NID Entrance Exam: Exam info, Paper Pattern, syllabus and Tips

Professional Courses Published on 17 November 2022


The NID exam is known as the National Institute of Design Aptitude Test. This exam helps the students to get admission into the National Institute of Design. The NID Entrance Exam is one of the prestigious institutes in India which offers undergraduate and postgraduate courses to the students.


The courses offered for the students are Bachelor in design and Masters in Design. There are a total of seven campuses of NID in India including Ahmedabad, Gujarat ,Karnataka and many more, but the main campus of NID is in Ahmedabad.


Let's look at the detailed NID Entrance Exam Info below:


This test consists of two levels i.e. prelims and mains, the prelims have 30% weightage whereas the mains have 70% weightage. If you clear the prelims then you are allowed to give the mains exam.


The duration of the test for the Bachelor design course is for 3 hours and the Masters design course is for 2 hours.


NID Entrance Exam Eligibility Criteria:


  1. The candidates applying for the Bachelor course should at least complete 12th from a recognised board and University.


  1. The candidates applying for the masters course should complete the Bachelor degree from a recognised University.


NID Entrance Exam Paper Pattern


There are basically two levels of entrance exam : NID DAT prelims and NID DAT mains.

The NID DAT prelims consists of objective as well as subjective questions.

The NID DAT mains consists of a studio test and interview round. 


NID Entrance Exam Syllabus


The syllabus for Bachelor of design and Masters of Design are the same. Let's look at the details below.


NID DAT Prelims:


  1. The NID DAT prelims is an offline mode of paper for the duration of 3 hours of 100 marks paper.
  2. This paper consists of two parts, objective and subjective questions.
  3. As per NID DAT 2020 the part 1 consists of 22 questions whereas the part 2 consists of 4 questions.
  4. The part 1 is for 30 marks and the part 2 is for 70 marks.
  5. This exam judges the candidates creative, visualisation and observational skills


The important topics for part 1 i.e. objective type questions are as follows:


  1.  Ancient Architecture
  2. Musical instruments 
  3. Dance forms
  4.  International monuments
  5.  Indian painters
  6. International artists- Renaissance, impressionism, cubism
  7. SLR VS DSLR
  8. Photography terms 
  9. Animation terms 
  10. Important treaty or protocol about environmental Awareness
  11. Greenhouse gases 
  12. Conventional topics like Verbal reasoning, quantitative aptitude and Non verbal reasoning.


These are some of the important topics that are asked in part 1 questions. You can refer to some topics from my UCEED syllabus article, because the syllabus for NID and UCEED is quite similar.



The important topics for part 2, that is the subjective part. This part tests your drawing and sketching skills in this section:


  1. 1,2,3 point linear perspective
  2. Isometric/Axonometric view
  3.  Unity/ Harmony
  4.  Similarity contrast
  5.  Proportion and scaling
  6. Light and shadows
  7. Typography
  8. Story writing
  9. Sequential drawing
  10. Comic strip
  11. Poster making 
  12. Logo design


NID DAT Mains


The mains consists of a Studio test and a personal interview. This test is also for 100 marks for 4 hours.


Studio Test


This test is also for three hours for 100 marks.

This test judges you on the basis of sketching, drawing and creative skills.

  1. Doodling 
  2. Body Language
  3. Material Manipulation
  4.  Audio Visual skills
  5. Animation
  6. Creativity
  7. Portfolio Making


These are some of the important studio test topics for the NID DAT exam.


NID Entrance Exam tips :


  1. Have great observational skills.


Be alert most of the time that helps to get ideas and increase your creativity skills. Make use of the resources that are available to you like newspapers, magazines, online sites or advertisement. This might help you during examinations.


2. Have a niche in your skills.


To have a good NID Entrance exam preparation strategy, master skills like calligraphy or illustration. You never know they might come handy. If you develop these skills a lot of time can be saved during examination. 


3. Practice a lot of past papers.


The more you practice the better you are going to be in your creative skills. By practicing past papers you can get the hold of time and also get confidence.


4. Don't be afraid to try new things.


 Explore areas that you may not have thought off. This activities enhance your creativity and you might come up with newer ideas.


5. Carry good quality materials.


 Make sure you carry a good quality of pencils and colour. The quality of pencils and colours plays a very important role while sketching and calligraphy.


This was the complete NID Entrance Exam Info that one needs to know. These are the important syllabus and important topics of the NID DAT exam. I hope these tips and information are useful to you. I hope you crack this exam and become the next big designer of our country. Good Luck!

Arts & Design UG Entrance PG Entrance
Important | 2 Comment
Write a comment...