MIT Institute of Design Design Aptitude Test(MITID DAT)

About the exam

About MITID DAT

MITID DAT is the admission route into MIT Institute of Design in Pune, and for the 2026-27 intake the one name covered different first rounds for undergraduate and postgraduate applicants. Bachelor of Design applicants sat a written Design Aptitude Test at centres across India, while Master of Design applicants were shortlisted on a portfolio and a statement of purpose. Both groups were then called to the Pune campus for a studio test and a personal interview. Every date the institute published for that cycle has now passed.

MITID DAT is conducted by MIT Institute of Design (MITID), part of MIT ADT University in Pune, and registration runs through the DAT portal at dat.net.in, which the institute's admission pages link as the registration form. On the undergraduate side, the MITID Admission Process 2026-27 page describes the DAT as "a design entrance test for admissions in Bachelor of Design (B.Des) and Bachelor of Design (B.Des Fashion Design) programmes" and adds: "Based on scores obtained from MITID DAT, shortlisted candidates will be called for second phase."

The postgraduate route starts somewhere else. Phase 1 on the MITID Admission Process for M.Des All page is a portfolio and a statement of purpose (SOP), "and the same will be reviewed by the examination committee", after which shortlisted candidates move to the second phase; no written paper appears in that sequence. The DAT portal's MITID DAT 2026 admission procedure draws the same line in its headings, labelling the Design Aptitude Test "Only for B.Des / B.Des Fashion" and giving M.Des a separate Stage 1 for the portfolio and SOP.

Neither route has a published weighting between its phases. Both admission pages say "The Admission Committee decides the procedures, grades and weightage every year", and describe the committee's norms as its "sole prerogative". The M.Des page also sets eligibility and intake for the MBA in Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the PG Diploma in Automotive Clay and Digital Sculpting, without describing separate selection stages for either.

At a glance

MITID DAT highlights

Calendar

Important dates

The schedules on MIT Institute of Design's important-dates pages are for academic year 2026-27, and they give the undergraduate route and M.Des different timetables.

Both pages mark the schedule as tentative and liable to change. The institute's own documents also disagree with each other. The MITID Admission Process 2026-27 page gives 28 February 2026 as the last date for the application form, while the schedule above and the MITID DAT portal important dates give 15 March 2026. For M.Des, the MITID Admission Schedule for Academic Year 2026-27 lists the studio test and interview from 24 April to 30 April 2026 with a final list on 20 May 2026, and the MITID DAT portal important dates repeat the April window. The July dates are the ones the M.Des admission page's own Important Dates button leads to, and the MITID Admission Process for M.Des All page itself says the studio test and interview round will be held on 6 and 7 July, tentatively. The MIT Institute of Design home page links that admission page under the line "MITID Admissions Open 2026-27 for M.Des All (Cycle 3)".

The dated B.Des sample papers point to April sittings in earlier years too: the MITID DAT B.Des Sample Paper 2022 is headed 16 April 2022, the MITID DAT B.Des Sample Paper 2023 2 April 2023 and the MITID DAT B.Des Sample Paper Part A 2024 7 April 2024.

As of September 2026, the institute's schedule pages and the portal's important dates page carried no dates for the next intake. The MITID DAT enquiry page carries a "MITID DAT 2027" banner beside an Apply Now button, but it publishes no 2027 dates, and its admission process tab still describes the test as MITID DAT 2026.

Who can apply

Eligibility criteria

For B.Des and B.Des Fashion, the MITID Admission Process 2026-27 page asks for 10+2 from any stream and any recognised board, passed with 45% marks for general and open category candidates, with a 5% relaxation for backward class categories and for persons with a disability among Maharashtra state candidates only. Its eligibility table names the boards as HSC, CBSE, ICSE and IB and lists the B.Des age limit as "20 Year", without saying how that limit is measured. A candidate still appearing for the Class 12 examination does not have to submit the mark sheet, but admission is confirmed only on clearing it.

M.Des eligibility changes with the specialisation, and a final-year graduation candidate may apply without the final mark sheet, with admission confirmed only on clearing the degree. The MITID Admission Process for M.Des All page sets 50% marks (or an equivalent grade) for general and open category candidates, the same 5% relaxation, and an M.Des age limit of "30 Year", and it names these degrees:

• Animation Design: a bachelor's degree in fine or applied arts, visual communication, animation, media or another communication design discipline.
• Product Design and Transportation Design: a bachelor's degree in engineering, architecture or industrial design.
• User Experience Design: a bachelor's degree in engineering, architecture, industrial design or communication design, in computer science, a BCA, or a BSc in Interior Design.
• Graphic Design, Film and Video Design, Immersive Media Design, Design Management, and Fashion Management and Marketing: a bachelor's degree in any discipline.
• MBA in Innovation and Entrepreneurship: a bachelor's degree in any discipline.
• PG Diploma in Automotive Clay and Digital Sculpting: a bachelor's degree in any discipline with 45% marks, per the MITID Admission Process for M.Des All page.

The eligibility table further down that same page does not match the list word for word. It adds Interior Design to the degrees accepted for Product Design and Transportation Design, reads "BSc CS / IT, BSc in Interior & Animation" for User Experience Design, and adds Information Design and Data Visualization, AI-Enabled Design and Fashion Futures, each at a bachelor's degree in any discipline, while carrying no row for Fashion Management and Marketing.

Reservation follows the prevailing Government of Maharashtra directives. The MITID Admission Process 2026-27 page caps social or vertical reservation at 50% with an additional 10% for EWS, applies category-wise reservation to Maharashtra state candidates only and EWS reservation to all, and considers every candidate from outside Maharashtra under the OMS General Open category. The same page adds a parallel reservation of 5% of the seats for Maharashtra candidates in each course for children of ex-service and serving defence personnel with a Maharashtra domicile or posting, who must have passed the HSC examination from a school or college in the state. The MITID Admission Process for M.Des All page words that quota as 5% of the institute's total sanctioned intake.

Step by step

Application process and fee

Both admission pages take applications online only and set out the same sequence: register on the DAT portal with an email ID and mobile number, activate the account through an automated verification link, pay, fill in the form and upload documents, then accept the declaration and submit. The portal's own MITID DAT registration page words the middle steps differently, verifying the mobile number by OTP, taking payment by net banking, credit card or debit card, and asking for a passport-size photograph.

The MITID Admission Process for M.Des All page lists the same Rs 3000 and Rs 4500, so the route does not change the fee. The fee is non-refundable in any case: incomplete forms and forms that do not satisfy the eligibility criteria are rejected without a refund, and no official communication is sent about a rejected form.

Every applicant uploads Class 10 and Class 12 mark sheets, and M.Des applicants add the graduation mark sheet, according to the documents table on the MITID Admission Process 2026-27 page. Maharashtra state candidates add a domicile certificate; those in the SC, ST, VJNT, OBC and EWS columns add a caste or EWS certificate; and VJNT, OBC and EWS claimants also add a non-creamy-layer certificate. A reserved-category candidate who does not upload the applicable documents before the last date of application is considered under the General Open category.

M.Des applicants carry an extra upload. The MITID Admission Process for M.Des All page asks for a portfolio in PDF, under 5 MB or as a link inside a PDF when the file is larger, and an SOP of about 800 to 1000 words as a separate PDF or Word document under 2 MB, both uploaded on or before 15 April 2026. The portal's MITID DAT 2026 admission procedure gives different terms for the same uploads: on or before 28 February 2026, with a portfolio limit of 10 MB.

Before the exam

Admit card and exam day

The admit card is generated once the application form has been scrutinised, verified and accepted, and it is sent to the registered email ID; candidates can also download it by logging in to their profile on the DAT portal, per the MITID Admission Process 2026-27 page. For the 2026 test, the MITID DAT 2026 admission procedure on the portal said admit cards would be generated by the 4th week of March.

The drawing section is answered on paper inside a computer-based sitting. The MITID admissions guidelines say the drawing question appears in a separate section on screen, candidates are given A4 size drawing sheets, and "These answer sheets will be collected, scanned and uploaded for evaluation at the test centre." That page says "Candidates need to draw using Pens / Pencils / Colours on the sheets provided", but the institute's MITID DAT B.Des Sample Paper Part A 2024 carries the instruction "You can use only pen, colour pencils" in its creative section and asks there for sketches "drawn with a pen (pencil drawings will not be accepted)".

The MITID DAT portal guidelines tell candidates to carry drawing, cutting-pasting and colouring material to the written test: colour pencils, crayons, a stapler, scissors, a glue stick and Fevicol. For the 2026 sitting the portal's admission procedure gave the time slot as "yet to be finalized", and none of the institute's admission pages states a reporting time or a paper duration.

The studio round has its own list. The same MITID DAT portal guidelines ask candidates to reach the campus on the specified date and time with ID proof, the hall ticket and a copy of the DAT result, and to bring poster and acrylic colours, colour pencils, brushes and a palette, Fevicol and Fevikwik or Fevibond, a cutter, adhesive tape, scissors, a geometric set, permanent markers in at least 4 colours, a stapler, and their portfolio and work samples.

Structure

Exam pattern

The written DAT is "a combination of online & pen-paper questions taken at assigned centres across India", according to the MITID admissions guidelines, which list its formats as:

• An objective computer-based test, with questions appearing on screen in random order and the options shuffled for each candidate.
• A descriptive computer-based test, answered by typing into a text box.
• An offline drawing test, drawn on the sheets provided and scanned at the centre.

The institute's sample papers show how those formats have been grouped into sections, and the section names have shifted. The MITID DAT B.Des Sample Paper 2023 runs Objective Questions, then Comprehension and Design Awareness, then Subjective or Design Questions. The MITID DAT B.Des Sample Paper Part A 2024 labels them General Awareness and Aptitude, Comprehension and Design Awareness, and Design and Creative Ability. The MITID DAT B.Des Sample Paper Part B 2024 keeps the first name, calls the second section Design and Analytical Thinking and the third Creative Ability, and repeats Part A's design tasks word for word in that third section.

No marking scheme, question count or time limit appears on the admissions guidelines, either admission process page, either schedule or the 2022, 2023 and 2024 sample papers. The guidelines say only: "The weightage of each parameter is subject to change as per the discretion of the paper setting committee."

M.Des applicants sit no written paper on the published 2026-27 route. At the studio test and interview, the MITID Admission Process for M.Des All page says, "Candidates are required to demonstrate their skills, creativity, and suitability for the program through their portfolio, showcasing both academic and professional work as applicable."

What to study

Syllabus

The MITID admissions guidelines list the parameters the written test is built on: design inclination questions based on visual clues and general awareness, analytical questions based on scientific understanding (tagged PCM), logical thinking skills, verbal and non-verbal communication skills, and personality trends, described as a test of individual standpoint.

The sample papers show what those labels cover. The general awareness and aptitude section of the MITID DAT B.Des Sample Paper Part A 2024 asks for the ratio of two observers' distances from a flagpole seen at 60 and 30 degrees, the volume of a cylindrical tank, the nature of a concave mirror's image, and which blood groups an A-group patient can receive, alongside Madhubani art's other name, the colours in YouTube's identity, the city of the Patang museum and a reported-speech item. Its comprehension section follows a passage on the collapse of India's vulture population and the veterinary drug diclofenac, then asks candidates to match a painting to a description and find the eye level in an aerial view of a landscape.

The creative section of that paper asks candidates to design a portable, plug-and-play solar generator for young renters, to draw a toddler's tooth-brushing guide in six frames, to transform the 5 pictured everyday objects on the answer sheet into kitchenware, and to turn a passage from Ruskin Bond's "The Blue Umbrella" into a single image. The MITID DAT B.Des Sample Paper Part B 2024 swaps in its own objective items, among them the typeface style of the IndiGo logo, a cube-folding figure, a walking-speed problem, a convex lens question, and a question on why NOTTO proposes airlifting cadaver organs.

How to prepare

Preparation and books

For the written test, the preparation material MIT Institute of Design publishes is its sample papers. The MITID Admission Process 2026-27 page offers downloads labelled B.Des Sample Paper 2019, 2022 and 2023 and B.Des Sample Paper Part A and Part B for 2024. A separate MITID DAT Sample Paper page carries papers for B.Des, M.Des, Fashion Design and Fashion Communication, Fashion Management and Marketing, and Design Management. The B.Des and M.Des files there are headed MITID-DAT 2019, so the M.Des paper dates from 2019 and not from the 2026-27 M.Des route, which has no written test. Neither page offers a syllabus document or a mock test.

The institute does publish what it looks for. The MITID admissions guidelines say candidates with certain abilities will be given preference, among them analysing and mapping a situation, synthesising a response to it, the ability to "learn" as opposed to bookish knowledge, handling unfamiliar materials and media, empathy, curiosity, awareness of the world, verbal and non-verbal communication, teamwork, tenacity, and an attitude towards neatness and precision.

For M.Des, the preparation is the portfolio and the SOP. The MITID Statement of Purpose guidelines for the M.Des programme, linked from the M.Des admission page, suggest opening with a personal experience, then covering academic and professional background with specific projects, the reasons for choosing the programme and the institute, and short and long-term goals, and they give "800-1000 words, 12-point font" as an example of the formatting guidelines to follow. The same document says: "Ensure your SOP is authentic, Not AI generated, concise, and polished, adhering to all specified guidelines."

Where it is held

Exam centres

For the 2026-27 cycle the written test was scheduled in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Nagpur and Pune, per the centre list on the MITID Admission Process 2026-27 page, which the MITID DAT portal test centres list repeats. Some cities carry more than one venue, labelled Delhi Center 1 and 2, Mumbai Center 1 to 3, and Pune Center 1 and 2.

The Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chandigarh (at a Mohali address), Hyderabad, Indore, Nagpur and Kochi (at Aluva) venues, and Pune Center 1, are iON Digital Zone sites. The other venues include TCS Gito Bitan in Salt Lake, Kolkata, Thakur institutions in Kandivali East, Mumbai, and Matrix School of Management Studies in Pune. A note under the list lets the institute change or cancel any of these test centres.

The second phase is held in one place. The studio test and personal interview take place at the MIT Institute of Design campus in Pune, and the MITID M.Des Important Dates 2026-27 page names the Rajbaug campus at Loni Kalbhor as its test centre.

After the exam

Answer key

MITID's 2026-27 undergraduate timetable runs from the Design Aptitude Test on 12 April 2026 to the DAT result on 28 April 2026 with nothing listed in between, per the MITID Admission Schedule for Academic Year 2026-27, and the admission process pages, the admissions guidelines and the portal's admission procedure never mention a key being released or challenged. The design section of the MITID DAT B.Des Sample Paper 2023 opens with a note to students that reads "These questions are open-ended. There is no single correct answer." and tells them to focus on originality, clarity of thought and effective visual communication.

Scores

Result and scorecard

The DAT result for the 2026-27 undergraduate cycle was scheduled for 28 April 2026 after 5 pm, per the MITID Admission Schedule for Academic Year 2026-27. What that result produces is a shortlist: the result of candidates shortlisted for the second phase is announced on the MITID website, and the MITID Admission Process 2026-27 page adds that "No separate call letters will be sent to the shortlisted candidates."

Final lists followed the studio round. The MITID Admission Schedule for Academic Year 2026-27 set 20 May 2026 for the B.Des and B.Des Fashion list, and the MITID M.Des Important Dates 2026-27 set 10 July 2026, tentatively, for M.Des. The M.Des outcome sits on a roll-number lookup page headed "M.DES (ALL) FINAL RESULT (ADMISSIONS 2026-27)", which the MIT Institute of Design home page links from its What's New panel. On these pages, neither stage comes with a scorecard or a published rank.

Scores you need

Cutoff

The line the DAT draws is the Phase 2 shortlist, and no admission page or schedule says where that line fell. The MITID Admission Process 2026-27 page says that shortlisting for Phase 2 is based on DAT scores and that the Admission Committee sets grades and weightage each year, and it rests admission on the MITID method of selection, "which extends beyond the students previous academic qualifications" and looks for evidence of perception, attitude, aptitude, achievement and motivation. The M.Des shortlist comes from the examination committee's review of the portfolio and SOP, and the MITID Admission Process for M.Des All page names no threshold for it.

Getting a seat

Counselling and seat allotment

Both routes end on the Pune campus rather than at an allotment table: attending the studio test and interview, in the words of both admission pages, "completes the process of selection", and the institute then publishes its own final lists. The MITID Admission Process 2026-27 page makes the decision of the Admission Committee and the Management final in any matter concerning admission and selection.

The seats being filled are listed on the admission pages. The MITID Admission Process 2026-27 page shows 360 seats for B.Des and 60 for B.Des Fashion. The MITID Admission Process for M.Des All page shows 160 seats for M.Des, 30 for the MBA in Innovation and Entrepreneurship and 5 for the PG Diploma in Automotive Clay and Digital Sculpting, and says vacant seats in one discipline are transferred to disciplines with longer waiting lists. That page also puts the intake for NRI, PIO, OCI and international students at a maximum of 10% over and above the regular intake. The intake tab on the MITID DAT enquiry page gives different figures, 300 seats for B.Des, 60 for B.Des Fashion and 180 for M.Des, and does not say which cycle they belong to.

Where it is accepted

Participating institutes

MIT Institute of Design's own admission pages tie the DAT to programmes at MITID in Pune, and name no other institute that uses it. The MITID DAT portal home page describes the test more loosely, as shortlisting B.Des and M.Des candidates "at flagship institutes under the umbrella of MIT ADT University Pune", without naming any. The MITID DAT portal guidelines still refer to courses "on offer at all the four universities", again without naming them.

Get help

Contact

The admission cell at MIT Institute of Design takes queries at admissions.mitid@mituniversity.edu.in and on +91 9209 800 600, with +91 20 67652300 listed as a second phone number. The address is MIT Institute of Design, Rajbaug, Loni Kalbhor, next to Hadapsar, Pune Solapur Highway, Pune 412201, and office hours are 08:30 am to 4.30 pm except holidays, per the MITID Admission Process 2026-27 page. The DAT portal's MITID DAT contact page gives the same email address and 92098 00600.

Source

Official links

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Disclaimer

Disclaimer

Exact deadlines, exam/result dates, answer keys, cutoffs, seat counts, fees, and minimum-marks/age thresholds change every cycle. Anything per-cycle here is stated for the cycle it names and is taken from the conducting body's own notification; confirm it on the official website before acting on it. Expertie does not conduct any exam, process applications or charge fees.

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