Pursuing a degree from a design college is integral to crafting an individual’s design career. It teaches students about the design principles, the basics of any design course, and the intricacies of any design industry. India has a long list of reputable design colleges, each with a world-class infrastructure, faculty, and curriculum. Let’s explore the best design colleges in India.
What is the importance of a Design course in India?
A design course in any stream offers the basic foundation for that field of design. Be it Product Design, Transportation Design, or Interior and Space Design, a design course is curated in a way that prepares every student for a career path in the said field.
It imparts knowledge about basic design skills, specialization skills, practical operations, the functioning of industry, and most importantly, what is expected out of them in this career path.
Pursuing a design course also allows an individual to secure a degree, which in turn, helps him/her build a strong portfolio. All of it amounts to bagging a good, high-package job. The course, the college, and its faculty members foster creative thinking in a design student.
Besides teaching you all the technical skills, it teaches communication and collaboration skills. Finally, a design course provides a roadmap for a student to follow and build a career. It gives you all the information and knowledge required to succeed as a designer. The rest is up to each individual to make something out of it.
Why Does Choosing the Right Design College Matter?
After passing out from high school, if a student wants to pursue a career in design, he/she must be very careful before choosing a design school. Firstly, one must be very honest and earnest about what design course they want to follow. Once they have finalized the course, irrespective of anyone’s opinion, they should start doing proper research for the right college.
The right college will not only set you on the correct career path but will also open multiple doors of opportunities for you. On the contrary, choosing any college without much thought or delegation might lead to regret.
The right college can be decided upon after carefully considering several factors. Some of them are – fees, infrastructure, faculty, exposure, placement rates, reputation, expertise in the proposed field of study, internships, global exposure, etc.
The right college will provide you with multiple options, as opposed to one. You will have the option to choose either a company of your choice to work in, or higher education, or start your design firm. It will give you clarity and not push you towards a pre-decided career path. Networking opportunities and access to industry resources are just two more additive advantages.
Top 10 Private Design Colleges in India
Although the list may vary according to various sources, here are the top 10 private design colleges in India as per the most frequent entries in most lists:
1. Strate School of Design, Bengaluru
The design courses offered at Strate School of Design are:
- Product Design [Apply]
- Game Design [Apply]
- Transportation Design [Apply]
- Brand Identity and Visual Communication [Apply]
- Interior and Space Design [Apply]
- Interaction Design [Apply]
The fee at Strate is INR 26 LPA for a BDes program of 4 years. The average package at Strate School of Design is INR 10 LPA. Strate School of Design has its own entrance exam, post which it conducts an interview or a portfolio review before admitting its students.
2. Pearl Academy, Mumbai
The design courses offered at Pearl Academy are Communication Design, Interior Design, and Fashion Design. Besides Mumbai, the Pearl Academy’s branches are also located in Delhi, Noida, and Jaipur.
The fee of Pearl Academy varies from one city to another. The BDes in Delhi costs somewhere between INR 16.2 lakhs to 29.94 lakhs, depending upon the program. Whereas, the BDes in Bengaluru costs somewhere between INR 12.2 lakhs and 20.32 lakhs.
The placement package a student gets at Pearl Academy is somewhere between INR 17 LPA to 20.2 LPA. Pearl Academy has its entrance test that consists of two stages – GPT (General Proficiency Test) and DAT (Design Aptitude Test).
3. Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design, and Technology, Bengaluru
Product Design, Visual Communication, Design Media Production, Interior Design and Build, and User Interface and Interaction Design, are some of the courses provided at Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design, and Technology.
The fee for a 4-year BDes course at Srishti Manipal Institute of Art, Design, and Technology, is INR 17.22 lakhs. The average package that the college receives is between INR 3-5 LPA.
They have their entrance exam called the SMEAT – Srishti Manipal Entrance and Aptitude Test (SMEAT).
4. MIT Institute of Design, Maharashtra
Some of the courses provided at MIT Institute of Design are User Experience Design, Product Design, Animation Design, etc. The fee to study BDes at MIT Institute of Design is INR 19 lakhs for 4 years.
The placement package at MIT Institute of Design ranges from INR 8 LPA to INR 27 LPA. For admission to the MIT Institute of Design (MITID), you need to take the MITID Design Aptitude Test (DAT).
5. Unitedworld Institute of Design (UID), Karnavati University
Product Design, Transportation and Mobility Design, Communication Design, Game Design, etc., are just some of the design courses available at Unitedworld Institute of Design. The fee to pursue a BDes degree from this college is INR 40 lakhs for the complete 4-year program.
The average placement package here at Unitedworld School of Design is between INR 8 LPA and 12 LPA. To pursue a BDes course from the Unitedworld School of Design, you need to clear the UID Design Aptitude Test (UID DAT). The exam has two tiers – an online Design Aptitude Test (DAT) and a Situation Test (ST) and Portfolio Evaluation (PE) conducted on the UID campus.
6. Amity University, Noida
They provide courses in Fashion Design and Interior Design. For a BDes program, the fee at Amity University, Noida ranges between INR 6.72 lakhs and INR 11.84 lakhs. It depends on the specialization.
The average placement package for a BDes graduate from Amity University varies between INR 4.5 LPA to INR 5.5 LPA. You can take and clear any of the following entrance exams to pursue BDes at Amity University – NIFT, CUET, UCEED, NID DAT, or FDDI AIST.
7. DY Patil School of Design, Maharashtra
They provide courses in Interior Design, Product Design, and Visual Communication Design, among others. The fee to pursue a BDes course here is INR 12 lakhs for the entire 4-year program.
The placement package at DY Patil School of Design ranges from INR 6 LPA to 12 LPA on average. For admission to the BDes program at DY Patil School of Design, one has to take the DPU All India Design Aptitude Test (DPU AIDAT). It will be followed by a studio test and a personal interview.
8. Arch College of Design and Business, Jaipur
Some of the courses provided at Arch College of Design and Business are Interior Design, Fashion Design, Graphic Design, etc. The fee to pursue a BDes here at Arch College of Design and Business is INR 17.4 lakhs for 4 years.
The placement package at Arch College of Design and Business ranges between INR 4 LPA to 6 LPA. For admission to the design courses at the Arch College of Design & Business, one needs to take the All India Entrance Examination for Design (AIEED). It is an online, national-level exam conducted annually by the college.
9. UPES School of Design, Dehradun
Some of the courses provided at UPES School of Design are Game Design, Mobility and Vehicle Design, Graphics & Communication Design, Product Design, User Experience and Interaction Design, etc. The fee to pursue a BDes at UPES School of Design is INR 11.62 lakhs for 4 years.
The average placement package at UPES School of Design is INR 6.48 LPA. It goes up to INR 12 LPA. UCEED, CUET, and UPES DAT, are some of the entrance exams you’ll need to appear and clear to get admission to UPES School of Design.
10. International School of Design
It offers courses like Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Interior Design, etc. The fee to study BDes at the International School of Design is between INR 5.5 lakhs and 8 lakhs.
The average placement package at the International School of Design is INR 8.76 LPA. At most International School of Design campuses, admission is based on merit. There is no entrance exam for the Pune campus.
Bachelor Design Admission Process & Entrance Exams in India
To get admission to a design school in India and pursue a BDes degree, a student needs to pass Class 12 with 50% or more marks across academics. Then they need to choose a design school of their choice, such as Strate School of Design, and apply accordingly.
For a design college like Strate, they will have to clear an entrance test. If they clear the test, they will have to appear for an interview or portfolio review. Upon clearing all rounds, they can get admission to the college.
Just like Strate, several other design schools have their entrance tests. However, some of the other common entrance exams for a BDes program are UCEED (Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design) and CUET (Common University Entrance Test). NID DAT (NID Design Aptitude Test) is for the National Institute of Design.
Placement Options & Salary Trends in 2025
In 2025, placement options for design courses look strong. There is a high demand for UI/UX designers and product designers in the Indian design market. To meet this high demand, the salary range for BDes graduates may start from INR 3.5 LPA and may even rise to INR 11.5 LPA.
Besides UI/UX designers and Product Designers, Graphic Designers are also expected to be in high demand. This rise in demand is attributed to digital transformation, which created a vacancy for designers who can create intuitive and user-friendly interfaces. Technological advancements, industry demands, and economic conditions will be the main driving factors for salary trends in 2025.
Freelance work and remote work will rise in numbers as the gig economy continues to grow. This provides more opportunities for designers outside of the corporate world. Also, famous designers might want to collaborate with freelancers with a good body of work. As far as industries are concerned, tech and finance will continue to pay designers a higher pay than non-profits, education, healthcare, and other sectors.
How to choose the best Design College in India?
To choose the best design college in India, a student must scour the Internet and read reviews of colleges. He/she must also seek out words of advice from former design graduates since word of mouth travels fast and is a reliable source of information, especially if the sources are trustworthy.
Other ways to choose the best design school will be to check the placement rates of colleges and decide accordingly. They must also research based on their choice of specialization and the rate of placement there. Faculty, infrastructure, ambiance, college atmosphere, reputation, etc., all play a part in formulating a decision to choose the right college.
Reading up on reviews on websites such as Glassdoor, Ambition Box, as well as LinkedIn, will help a student formulate a fact-based and healthy opinion on every college.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is a B Design course?
A BDes or a B Design course is a 4-year integrated bachelor’s program in design that provides students with a degree in design and the required knowledge to excel in the said design course. Some of the design courses are Product Design, Transport Design, Interior Design, etc.
2. What are the private top design colleges in india?
Strate School of Design, MIT, UID, are some of the best private design colleges in India.
3. Which design field is best for the future?
At the moment, UI/UX designers and Product designers are the most in-demand designers in the industry.
4. What are the eligibility for design courses?
To be eligible for a design course, one needs to pass class 12 with a minimum of 50% marks across academics. Moreover, they need to to clear an entrance test specific to that college or common entrance tests like CUET, UCEED.
5. What is the avg. salary after design course?
While it depends on the design specialization along with other factors like colleges, education, location etc., a design graduate usually gets around INR 3 LPA to 8 LPA on average from any private company.
6. Why Strate design college is a good option?
Strate school of design provides a UGC-approved B.Des degree in association with Alliance University (NAAC A+). It is ranked as one of the top 50 design schools in Europe and one of the top 60 design schools in the world.
It provides global exposure through the year-long exchange program and international immersion program. The curriculum includes a mix of theory and practical learning. With the industry at its heart, there are industry projects for real-time learning apart from Masterclasses and workshops by Industry experts.
7. What are the top design courses offered at Strate School of Design?
Product Design, Interaction Design, Transportation Design, Brand Identity and Visual Communication Design, Game Design, and Interior and Space Design are the top design courses offered at Strate School of Design. The Transportation Design course is probably the most sought-after one.
8. What are the trending design courses in India 2025?
Graphic Design, UI/UX Design, Product Design, Fashion Design, Animation Design, etc., are some of the trending design courses in India in 2025.
9. Is a Bachelor in Interior Design course worth it in 2025?
Yes. A BDes in Interior Design is worth it in 2025. Given how the economy has boomed and urbanization has increased, Interior Design has been the need of the hour for many city dwellers. Owing to this booming and growing design field, Interior Designers are only going to be in demand. Their salaries are also rising by the day.
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