Design Entrance Exam

Yes, candidates seeking admission to the B. Des programme need to appear in both the CAT and GAT written exams. Based on the scores of the written exams, the candidates will next be shortlisted for a Situation Test. The final merit list will be prepared by considering the performance of the candidate in the written exams and Situation Test. The CAT exam carries 50% weightage, GAT carries 30% weightage, while the Situation Test carries 20% weightage. It is mandatory for candidates to appear in all the stages of the exam to be included in the merit list.

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 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 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.

A total of 19 National Institutes of Fashion Technologies will participate in the NIFT 2026 admission process. The participating institutes offer B. Des, M.Des B.FTech M.FTech and MFM courses. Admission to these courses offered by these institutes will be based on NIFT 2026 scores.