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Postgraduate Science & Engineering · Higher study

CEED

Common Entrance Examination for Design

Admission to M.Des programmes at IISc and IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Roorkee and others) and PhD in design at some institutes; scores also used by several other design schools.

Eligibility

Candidates who have completed, or are in the final year of, a degree, diploma or postgraduate degree of at least three years after Class 12 (or GD Arts diploma of five years after Class 10) are eligible. There is no age limit and no limit on attempts. CEED qualification alone does not guarantee admission; institutes conduct their own shortlisting and interviews.

Age limit: No age limit

Exam pattern

Single 3-hour exam. Part A (1 hour, computer-based) has NAT, MCQ and MSQ questions on visual, spatial, logical and design aptitude, with negative marking only for MCQs. Part B (2 hours) shows five questions on screen, answered in a pen-and-paper answer book: sketching, design problem, creativity and writing. Part A acts as a screening cut-off; the final score is 0.25 x Part A + 0.75 x Part B.

Syllabus at a glance

Part A covers visualisation and spatial ability, environmental and social awareness, analytical and logical reasoning, language, observation and design sensitivity. Part B tests drawing (perspective, proportion, shading), creativity, communication and problem identification, form and colour, and product or interaction design thinking.

Upcoming dates

EventDateStatus
Registration (regular fee)1-31 Oct 2026confirmed
Registration (late fee)1-6 Nov 2026confirmed
Admit card release1 Jan 2027confirmed
CEED 2027 examination17 Jan 2027 (Sunday), 9 am-12 noonconfirmed
Part A cut-off announced4 Feb 2027confirmed
Result declaration3 Mar 2027confirmed

Expected dates follow the usual calendar; confirm on the official notification before planning.

Free prep material

Official
CEED official site (IIT Bombay)
Brochure, syllabus, mock Part A test and previous question papers with answer keys.
 Video course
NPTEL design courses
Free IIT courses on product design, design thinking and user interface design taught by IDC faculty.
 Study material
Drawabox
Free structured drawing lessons on perspective, form and construction, directly useful for Part B sketching.
 Official
IDC School of Design, IIT Bombay
Programme pages and student portfolios that show what M.Des interviews look for.
 Video course
Swayam
Free design and visual communication courses from Indian institutions.

Standard books

  • Universal Principles of Design – William Lidwell, Kritina Holden & Jill Butler
  • The Design of Everyday Things – Don Norman
  • Perspective Made Easy – Ernest R. Norling
  • Sketching: The Basics – Koos Eissen & Roselien Steur
  • A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning – R.S. Aggarwal
  • Thinking with Type – Ellen Lupton

How toppers play it

  • Clear the Part A cut-off first: practise official PYQs for spatial and visual reasoning, and skip MCQs you are unsure of, since only MCQs carry negative marks.
  • Part B carries 75% of the final score, so sketch daily: perspective, human figures, objects in use and quick storyboards.
  • For the design problem, show your process clearly with user, context, ideation and labelled sketches; examiners mark thinking, not just final drawings.
  • Time Part B strictly (about 20-30 minutes per question) because the five questions are all compulsory.
  • Start a portfolio now: IIT interviews and studio tests after the result decide final admission.