NID: Admissions to Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Design, 2027

National Institute of Design
Gujrat & Bengaluru
Admissions to Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Design, 2027

Admissions: Academic Year 2027
Doctor of Philosophy in Design
Full-time: 3 Years / Part Time: 5 Years
Applications are invited from eligible candidates for the PhD Programme in Design, commencing in January 2027

NID’s Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree in Design shall be awarded for an advanced and detailed in-depth research study of any particular aspects of Design that the candidate feels have hitherto not been studied and which culminates with a thesis that extends the body of knowledge and the application of design thinking, process and practice. In the case of a practice-based PhD, such work might be centred around a creative outcome of the candidate’s professional practice.

The programme is open to educators and professionals in Design and allied creative fields who wish to undertake theoretical study of their own practice or knowledge base and push the boundaries of the discipline.

Doctoral students of NID’s PhD Program would be eligible to access and use facilities of all campuses of NID: Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Bangalore.

Click here for detail.

Selection Process

Entry to NID’s PhD programme will be granted on the basis of performance in the following four-stage selection process:
Stage 1: Screening for eligibility
Stage 2: Assessment of Research Proposal
Stage 3: Doctoral Research Test
Stage 4: Interview
These are detailed below

Stage 1: Eligibility Screening
Information in the application forms of candidates is scrutinised to ascertain whether various eligibility requirements, such as that of educational qualification, are met. Those who do not fulfil the eligibility criteria will be rejected at this stage. Those who are found eligible move on to Stage 2.

These educational eligibility qualification requirements are described in detail in Section 5.1 .
Stage 2: Assessment of Research Proposal
Candidates are required to submit a research proposal they have formulated outlining their motivation for conducting the doctoral research they are applying for, the strength and relevance of their background for conducting the research, brief review of existing work on the topic, the relevance of their proposed research to the field of Design, the expected outcomes, and a plan to achieve them.

The proposal must be limited to two to three thousand words (20,000 characters including spaces) or less.

The content of the research proposal of the eligible candidates will be examined from the point of view of alignment with NID’s research objectives, analytical content, relevance of the proposal to the broad theme of Design, the overall knowledge-creation potential of the research, and other factors.

Only candidates whose proposals pass this assessment would be shortlisted for Stage 3.
Stage 3: Design Research Test (DRT)
Candidates shortlisted in Stage 2 would be required to take the Design Research Test (DRT). The DRT is framed to test the candidate’s Design aptitude and research abilities, general awareness, basic numeric and Design abilities, among other factors.

Candidates who have work experience of more than 15 years are exempt from taking the DRT.

Candidates who pass the DRT would proceed to the next and final stage of selection, the Interview.
Stage 4: Personal Interview
Candidates shortlisted in Stage 3 would be invited to appear for the Personal Interview, where the candidates would interact online with appointed representatives of the Institute who would assess the candidate for their aptitude for conducting the proposed research.

Among other things, the interview would assess the candidates for the following:
- The merit of the Research Proposal for adding to new knowledge in the field of Design
- Competence of the candidates for conducting the proposed research as assessed by their academic record and work experience and personal accomplishments in relevant areas.
- Match of the candidate’s proposed research area with the published interest areas of at least one faculty member of the Institute and with the Institute’s overall goals and priorities.
- Exposition of proposed research to panel, demonstrating articulation and conviction.

Eligibility Criteria

Educational Qualifications
Only the following educational qualifications are eligible for admission to the PhD program:

Master’s degree in Design from an accredited institution or recognised University or Post Graduate Diploma Programme in Design from the National Institute of Design or Advanced Entry Programme or five and a half year School Leavers’ Professional Education Programme Diploma in Design from the National Institute of Design;
OR
Master’s degree in Architecture or Fine Arts or Applied Arts from a recognised institution or University with 55 per cent. marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade 'B' in the UGC 7 point scale or an equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed or an equivalent foreign degree from a foreign educational institution accredited by an assessment and accreditation agency which is approved, recognised or authorised by an authority established or incorporated under a law in its home country or any statutory authority in that country for the purpose of assessing accrediting or assuring quality and standards of educational institutions and having a graduate or post graduate degree, in Design;
OR
Bachelor’s degree in Design from National Institute of Design or National Institute of Design’s Graduate Diploma Programme in Design with three years’ of professional or teaching experience or both;
OR
Four and a half year School Leavers’ Professional Education Programme Diploma in Design with three years of professional or teaching experience or both;
OR
Master’ s degree in Philosophy (in Design) with 55 per cent. marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade 'B' in the UGC 7 point scale or an equivalent grade in a point scale wherever grading system is followed or an equivalent foreign degree from a foreign educational institution accredited by an assessment and accreditation agency which is approved, recognised or authorised by an authority established or incorporated under a law in its home country or any statutory authority in that country for the purpose of assessing accrediting or assuring quality and standards of educational institutions;
OR
Individuals who have successfully completed a Faculty Development Programme in Design having two years or more duration from the National Institute of Design or any other recognised University;
OR
Indian nationals with degree from a foreign University subject to equivalence of their educational qualifications with the Master’s degree in Design from an accredited institution or recognised University or Post Graduate Diploma Programme in Design from the National Institute of Design of Advanced Entry Programme or five-year School Leavers’ Professional Education Programme Diploma in Design from the National Institute of Design.

These may be followed by other academic qualifications but one of the above seven is mandatory for eligibility. Candidates are requested to make sure that their qualifications match this requirement.

How to Apply?

Visit the NID website at http://admissions.nid.edu and follow the steps given below:
Step 0:
Read and familiarise yourself with the eligibility criteria and other relevant information related to the PhD programme (among the above) you are proceeding to apply for. All this information can be found in this handbook and from the website of the institute.

Step 1: Sign up/Registration

All candidates are required to download this handbook and fill up the online application form available at http://admissions.nid.edu .
Please fill up the online application form giving correct information. Provide a valid email address and an active mobile number while filling up the form, since these contacts will be used for all future communication with the applicant. Ensure that this email id and mobile number is active till 31 December 2026. Candidates will be solely responsible in case a wrong email address and/or mobile number has been provided.
After registration, login credentials will be sent via an email to the registered email address (do remember to check your spam or junk folders in case you do not find the email in your inbox). In case a wrong email address and/or mobile number has been provided during sign up, you are required to register afresh with the correct details.
Do not delete emails sent to you as this will be needed for future reference.
Log in to your account using login credentials to proceed further.

Step 2: Fill the Online Application Form

Log in.
Fill in all the required details.
After filling all details, click ‘Save & Proceed’ to go to the next section to ‘Upload Documents’.
Click ‘Save & Exit’ to complete the form at a later time.

Step 3: Uploading Documents & Signature

Upload a scanned recent passport-size photograph as per instructions. All photographs must be in colour, taken at a professional studio, must be in JPG/JPEG format, and not exceeding 100 KB in size.
Upload your scanned signature as per the instructions. All signature files must be in JPG/JPEG format and not exceeding 100 KB in size. You should have your signature digitally photographed or scanned and cropped to the required size.
Indian citizens applying under the EWS category are required to upload their valid EWS Certificate issued by a competent authority, in the prescribed format as available on the website http://admissions.nid.edu . The date of issue of EWS certificate must be on or after 01 April, 2026, based on the gross annual income of the financial year 2025-26. The certificate must be in the name of the candidate and also must have the candidate’s photo on the certificate. The certificate must be in PDF format and should be of maximum of 2MB in size. For certificates that are not in the English/Hindi language, the candidate is required to produce / upload a notarized copy of the certificate in English language along with the original copy of the category certificate.
Indian citizens applying under the OBC-NCL category are required to upload their valid OBC-NCL Certificate issued by a Competent Authority. The format of the OBCNCL certificate should be as per the Central format (available on the website http://admissions.nid.edu in Download section). The OBC-NCL certificate must be issued on or after 01 April 2026 (based on the gross annual income of the financial year 2025-26) and in the name of the candidate. The certificate must be in PDF format and should be of maximum 2 MB in size. For certificates that are not in the English/Hindi language, the candidate is required to produce / upload a notarized copy of the certificate in English language along with the original copy of the category certificate.
Indian citizens applying under the SC and ST categories are required to upload their valid Caste Certificate issued in their name by a Competent Authority. For certificates that are not in the English/Hindi language, the candidate is required to produce / upload a notarized copy of the certificate in English language along with the original copy of the category certificate. The certificate must be in PDF format and should be of maximum 2 MB in size.
Indian citizens applying under the Persons with Disability (PwD) category are required to upload their valid Disability Certificate issued by a Competent Medical Authority as per the guidelines of the Government of India (format of which is available on the website http://admissions.nid.edu ) along with the Unique Disability Identity Card. The certificate must be in PDF format and should be of maximum 2 MB in size.
Upload Research Proposal attachments in ONE SINGLE PDF FILE not exceeding 5 MB in size.
Upload certificates of graduation (Bachelors), post-graduation (Masters), any additional qualifications, work experience certificates (as per the information provided during filling up the application form) in ONE SINGLE PDF FILE not exceeding 10 MB in size.

List of documents to be uploaded by Indian citizens of various categories at the time of applying online are as under:

Category	Signature	Photo	Documents
General	Yes	Yes	--
EWS	Yes	Yes	EWS Certificate
OBC-NCL	Yes	Yes	OBC-NCL Certificate
SC	Yes	Yes	Caste Certificate
ST	Yes	Yes	Tribe Certificate

Persons applying under PwD category need to furnish a Disability Certificate and Unique Disability ID issued by the Department of Empowerment of Person with Disability in addition to documents in their caste category above.

Once you are done with uploading all the necessary documents, click ‘Save and Exit’ to complete the form at a later time or date.
Click ‘Save & Proceed’ to go to the next section to pay Application Fees. Your Application Form will be accepted only after successful payment of the application fees.

Step 4: Payment of Application Fee

Category-wise Application Fees for Academic Year 2027 are as under:

Category	Fees
General	Rs. 5,000/-
EWS	Rs. 5,000/-
OBC-NCL	Rs. 5,000/-
SC	Rs. 2,500/-
ST	Rs. 2,500/-

The fees indicated above do not change even if the person is applying under PwD category.

Application fee is NEITHER refundable NOR transferable.
The Application fees paid online (by Debit/Credit Card) DOES NOT INCLUDE any bank/transaction charges, and the same, as applicable, will be borne by the applicant.
You will be asked to verify your details, after which you can proceed to make the payment.
You will be directed to the payment gateway. After completing the payment process, you will be redirected to the ‘Print’ section where you can save your form as a PDF file and print it. You are NOT required to send the print-out of your application form.
Applicants are fully and solely responsible to provide correct information during the application process. At any stage, if it is found that the information provided by the candidate is not correct, NID has the right to cancel his/her candidature. Any direct or indirect attempt to influence the management and employees of the Institute will lead to automatic disqualification of the candidate.
Window to Edit Application Form: (Friday, 02nd October, 2026 00:00 hrs (IST) to Sunday, 04th October, 2026, 23:59 hrs (IST))
- If the applicant has inadvertently submitted their application form with wrong information that they wish to correct, this is the time-window in which they may do so. Any information in the application form may be modified except the following:
Programme Applying
For Name of the
Candidate Date of Birth
Registered Mobile Number
Registered Email ID

- In case the candidate changes his/her category of Reservation during this “Window to Edit” period, the applicable additional application form fees will have to be paid by the candidate. However, no refund of excess fees will be made in the case of any category change.

- Candidates must proceed to the final step of the application process to ensure that any changes made are saved. If the application form is closed before completing all the steps, any changes made in the application form during the edit window will not be saved or considered.

- Application fees already paid will not be refunded in case the application is found not eligible for admissions to NID after modifying the information in the application form.

- Candidates are fully and solely responsible to provide correct information during the application process. At any stage, if it is found that the information provided by the candidate is not correct, NID has the right to cancel his/her candidature. Any direct or indirect attempt to influence the management and employees of the Institute will lead to automatic disqualification of the candidate.

National Institute of Design [NID]: Ahmedabad

National Institute of Design

Ahmedabad, Gujarat

Admissions to Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Design, 2027