NID opens a 5.5-year integrated design master’s — 135 seats, and applications close 30 November

The National Institute of Design is opening a route into a design master's straight out of school. From the 2027-28 academic year, NID will offer a 5.5-year Professional Education Master of Design (Integrated Pathway) of 11 semesters, which a student can enter after Class 12.

Seats and campuses

Per the admission handbook, the three campuses will together offer 135 seats across 15 disciplines, at nine seats per discipline:

• Ahmedabad — 72 seats across eight disciplines
• Bengaluru — 36 seats across four disciplines
• Gandhinagar — 27 seats across three disciplines

The five streams

• Industrial Design — Ceramic & Glass and Product Design at Ahmedabad; Transportation & Automobile Design at Gandhinagar.
• Communication Design — Animation Film, Film & Video Communication and Graphic Design, all at Ahmedabad.
• Spatial Experience Design (new) — Exhibition Design and Furniture & Interior Design at Ahmedabad; Design for Retail Experience at Bengaluru.
• Textile and Apparel Design — Textile Design at Ahmedabad; Apparel and Lifestyle Accessory Design at Gandhinagar.
• Digital Design Futures — Digital Game Design, Interaction Design and Information Design, all three at Bengaluru.

Officials have indicated the number of specialisations is expected to grow from around eight at present. Bengaluru carrying the entire Digital Design Futures stream gives the integrated programme a distinctly technology-facing centre of gravity.

The dates that bind

• Online applications for the 2027-28 cycle opened on 10 September 2026.
• The last date to submit is 11:59 pm on 30 November 2026.
• DAT Prelims: 20 December 2026.
• DAT Prelims result: 16 March 2027. Dates for DAT Mains and the subsequent procedure will follow.

One process change to note

After appearing for DAT Mains, candidates will have to submit a separate online admission application to take part in seat allotment. Clearing the test is no longer the end of the paperwork — miss that second application and you are not in the allotment.

The existing 2.5-year MDes for graduates continues unchanged from 2027-28; the integrated pathway sits alongside it, not in place of it.

CareerBox News Desk — reporting on the integrated Master of Design programme and 2027-28 admission schedule announced by the National Institute of Design. Official portal: nid.edu. Dates and eligibility change; confirm them on the official portal before you act.