The January design admission cycle shifts to the evaluation stage. NID DAT prelims and SEED results are awaited while UCEED/CEED evaluation starts post-Jan 18.

The intensive winter entrance season for India’s premier design institutes has reached a pivotal turning point. As the second week of January unfolds, the focus of the national admission landscape is transitioning from the high-pressure testing environment to the meticulous evaluation phase. While a few major examinations like UCEED and CEED are still a week away, the primary "testing" heavy-lift—including the NID DAT Prelims and the Symbiosis Entrance Exam for Design (SEED)—has concluded. This shift marks the beginning of a month-long evaluation period where faculty experts and automated systems begin processing thousands of creative portfolios and objective responses.

Status of Major Design Entrance Evaluations

The transition to the evaluation stage is staggered across different conducting bodies. For the National Institute of Design (NID), the focus is currently on the manual grading of the subjective drawing sections from the December 21 prelims.

• NID DAT Prelims: Evaluators are currently assessing the "Creative Ability" section. While the objective Part A is processed digitally, the sketching and storytelling sections require human expertise. The result for the Master’s program is expected on February 17, while B.Des results will follow on April 7.
• SEED 2026: Following the January 11 test, the Symbiosis Institute of Design has moved directly into its digital scoring phase. Candidates are now awaiting the shortlist for the next stage of the admission process, which includes the Portfolio Review and Personal Interaction (PRPI).
• NIFT Stage 1: Although the exam is scheduled for February 8, the administrative evaluation of applications and late-fee registrations is concluding today, allowing the National Testing Agency to finalize the seating roster for the written tests.

The Post-Exam Evaluation Roadmap

The time between the completion of a test and the release of the final merit list is a multi-step journey involving draft keys and challenge windows. The following table outlines the current status of the most sought-after design cycles.

This period is critical because many institutions, particularly the IITs, use a dual-part evaluation system. For UCEED and CEED, only the candidates who clear the Part A cutoff—which is determined during this week's preliminary data analysis—will have their Part B drawing booklets manually evaluated by the jury.

Conclusion

As the admission cycle moves forward, the "dead air" between the exam and the result is anything but quiet for the institutes. Universities are currently setting up the digital infrastructure for the next round of selection, including the PRPI and Situation Test modules. For the aspirants, this evaluation phase is a time to shift focus toward documentation and portfolio physicalization. The successful conclusion of the test is merely the first hurdle; the upcoming results will determine who moves on to the campus-level interactions in March and April. By the end of this week, the final answer keys for early January exams will begin to surface, providing the first concrete look at the 2026 qualifying benchmarks.

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