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Beyond Doctor, Engineer, CA

Chapter 6

Design after 12th

B.Des, 4 years

Can drawing become a career? Yes, from any stream.

  1. 1 Entrance

    UCEED, NID DAT, NIFT

  2. 2 Degree

    B.Des (Bachelor of Design), 4 years

  3. 3 Work

    Designer

You study
Product, communication, fashion, interaction or game design
Open to
Any stream, with no minimum marks
Total cost
About 8 lakh at an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology); 15 to 30 lakh private

What it is really like

Design means planning the things people use. At 10 am in an Ahmedabad studio, a second-year student pins foam water bottles to the wall as classmates argue over the grip. After a shared first year you pick a specialism, and such projects replace most exams. Later, a UX (user experience) designer shapes app screens; a graphic designer makes brand visuals, often freelance.

How you get in

  • UCEED

    Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam for Design: visual thinking and sketching, for the IITs and many other colleges.

  • NID DAT

    The National Institute of Design's aptitude test: a test, then studio work and an interview.

  • NIFT

    National Institute of Fashion Technology: aptitude, drawing and a model-making task.

Where to study

Top, government

IITs; NID Ahmedabad

8 lakh at an IIT; 22 to 25 lakh at NID

Other, government

NIFT; DTU (Delhi Technological University)

About 12 to 22 lakh

Private

Pearl Academy; Anant

About 15 to 30 lakh

After the degree

About 250
IIT design seats
About 430
NID design seats
About half
placed in one IIT batch
Pay over time: UX designer

Start

5 years

10 years

Pay over time: Graphic designer

Start

5 years

10 years

Yearly pay in rupees. Pay varies widely; treat every figure as a range.

Leads to

Product designerUX designerGraphic designerFashion designerM.Des (master's)

NID graduates' offers have ranged from about 4 lakh to over 45 lakh. UX is growing; plain graphic design is exposed to AI.

Top colleges and what it takes

B.Des at the IITs and IIITDM Jabalpur admits on the UCEED rank through a joint seat allocation run by IIT Bombay (IIT Delhi's B.Tech Design also takes JEE Advanced ranks via JoSAA). NID uses its own DAT (Prelims + Mains studio test and interview) campus by campus; NIFT uses its own entrance (GAT + CAT) plus a situation test. The IIT figures are the official Open (general, gender-neutral) closing AIR from the final round of UCEED 2026 seat allocation, the latest completed cycle, with the 2025 portal figure alongside; UCEED did not keep its 2025 tables online. NID and NIFT do not publish closing ranks, so those are portal figures (approx). A smaller rank is better.

  1. IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay

    Mumbai · Government · NIRF 2025 Engineering #3 (IIT Bombay)

    UCEED

    B.Des Open seats closed at UCEED AIR 16 (official final round V, UCEED 2026); about 16 in 2025 (portal) source

    1 programmes
    • B.Des (4 years)UCEED AIR 16 (Open, final round V, UCEED 2026, official); 2025 cycle about 16 (portal)
  2. Department of Design, IIT Delhi

    New Delhi · Government · NIRF 2025 Engineering #2 (IIT Delhi)

    UCEED or JEE Advanced (JoSAA)

    B.Des Open seats closed at UCEED AIR 28 (official final round V, UCEED 2026); about 38 in 2025 (portal) source

    2 programmes
    • B.Des (4 years)UCEED AIR 28 (Open, final round V, UCEED 2026, official); 2025 cycle about 38 (portal)
    • B.Tech Design (via JEE Advanced)JEE Advanced AIR 12,217 (Open, gender-neutral, JoSAA 2025 round 6)
  3. Department of Design, IIT Hyderabad

    Hyderabad · Government · NIRF 2025 Engineering #7 (IIT Hyderabad)

    UCEED

    B.Des Open seats closed at UCEED AIR 42 (official final round V, UCEED 2026); about 55 in 2025 (portal) source

    1 programmes
    • B.Des (4 years)UCEED AIR 42 (Open, final round V, UCEED 2026, official); 2025 cycle about 55 (portal)
  4. Department of Design, IIT Guwahati

    Guwahati · Government

    UCEED

    B.Des Open seats closed at UCEED AIR 78 (official final round V, UCEED 2026); about 75 in 2025 (portal) source

    1 programmes
    • B.Des (4 years)UCEED AIR 78 (Open, final round V, UCEED 2026, official); 2025 cycle about 75 (portal)
  5. IIT Indore (B.Des)

    Indore · Government

    UCEED

    B.Des Open seats closed at UCEED AIR 84 (official final round V, UCEED 2026); about 119 in 2025 (portal) source

    1 programmes
    • B.Des (4 years)UCEED AIR 84 (Open, final round V, UCEED 2026, official); 2025 cycle about 119 (portal)
  6. Department of Architecture & Planning (B.Des), IIT Roorkee

    Roorkee · Government · NIRF 2025 Architecture & Planning #1 (IIT Roorkee)

    UCEED

    B.Des Open seats closed at UCEED AIR 93 (official final round V, UCEED 2026); about 115 in 2025 (portal) source

    1 programmes
    • B.Des (4 years)UCEED AIR 93 (Open, final round V, UCEED 2026, official); 2025 cycle about 115 (portal)
  7. IIITDM Jabalpur (B.Des)

    Jabalpur · Government

    UCEED

    B.Des Open seats closed at UCEED AIR 171 (official final round V, UCEED 2026); about 200 in 2025 (portal) source

    1 programmes
    • B.Des (4 years)UCEED AIR 171 (Open, final round V, UCEED 2026, official); 2025 cycle about 200 (portal)
  8. NIT Rourkela, B.Tech Industrial Design

    Rourkela · Government

    JEE Main Paper 1 (JoSAA)

    Industrial Design closed at JEE Main CRL 24,030 for the Other-State quota and 31,363 for the Home-State quota (General, gender-neutral, JoSAA 2025 round 6) source

    1 programmes
    • B.Tech Industrial DesignJEE Main CRL 24,030 (OS) / 31,363 (HS), Open, JoSAA 2025 round 6
  9. National Institute of Design (NID) Ahmedabad

    Ahmedabad · Government

    NID DAT (Prelims + Mains)

    B.Des at the Ahmedabad campus closed around NID DAT merit rank 48 (General, final round, 2025; portal figure)(approx.) source

    1 programmes
    • B.Des (Communication, Industrial, Textile & Apparel design disciplines, incl. Animation Film Design)NID DAT rank about 48 (General, 2025, portal)
  10. NID Andhra Pradesh

    Amaravati (Vijayawada) · Government

    NID DAT (Prelims + Mains)

    B.Des closed around NID DAT rank 200 (General, 2025; portal figure)(approx.) source

    1 programmes
    • B.DesNID DAT rank about 200 (General, 2025, portal)
  11. NID Madhya Pradesh

    Bhopal · Government

    NID DAT (Prelims + Mains)

    B.Des closed around NID DAT rank 166 (General, 2025; portal figure)(approx.) source

    1 programmes
    • B.DesNID DAT rank about 166 (General, 2025, portal)
  12. NID Haryana

    Kurukshetra · Government

    NID DAT (Prelims + Mains)

    B.Des closed around NID DAT rank 219 (General, 2024; no 2025 figure found)(approx.) source

    1 programmes
    • B.DesNID DAT rank about 219 (General, 2024, portal)
  13. NID Assam

    Jorhat · Government

    NID DAT (Prelims + Mains)

    No verified closing rank: usually closes later than the older campuses, so a NID DAT rank in the low hundreds is typically competitive (approximate)(approx.) source

    1 programmes
    • B.DesNID DAT merit; no published closing rank
  14. NIFT New Delhi

    New Delhi · Government

    NIFT Entrance (GAT + CAT) + Situation Test (B.Des); GAT only (B.FTech)

    B.Des Fashion Design closed near NIFT common merit rank 86 in round 1 (General, 2025; portal). Other B.Des specialisations close later.(approx.) source

    3 programmes
    • B.Des Fashion DesignNIFT CMR about 86 (General, round 1, 2025, portal)
    • B.Des (Fashion Communication, Accessory, Textile, Knitwear design)Later ranks than Fashion Design; last-round General ranks ranged roughly 92 to 974 across specialisations (2025, portal)
    • B.FTech (Apparel Production)GAT-only merit rank; no verified 2025 figure
  15. NIFT Mumbai

    Mumbai · Government

    NIFT Entrance (GAT + CAT) + Situation Test

    B.Des Fashion Design closed near NIFT rank 141 in round 1 (General, 2025; portal)(approx.) source

    2 programmes
    • B.Des Fashion DesignNIFT CMR about 141 (General, round 1, 2025, portal)
    • B.FTech (Apparel Production)GAT-only merit; no verified 2025 figure
  16. NIFT Bengaluru

    Bengaluru · Government

    NIFT Entrance (GAT + CAT) + Situation Test

    B.Des Fashion Design closed near NIFT rank 232 in round 1, and B.FTech near 119 (General, 2025; portal)(approx.) source

    2 programmes
    • B.Des Fashion DesignNIFT CMR about 232 (General, round 1, 2025, portal)
    • B.FTech (Apparel Production)NIFT rank about 51 to 119 (General, round 1, 2025, portal)
  17. MIT Institute of Design (MIT-ID)

    Pune · Private

    MIT-ID DAT (own design aptitude test) + studio test/interview

    No cut-off: selection on MIT-ID's own design aptitude test, studio test and interview(approx.) source

    1 programmes
    • B.Des (Product, Communication, Fashion, Interior, UX and more)Own DAT + studio test/interview; no published cut-off
  18. Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design and Technology

    Bengaluru · Private

    Own Srishti assessment + interview

    No rank: selection is by Srishti's own creative assessment, portfolio and interview(approx.) source

    1 programmes
    • B.Des / BFA / B.VocOwn assessment + portfolio + interview; no published cut-off

Cut-offs move every year and differ by category, quota and home state. Use them to judge the level, then check the official counselling data.

How to prepare

  • Sketch real life daily; speed matters more than polish.
  • Note everyday problems and how you would fix them.
  • Solve past papers under time limits, and sit all three exams.

Is it for you?

Good fit if

  • you draw well and would rather avoid engineering maths
  • your family can pay without a large loan

Think twice if

  • you want only graphic design

Official links and free study material

Design: common questions

How do I get into Design after 12th?

UCEED: Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam for Design: visual thinking and sketching, for the IITs and many other colleges. NID DAT: The National Institute of Design's aptitude test: a test, then studio work and an interview. NIFT: National Institute of Fashion Technology: aptitude, drawing and a model-making task.

Which stream do I need for Design?

Any stream: PCM, PCB, Commerce and Humanities are all open. NIFT B.FTech needs Mathematics unless you took PCM. Any stream, with no minimum marks.

How much does Design cost in India?

About 8 lakh at an IIT (Indian Institute of Technology); 15 to 30 lakh private. By college: IITs; NID Ahmedabad: 8 lakh at an IIT; 22 to 25 lakh at NID; NIFT; DTU (Delhi Technological University): About 12 to 22 lakh; Pearl Academy; Anant: About 15 to 30 lakh. Fees change every year; confirm in each official notice.

What is the salary after Design?

UX designer: about 4 lakh to start, about 12 lakh after 5 years and about 20 lakh after 10 years. Graphic designer: about 2.5 lakh to start, about 5 lakh after 5 years and about 5.5 lakh after 10 years (yearly, in rupees). Pay varies widely; treat every figure as a range.

Is Design a good career for me?

A good fit if you draw well and would rather avoid engineering maths, and your family can pay without a large loan. Think twice if you want only graphic design.

Source: Chapter 6 of the book. Notes and sources