NID offers professional education programmes at Undergraduate and Post Graduate level with five faculty streams and 17 diverse design domains. NID has established exchange programmes and ongoing pedagogic relationships with 35 overseas institutions. NID has also been playing a significant role in promoting design.

Having entered the 5th decade of design excellence, NID has been active as an autonomous institute under the aegis of the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India; in education, applied research, service and advanced training in Industrial, Communication, Textile, and I.T. Integrated (Experiential) Design. NID offers a wide spectrum of design domains while encouraging transdisciplinary design projects. NID is a unique institution with many problem-solving capabilities, depths of intellect and a time-tested, creative educational culture in promoting design competencies and setting standards of design education. The rigorous development of the designer’s skills and knowledge through a process of ‘hands on minds on’is what makes the difference.

The overall structure of NID’sprogramme is a combination of theory, skills, design projects, and field experiences supported by cutting edge design studios, skill & innovation labs and the Knowledge Management Centre. Sponsored design projects are brought into the classroom to provide professional experience. Interdisciplinary design studies in Science and Liberal Arts widen the students’ horizons and increase general awareness of contemporary issues.

A unique feature of NID’s design education programme is the openness of its educational culture and environment, where students from different faculties and design domains interact with each other in a seamless manner. The benefit of learning in such a trans-disciplinary context is immeasurable.

The Professional Education at NID has both UG & PG Programmes — Graduate Diploma Programme in Design (GDPD) of four years duration for students after 10+2, or equivalent like AISSCE/ IB/ ICSE, and the Post-Graduate Diploma Programme in Design (PGDPD) of 2 to 2 ½ years duration for graduates; particularly from architecture, technology, engineering, fine and applied arts, information technology, computer science, etc.

The scores for the Admission Test 2010-11 will be shared with the following institutions: D. J. Academy of Design, Coimbatore; IILM School of Design, Gurgaon; WLC College, India, New Delhi; and Pearl Academy of Fashion, New Delhi.