The National Institute of Design- Design Aptitude Test (NID-DAT) is a national level entrance test conducted once a year by the National Institute of Design for admitting students into its different programs of Bachelor of Design (B.Des.), Graduate Diploma Programme in Design (GDPD) and Master of Design (M.Des.). It consists of two parts: DAT (prelims) and DAT (mains). The students who clear the DAT (prelims) are then required to give the DAT (mains). The B.Des. DAT prelims paper is a 3 hour test of 100 marks which evaluates the Design aptitude of the candidate, the exam is in English. It comprises of a mix of objective and subjective questions; whereas the DAT (mains) comprises of a studio and an interview round spread over 2 days  at one of NID’s campuses in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru or Gandhinagar. Students are scored out of 100 and the medium of the test is english.

Only after clearing both these rounds are students offered admission into the desired programmes at different NID campuses.

It is important to note that NID GDPD is a four year long programme which is currently offered only by NID Vijayawada and NID Kurukshetra, but starting from 2019 the new NID campuses of NID Bhopal and NID Jorhat will also offer this programme.  B.Des. is also a 4 year programme while M. Des. is a 2.5 year programme.

Here are the various seats on offer in the different NIDs all across India on the basis of the performance in the NID DAT (prelims) and then the NID DAT (mains), for those who clear the first stage.

So keep updated on all the information, know where you can apply for what course and know the last dates for application, editing the application, paying the late fees and downloading the admit card, so that on the exam day, the only thing you have to worry about is your exam.