NID Entrance Exam

It is not mandatory to take coaching to get a good rank in NID DAT. It is because, the entrance exam will test the creative, drawing, and innovative skills of the candidate. Now, a coaching institute cannot exactly teach you to be creative or become innovative. Instead, with a little effort these skills can yourself learn these skills yourself. Also, a major thrust of the design aptitide test is to evaluate the drawing skills of the candidate. So, make it a point to work on your design skills, including learning how to draw line, shadow, figure, gesture, cartoon drawing, etc. When practicing drawing, also keep a tab on the drawing speed, as it will help you complete the paper in the allotted time.

Candidates may note that the National Institute of Design (NID) doesn't release any syllabus for either DAT Prelims or DAT Mains.

However, the institute will release the sample test papers for the NID DAT 2026 exam. The sample papers contain questions similar to the ones that will be asked in the actual exam. 

So, the candidate may download and practice the sample papers to get an idea about the difficulty level, types of questions asked, marking scheme, weightage, and topics covered.

Additionally, the candidate may download the section-wise topics for the DAT Prelims and DAT Mains exam that have been prepared by consulting previous years' question papers.

Yes, candidates who have passed senior secondary exam from NIOS are eligible for NID DAT 2024. Any public school, board or university examination completed in India or in any foreign country recognised as equivalent to the 10+2 system by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) are eligible for NID DAT. Other minimum educational qualifications are as follows:

Final examination of the 10+2 system under a central or state board recognised by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).

Intermediate or two-year pre-university examination under a board or university recognised by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).

Senior secondary school examination under the National Institute of Open Schooling, with a minimum of five subjects.

High School Certificate Examination from Cambridge University or an International Baccalaureate Diploma from the International Baccalaureate Office, Geneva.

The B.Des DAT Mains Studio Test will be conducted from April 26 to May 4, 2025.

The details pertaining to the exam center reporting time, registration time, and exam timings, etc. were mentioned on the admit card. 

Note that the M.Des DAT Mains 2025 exam will be conducted from March 3 - April 6, 2025. 

DAT Prelims comprises a Studio Test for the B.Des program. However, PG candidates are also required to take a Personal Interview. 

On the day of the exam, the candidate has to reach the exam center as per the reporting time mentioned in their admit cards. Note that once you reach the exam center, you also need to get registered.

In the previous edition of the exam, NID released the following advisory for the M.Des DAT Mains exam exam that included the program-wise reporting, registration, and gate closing times.

Note that the Studio Test was conducted in multiple shifts:

• One shift from 9 am- 12 noon and another from 2.30 pm - 5.30 pm. The duration of the studio test is 3 hours
• The Personal Interview was conducted from 9 am onwards.

The National Institite of Design (NID) will release the answer sheets of the candidate after the declaration of the FINAL results. Further, the answer sheets will only be available on request, only after the admission process is complete.

The answer sheet is not be issued during the admission process.

To request the answer sheet for the admission cycle 2025-26, the candidate has to make a payment of INR 1000 online/ per exam. The candidate will also have to furnish the NID DAT 2025 admit card duly signed by the invigilator and seal of the exam center with the request. 

The answer sheet will be sent to the candidate within 15-20 days after receiving the payment.

The National Institute of Design will, however, not release any answer keys for the DAT Prelims exam.