NIFT Exam Pattern 2026: The National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) will release the NIFT exam pattern 2026 on its official website at nift.ac.in. The NIFT 2026 official notification is expected to be out in November 2025, providing details related to the NIFT exam eligibility, NIFT exam date 2026, NIFT exam pattern, and syllabus. Based on the previous year's NIFT exam cycle, the NIFT exam pattern 2026 is structured to evaluate candidates through multiple stages with a series of questions from creative, analytical, and general aptitude.
There will be two papers in the NIFT Prelims, i.e, CAT and GAT. The GAT is an online test with objective questions, while the CAT is an offline exam focusing on creativity and design skills. Candidates who qualify Prelims with cutoff marks advance to the Situation Test or personal interview, depending on the chosen program.
NIFT exam pattern 2026 is categorized into two parts, namely, written tests (GAT and CAT) followed by either a Situation Test or Personal Interview. CAT is the Creative Ability Test and is required for B.Des and M.Des aspirants, while GAT stands for General Ability Test and is common to all programs. The main aspects of the NIFT exam pattern 2026 are explained below.
The NIFT GAT exam 2026 will be held in online mode. It is an objective test mandatory for admission to all UG and PG design courses. For BDes, there will be 100 questions to be answered in 120 minutes. This exam is designed to test your overall aptitude and reasoning abilities essential for a career in fashion and design. Refer to the following table to get insights about the NIFT GAT exam pattern 2026.
NIFT CAT exam 2026 will be a paper-based test. It evaluates candidates’ creativity, originality, design thinking, and observation skills. NIFT CAT consists of subjective and drawing-based questions to be completed in 3 hours. The total marks of the NIFT exam for CAT are 100. Candidates must know how to apply problem-solving skills while attempting design questions.
Candidates who qualify NID CAT and GAT entrance exams advance to NIFT Situation Test. This tests your creativity and material handling skills through a hands-on challenge. Candidates are required to make models based on a specific situation or theme using a set of basic materials. The panel will evaluate the model based on its creativity, materials used, concept development, originality, and overall presentation. The following are important parameters for NIFT Situation Test assessments.
A total of 100 questions will be asked in the NIFT BDes GAT section. These questions will be distributed among 5 sections, namely, Communication Ability and English Comprehension, Quantitative Ability, Analytical and Logical Ability, and General Knowledge & Current Affairs. For focused preparation, candidates need to understand the weightage of each section thoroughly. The following table gives details of the distribution of questions across 5 sections in NID BDes GAT paper.
The total marks of the NIFT exam vary depending on the authorities' decisions. Candidates can visit the official website for any updates related to the NIFT entrance exam details and marking scheme. As per previous years’ NIFT exam cycle, the total marks allotted to each exam stage of NIFT are as follows.
For NIFT 2026, CAT, GAT, and Situation Test will hold different weightage while preparing the final results. For different design programs, the weight may differ. Here is the section-wise weightage for NIFT 2026.
Here are some preparation tips for design aspirants willing to appear for NIFT 2026.
Other Related Links |
|
NID vs NIFT | NIFT Mumbai Admission |
NIFT Hyderabad Admission | NIFT Bangalore Admission |