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

The Highlights of the CEED 2026 Entrance Exam are as follows:

CEED stands for Common Entrance Exam for Design. It is a national-level exam conducted by IIT Bombay for admission to the M.Des programme. The exam is conducted once every academic year. Candidates who are allocated a merit rank in CEED will have to apply directly to the participating institute based on their scores. The CEED participating institutes will shortlist candidates based on their merit rank and may conduct further admission rounds before preparing the merit list for CEED 2026 admission. 

CEED 2026 Admission is to be offered in CEED participating institutes and CEED result-sharing institutes. IIT Bombay (IITB), IIT Delhi (IITD), IIT Guwahati (IITG), IIT Hyderabad (IITH), IIT Indore (IITI), IIT Roorkee (IITR), and IIITDM Jabalpur (IIITDMJ), etc., are participating institutes.

Key Aspects of CEED Entrance Examinations

The following are the key aspects of the CEED Entrance Examination:

1. Aim: CEED is conducted to check and evaluate the aptitude for design and creativity for the M.Des Programme.

2. Eligibility: It requires a Bachelor's degree.

3. Application: The application for CEED starts on October 01, 2025 and ends in November 18, 2025. 

4. Examination: The CEED Examination is usually held on January 18, 2026.

5. Negative Marking: There is negative marking in Part A. 

6. CEED Score Acceptance: The score is accepted by almost all the IITs and other design institutes for M.Des Admission.

What's Next After the CEED Entrance Exam?

After the CEED Entrance Exam, the results are announced on the official website. Candidates are then required to apply individually to the institutions of their choice using the CEED Score card. Each Institute will have a separate application process, portfolio review, interview rounds, etc. CEED does not conduct any joint counselling for the shortlisted candidates. Counselling is done by individual institutions.

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The eligibility criteria that candidates need to meet to appear in the CEED 2026 exam have been explained in the table below.

Note: The eligibility criteria for admission to a participating institute may differ from the eligibility criteria for appearing in the CEED exam. So, candidates are urged to consult the admission criteria for the respective institutes before appearing in the CEED 2026 entrance exam.

The application form for CEED 2026 is open now, October 01, 2025. The candidate will have to fill out the application form online. CEED 2026 admit cards will be issued to candidates only if they have successfully filled out the application form.

How to fill out the CEED application form?

• Online registration - The candidate has to get registered through the official portal by entering their email ID, name, date of birth, etc. On successful registration, an applicant account will be created. 
• Check Eligibility - The candidate has to undergo an eligibility check process, wherein he/she has to enter their qualifying exam, passing year, and mobile number.
• Fill in the form - Next, fill in personal, academic, and contact details. The candidate also has to select three exam centres in order of priority.
• Upload documents – The candidate has to upload a photo, signature, and qualifying exam certificates in the prescribed format.
• Payment of the exam fee: After confirming that the application form is complete in all respects, pay the exam fee online using net banking or credit, or debit cards.

The CEED application can be filled out with both regular and late fees. The late fee will be around INR 500.

Step 1: Submit the duly filled application form

The candidate had to fill out the form at the official admission portal - ceed.iitb.ac.in. One had to use only genuine and verifiable information. This is because details provided by the candidate will be verified at the time of counseling. If any information is found to be incorrect or misleading, the candidate may be disqualified.

Step 2: Download the admit card

The admit card is released for successfully registered candidates. Download the admit card by entering your email ID and password. On the day of the CEED 2026 exam, you will also need a valid photo ID proof along with the admit card.

Step 3: Appear in CEED 2026 Entrance Exam

The CEED question paper has two mandatory sections – A and B. Part A will comprise objective-type questions, while Part B will be subjective-type. Note that Part B answer booklets will only be evaluated if the candidate qualifies Part A. The qualifying marks for Part A will be released before the declaration of CEED 2026 results.

Step 4: Check CEED Result

The results will be declared for all candidates appearing in the CEED 2026 exam. However, only such candidates who qualify in the entrance exam will be issued merit ranks and will be eligible to participate in the counseling process.

Step 5: Apply to CEED-participating colleges

Clearing the CEED exam does not guarantee admission to any of the colleges accepting CEED exam scores. The candidate needs to apply to participating institutes based on their CEED 2026 scores. The participating institutes will conduct counselling and seat allotment at an institute level.

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The CEED 2026 Information Brochure will contain the syllabus that the candidate needs to follow for the entrance exam. The brochure will contain the topics for Part A and Part B. The candidate must refer to the CEED 2026 syllabus for exam preparation. Note that questions in the exam will be asked from within the syllabus. 

CEED 2026 Syllabus for Part A and Part B

The following table shows the topics for Part A and Part B:

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The CEED question paper has two parts: Part A and Part B. Both parts were mandatory. 

The section-wise exam pattern for CEED is given in the table below.

Shortlisting of candidates: Part B answer booklet will be evaluated only if the candidate qualifies in Part A.

Also Read:

• Sketching and Coloring Questions for Design Entrance Exams
• How to make a Design Portfolio: Structure, Layout, Sample and Steps