and 1,724 qualified the exam. Common Entrance Examination for Design was given by 5,491 in 2019 and out of this number, 1,179 candidates qualified the design entrance test. Along with national-level exams like NID that and NIFT, CEED is among the most popular PG entrance exams in the country. The application form for CEED 2024 will open tentatively in the last week of September 2023.