Bangalore: BITS Design School (BITSDES), a constituent of BITS Pilani, will close the application window for 2026 admissions for its third cohort of the four-year, fully residential Bachelor of Design (Honours) programme on 1st February 2026.
A total of 180 students will be admitted to the batch. Applicants can qualify through any of the following exams: NID Design Aptitude Test (DAT) Prelims, UCEED, or the BITS Design Aptitude Test (BITSDAT). Those wishing to apply with NID-DAT or UCEED scores are also required to complete and submit their applications by 1 February 2026 with their NID-DAT / UCEED registration number or application numbers. The BITSDAT, a one hour long online test will be conducted from 31 March to 5 April 2026.
Only students who have submitted their applications by 1 February 2026 will be able to upload their scores when the application portal is opened between 8 April and 12 April 2026.
Shortlisted candidates will be announced on 16 April 2026, followed by portfolio uploads from 16 April to 20 April 2026, and online interviews between 4 May and 13 May 2026. Final results will be declared on 18 May 2026.
The previous cohorts represent a wide spectrum of academic backgrounds, including students from Science, Arts, Commerce streams from CBSE, ISC, State Boards, IB, and IGCSE.
Students can specialize in Physical Product Design, Digital Product Design (UI/UX), Design Research & Insights, Experience Design and Visual Design. The programme offers transdisciplinary education blending design, policy, business strategy, and emerging technologies to prepare students for evolving industry and policy needs.
BITS Design School students will have the opportunity to participate in the BITS Pilani Practice School programme from the third year onwards. The Practice School is a structured learning programme by BITS Pilani that places students in real industry environments to work on live projects under joint academic and industry mentorship, including organisations such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon, NVIDIA and ISRO, among others. Third-year BITSDES students will undertake an eight week industry engagement, followed by a twenty two week immersion in their final year, making it a core part of the curriculum that connects classroom learning with hands-on professional experience before graduation.
In keeping with the institute’s vision to bring international perspectives, academic rigour, and real-world exposure to its students, BITS Design School has established collaborations with leading global institutions, including Stanford Design School, RMIT University, Arizona State University and the Cumulus Association of Design Universities. These partnerships encompass curriculum development, student and faculty exchange, joint research, and collaborative projects.
