UCEED Seat Matrix 2026: 245 B.Des Seats, Institute Wise Distribution and Closing Ranks

UCEED 2026 (Undergraduate Common Entrance Examination for Design) offers admission to 245 B.Des (Bachelor of Design) seats across 7 participating institutes — 6 IITs and IIITDM Jabalpur. IIT Bombay conducts UCEED and manages the centralised admission process. All 245 seats are filled entirely through UCEED rank — there is no state quota, management quota, or NRI quota within this seat matrix.

• Total UCEED 2026 seats: 245 B.Des seats across IIT Bombay, IIT Delhi, IIT Guwahati, IIT Hyderabad, IIT Roorkee, IIT Indore, and IIITDM Jabalpur.
• IIITDM Jabalpur (66 seats) and IIT Guwahati (56 seats) together account for nearly half the total UCEED 2026 seat pool.
• Seats follow the IIT reservation policy: 27% OBC-NCL, 15% SC, 10% EWS, and 7.5% ST, with the balance going to the Open category. A horizontal 5% PwD reservation applies within each category.
• As of June 20, 2026, the Round III withdrawal window (June 15–19) has closed. Post-Round III vacancies are now being compiled for Round IV, with allotment expected on June 24, 2026.
• All admissions are centralised — students register preferences and receive allotments through the UCEED admission portal at uceed.iitb.ac.in.
• OCI card holders compete in the Open (General) category. Foreign nationals may apply for supernumerary seats outside the regular 245-seat pool.
• Institutes with fewer seats have tighter closing ranks. IIT Bombay (37 seats) and IIT Delhi (20 seats) are the most competitive; IIITDM Jabalpur (66 seats) is the most accessible.

UCEED 2026 Seat Intake: Overview

UCEED 2026 offers 245 B.Des seats across 7 centrally funded institutes, all filled through a single national merit list. The exam is conducted by IIT Bombay. Unlike NEET or JEE Main, UCEED operates without a state quota — every seat is a national seat, open to students from any state based solely on UCEED rank and category.

Admissions happen in up to five allotment rounds. Students can upgrade their allotment in later rounds by submitting a fresh preference order before each round’s deadline. Seats freed by Round III withdrawals (window: June 15–19, 2026) are redistributed in Round IV, scheduled for June 24, 2026.

UCEED does not share its seat matrix with JoSAA or JOSAA counselling — it is a completely independent admission process managed by IIT Bombay. Students appearing in both JEE Advanced and UCEED participate in separate counselling systems for each exam.

UCEED 2026 Institute-Wise Seat Intake

The 245 UCEED 2026 seats are spread across 7 institutes. IIITDM Jabalpur leads with 66 seats — more than a quarter of all UCEED 2026 seats — followed by IIT Guwahati with 56 seats. IIT Indore has the fewest seats among all participating IITs at 16.

Post-Round III vacancy update (as of June 20, 2026): The Round III withdrawal window closed on June 19, 2026. Seats vacated through student withdrawals are now being tallied and will be added to the Round IV allotment pool. The updated institute-wise vacancy count for Round IV will be published on the official UCEED website before allotment on June 24, 2026. Check uceed.iitb.ac.in for live updates.

For the per-institute category-wise breakdown — showing how each institute’s seats split by Open, EWS, OBC-NCL, SC, ST, and PwD — download the official UCEED 2026 seat matrix PDF from the UCEED official website. The aggregate category distribution across all 7 institutes is covered in the Category-Wise section below.

How Many Seats Are Available Through UCEED 2026?

UCEED 2026 offers 245 B.Des seats in total. All seats lead to a 4-year B.Des (Bachelor of Design) programme. UCEED does not cover M.Des or any other programme level — M.Des seats are filled through CEED (Common Entrance Exam for Design), a separate exam conducted by IIT Bombay.

The total seat count has grown significantly since UCEED’s launch in 2015. The 2026 intake of 245 is nearly four times the inaugural cohort of approximately 60 seats. The growth reflects new IITs joining the exam over successive years — IIT Roorkee and IIT Indore being among the more recent additions that expanded the intake substantially.

Admissions are conducted in up to five rounds. The table below shows all UCEED 2026 admission round events — upcoming events first, concluded events after:

From Round III onward, the seat acceptance fee is non-refundable. Students who accept a seat in Rounds III, IV, or V and later withdraw forfeit the fee. This policy reduces casual seat blocking and ensures the vacancy pool for later rounds reflects genuine withdrawals.

UCEED 2026 Seat Matrix: Category-Wise Distribution

UCEED 2026 follows the Government of India’s reservation policy as applicable to all IITs and IIITs. The 245 seats are divided across five main categories. PwD (Person with Disability) seats are a horizontal reservation — they are carved from within each category’s allocation, not added on top of the total.

Key points on category eligibility and documentation:

• PwD seats are horizontal reservations. The 13 PwD seats (5+2+1+3+2) are drawn from within the respective parent categories, not added to the total of 245. Unfilled PwD seats at the end of all rounds revert to the parent category pool.
• EWS students must hold a valid EWS certificate issued by the competent state authority for the current financial year. Certificates from a previous financial year are not accepted.
• OBC-NCL applicants must produce a valid Non-Creamy Layer (NCL) certificate. A general OBC certificate without the NCL endorsement does not qualify for the OBC-NCL reservation.
• The institute-wise category breakdown — showing how each of the 7 institutes distributes its seats by category — is available in the official UCEED 2026 seat matrix PDF. Download it from uceed.iitb.ac.in.

UCEED 2026 Seats for NRI / OCI Card Holders / Foreign Nationals

UCEED does not offer a dedicated NRI quota within the regular 245-seat matrix. All seats in the UCEED seat matrix are for Indian citizens and OCI card holders competing on merit under standard reservation categories. Foreign nationals who are not OCI card holders are handled through a separate supernumerary process outside the main seat pool.

Children of NRI parents who hold Indian citizenship are treated as regular Indian students. They compete in their applicable reservation category based on their caste/income documents. The supernumerary category applies only to students who lack Indian citizenship.

Foreign nationals interested in applying should contact the admissions office of their target institute directly. Supernumerary seats are not part of the UCEED merit list or centralised allotment process — each institute manages these independently, and the number of supernumerary seats varies by institute and year.

How the UCEED 2026 Seat Matrix Affects Closing Ranks

The UCEED seat matrix shapes closing ranks at every participating institute. Institutes with fewer seats record higher (tighter) closing ranks; institutes with more seats are relatively more accessible. Understanding this relationship is essential before building your UCEED 2026 preference list.

• IIT Bombay (37 seats) and IIT Delhi (20 seats) are consistently the most competitive UCEED institutes. High brand recognition combined with limited intake drives Open category closing ranks to the top percentile of all qualified students.
• IIT Indore (16 seats) has the smallest intake among IITs in UCEED 2026. However, as a newer IIT, its closing rank is currently more accessible than IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi.
• IIITDM Jabalpur (66 seats) has the highest seat count and generally the most accessible closing rank. Students with mid-range UCEED ranks should include it in their preference list for maximum allotment probability.
• A year-on-year increase in seats at an institute lowers its closing rank. A reduction in seats raises the closing rank. Tracking intake changes across cycles helps students benchmark target institutes.
• Category-specific seat counts determine category cutoffs. Fewer SC or ST seats at a high-demand institute means tighter category closing ranks at that specific institute — not system-wide.
• Post-Round III vacancies from the June 15–19 withdrawal window expand the Round IV pool. Students without allotments from Rounds I–III should submit preferences for Round IV before the deadline — vacancies from withdrawals can open seats at preferred institutes that were previously full.

Students should build a wide preference list covering all 7 institutes in their applicable category, especially during Round IV and Round V. A broader preference list maximises the chance of securing an allotment from the expanded vacancy pool generated by withdrawals.

List of Courses and Seats Under UCEED 2026

UCEED 2026 leads exclusively to the 4-year B.Des (Bachelor of Design) programme at all 7 participating institutes. All 245 seats are for this single programme type. UCEED does not cover M.Des, B.Tech, or any other programme — it is strictly for B.Des admissions at the undergraduate level.

While every institute awards a B.Des degree, the programme character varies meaningfully:

• IIT Bombay’s Industrial Design Centre (IDC) is India’s oldest design school and is internationally recognised. It offers strong depth in industrial and communication design through structured electives and an established studio culture.
• IIITDM Jabalpur’s B.Des blends design with engineering. It suits students drawn to product design at the intersection of form and technology, and its 66-seat intake makes it the most accessible of all UCEED institutes.
• Most IITs follow a broad-based structure in the first two years. Students specialise through elective courses and studio projects in years three and four.

Students aiming for M.Des after completing B.Des must appear in CEED (Common Entrance Exam for Design). UCEED score is not valid for CEED admissions — CEED is a separate entrance exam, also conducted by IIT Bombay, for postgraduate design programmes.

Disclaimer: The seat matrix data provided here is based on official sources and past year records. Actual seat counts may vary. Always verify with the official exam authority before making decisions.