NID 2027 Application Form Is Out: Dates, Eligibility, Fees and the Big Changes in B.Des & M.Des
Applications open 10 September 2026 · DAT Prelims on 20 December 2026
Apply here: NID Admissions 2027 Registration portal. The window closes on 30 November 2026.
NID 2027 at a glance
| Institute | National Institute of Design (NID) |
|---|---|
| Programmes | B.Des, Integrated B.Des + M.Des (5.5 years), M.Des |
| Academic session | 2027–28 |
| Entrance exam | Design Aptitude Test (DAT) — Prelims followed by Mains |
| Application mode | Online |
| Application window | 10 September – 30 November 2026 |
| DAT Prelims | 20 December 2026 |
Important dates you cannot miss
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Online application window | 10 Sep – 30 Nov 2026 |
| Application edit / correction window | 1 – 3 Dec 2026 |
| Admit card release | 10 Dec 2026 |
| DAT Prelims | 20 Dec 2026 |
| DAT Mains | To be announced |
What has changed in NID 2027
These are the changes that matter most for the 2027 attempt. Read them alongside the official Admission Handbook before you fill the form.Changes in B.Des
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- A new Integrated B.Des + M.Des programme: a 5.5-year course has been introduced across all five NID campuses.
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- At NID Ahmedabad: only the Integrated B.Des + M.Des 5.5-year programme is on offer. The 4-year B.Des is no longer available at Ahmedabad.
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- Disciplines at NID Ahmedabad: 15 disciplines now, up from 8, organised under 5 design streams.
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- The other four campuses: the 4-year B.Des continues unchanged.
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- DAT Mains shortlisting: 2.5 times the available seats will be shortlisted, up from 1.5 times earlier.
Changes in M.Des
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- New campuses: the M.Des programme has been introduced at NID Haryana and NID Madhya Pradesh.
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- More disciplines: 22 disciplines now, up from 19, across 6 design streams.
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- Application limit raised: you may apply to up to 3 disciplines instead of the earlier 2.
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- Eligibility: the new M.Des in Design Education carries different education and age criteria — it requires a degree in Design.
What these changes actually mean for you
Ahmedabad is now a five-and-a-half-year commitment
If NID Ahmedabad was your first choice, you are no longer choosing a 4-year undergraduate degree. You are committing to an integrated path that ends with a master's qualification. For students who always intended to do M.Des anyway, this is a shorter, cleaner route with no second entrance exam. For students who wanted to finish a bachelor's and start working at 22, the calculation has changed — and the other four campuses are now the ones to look at.More disciplines means the choice itself is harder
Going from 8 to 15 disciplines at Ahmedabad, and 19 to 22 for M.Des, sounds like good news, and it is. But a longer list also means more students pick a discipline on the basis of a name they half-recognise. Read what each discipline actually teaches and where its graduates work before you lock your preference on the form.A 2.5x shortlist changes where the exam is won
This is the single most consequential change for your preparation strategy. With 1.5 times the seats being called for Mains, Prelims was the sharp filter. At 2.5 times, noticeably more students will reach DAT Mains — which means the Mains studio test and portfolio become the real battleground. A good Prelims score gets you into a bigger room than before; it does not carry you as far as it used to. Plan for Mains from day one, not after the Prelims result.Three M.Des applications instead of two
M.Des aspirants get one extra shot at a discipline. Use it to build a sensible spread — one aspirational, one well-matched to your background, one realistic — rather than three variations of the same competitive discipline. Note that the fee is charged per discipline, so plan the spend accordingly.Eligibility for NID 2027
| Programme | Eligibility |
|---|---|
| B.Des / Integrated M.Des | Class 12 passed, or appearing in 2027, from any stream. Age criteria as specified in the Admission Handbook. |
| M.Des | Bachelor's degree in any discipline, plus the applicable age criteria. For M.Des in Design Education, a degree in Design is required. |
Application fee
The fee below applies per discipline for B.Des / Integrated M.Des and for M.Des.| Category | Fee |
|---|---|
| General / Gen-EWS / OBC-NCL | ₹3,000 |
| Female (General / EWS / OBC) | ₹2,000 |
| SC / ST | ₹1,500 |
| PwD / Third Gender | ₹500 |
| Overseas applicants | US $125 |
How to apply, step by step
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- Register on the NID Admissions portal. Use an email ID and mobile number you will still have access to in March 2027 — all official communication goes there.
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- Fill in personal, academic and programme details. Enter your name and date of birth exactly as they appear on your Class 10 certificate.
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- Upload photograph, signature and documents. Keep a recent passport photo and a clean signature scan ready in the specified size and format before you start.
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- Select your programme and discipline. B.Des and Integrated M.Des aspirants, decide between Ahmedabad's integrated route and the 4-year programme at the other campuses. M.Des aspirants can now choose up to three disciplines.
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- Pay the applicable fee. Remember the fee is per discipline — three M.Des choices means three times the fee.
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- Submit, then download and save the completed form. Keep a PDF and a printout with the payment receipt. You will need them at the exam centre and later at counselling.
Keep these ready before you begin
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- Class 10 certificate for date of birth and name spelling
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- Class 12 marksheet, or your school details if you are appearing in 2027
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- Degree certificate and marksheets for M.Des applicants
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- Category certificate — SC / ST / OBC-NCL / EWS / PwD — in the prescribed format
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- Recent passport-size photograph and signature scan
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- A working email ID, mobile number and a payment method with sufficient limit
Mistakes we see every year
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- Filling the form on 29 November. Portals slow down in the last 48 hours and payment failures spike. Apply in October.
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- Picking a discipline by its name. Students regularly confuse related disciplines and discover the difference only at counselling.
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- Mismatched name spellings between the form and the Class 10 certificate, which causes problems at verification.
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- Treating the correction window as a safety net. It is three days long and does not permit every kind of change.
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- Starting Mains preparation after the Prelims result. With the 2.5x shortlist, that is now the most expensive mistake on this list.
Filling the form? Join our free guidance session.
SILICA will be conducting guidance sessions and sharing a walkthrough video covering the application process and this year's changes in detail. We also strongly recommend that every student and parent read the official NID Admission Handbook end to end before submitting.Explore NID Coaching Download Sample Papers
Talk to a SILICA counsellor: 9513731290 Find your nearest centre
How SILICA helps you crack NID
SILICA has been guiding design aspirants since 1997, with classroom coaching across centres in Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Indore, Nagpur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Nashik and Aurangabad, plus live online batches for students anywhere in India. More than 15,000 SILICA students have cracked entrance exams for NID, NIFT, UCEED, CEED, NATA and JEE Paper 2 — including Shriya Sawant, AIR 1 in NID M.Des 2025.-
- NID classroom coaching with 1-year and 2-year programmes
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- NID live online coaching for students outside our centre cities
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- DAT Mains home coaching kits for the studio test stage
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- A free 10-minute design aptitude test if you are still deciding on a career path
Frequently asked questions
When is the last date to apply for NID 2027?
30 November 2026. A correction window follows from 1 to 3 December 2026 for limited edits.Can I still apply for a 4-year B.Des at NID Ahmedabad?
No. For the 2027 session, NID Ahmedabad offers only the Integrated B.Des + M.Des 5.5-year programme. The 4-year B.Des continues at the other four campuses.What is the Integrated B.Des + M.Des programme?
It is a 5.5-year course introduced across all five NID campuses that takes a student from undergraduate study through to a master's qualification in a single continuous programme, without a separate entrance exam in between.I am in Class 12 right now. Am I eligible?
Yes. Students appearing for Class 12 in 2027, from any stream, are eligible for B.Des and Integrated M.Des, subject to the age criteria in the Admission Handbook.How many disciplines can I apply to?
M.Des applicants can apply to up to 3 disciplines this year, raised from 2. The application fee is charged per discipline.Does an engineering or commerce background hurt my M.Des chances?
No. M.Des accepts a bachelor's degree in any discipline. The exception is M.Des in Design Education, which requires a degree in Design. NID's M.Des AIR 1 in 2025, a SILICA student, came from an engineering background.What does the 2.5x shortlisting change mean?
NID will now shortlist 2.5 times the available seats for DAT Mains, up from 1.5 times. More candidates reach the Mains stage, which makes the studio test and portfolio far more decisive than before.Is there enough time to prepare before 20 December 2026?
There is, if you start now. Roughly three months is workable for Prelims with structured practice, and Mains preparation should run in parallel rather than waiting for the Prelims result.Where do I find the official information?
The NID Admissions portal at admissions.nid.edu, and the official Admission Handbook published there. Read the Handbook in full before you submit your form.All dates, fees and eligibility details are as announced by NID for the 2027–28 session. NID may revise them; please verify against the official Admission Handbook and the NID Admissions portal before applying. Last updated: 13 September 2026.