CEED

CEED assesses aptitude for design, including visual perception, drawing, logical reasoning, creativity, communication and problem-solving. It is an entrance/qualifying examination rather than an admission offer: candidates who qualify must separately apply to each institute and satisfy that institute’s programme-specific eligibility and selection process.

For the 2026 cycle, IIT Bombay identified M.Des routes at IISc Bengaluru, IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Jodhpur, IIT Kanpur, IIT Roorkee, IIITDM Jabalpur and IIITDM Kancheepuram, alongside Ph.D. opportunities at several IITs and design schools. The official site also distinguishes participating institutes from result-sharing institutes, so applicants should confirm whether their target programme accepts CEED in the relevant admission year.

• Treat CEED as one component of postgraduate design admissions, not as a common counselling/allotment process.
• Check the target institute’s own eligibility, application deadline, test/interview requirements, fees and scholarship rules before applying; these can differ from CEED examination eligibility.

For CEED 2026, a candidate needed to have completed—or be due to complete by July 2026—a graduate degree, diploma or postgraduate degree programme of at least three years’ duration after the 10+2 level. Candidates who had completed the GD Arts diploma programme after 10+5 by July 2026 were also eligible. IIT Bombay stated that CEED 2026 had neither an age limit nor a limit on the number of attempts.

This is only the eligibility to sit CEED. Admission requirements at individual M.Des and Ph.D. programmes may be narrower or otherwise different, and institutes verify documents, category status and programme eligibility during their own admission process.

• Applicants from design and non-design academic backgrounds may meet the examination-level qualification rule if their credential meets the stated duration requirement.
• Final-year applicants should check both the CEED cycle’s completion deadline and the target programme’s separate completion/document rules.

In the 2026 format, CEED ran for three hours in two compulsory parts. Part A was a one-hour computer-based test comprising Numerical Answer Type (NAT), Multiple Select Question (MSQ) and Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) items. It assessed areas such as visualization and spatial reasoning, practical/scientific knowledge, observation and design sensitivity, environment and society, analytical reasoning, English comprehension, creativity, art/design knowledge, and design methods and practices.

Part B lasted two hours. Questions appeared on a computer screen, but candidates wrote/drew their responses in the answer booklet supplied at the centre. Its five questions covered sketching, creativity, form sensitivity, visual sensitivity and problem identification. Part-A performance was used to shortlist answer books for Part-B evaluation; the final score weighted Part A at 25% and Part B at 75%.

• Part B is subjective and is evaluated holistically against criteria in the questions; no model solution is provided for it.
• The 2026 rules provided no re-evaluation or re-totaling of either part.
• The exact paper structure and rules can change by cycle; use the current year’s official brochure rather than relying on the 2026 pattern alone.

For CEED 2026, registration was online only through the official CEED website/application portal. The application required a recent colour photograph, signature, and academic-status evidence such as a degree/diploma certificate, final-year marks/provisional certificate, or an institutional certificate for candidates whose programme was unfinished. Applicants claiming EWS, SC, ST or OBC-NCL status also had to upload the applicable valid certificate; PwD applicants had additional document requirements where relevant.

Fees and dates are cycle-specific. In the 2026 brochure, the regular registration fee was ₹2,000 for women and SC/ST/PwD candidates and ₹4,000 for other candidates, plus applicable banking/service charges; the fee was non-refundable and non-transferable. Those figures and the 2025 registration dates should be treated as past-cycle context, not as a quote for a future CEED cycle.

• Read the current official information brochure before submitting the form, then retain the confirmation and download the admit card when released.
• If applying with a disability accommodation request, use the current cycle’s prescribed forms and submit the request with the application. For 2026, a scribe could be available for Part A but not Part B.
• After the result, submit separate applications to each desired M.Des or Ph.D. programme; CEED does not itself complete programme admission.

IIT Bombay characterises CEED as an aptitude test and does not recommend a specific textbook or guide. Its official advice is to practise drawing, rendering and visualization skills and to use previous CEED question papers available from the official website.

A practical preparation plan should map practice to both modes of the paper: timed computer-based work for Part A’s objective design-aptitude questions, plus timed hand-drawn and written responses for Part B. For Part B, practise clear visual communication, proportion, perspective, composition, shading, user/context understanding and generating varied solutions—not only polished rendering.

• Use official past papers and answer keys to become familiar with question styles and time pressure.
• Practise the listed syllabus areas: spatial visualization, observation, logical reasoning, design awareness, materials/processes and ergonomics for Part A; drawing, creativity, communication and problem identification for Part B.
• Verify current exam-day materials and prohibited-item rules in the current brochure. In 2026, candidates brought their own drawing materials, while sheets were supplied and electronic devices were prohibited.

A CEED result enables a candidate to apply to relevant M.Des and Ph.D. programmes, but it is not a seat allocation or guaranteed admission. Admitting institutes may conduct their own tests and/or interviews and independently verify academic eligibility, category certificates and other documents.

For CEED 2026, all successful test-takers could view Part-A marks, while Part-B marks and ranks were provided only to candidates shortlisted from Part A. The CEED 2026 score card remains valid for one year from the March 4, 2026 result declaration. As of the review date, the official site lists July 31, 2026 as the final date to download the 2026 score card.

• Apply directly to each target institute after qualifying, and track that institute’s separate admissions notice.
• Use the result within its one-year validity period; a score card is not proof of date of birth, category or disability status.
• Keep a local copy of the score card before the official download window closes.