PU DAT Exam Pattern 2026: Parul Institute of Design conducts the PU DAT exam for admission to the B.Des and M. Des courses offered at the institute.
The PU DAT 2026 exam will have
- Written test
- Portfolio
The candidate must first appear in the written exam. If shortlisted, the candidate must mail the portfolio to the admission committee within the given deadline.
The Personal Interview (3rd stage) will be held for candidates who get shortlisted based on the Portfolio. The exam will be conducted online.
- PU DAT Exam Pattern for Written Test
- PU DAT Exam Pattern for Subjective Round
- PU DAT Exam Pattern for Portfolio Round
- PUDAT Sample Papers
- PU DAT 2026 exam centres
- PU DAT Exam Pattern 2026 - FAQs
PU DAT Exam Pattern for Written Test
PU DAT 2026 written test will have 40 multiple choice questions of 40 marks. Duration of exam is one hours. Candidates will be asked questions from Design, Logical and Analytical Reasoning, Critical Thinking, and General Knowledge.
| Section | Details | Number of Questions | Marks | Time (Minutes) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MCQ Section | Logical Reasoning, Analytical Ability, General knowledge, Design Thinking, Critical Thinking | 40 | 40 | 60 Minutes |
| Subjective Section | Candidate will be require to solve 3 questions that test creativity, design thinking, analytical & critical thinking skills. | 3 | 60 | 120 Minutes |
| Portfolio Submission | Candidate must be upload their Creative Portfolio on the same exam portal on the day of the test. The portfolio may include artworks, sketches, photography or any design-related work and will be evaluated as part of the final selection process. | - | 100 | - |
| Total | - | 43 | 200 | 180 Minutes + Portfolio Submission |
The written exam will have the following sections.
| PUD DAT Topics |
Total Questions |
Total Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Design |
40 |
40 |
| Logical and Analytical Reasoning |
||
| Critical Thinking |
||
| General Knowledge |
Also Read:
Commonly asked questions
Yes, PU DAT is common for all candidates seeking BDes admissions at Parul Institute of Design. The candidate must check out the eligibility criteria for their programs before applying for admission.
So, whether you are an NRI candidate or hold Indian domicile, you may apply for admission. Just make sure that you meet the eligibility criteria for the programme you are applying for admission to.
No, PU does not accept scores of any other entrance exam. So no, the NATA score will not be taken into account for the DAT. It offers BDes admissions only through PU DAT entrance exam. Candidates seeking admission to the BDes programme are therefore urged to go through the program-specific eligibility criteria before they apply for admission.
PU DAT Exam Pattern for Subjective Round
In this round, candidates will be required to solve 3 questions that will test creativity, design thinking, analytical and critical thinking skills.
| Section | Number of Questions | Marks | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subjective Section | 3 | 60 | 120 Minutes |
PUDAT Prep Tips
Follow easy steps below to start with PUDAT preparations for admissions:
- Go through PUDAT syllabus 2026 completely.
- Understand PUDAT exam pattern and marking scheme and prepare accordingly.
- Get all study material for PUDAT, such as prep books and previous year's question papers.
- Create a monthly plan on how much syllabus to cover daily.
- Solve question papers, sample papers and mock tests.
Also Read:
Commonly asked questions
Yes, Parul Institute of Design (PID) offers scholarships to candidates based on the average scores of candidates in DAT, portfolio and interview. The criteria adopted to give scholarship is given below.
- 90% or above score – 30% scholarship on the first year fee
- 80-90% score – 20% scholarship on the first year fee
- 70-80% score – 10% scholarship on the first year fee
The PU DAT exam will inlcude sub-exams like - online test, portfolio and personal interview.
It is mandatory for the candidate to appear in all the components of the entrance exam. If a candidate doesn't appear in any exam round, he or she will not be considered for admission.
Note PU DAT exam is conducted for admisison to the B.Des program.
PU DAT Exam Pattern for Portfolio Round
All candidates who have cleared the written exam are called to send their portfolios through email. There is no prescribed pattern for the portfolio round. However, here candidates are expected to showcase their best and recent artwork/designs/projects to exam authorities. The objective of conducting a portfolio round is typically to assess the creative aptitude of candidates.
The candidate must upload Creative Portfolio on the PUDAT exam portal on the day of the entrance test. The portfolio may include artworks, sketches, photography or any design-related work and will be evaluated as part of the final selection process.
| Section | Particulars | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Portfolio Submission | Uploading of Portfolio | 100 |
Also Read:
- Learn How to Create the Perfect Portfolio for Admission to Design School
- How to make a Design Portfolio: Structure, Layout, Sample and Steps
Commonly asked questions
Yes, there is no limit on number of attempts for PU DAT. Candidate must meet prescribed eligibility criteria for admission session. So, when applying for exam, make sure that you go through prescribed eligibility criteria. PUDAT Applications are open for all programmes.
PU DAT 2026 exam will of three hours and will include 40 multiple choice based questions. Each question will carry 1 mark; total marks for the exam will be of 60 marks.
The candidate must make it a point to strictly follow the official exam pattern. Candidates need to check the pattern given by the institute.
PUDAT Sample Papers
Advantages of solving PUDAT question paper are:
-
Helps understand pattern and difficulty level.
-
Certain PUDAT topics are repeated each year. By solving PUDAT papers of previous years, students can know important topics
-
Helps improve management skills.
-
Helps analyse preparation level
PUDAT Sample Paper for Practice
Check out the sample papers for PUDAT B.Des.
| Sample Paper | Links |
|---|---|
| Sample Paper 1 | Download Here |
| Sample Paper 2 | Download Here |
Commonly asked questions
Eligible candidates need to email their portfolios, (the second stage of DAT) on the basis of their scores in PU DAT 2026 written exam (first stage). The candidate has to next appear in Portfolio Round. A final list will be generated by PU on the basis of the sum total of the weighted scores secured by the candidate in each stage of the admissions process.
Note that all the stages of the PU DAT 2026 exam is conducted online.
Yes, Parul Institute of Design (PID) offers scholarships to candidates based on the average scores of candidates in DAT, portfolio and interview. The criteria adopted to give scholarship is given below.
- 90% or above score – 30% scholarship on the first year fee
- 80-90% score – 20% scholarship on the first year fee
- 70-80% score – 10% scholarship on the first year fee
PU DAT 2026 exam centres
PUDAT 2026 will be conducted online. The exam centres for PUDAT 2026 if entrance test is conducted offline.
| PU DAT 2026 exam centres (tentative) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ahmedabad | Guwahati | Ranchi |
| Amritsar | Indore | Lucknow |
| Bhopal | Rajkot | Mumbai |
| Chandigarh | Jabalpur | Nagpur |
| Pune | Jaipur | Patna |
| Dehradun | Kota | Surat |
| Delhi | Kolkata | Vadodara |
Commonly asked questions
In a Design Aptitude Test, candidates are asked drawing, sketching and general reasoning questions. Candidate needs to prepare for each question type to get a good score in DAT.
Some of the top design entrance exams that candidates can take include NIFT, NID DAT, UCEED, and SEED.
Parul University will release admit cards for PU DAT 2026 exam soon after the online application form closes. The admit card has to be downloaded online using credentials. It will contain details like date and time of exam, roll number, and exam centre name and address.
PU DAT Exam Pattern 2026 - FAQs
Here are a few FAQs on PU DAT exam pattern 2026 and exam.
Commonly asked questions
The application for PUDAT 2026 is open for all the programmes. Candidates must check the eligibility criteria before applying for the PU DAT programmes.
Parul University will release admit cards for PU DAT 2026 exam soon after the online application form closes. The admit card has to be downloaded online using credentials. It will contain details like date and time of exam, roll number, and exam centre name and address.
PU DAT 2026 exam will be conducted by Parul Institute of Design to check aptitude, achievement, motivation and perception abilities of the candidate. Selection process will be held in three stages
1. DAT- Design Aptitude Test
2. Portfolio Round
3. Personal Interview
Parul University will conduct the PU DAT 2025 exam on Janaury 26, 2025. Candidates who succesfully filled out the application form could sit in the exam.
Note that PU DAT entrance exam is conducted in multiple phases.
The candidate can choose any phase that is suitable to them.
Design exams whose registrations are closing soon
Register now and prepare to increase your chances at top colleges which accept these exams
10 Oct '25 - 28 Feb '26
22 Jan '26 - 24 Feb '26
3 Dec '25 - 28 Feb '26
PU DAT Exam
Student Forum
Anything you would want to ask experts?1 Institutes accepting PU DAT
Vadodara • Private
5
Explore more Design exams with upcoming dates
NID DAT 2026 (Mains) - Issue of Admit Cards for M.Des Feb '26 MITID DAT 2026 application 17 Oct '25 - 28 Feb '26 WUD DAT 2026 Registration START Date 10 Oct '25 - 28 Feb '26