CEED Cutoff 2026: Category-wise Previous Years & Expected Cut-off

Note that candidates belonging to reserved categories will be considered for admission under both open and reserved category. So, if you are not included in the merit list for open category, you needn’t worry. You will be considered for admission under your reserved category. That being said the candidate needs to note that the seat alloted in the open category and reserved category may not match, just in case you meet cut-off for both categories.

In that case you need to decide which seat to accept and which seat to decline. 

The formula to determine CEED shortlisting criteria is as follows:  

µ + (σ 2) = δ, where µ and σ are the average marks and standard deviation of the distribution of marks obtained by all the candidates in Part-A of CEED. The µ and σ will be rounded off after the first decimal place. The candidates belonging to the reserved categories shall have to fulfill a relaxed cut-off mark, which will be:

0.9 for OBC-NCL

0.9 for EWS

0.5 for SC/ST

0.5 for PwD

Note that only such candidates who meet the qualifying cut-off would get shortlisted and their answer booklets will be evaluated.

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 CEED 2026 exam will have two mandatory parts - Part A and Part B. Interestingly, Part B answer booklet will be evaluated only if the candidate qualifies Part A. If the candidate fails to qualify Part A or doesn’t meet the qualifying cut-off, then his or her Part A answer booklet will not be evaluated. 

The scorecards of candidates who fails to meet Part A cut-off would only include Part A marks. Part B and Total marks, along with merit rank, will only be issued to those candidates who meet the cut-off.

IIT Bombay released the qualifying marks for CEED 2023 - Part A on February 9, 2023. The qualifying cut-off was released in the form of Standard and Mean Deviations.

Note that the cut-off marks for Part A are the minimum marks the candidate needs to secure in the paper to get shortlisted. Further, Part B answer booklets of only shortlisted candidates will be evaluated. To be included in the CEED 2024 merit list, the candidate also must qualify Part A.

The participating institute of CEED 2026 will consider the following points for determining the admission cut-off:

• The number of candidates appearing in CEED 2026

• The performance of candidates in the exam

• The merit ranks of applicants seeking admission to the college

• Total seat intake

• Category under which admission is sought

• Previous years’ cutoff trends

Note that the above factors are variables; so, if any of these factors change, the cut-off would also change.

The CEED 2026 exam will have two mandatory parts - Part A and Part B. Interestingly, Part B answer booklet will be evaluated only if the candidate qualifies Part A. If the candidate fails to qualify Part A or doesn’t meet the qualifying cut-off, then his or her Part A answer booklet will not be evaluated. 

The scorecards of candidates who fails to meet Part A cut-off would only include Part A marks. Part B and Total marks, along with merit rank, will only be issued to those candidates who meet the cut-off.

IIT Bombay will declare the results of CEED 2026 in the first week of March 2026. The result will be declared online at ceed.iitb.ac.in. To check their results, the candidate needs to log in to the result portals using their login ID. Hard copies of the results will not be sent to the candidate.

The CEED 2026 results will be released for all candidates who appear in the design entrance exam. However, the CEED 2026 merit rank will only be issued to candidates who qualify for Part A and are shortlisted.

It is a good idea for the candidate to have an idea about the cut-off marks for participating institutes. For one, this will help the candidate check the cut-off trends across the years. The candidate will also provide insights into details like which institute has the highest cut-off. By gaining insights into the cut-off, the candidate will be able to prepare for the CEED 2024 exam accordingly.

For instance, if the candidate is eying one of the top exams, the cut-off would be going to be high. So, the candidate must check the cut-off for their category and check out what rank range is a safe bet for admission.

CEED 2026 result will be announced online on the official website of the exam - ceed.iitb.ac.in. The results will be declared on March 04, 2025.

The result-cum-scorecard of CEED 2026 will include the information given below.

• Name and roll number of the candidate

• Category under which admission is given

• Part A marks; however, Part B marks, merit rank, and total score will only be released for shortlisted candidates. 

• Date of issue of the scorecard

• Validity of the scorecard

• Category-wise qualifying marks 

• Total number of candidates appeared in CEED

• Number of candidates who have qualified in CEED

The scorecard of CEED 2026 will be released on March 10, 2026; the last date to download the scorecard is June 11, 2026.

The validity of the scorecard will be one year from the date of its issue. Using the scorecard, the candidate can apply for admission to both CEED 2026 participating and result-sharing institutes.

The scorecard will carry details like the Qualifying status and Part A marks. Open & category-wise Merit rank, and Part B & Total marks will be issued only if the candidate has qualified Part A.

The CEED 2026 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 2026 - Part A. The qualifying cut-off would be released sometime in February 2026. 

On the other hand, the admission cut-off would be released by the CEED 2026 participating institutes. It is the minimum score one needs to score for admission to the M.Des programmein their chosen category.

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.

A total of 5090 candidates registered for CEED 2025, out of which 4371 candidates appeared, and 1848 candidates qualified in the exam. 

To take admission to the PhD through CEED, candidate needs to first qualify in the CEED 2026 entrance exam. Then he needs to apply directly to the participating college. The participating college may conduct further admission rounds, including interviews. The institute's admission portal will have the detailed admission process and requirements. 

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 100 marks. Simon George Cherian got the second position and scored 66.63 marks.

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 CEED 2026 applications are open now, from October 1, 2025. The application has to be filled online at ceed.iitb.ac.in.

The candidate can apply with both regular and late fees.

All the details pertaining to the CEED 2026 application form have been updated on the admission portals, including the information brochure. The candidate needs to carefully go through the brochure to check their eligibility. Note that information entered by the candidate at the time of submitting their application form will be verified at the time of counseling. Any candidate who doesn’t meet the criteria will be disqualified.

IIT Bombay will conduct the CEED 2026 exam on January 18, 2026 (9 am - 12 noon).

The exam will include two sections - Part A and Part B. Part A of the exam will be administered in a computer-based mode, whereas Part B will be held offline. It is mandatory for candidates to qualify for Part A. 

If the candidate fails to qualify for Part A, his or her Part B answers booklet will not be evaluated. 

The final score cum merit list of CEED 2026 will be calculated by giving weightage to both Part A and Part B.