NID DAT
NID Design Aptitude Test (DAT) for Bachelor of Design / 5.5 Year Professional Education Master of Design (Integrated Pathway)
Collected from the official website on 14/11/2026. Our team has not verified these details yet.
NID DAT is a two-stage admission test for undergraduate design programmes at the National Institutes of Design. DAT Prelims, common to all NIDs, is used only to shortlist candidates (2.5 times the seats per category) for DAT Mains, which has a Studio Sensitivity Test and an In-Person Sensitivity Test; admission is on the DAT Mains score. For 2027-28, NID Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Bengaluru admit to a 5.5-year Integrated Pathway M.Des. instead of a stand-alone B.Des.
Dates
Official 2027 dates
- Application opens
- 10/09/2026
- Last date to apply
- 30/11/2026 (11:59 pm)
- Exam
- DAT Prelims: 20/12/2026 (Sunday); admit card 10/12/2026; DAT Mains dates to be announced
- Result
- DAT Prelims result 16/03/2027; DAT Mains result to be announced
- Conducted by
- National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad
- For
- 5.5-year Professional Education Master of Design (Integrated Pathway) at NID Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar and Bengaluru; B.Des. / 5.5-year Integrated M.Des. at NID Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh
- Mode
- Two stages: DAT Prelims at test centres across India; DAT Mains (Studio Sensitivity Test and In-Person Sensitivity Test)
- Attempts per year
- Once a year
- Application fee
- Indian nationals: General, Gen-EWS, OBC-NCL ₹3,000; female (except SC, ST and PwD) ₹2,000; SC and ST ₹1,500; PwD ₹500; third gender ₹500. Overseas (supernumerary) US$ 125. One fee covers all NIDs
Eligibility
Candidates who have passed or will appear for Class XII (10+2) in 2026-27 in any stream from a recognised board; those appearing in 2027-28 must pass in the first attempt and submit the marksheet by 15/07/2027. Age: born on or after 01/07/2006 (General/Gen-EWS), 01/07/2003 (OBC-NCL/SC/ST), 01/07/2001 (PwD).
Exam pattern
Stage 1 DAT Prelims (shortlisting only; score not carried forward); Stage 2 DAT Mains = Studio Sensitivity Test + In-Person Sensitivity Test (admission on DAT Mains score)
Score used for
Admission to undergraduate design programmes at NID Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Bengaluru, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh; NID has also authorised CEPT University to use NID DAT 2027 Mains scores for select B.Des. (Hons) seats
For Maharashtra students
A Maharashtra Class XII student (any stream) who wants an NID design seat must take NID DAT; there is no NID campus in Maharashtra and the exam is not part of Maharashtra state CAP.
Where this comes from
- dates: admissions.nid.edu/NIDA2027/download/BDES_IntegratedPathway_AdmissionsHandbook2027_28.pdf
- pattern: admissions.nid.edu/NIDA2027/download/BDES_IntegratedPathway_AdmissionsHandbook2027_28.pdf
- eligibility: admissions.nid.edu/NIDA2027/download/BDES_IntegratedPathway_AdmissionsHandbook2027_28.pdf
- application fee: admissions.nid.edu/NIDA2027/download/BDES_IntegratedPathway_AdmissionsHandbook2027_28.pdf
- cept and last date notice: admissions.nid.edu/NIDA2027/Default.aspx