NID Announces 5.5-Year Integrated M.Des Admissions 2027-28, Check Details

The National Institute of Design (NID) has announced admissions for its 5.5 Year Professional Education Master of Design (Integrated Pathway) for the academic year 2027-28. As per the NID Admissions Handbook 2027-28, the programme is of five-and-half-year duration and comprises eleven semesters across 15 sector-specific design disciplines under five design streams.

The online application process for the Design Aptitude Test (DAT) has started now. Candidates can submit their applications until 11:59 pm on November 30, 2026. The DAT Prelims is scheduled to be conducted on December 20, 2026.

The NID 5.5 Year M.Des is an integrated pathway offered after higher secondary education. Candidates applying for the Integrated M.Des after 10+2 cannot apply for the independent 2.5-year specialised M.Des programmes because the entrance examinations for the programmes are scheduled simultaneously on the same day.

NID 2027 Notification PDF

NID 5.5 Year M.Des: Overview

The NID 5.5 Year M.Des programme, officially known as the 5.5 Year Professional Education Master of Design (Integrated Pathway), is offered for the 2027-28 academic session. The programme has a duration of five-and-a-half years across eleven semesters and includes 15 Design Disciplines under five Design Streams. Candidates can apply online from September 10 to November 30, 2026, with theDirect M.Des Admission After 12th via DAT Prelims scheduled for December 20, 2026. 

The programme is offered at NID Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Gandhinagar in the disciplines specified in the Admissions Handbook.

NID Admission 2027-28 B.Des & Integrated M.Des

NID Integrated M.Des: Intake, Design Streams and Disciplines

The NID M.Des Integrated Pathway at NID Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Gandhinagar includes the following design streams and disciplines. Each discipline listed below has an intake capacity of nine seats.

The handbook states that the 5.5 Year Professional Education Master of Design Programme (Integrated Pathway) will have five-and-half years of duration, comprising eleven semesters in 15 sector-specific design disciplines under five design streams.

The detailed description of each programme will be announced soon. Candidates are advised to check the official website regularly for updates.

NID M.Des After 12th: Eligibility Criteria

Candidates applying for the programmes must fulfil the prescribed age and educational qualification criteria.

Age Limit

For Indian Nationals in the General Category and General EWS Category, only candidates born on or after July 1, 2006 are eligible to apply.

For Indian Nationals in the reserved categories, including OBC-NCL, SC and ST, only candidates born on or after July 1, 2003 are eligible.

For Indian Nationals in the PwD Reserved Category, only candidates born on or after July 1, 2001 are eligible.

For Foreign Nationals in the Overseas (Supernumerary) Category, only candidates born on or after July 1, 2006 are eligible.

Educational Qualification

Applications for the academic year 2027-28 are open to candidates who have passed or will appear for higher secondary (10+2) qualifying examinations in the academic year 2026-27 in any stream, including Science, Arts, Commerce and Humanities, from any recognised board of education such as CBSE, IB, ICSE or equivalent.

Candidates appearing for higher secondary (10+2) qualifying examinations in the academic year 2027-28 must have appeared for their qualifying examination before physical verification of documents and must have passed it in the first attempt. They are required to submit their qualifying examination marksheet on or before July 15, 2027.

Candidates with a backlog, compartment, supplementary examination or who have not cleared the Class XII examination will have their admission treated as null and void, and the entire fees will be forfeited.

PW Design Online Batches 2027

NID DAT 2027-28 Admission Process

The admission process for the NID 5.5 Year Integrated M.Des includes the following stages:

1. Online submission of the DAT application form

2. DAT Prelims

3. Shortlisting for DAT Mains

4. DAT Mains

5. Online submission of the application form for admission

6. Admission counselling, payment of fees and physical verification of documents

The online application for DAT is common for DAT Prelims and DAT Mains. Only candidates who successfully submit the application and satisfy the prescribed eligibility criteria will be considered for DAT Prelims. Shortlisting for DAT Mains is based on DAT Prelims performance.

NID DAT Prelims 2027

The DAT Prelims is the first stage of the admission process. It will be conducted on Sunday, December 20, 2026.

The DAT Prelims is a paper-and-pencil/pen test conducted at the same time on the same day across all test centres. The questions may involve text and visuals. The duration of the test will be announced in the admit card, and the question paper will be in English language only.

The DAT Prelims will be conducted in the following cities:

• Ahmedabad

• Bengaluru

• Bhopal

• Bhubaneswar

• Chandigarh

• Chennai

• Dehradun

• Hyderabad

• Jaipur

• Jorhat

• Kochi

• Kolkata

• Lucknow

• Mumbai

• Nagpur

• New Delhi

• Patna

NID may add or remove test centres and may allot a test centre that is not the candidate's choice. Candidates can change their chosen test centre only during the application edit window.

PW Design Online Batches 2027

NID DAT Mains 2027

Candidates will be shortlisted for DAT Mains based on merit in DAT Prelims, subject to the tie-break policy. For each category, the number of shortlisted candidates will equal 2.5 times the available seats.

The DAT Mains will consist of two parts:

• Studio Sensitivity Test

• In-Person Sensitivity Test

The details regarding DAT Mains will be announced later. The question paper will be in English language only.

NID will use the DAT Mains score for admission to the respective institution. If seats remain vacant, independent NIDs may conduct additional DAT Mains examinations for admission to vacant seats in their respective campuses.

NID M.Des 2027-28 Official Application Link

Candidates interested in the 5.5 Year Professional Education Master of Design Programme (Integrated Pathway) can submit their applications online through the official NID admissions website. The application form is available at admissions.nid.edu. Candidates should complete the registration, fill in the required details, upload the prescribed documents, pay the applicable application fee and submit the form within the specified deadline.

NID 2027 Online Registration Link Active

NID M.Des Application Fee 2027-28

The application fees for the academic year 2027-28 are as follows:

*The equivalent amount in Rupees of US$ will be rounded off to the higher Rs.100 at the time of announcement of admissions.

The application fee is applicable for all NIDs and is neither refundable nor transferable. Bank transaction charges/convenience fees, as applicable, are not included in the application fee.

PW Design Online Batches 2027