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UCEED

Evidence status: 🟢 official. Every number below is from the UCEED 2026 Information Brochure (v1.1, October 2025) and the official UCEED 2026 syllabus and question-paper pages, fetched from uceed.iitb.ac.in on 2026-09-29.

UCEED (Undergraduate Common Entrance Exam for Design), organised by IIT Bombay, is the entrance for the B.Des programmes at IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Indore, IIT Roorkee and IIITDM Jabalpur. Other institutes also accept the UCEED score card for their own admissions. Appearing in UCEED alone does not guarantee admission; qualified candidates must apply separately for B.Des seat allocation.

At a glance
Conducted by IIT Bombay (under the UCEED-CEED Implementation Committee)
For B.Des at 6 IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Guwahati, Hyderabad, Indore, Roorkee) + IIITDM Jabalpur
Total One paper, 3 hours, English only, 300 marks: Part A 200 + Part B 100
Eligibility Class XII (any stream) appeared for the first time in 2025 or 2026
Age Born on or after 1 Oct 2001 (OPEN/EWS/OBC-NCL); on or after 1 Oct 1996 (SC/ST/PwD)
Attempts Maximum 2, in consecutive years; score valid for that academic year only
UCEED 2026 Held 18 January 2026 (9:00 am–12:00 noon); results declared 6 March 2026

Official sources

Exam pattern

One paper of 3 hours in English only, 300 marks total. Both parts are compulsory, each within its own stipulated time. Part-A marks are used to shortlist candidates; the rank list is prepared on total marks (Part A + Part B). Tie-break order: higher Part-B marks, then higher Section 2 of Part-A, then higher Section 1 of Part-A.

Part A (computer-based, 2 hours, 200 marks, 57 questions):

Section Type Questions Correct Wrong Unattempted Section total
1 Numerical Answer Type (NAT) 14 +4 0 0 56
2 Multiple Select Question (MSQ) 15 partial +4/+3/+2/+1 −1 0 60
3 Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) 28 +3 −0.71 0 84

NAT answers are numbers entered on a virtual keyboard (no choices shown). Each MSQ has one or more correct choices out of four: full +4 if only all correct options are chosen; +3/+2/+1 partial credit per the brochure's rules; 0 if unanswered; −1 in all other cases. Each MCQ has four choices with exactly one correct answer.

Part B (1 hour, 100 marks, mandatory): 2 questions shown on the computer screen and answered by hand in the invigilator's answer booklet — one sketching question (50 marks) and one design aptitude question (50 marks), evaluated subjectively by expert examiners. No scribe assistance is permitted for Part B. Bring your own pencils (shades of black only; colour materials are banned).

Syllabus

Part A (per the official syllabus page):

  • Visualisation and spatial reasoning: visualising and transforming 2D shapes and 3D objects
  • Practical and scientific knowledge: scientific principles and everyday objects
  • Observation and design sensitivity: detail, classification, analysis, inference, prediction
  • Environment and society: environmental, social and cultural connections with design
  • Analytical and logical reasoning: qualitative and quantitative information
  • Language: reading and comprehending Standard English
  • Creativity: verbal and non-verbal analogies, metaphors, signs and symbols

Part B: drawing (products, people or scenes in proportion, with line quality, composition, perspective and shading) and design aptitude (practical, ingenious responses to problems/situations).

The brochure notes the topic list is exhaustive but indicative — the paper may not cover every topic.

How to prepare (free, in order)

  1. Read the Information Brochure end to end (rules, dates, marking scheme) before registering.
  2. Solve UCEED's official past papers and final answer keys, published on the UCEED downloads page.
  3. Try the official sample exam interface to learn the CBT controls before exam day.
  4. Sketch daily for Part B (line quality, proportion, perspective, shading).

Free resources