NIFT Participating Institutes 2026: Seat Intake, Reservation, Fee Structure, Admission Process

The eligibility criteria may differ depending on the course opted by the candidate. For instance, candidates seeking admission to the B. Des course needs to have passed 10+2 exam from a recognised institute and should be less than 24 years as of August 1, 2026. Relaxation of 5 years in the upper age limit applies for candidates belonging to SC, ST and PwD candidates.

NIFT Lateral Entry Admission (NLEA) provides an opportunity to candidates who have completed their Diploma in relevant or related fields of Design & Technology for direct admission to the third semester of UG programmes of NIFT. 

Eligible candidates have to appear in the NIFT 2026 entrance exam to get lateral admission. Admission under lateral entry scheme will be strictly on merit of NIFT 2026 exam, which will include written examination, studio test/ technology aptitude test, and a personal interview. 

Candidates selected through lateral entry will join the regular UG students of NIFT in their second year. 

The seat intake under this scheme will be displayed on the website prior to seat allocation.

Joining a coaching for NIFT preparation is not really needed. Coaching is for those who want to learn how to draw things. But, if someone has this talent, which most students passionate about sketching and painting do possess, there is no need for coaching. One can prepare through self-study. For your understanding, I would like to give an example. In coaching, students are made to learn how to draw the 3D image by various techniques using measuring instruments but one who is natural at art can imagine what 3D image would look like if it has to be drawn on a paper and would draw the same. In both cases, the outcome is the same. Regarding theory, that is, GAT, if you are confident to solve Maths, History, Geography, General science up till class 10th level, then there is definitely no need for coaching. Though the level of English is a bit high you can improve it yourself.

The B. Des programme has an intake capacity of 2,884 seats for All-India candidates.

In addition, there are 300 state-domicile.

Admission to the B. Des programme at NIFTs will be based on performance of the candidate in GAT CAT and Situation Test. Candidates are shortlisted for the Situation Test based on their performance in the written exams. The B. Des programme offers specialisation in Fashion Design (FD), Leather Design (LD), Accessory Design (AD), Textile Design (TD), Knitwear Design (KD), and Fashion Communication (FC). The candidate will be able to select their programme of study at the time of counseling and seat allotment.

The B.FTech programme has a total intake of 591 seats.

This includes, 542 All-India and 49 state-domicile.

Note that admission to the programme is based on GAT scores only. B.FTech applicants aren't required to appear in the CAT and Situation Test. The B.FTech programme offers an specialisation in the Apparel Production (Andhra Pradesh) programme. Note that in addition to qualifying in the NIFT 2025 entrance exam, the candidate also needs to meet the programme-specific eligibility criteria to be considered for admission to the B.FTech course.

The candidate will be able to select their choice of NIFT 2025 participating institutes (in the order of priority) at the time of filling out the NIFT 2025 counseling registration form.

Online registration for NIFT 2025 counseling will start soon after the final results are declared.

The counseling registrations for NIFT 2025 will be open to candidates who have qualified in the NIFT 2025 entrance exam.

The allotment of seats (or campus) to the B. Des programme will be on the basis of merit rank of the candidate in the NIFT 2025 entrance exam and campus selected. So, candidates who are higher in the NIFT 2025 merit rank will be given preference in the seat allotment.

NIFT Bengaluru has 190 BDes and 38 BFTech seats. NIFT Bengaluru is one of the leading fashion design colleges in India. The admission cut-off for the institute tends to be higher, so the candidate must have a high merit rank to have a good chance of admission. Admission to both the BDes and BFTech courses at the institute will be conducted on the basis of the merit rank of the candidate in the NIFT 2023 exam. Candidates seeking admission to the BDes programme need to appear in the CAT GAT and Situation Test. However, BFTech applicants only need to take the GAT exam.

The Masters programs at NIFT (M. Des, M. F. Tech, and MFM) has a combined intake capacity of 1034 seats. The General Ability Test (GAT) is common for all courses, while candidates seeking admission to the M. Des programme also need to appear in the Creative Ability Test (CAT). The final merit list for admission to the M. Des programme will be prepared by giving weightage to the CAT, GAT and Interview. Meanwhile, the merit list for the M. F. Tech and M. F. M programs will be prepared by considering the performance of the candidate in the GAT and Interview. The candidate can select their programme of study at the time of filling out the NIFT application form. Note that the allotment of seats will be as per the merit rank of the candidate.