UCEED
Admission to the four-year B.Des programmes at IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Indore, IIT Roorkee and IIITDM Jabalpur; scores are also accepted by many other design schools.
Eligibility
Candidates from any Class 12 stream may apply, provided they first appeared for Class 12 in the exam year or the year before. Age limit: born on or after 1 October 2002 for General/EWS/OBC-NCL for UCEED 2027 (five extra years for SC/ST/PwD). A candidate may attempt UCEED at most twice, and only in consecutive years.
Age limit: Born on or after 1 Oct 2002 (Gen/EWS/OBC-NCL) for UCEED 2027; 5-year relaxation for SC/ST/PwD; max 2 attempts in consecutive years
Exam pattern
A single 3-hour paper of 300 marks in two compulsory parts. Part A (2 hours, 200 marks) is computer-based: 14 Numerical Answer Type questions (4 marks each, no negative), 15 Multiple Select Questions (4 marks each with partial credit) and 28 Multiple Choice Questions (3 marks each, −0.71 for a wrong answer). Part B (1 hour, 100 marks) is answered on paper: one sketching question (50 marks) and one design aptitude question (50 marks), evaluated only for candidates who clear the Part A cut-off. Both parts must be cleared separately.
Syllabus at a glance
Visualisation and spatial ability, observation and design sensitivity, environmental and social awareness, analytical and logical reasoning, language and creativity, and drawing. Part B tests freehand drawing, composition and the ability to propose and communicate a design idea.
Upcoming dates
| Event | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Registration opens (brochure release) | Early Oct 2026 | expected |
| Registration closes (without late fee) | Nov 2026 | expected |
| Admit card release | Early Jan 2027 | expected |
| UCEED 2027 exam | 17 Jan 2027 (Sunday, forenoon) | confirmed |
| Result declaration | Mar 2027 | expected |
Expected dates follow the usual calendar; confirm on the official notification before planning.
Free prep material
Standard books
- The Design of Everyday Things — Don Norman
- Universal Principles of Design — William Lidwell, Kritina Holden, Jill Butler
- Perspective Made Easy — Ernest R. Norling
- You Can Draw in 30 Days — Mark Kistler
- A Modern Approach to Verbal & Non-Verbal Reasoning — R.S. Aggarwal
How toppers play it
- Part B is marked only if you clear the Part A cut-off, so guarantee Part A first — NAT and MSQ questions carry no negative marking and should be attempted fully.
- Be surgical with MCQs: at −0.71 per error, wild guessing on the 28 MCQs erodes marks faster than in most exams.
- Solve every past UCEED paper from the official archive under timed conditions; question styles (folding, counting surfaces, top views) repeat year after year.
- Train spatial drills daily — mentally rotating objects, counting hidden faces, imagining sections — as visualisation is UCEED's highest-weight skill.
- For Part B, practise one 30-minute sketch plus one 30-minute design-scenario answer daily in the last two months; clarity of idea and annotation beats artistic polish.