UCEED Preparation 2025 - Quick and Easy Tips to ace the design exam

Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design 2025 ( UCEED )

DeskCalelnderCounselling - 19 May '25 - 27 May '25

Sayeba Naushad
Updated on May 1, 2025 15:07 IST

By Sayeba Naushad, Assistant Manager

UCEED Preparation 2026 - IIT Bombay will conduct the UCEED 2026 exam in the third week of January.

Given the difficulty level and competitiveness of the UCEED exam, you must make an all-out effort to ace the exam.

The UCEED 2026 question paper will include two sections or parts:

  1. Part A will be objective-type and include 57 questions
  2. Part B will include 2 questions - one sketching-based question and one aptitude-based question.

Candidates can crack the UCEED 2026 exam if they are well-acquainted with different design elements and also have adequate knowledge of current affairs and General Knowledge. In this article, we discuss the step-wise process the candidate needs to follow to prepare for the exam, study material, frequency, and the right time to solve sample papers and mock tests. 

Go through the below-mentioned UCEED preparation tips to score well in the design exam.

Q:   How can I prepare for UCEED 2025 in 6 months?
A: 

If you have six months to prepare for UCEED and not an year, you need to be smart. Here are a few tips to prepare for the exam in six months: Make a study time table. Consult the exam pattern and get isights. Also, refer to the exam syllabus. Another point to note is the difficulty level of the exam. Start your preparation without any delay. Take notes during study. Solve sample papers and take mock tests.

Q:   When should I start preparation for UCEED 2025?
A: 

Given that UCEED is one of the most important and the toughest design entrance exams in the country, one should not wait till the last moments to prepare for the exam. Ideally, the candidate should have at least an year to prepare for the exam. That being said, if the candidate has above average understand of the basics, he or she can easily prepare for the exam in six months. When preparing for the exam, it is important to have a target in mind. For example, the merit rank the candidate wants to achieve. Note that the cut-off rank varies from one institute to another.

Q:   Can I solve previous year's papers considering UCEED syllabus is revised?
A: 

IIT Bombay revised the syllabus for the UCEED exam starting 2024.

However, candidates can use the previous years papers to practice for the exam. The more sample papers you solve, the better you will get.

In addition to the syllabus, IIT Bombay had also revised the UCEED exam pattern.

Part A now have 57 questions (down from 68), while Part B will have two questions (instead of 1). 

Table of content
  • Step-wise UCEED 2026 Preparation Plan
  • How to Prepare for UCEED 2026
  • UCEED 2025 - Preparation Tips by Toppers
  • Best Books for UCEED Preparation 2026
  • UCEED Sample Papers 2026
  • UCEED Mock Test 2026
  • UCEED Preparation 2026 - FAQs
View More
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Step-wise UCEED 2026 Preparation Plan

Step 1: Possess in-depth knowledge of the UCEED 2026 syllabus.

Step 2: Understand the exam pattern and marking scheme.

Step 3: Prepare a timetable (monthly, weekly, and daily).

Step 4: Solve past years’ question papers, sample papers, and mock tests.

Step 5: Make an effort to complete the syllabus on time. That way, you will be able to solve sample papers, take mock tests, and do many other exercises.

UCEED College Predictor prepared by Shiksha.com helps students to predict the college in which they can get admission based on their expected exam score.

UCEED Exam College Predictor
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How to Prepare for UCEED 2026

Candidates need to keep the following pointers in mind when formulating a UCEED 2026 preparation plan.

Follow the UCEED Exam Pattern

The following table shows the exam pattern of UCEED: 

UCEED Exam

Section

No of Questions

Part A

NAT

14

MSQ

15

MCQ

28

Part B

Drawing Question

1

 

Design Aptitude

1

Knowledge of the UCEED Marking Scheme

Candidates can go through the new marking scheme for UCEED 2025 in the table below:

Section

Marks Added for Every Correct Answer

NAT

+4 marks for a correct answer; no negative marking

MSQ

Partial marking

+4, +3, +2, +1, 0, or -1 depending on the correctness of the answer

MCQ

+3 for a correct answer; -0.71 marks for an incorrect answer

Drawing Question

60 marks

Total Marks

300

Know the UCEED Syllabus

Candidates need to be acquainted with the topics to study for the different sections of UCEED 2026. Aspirants can go through the detailed UCEED syllabus to crack this design entrance exam. IIT Bombay can revise the syllabus for the UCEED 2026 exam.

Part B of the exam will now have two questions from two sections - Drawing and Design Aptitude. Previously, only a drawing-based question was asked. Also, Part B will now be of 60 minutes (instead of 30 minutes).

Go through the previous years’ UCEED question papers

Like any entrance exam, while preparing for the exam, aspirants are advised to go through past years’ UCEED question papers for it. Apart from this, candidates should also go through sample papers and mock tests for UCEED 2026 preparation. This would prove beneficial in helping students understand the type of questions asked in the UCEED exam as well as provide them with an insight into how to formulate their time management strategy.

Aspirants can go through UCEED preparation articles as well as sample questions by clicking the links mentioned in the table below:

10 Do’s and Don’ts for UCEED Prep

10 Tips to Crack UCEED

UCEED Sample Questions

4 Time Management Tips for UCEED

Expected Questions in UCEED Drawing Section

UCEED Practice Test

UCEED 2019 Topper Interview: AIR 1, Vishwaprasanna Hariharan is already pursuing BDes from IIT Guwahati

What can you do after class 12th for a career in Design, Mass Comm & Architecture

 

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UCEED 2025 - Preparation Tips by Toppers

Here are a few exam preparation tips (or experiences) shared by UCEED toppers.  

  • "Till mid-September, I was pretty chilled and doing regular studies, sketching, and practicing questions. But from October to December, I started giving more time specifically for UCEED preparations. I was in SILICA and used to solve previous year's exam papers, UCEED mock tests, and design sample papers. But I never forgot to take mandatory breaks to freshen up my mind. I used to do SKETCHING BEFORE SLEEPING” (kind of my practice mantra to awaken my design muscles)." - AIR 1, 2021, (SC category), VANSH ANEKAR.
  • "I would say that sketching is not a one-night thing. It has to be practiced daily. And one must try LIVE SKETCHING to understand the depth of the process." - AIR 1, 2021, (SC category), VANSH ANEKAR.
  • "I solved only the UCEED question papers of the past three years (2015, 2016, and 2017). I recommend students solve past years’ CEED question papers as the two exams (CEED and UCEED) are similar in nature. The logical reasoning sections of Olympiads could also be of help in UCEED preparation." - AIR 1, 2019, Vishwaprasanna Hariharan.
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Best Books for UCEED Preparation 2026

Candidates can consider preparing for UCEED 2026 by studying the topics mentioned in the books listed below:

Name of the Book

Author

UCEED Design Environment & Social Awareness In Design Perspective Combined With Mental & Verbal Aptitude

Srijan Shilpa

Cracking CEED & UCEED (with Previous Years’ Papers and Mock Tests

Ashok Goel and Arjun Kamal

NID-NIFT-UCEED-CEED Workbook

Ar Revati Shantanu Parkhi and Rhythm Singh Kachhawa

Comprehensive English for NID, NIFT, UCEED, CEED, NATA, B.Arch & Other Design Entrance Exams

Designologue

Quantitative Aptitude

RS Aggarwal

Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning 

RS Aggarwal

UCEED (BDes) Entrance Books and Test Series 

AFA India

Analytical Reasoning, Mental Aptitude, Verbal Aptitude (UCEED Guide)

Institute Of Creative Sciences

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UCEED Sample Papers 2026

IIT Bombay, the exam conducting body, releases the question paper and answer keys for UCEED within a few days of the conduct of the entrance exam. This means the question paper and answer keys for the UCEED 2026 exam will also be available after the exam.

In the meantime, the candidate can download the previous year's question papers for practice. They can refer to the answer keys to check their answers. 

Additionally, sample papers for UCEED are easily available in the market. For instance, the candidate can buy sample papers online from Amazon, Flipkart, etc. The candidate can purchase these sample papers for practice.

You can download the UCEED sample papers here.

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UCEED Mock Test 2026

The mock tests for UCEED 2026 are meant to be taken in the last few weeks or days leading up to the entrance exam.

The purpose of the mock tests is to help the candidate get an exam-like ambiance to practice in and thus get acquainted with the exam process. 

Note that the UCEED 2026 Part A will be conducted in a computer-based mode and include NAT, MCQ, and MSQ-type questions. The duration of the exam will be 1 hour. Meanwhile, Part B will be administered in an offline mode and will be 2 hours long.

The mocks can also help the candidate identify silly errors and fix them.

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UCEED Preparation 2026 - FAQs

The candidate may go through the frequently asked questions (FAQs) related to the UCEED 2026 exam preparation below.

Get prep tips, practice papers, exam details and important updates

Download Important Dates for Design Exams

59 Institutes accepting UCEED

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World University of Design

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ITM IDM - Institute Of Design & Media

Andheri West, Mumbai Private

ITM IDM -
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