NIFT Participating Institutes and Seat Matrix 2026 – There are 19 NIFTs that are expected to participate in the NIFT 2026 admission process.
NIFT participating institutes have a combined intake of 4,837 seats. This includes 4392 All-India seats and 445 state domicile seats. The B.Des has a maximum intake of 3281 seats, while the B.F.Tech program has 591 seats. The PG courses (M.Des, M.F.Tech, MFM) have a combined intake of 1,028 seats.
The participating colleges offer B.Des, M.Des, B.F.Tech, M.F.Tech, and M.F.M courses. You can select your program of STUDY when filling out the NIFT 2026 application form. Admission to the above courses will be based on NIFT 2026 merit ranks.
NIFT 2026 exam will likely be conducted in the 2nd week of February 2026.
Useful Resource – Download – Official NIFT 2025 Seat Matrix (PDF)
Latest Updates:
Table of Contents
NIFT Participating Institutes 2026 – List of Participating Colleges
The list of participating colleges for NIFT 2026 is given below.
- NIFT Bengaluru
- NIFT Bhopal
- NIFT Chennai
- NIFT Daman
- NIFT Gandhinagar
- NIFT Hyderabad
- NIFT Kannur
- NIFT Kolkata
- NIFT Mumbai
- NIFT New Delhi
- NIFT Raebareli
- NIFT Patna
- NIFT Panchkula
- NIFT Shillong
- NIFT Kangra
- NIFT Jodhpur
- NIFT Bhubaneswar
- NIFT Srinagar
- NIFT Varanasi
NIFT Varanasi was a new addition to the list of participating institute for NIFT 2025.
NIFT Ranking 2026 – India Today Ranking of Top Fashion Design NIFTs
The India Today Ranking of top fashion design NIFTs in India for the year 2025 are given below.
| Institute | 2024 Rank | 2025 Rank |
| NIFT New Delhi | 1 | 1 |
| NIFT Bengaluru | 3 | 2 |
| NIFT Mumbai | 2 | 3 |
| NIFT Hyderabad | 4 | 4 |
| NIFT Chennai | 5 | 5 |
| NIFT Patna | 8 | 6 |
| NIFT Gandhinagar | 6 | 6 |
| NIFT Kolkata | 7 | 8 |
| NIFT Jodhpur | 10 | 9 |
| NIFT Kannur | 11 | 11 |
| NIFT Raebareli | 14 | 13 |
| NIFT Shillong | 15 | 14 |
| NIFT Kangra | 17 | 16 |
| NIFT-TEA Tiruppur | 22 | 21 |
Top Fashion Design Colleges in India 2025 – India Today Rankings
| Name of the Institute | India Today Ranking 2025 | India Today Ranking 2024 | India Today 2023 Ranking | India Today 2022 Ranking | India Today 2021 Ranking |
| NIFT Delhi | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| NIFT Bangalore | 2 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
| NIFT Mumbai | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| NIFT Hyderabad | 4 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 7 |
| NIFT Chennai | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 |
| NIFT Gandhinagar | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 6 |
| NIFT Patna | 6 | 8 | 7 | 6 | 5 |
| NIFT Kolkata | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 |
| NIFT Jodhpur | 9 | 10 | 10 | – | – |
| Pearl Academy New Delhi | 10 | 9 | 9 | 9 | 9 |
| NIFT Kannur | 11 | 11 | 13 | 13 | – |
| Symbiosis Institute of Design (SID), Pune | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 10 |
| NIFT Raebareli | 13 | 14 | 14 | 11 | 11 |
| NIFT Shillong | 14 | 15 | 16 | 14 | 12 |
| Army Institute of Fashion and Design | 15 | 16 | 15 | 12 | 13 |
| NIFT Kangra | 16 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 |
| Pearl Academy Jaipur | 17 | 18 | 18 | 16 | 14 |
| Amity Institute of Fashion Technology, Noida | 18 | 20 | 19 | 19 | 15 |
| Pearl Academy Mumbai | 19 | – | 23 | 24 | 24 |
| Amity School of Fashion Technology, Lucknow | 20 | – | 24 | 25 | 28 |
| NIFT TEA | 21 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 18 |
| School of Fashion, World University of Design | 22 | 25 | – | – | – |
| Amity School of Fashion Technology, Kolkata | 23 | – | – | – | – |
| IMS Design and Innovation Academy | 24 | – | 27 | 28 | 25 |
| NIFT Bhubaneswar | – | 13 | 12 | 15 | – |
| JD Institute of Fashion Technology | – | 19 | 20 | 18 | 17 |
| Vogue Institute of Art and Design | – | 26 | 22 | 23 | |
| MKSSSs School of Fashion Technology Pune | 28 | – | 23 | 19 | |
| Fashion and Apparel Design, T.John College | – | – | 28 | 26 | 22 |
| PSG College of Arts and Science | – | – | 29 | 27 | 27 |
| Whistling Woods International, Mumbai | – | – | – | 29 | 26 |
| Department of Fashion Technology, Sona College of Technology, Salem | – | – | 30 | 30 | – |
| BBK DAV College for Women, Amritsar | – | – | 33 | 31 | – |
| J.D.Birla Institute, Kolkata | – | – | 31 | 32 | – |
| Nehru Arts and Science College, Comibatore | – | – | 32 | 33 | – |
| Rathinam College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore | – | – | 34 | 34 | – |
| The Oxford College of Science, Bengaluru | – | – | 41 | 35 | – |
| Kanya Maha Vidyalaya, Jalandhar | – | – | 40 | 36 | – |
| Hindusthan College of Arts & Science, Coimbatore | – | – | 37 | 37 | – |
| Dr.N.G.P Arts and Science College, Coimbatore | – | – | – | 38 | – |
| Sri Krishna Arts and Science College, Coimbatore | – | – | 43 | 39 | – |
| Bishop Appasamy College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore | – | – | 39 | 40 | – |
| Bon Secours College of Women, Thanjavur | – | – | 46 | 41 | – |
| Department of Fashion and Textiles IIS, Jaipur | – | – | – | 42 | – |
| Hans Raj Mahila Maha Vidyalaya, Jalandhar | – | 44 | 43 | – | |
| Dr. SNS Rajalakshmi College of Arts and Science, Coimbatore | – | 45 | 44 | – | |
| Department of Costume Design & Fashion Kongu Arts and Science College, Erode | – | 47 | 45 | – | |
| IIFT College of Fashion, Bengaluru | – | 48 | 46 | – | |
| Department of Fashion Designing Sardar Patel Mahavidyalaya Chandrapur, Chandrapur | – | 49 | 47 | – | |
| School of Design JECRC University, Jaipur | – | 42 | 48 | – | |
| K.S.R. College of Arts and Science for Women, Namakkal | – | 51 | 49 | – | |
| Apeejay College of Fine Arts, Jalandhar | – | – | – | 20 | |
| Manipal School of Architecture and Planning | – | – | – | 21 | |
| Axis Institute of Fashion Technology | – | – | – | – | 29 |
| North India Institute of Fashion Technology | – | – | – | – | 30 |
NIFT Participating Institutes 2026 – Courses Offered
The NIFTs offer the following design courses:
- Bachelor of Design (B.Des)
- Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B.F.Tech)
- Master of Design (M.Des)
- Master of Fashion Management (M.F.M)
- Master of Fashion Technology (M.F.Tech)
NIFT Participating Institutes 2026 – B.Des and B.F.Tech Specializations
| Academic Program | Specialization |
| Bachelor of Design (B.Des) | Accessory Design (AD) Fashion Communication (FC) Fashion Design (FD) Fashion Interior (FI) Knitwear Design (KD) Leather Design (LD) Textile Design (TD) |
| Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B.F.Tech) | Apparel Production (AP) |
NIFT Seat Matrix 2026
Admission to various design courses at the NIFTs will be conducted through TWO routes:
- Regular
- NIFT Lateral Entry Admission (NLEA), which offers direct admission to the 3rd semester of UG program
The NIFT 2026 seat matrix for both regular and NLEA schemes are given below.
NIFT Seat Matrix 2026 – Regular Admission
| Sl.no. | Programme | Total | Grand Total | |
| All-India Seats | State Domicile | |||
| Bachelor Programmes – Bachelor of Design (B.Des) | ||||
| 1 | Accessory Design (AD) | 542 | 54 | 596 |
| 2 | Fashion Communication (FC) | 644 | 75 | 719 |
| 3 | Fashion Design (FD) | 644 | 75 | 719 |
| 4 | Fashion Interior (FI) | 34 | 7 | 41 |
| 5 | Knitwear Design (KD) | 296 | 14 | 310 |
| 6 | Leather Design (LD) | 152 | 0 | 152 |
| 7 | Textile Design (TD) | 606 | 75 | 681 |
| Bachelor Programme – Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B.F.Tech) | ||||
| 8 | Apparel Production (AP) | 542 | 49 | 591 |
| Master Programmes | ||||
| 9 | Master of Design (M.Des) | 245 | 21 | 275 |
| 10 | Master of Fashion Management (M.F.M) | 644 | 75 | 719 |
| 11 | Master of Fashion Technology (M.F.Tech) | 34 | 0 | 34 |
| Total | 4392 | 445 | 4837 | |
NIFT Seat Matrix 2026 – NIFT Lateral Entry Admission (NLEA)
| PROGRAMMES | TENTATIVE SEATS | G. TOTAL | ||||
| Open/OBC/EWS | SC | ST | NRI | |||
| Bachelor Programmes – Bachelor of Design (B.Des) | ||||||
| 1 | Accessory Design (AD) | 18 | 23 | 41 | 30 | 112 |
| 2 | Fashion Communication (FC) | 5 | 19 | 41 | 18 | 83 |
| 3 | Fashion Design (FD) | 11 | 20 | 26 | 16 | 73 |
| 4 | Fashion Interiors (FI) | 4 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 15 |
| 5 | Knitwear Design (KD) | 3 | 5 | 14 | 9 | 31 |
| 6 | Leather Design (LD) | 6 | 10 | 9 | 15 | 40 |
| 7 | Textile Design (TD) | 24 | 30 | 40 | 31 | 125 |
| Bachelor Programme – Bachelor of Fashion Technology (B.F.Tech.) | ||||||
| 8 | Apparel Production (AP) | 69 | 55 | 47 | 58 | 229 |
| Total | 140 | 166 | 222 | 180 | 708 | |
NIFT Participating Institute 2026 – Admission Process
Admission to NIFT 2026 participating colleges will be through the NIFTEE entrance exam conducted by the NTA.
The exam is conducted in TWO stages:
- Stage 1 – It comprises CAT and GAT written exams.
- Stage 2 – Situation Test or Studio Test (UG courses)/ Personal Interview (PG courses)
The scores of the NIFTEE 2026 (Stage 1) written exams will be used to shortlist candidates for the Stage 2.
The final merit list will be prepared by giving weightage to Stage 1 and Stage 2 of the NIFTEE 2026.
Candidates who meet NIFT cut-off will get admission to their chosen courses.
What is NLEA admission?
NIFT Lateral Entry Admission (NLEA) allows candidates with Diploma in relevant / related fields of Design & Technology direct admission to the 3rd semester of UG programmes of NIFT.
The candidates who have Diploma/Degree must appear for NIFT 2026 exam to get lateral admission in the 3rd semester of UG programmes of NIFT.
NLEA Admission Process
Admission will be strictly on merit of:
- NIFT Entrance Exam 2026
- Studio test/ technical aptitude test
- Personal interview.
The candidates selected through lateral entry will join the regular UG students of NIFT in their second year.
NIFT Reservation Criteria 2026
The category-wise reservation of seats for NIFT 2026 is given in the table below.
| Category | Reservation |
| SC | 15% |
| ST | 7.5% |
| OBC-NCL | 27% |
| GEN-EWS | 10% |
| PwD | 5% |
Download official NIFT Reservation PDF
Also Read:
- JEE Mains 2026 – Application START Date, Pattern Syllabus, Prep
- JEE Main Eligibility Criteria 2026 – Age Limit, Number of Attempts, Qualification
- How to prepare for CAT
NIFT Counseling 2026
The seat allotment of participating colleges will be done through the NIFT 2026 counseling process conducted by the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT).
The registration for NIFT counseling 2026 will be conducted around the fourth week of June 2026.
Candidates who qualify in the NIFT 2026 exam can register for the counseling-cum-seat allotment process. The NIFT 2026 results (FINAL) will be declared in June 2026.
NIFT 2025 Seat Allotment Schedule is given below for reference:
- Round 1 – July 5, 2025
- Round 2 – July 18, 2025
- Round 3 – July 28, 2025
- Spot Round – August 8, 2025
Candidates who have been allotted seats need to submit willingness and pay the admission fee within the given deadline. Candidates can also withdraw their seats.