CEPT University: B.Arch and Design

CEPT University in Ahmedabad traces its origins to 1962, when it was founded as the School of Architecture. Over six decades it has grown into a university with faculties covering architecture, planning, design, technology, and management. Its NIRF Architecture rank of 6 reflects sustained national standing in the field.

B.Arch at CEPT: admission, seats, and fees

CEPT B.Arch admission runs on a merit formula that combines 50% NATA score with 50% Class 12 aggregate. Both halves carry equal weight, so strong Class 12 marks are as important as a high NATA score. A candidate with 95% in Class 12 and a NATA score of 135 will rank ahead of someone with 80% Class 12 and a NATA score of 150, depending on how the combined merit falls.

One fact that confuses many applicants: CEPT does not accept JEE Main Paper 2. If you are building your architecture college list and plan to skip NATA in favour of JEE Paper 2, CEPT will not be an option. NATA is the only entrance exam score CEPT considers for B.Arch. This is a firm policy and has not changed in recent years.

Total seats for B.Arch are 120 per year. Of these, 90 seats (75%) are filled through the CEPT All India quota and are open to candidates from any state. The remaining 30 seats (25%) go to Gujarat-domicile candidates through ACPC state counselling. Non-Gujarat candidates compete only in the 90-seat All India pool. The NATA All India merit rank for CEPT B.Arch in 2024 was approximately 21,002. For Gujarat-state candidates in the ACPC process, the GUJCET 2024 Round 1 General category cutoff rank was approximately 8,757.

CEPT does not participate in JoSAA, CSAB, or any centralised national counselling other than the Gujarat ACPC process. The All India quota is handled directly by CEPT. Apply at cept.ac.in. Applications typically open in March or April, close in June, and counselling runs in July before the August term start.

Fees for the five-year B.Arch programme are approximately Rs 4.55 lakh per year, totalling around Rs 22.75 lakh over the full programme at current rates. Fees have risen roughly 14% per year historically, so the actual outlay over five years may be higher than the current per-year figure suggests. As a private deemed university, CEPT does not receive government subsidy, which explains why its fees are significantly higher than IIT or NIT programmes.

Architecture programme and Ahmedabad context

The Faculty of Architecture at CEPT is the institution's founding faculty. The programme covers architectural design, urban design, construction technology, and the history and theory of architecture across five years. Studio projects regularly engage with the city of Ahmedabad directly, giving students exposure to real urban problems, heritage conservation challenges, and community contexts that few campuses can replicate.

Ahmedabad is a UNESCO World Heritage City, with a historic core that includes some of the oldest surviving residential and civic architecture in South Asia. Architecture students study within walking distance of 600-year-old buildings, surviving pol (neighbourhood) structures, and contemporary urban interventions that are referenced internationally. The Faculty has been involved in heritage documentation and research in Ahmedabad for decades, and that relationship with the city runs through studio projects at every year level.

NID Ahmedabad is also located in the city, which creates a professional design and architecture community that extends well beyond any single institution. Lectures, exhibitions, and collaborative projects flow across both campuses and into the city's broader creative economy. CEPT graduates in architecture consistently cite the Ahmedabad context as a formative part of their education.

B.Des at CEPT

The Faculty of Design offers B.Des and M.Des across four specialisations: Interaction Design, Communication Design, Industrial Design, and Furniture and Interior Design. B.Des admission is through CEPT's own entrance test (CET), conducted independently by the university. Students who did not appear for UCEED can still apply for B.Des at CEPT, making it a distinct pathway in the design college landscape. With approximately 40 B.Des seats, the programme is selective and studio-intensive.

B.Des students benefit from the interdisciplinary university context, working alongside architecture and planning students and engaging with Ahmedabad's urban fabric as part of projects. The Material Library and Workshop Studios at CEPT are well regarded. Alumni have joined interaction design, communication, product, and spatial design roles across India and internationally. Verify current B.Des test dates and application requirements at cept.ac.in.