Top Fashion Designing Colleges in India 2023: Rank, Fees, Cutoff, Admission, Placements

Have a flair for fashion and love creating new silhouettes and doodling new designs? You might very well have a career in it. Sounds fun, does it not? We are talking about the fashion industry, where there is always a requirement for creative minds — out-of-the-box thinkers. And if you think you have it in you, we will guide you in getting to the right place; we will show you how to choose an undergraduate college in India for fashion and design. 

Here, we have listed the 10 best fashion designing colleges in India, most of which are the National Institute of Fashion Technology or NIFTs. NIFTs are the best fashion schools in India. These elite fashion design schools offer quality education and great career opportunities. 

10 Best Fashion Designing Colleges in India

• National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Delhi

Fees: Certifications can cost around ₹64,900 — ₹1,65,000 for a 14-week to 1-year course. UG and PG course fees are in the range of ₹2.5 lakh to ₹12.78 lakh.

Cutoff: In 2020, the NIFT Delhi cutoff was 55, and for the 2023 session, it is expected to be around 64.

Placement: The highest package offered in 2019 was ₹11 lakh per annum, and the average package stood at ₹5.5 lakh per annum.

Admission: NIFT-Delhi is probably the best fashion designing institute in India. Candidates who want to enrol in the BDes programme in this college have to qualify for a set of examinations, including the CAT or Creative Ability Test, GAT or General Ability Test, and these are followed by a Situation Test. NIFT, Delhi, conducts a GAT for admission into the BFTech or Bachelor of Fashion Technology programme.

• National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Mumbai

Fees: Certifications can cost around ₹41,300 — ₹1,42,000 for a 14-week to 1-year course. UG and PG course fees are in the range of ₹5.58 lakh to ₹11.74 lakh.

Cutoff: In 2022, the NIFT Mumbai cutoff was 160.

Placement: NIFT Mumbai attracts large companies such as the Aditya Birla Group, Nykaa.com, Decathlon, Blackberry’s, Cactus Menswear Fashion, and many others in their placement drive. Students have been offered a package in the range of ₹2.5 lakh per annum to ₹7 lakh per annum.

Admission: For admission into BDes, candidates need to clear SAT (Situation Ability Test), and for the final selection in the BFTech, candidates need to appear in General Ability Test or GAT.

• National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Bangalore

Fees: A 3-months to 1-year certification course in NIFT-Bangalore can cost you in the range of ₹38,940 — ₹1,42,000. UG course fees are in the range of ₹5.63 lakh to ₹11.55 lakh.

Cutoff: For admission into the 2022 batch, the NIFT Bangalore first-round cutoff by rank was 72.

Placement: The highest salary offered to NIFT Bangalore 2021 batch was ₹5 lakh per annum, and the median salary offered was ₹3 lakh per annum.

Admission: For admission into BDes, B.FTEch, and BFA, candidates need to clear the NIFT entrance exam. 

• National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Chennai

Fees: The B.Des course fee in NIFT-Chennai is ₹6,07,000, whereas a 2-year UG or PG diploma course can cost students in the range of ₹2 lakh — ₹4 lakh. 

Cutoff: For admission into the 2022 batch, the NIFT Chennai first-round cutoff by rank was 214.

Placement: NIFT Chennai follows a centralised placement system and on-campus selections. However, the placement record dropped in 2019 as compared to 2018.

Admission: For admission into BDes, B.FTEch, and BFA, candidates need to clear the NIFT entrance exam. 

• National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Patna

Fees: NIFT-Patna offers UG and PG degrees, and the fee for UG courses ranges from ₹5.63 lakh — ₹12.78 lakh for 4 years. 

Cutoff: For admission into the 2022 batch, the NIFT Patna first-round cutoff by rank was 1346.

Placement: Placement details for the last year are not publicly available, but NIFT Patna attracts large fashion houses. Companies like Calvin Klein, GAP India, Future Group, NDTV, and others recruit from NIFT Patna.

Admission: For admission into BDes, B.FTEch, and BFA, candidates must clear the NIFT entrance exams. Besides, aspiring candidates must have successfully completed 12th-grade examinations from a recognised board. 

• National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Gandhinagar

Fees: NIFT-Gandhinagar offers UG and PG degrees, and the fee for UG courses ranges from ₹6.07 lakh — ₹12.78 lakh for 4 years. If you want to pursue a master’s degree from NIFT-Gandhinagar, it can cost you around ₹6.21 lakh.

Cutoff: For admission into the 2022 batch, the NIFT Gandhinagar first-round cutoff by rank was 166.

Placement: Placement details for 2020 are not publicly available, but NIFT Gandhinagar attracts large fashion houses. The average salary offered in the production domain was ₹3 lakh per annum; for the Design domain, it is ₹3.96 lakh per annum.

Admission: For admission into BDes, B.FTEch, and BFA, candidates must clear the NIFT entrance exams (CAT, GAT, SAT). Besides, aspiring candidates must have successfully completed 12th-grade examinations from a recognised board. 

• National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Hyderabad

Fees: NIFT-Hyderabad offers UG degrees, and the fees are ₹6.07 lakh for 4 years. 

Cutoff: For admission into the 2022 batch, the NIFT Hyderabad first-round cutoff by rank was 130.

Placement: NIFT Hyderabad has not yet made the placement data for 2021 public. From the students’ data shared online, it is found that the highest salary offered was ₹6 lakh per annum.

Admission: For admission into BDes, B.FTEch, and BFA, candidates must clear the NIFT entrance exams (CAT, GAT, SAT). Besides, aspiring candidates must have successfully completed 12th-grade examinations from a recognised board. 

• National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT), Kolkata

Fees: NIFT-Kolkata offers UG and PG courses, and the fees for UG courses range from ₹5.45 lakh to ₹11.74 for 4 years (depending upon the course and stream). 

Cutoff: For admission into the 2022 batch, the NIFT Kolkata first-round cutoff by rank was 266.

Placement: As per the record of the 2019 placement drive, 90% of the students in NIFT Kolkata got placed. The average package offered to NIFT Kolkata students was ₹6 lakh per annum.

Admission: NIFT entrance exams (CAT, GAT, SAT) are mandatory for admission into BDes, B.FTEch, and BFA. Besides, candidates must have successfully completed 12th-grade examinations from a recognised board. 

• Symbiosis Institute of Design, Symbiosis International, Pune

Fees: Symbiosis Institute of Design offers UG courses in animation and design, and the course fee is around ₹16.2 lakh. 

Cutoff: Symbiosis Institute of Design conducts its own entrance test for admission, and last year's cut-off mark has not been published.

Placement: Leading designers and companies like Tommy Hilfiger, Accenture India, Deloitte, Ultimate Mango, and many others hire from Symbiosis Institute of Design, Pune.

Admission: Symbiosis Institute of Design conducts its own entrance test for admission, SEED or Symbiosis Entrance Exam for Design. Besides, candidates must have successfully completed 12th-grade examinations from a recognised board. 

• Pearl Academy, Rajouri Garden

Fees: Pearl Academy is among the top fashion designing colleges in India. This private institution offers UG diploma, PG diploma and certification courses in animation, arts, design, beauty and fitness and other streams. The course fees in Pearl Academy can range from ₹7.22 lakh to ₹19.36 lakh (depending on the stream course). 

Cutoff: Pearl Academy conducts its own entrance test - PAF - for admission, and the last year's cut-off mark is not publicly available. 

Placement: Leading companies like H&M, Myntra, Capgemini, Shades of India, Craftsvilla, and many others hire from Pearl Academy, Rajouri Garden.

Admission: Pearl Academy conducts its own entrance test for admission, PAF or Pearl Academy Entrance Examination. It also accepts CUET scores.

To Conclude

We hope this article helps young students who want to take up fashion designing courses after 12th with the necessary information. If you want to know about other colleges and the courses they offer, you can do more detailed research on the internet. There are some education service providers like Sunstone. It provides authentic and detailed information for it has collaboration with 50+ top colleges and universities across 30+ cities. 

FAQs

• What colleges offer fashion design?

There are many colleges that offer courses on fashion design, but the NIFTs are ranked the highest. For example, NIFT- Delhi is a globally recognised institution and is probably the best college for fashion designing.

• Which college is best for fashion design?

You can get into any of the NIFTs depending on your NIFT entrance examination score. NIFT Delhi, Mumbai and Kolkata are the best institutes for fashion designing, known for their quality education.