The National Institute of Design (NID) will introduce a 5.5-year Professional Education Master of Design (Integrated Pathway) from the 2027-28 academic year. The 11-semester programme will combine undergraduate and postgraduate design education for students entering after Class 12.
The new programme will replace the existing route of four years of BDes followed by 2.5 years of MDes, reducing the total duration from 6.5 years to 5.5 years.
NID is also reorganising design disciplines across its seven campuses in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Gandhinagar, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh. The 2027-28 admission handbook has specified disciplines and intake for Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Gandhinagar. Details of disciplines and seats at the other four campuses will be announced by the respective institutes.
According to the handbook, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru and Gandhinagar will together offer 135 seats across 15 disciplines, with nine seats in each discipline. Ahmedabad will have 72 seats across eight disciplines, Bengaluru 36 seats across four disciplines and Gandhinagar 27 seats across three disciplines.
The curriculum will be divided into five broad streams: Industrial Design, Communication Design, Spatial Experience Design, Textile and Apparel Design, and Digital Design Futures.
Ahmedabad will offer specialisations including Ceramic & Glass, Product Design, Animation Film, Film & Video Communication, Graphic Design, Exhibition, and Furniture & Interior Design. Gandhinagar will offer Transportation & Automobile Design and Apparel & Lifestyle Accessory Design, while Bengaluru will offer Digital Game Design, Interaction Design and Information Design, among others.
The admission process will also change. After the Design Aptitude Test (DAT) Mains, candidates will have to submit a separate online admission application to participate in seat allotment.
NID has proposed shortlisting candidates for DAT Mains at 2.5 times the available seats in each category, compared with 1.5 times earlier. DAT Prelims will continue to be the screening stage, and its marks will not be carried forward to the final merit.
The new integrated MDes programme will remain separate from NID’s existing 2.5-year MDes programme for graduates, which will continue from the 2027-28 academic year.