MHD: Admission Information 2026

National Applicants

Bachelor’s degree in Architecture (B. Arch) or equivalent recognized by the Council of Architecture (COA) with a minimum of 50% aggregate marks for general category candidates and 45% aggregate marks for reserved category candidates.

International Applicants

Bachelor’s degree in Architecture (B. Arch) or equivalent recognized by the Council of Architecture (COA) with a minimum of 50% aggregate marks.

Provided that the Architecture program is considered equivalent to the B.Arch. degree program by the Equivalence Committee of CEPT University.

Sponsored Candidates

Same as for national applicants + Minimum 5 years [on the last date of application] of experience in relevant field, of which at Least two years in service of the organization sponsoring his/her study.

Disqualification / scrutiny

Incomplete application documents, evidence of providing false information, plagiarism in portfolio/report [zero tolerance policy towards plagiarism], not meeting eligibility criteria will result in disqualification of the application.

Application Information & Requirements

The application shall consist of the following:

1. A completed application form.
   

2. CEPT PG Test / GATE Scores for Indian nationals. The candidates who have appeared for the GATE exam are not required to appear for CEPT PG Test. It is compulsory to give CEPT PG test if you have not appeared for GATE. CEPT PG Test will be online from your home.

   GRE scores for international candidates (GRE scores shall be considered valid if taken within the last 2 years). International candidates can appear for CEPT PG Test, if they have not taken GRE. CEPT PG Test will be online from your home. 
   

3. Self-attested Degree certificates, and mark sheets for all semesters. Applicants receiving grades as GPA/CGPA need to send a document indicating the equivalent percentage marks or relationship of GPA/CGPA with percentage marks as per their university/ institute along with all the mark sheets.  Applicants studying in the final semester need to submit all the mark sheets till the penultimate semester.
   
4. Curriculum Vitae.
   
5. Completed MCQ as specified in the application form. The referee should be able to upload the reference letters till 3 days after the last date to apply.
   
6. Academic and/ or Professional experience certificates.
   
7. Recommendations from two referees who know you well. (Online recommendation letters to be filled and sent directly by the referee)
   
8. Portfolio: Digital format. The portfolio may contain up to a maximum of 12 numbers of A4 size pages of design content. The digital format file size must be no larger than 12MB.
   
9. Sponsorship Certificate and/or No Objection certificate from the last employer (Only for Sponsored Candidates)
   
10. Proof of Employment (Only for Sponsored Candidates)
    
11. International Applicants: The mode of teaching for the program is in English. The proficiency in English language should be good. The International candidates should rate their proficiency in English language at the scale of 1 to 5 in the application form.
    
12. GATE cut off: Applicants who have received the score below cutoff score as published by the relevant authority, he/she needs to appear for online CEPT PG Test.

Refer Evaluation Procedure for details on all the above requirements.

National Students

The admission procedure and assessment criteria are the same for national, international, and sponsored candidates unless specifically mentioned otherwise. The entire evaluation process is online..

Eligibility Check and Shortlist

All applications will be screened at this stage in the following manner:

An expert evaluation committee will be set up by the program to assess documents and portfolios to shortlist eligible candidates for the program.

Documents required and the assessment criteria are as follows:

Documents Required

1. Academic Transcripts:
The applicant receiving grades as GPA/CGPA need to send the document indicating relationship of GPA/CGPA with percentage marks as per their university/institute along with all the mark sheets.
Assessment Criteria

• Academic performance is counted based on Average Cumulative Percentage of all semesters of Qualifying Degree.
• In case the final semester results are pending then percentages till the penultimate semester will be considered.

2. Work Experience
Applicant’s work experience after graduation is noted in months. The work experience should be supported by relevant proofs in the application form e.g. Experience certificate
Assessment Criteria

• Relevance and Quality of Experience in a work environment.
• Please include the necessary experience certificates as part of the application form.
• "Experience" is one of the evaluation criteria. If an applicant has a continuing position at the workplace, at the time of application, his/her experience will be accounted for till the date of application deadline irrespective of the date of submission of application.

3. Test scores (CEPT PG - Online / GATE / GRE)
Assessment Criteria
It is mandatory to appear for all the evaluation criteria. If a candidate is absent from any of the evaluation criteria, he/she is not qualified to be considered for the merit list.

4. Portfolio of Creative Work
A portfolio is required to be submitted for applicants of the MHD program.

Assessment Criteria

• The portfolio may contain up to a maximum of 12 numbers of A4 size pages of design content. Please note that your portfolio may not be reviewed if the submission is more than 12 pages. The title page and table of contents, if included, shall not be counted towards the 12 pages of content. The portfolio should showcase the best work and will be judged on both content and overall design. Applicants must clearly identify the material that is not entirely theirs by providing due credits.
• The Portfolio must be saved as a single file in PDF format and submitted. The file size must be no larger than 25MB.
• Competence in a coherent demonstration of  visual and spatial abilities expressed through a basic understanding of material and construction at the minimum.
• The ability of a candidate to demonstrate spatial fluency and intellectual depth in contemporary architectural questions and critical areas of inquiry is a plus.
• The portfolio should showcase the best work and will be judged on both content and overall design. Applicants must clearly identify the material that is not entirely theirs by providing due credits.
• Authenticity of the Portfolio (signed and stamped by the institution/ office/ organization)

5. Questionnaire
Assessment Criteria
The questionnaire is embedded in your application form. Responses related to the reason for pursuing a Masters in Housing Design, your expectations, and housing projects of your preference will be sought.

6. Letter of Recommendation
Referees are kindly required to submit the online recommendation form, including a recommendation letter, to assist the University in making a full assessment of each applicant’s academic/professional record and abilities
Assessment Criteria

• Two Letters of Recommendations are required to be submitted for the applicants of the MHD Program. It is preferred that one letter is from a faculty of the academic institution you have been a part of and the second is from your former employer. These recommendation letters must have contact information including email address and phone numbers of the referees.
• In cases where applicants do not have any work experience, they will be required to send in two letters from two different faculties from their academic institutions.
• Please be advised that if CEPT University detects forgery of any kind, admission may be denied.
• Relevance of the Recommendation (and the Referee) with the subject matter.
  - Nature of Recommendation received.
  - Authenticity of the Recommendation.

The shortlisting will be based on a merit list prepared using the following criteria:

Evaluation Criteria

1. Average Cumulative Percentage of all semesters of Qualifying Degree* (all applicants)
2. Work Experience**
3. Test Score (CEPT PG - Online / GATE)
4. Portfolio
5. Questionnaire
6. Recommendation

 *Note: In case the final semester results are pending then percentages till the penultimate semester will be considered.

** This complete proportion of the marks shall only be given to applicants with a minimum of 12 months of domain-related work experience supported by a certificate. This experience shall be excluding the period of mandatory academic internship. The cut off for counting work experience shall be considered as the last date of submission of applications.

The consolidated common merit order of the applicants tested shall be displayed on the CEPT admission portal.

Based on the number of available seats, CEPT University will offer admission to candidates as per the merit order in the merit list. The candidate will be asked to deposit the fee and secure admission by the date given in the offer letter. After this date CEPT University at its discretion may offer admission to candidates in the waitlists in the order of merit as per the availability of seats.

International Students

The admission procedure and assessment criteria is the same for national, international, and sponsored candidates unless specifically mentioned otherwise. GRE scores for international candidates (GRE score shall be considered valid if taken within the last 2 years).

The mode of teaching for the program is in English. The proficiency in English language should be good. The International candidates should rate their proficiency in English language at the scale of 1 to 5 in the application form.

Sponsored Candidates

The admission procedure and assessment criteria are the same for national, international, and sponsored candidates unless specifically mentioned otherwise.

The candidates will be required to submit the following in addition to other documents:

• Sponsorship Certificate and/or No Objection certificate from the last employer
  
• Proof of Employment that may include the

1. Appointment letter
   
2. From No. 16 for the last two years from the last employer
   
3. Experience certificate(s) indicating minimum experience of 5 years
   
4. Any other proof as deemed necessary by the committee

A separate merit list will be prepared for seats of sponsored candidates. In absence of enough eligible applications or applicants qualified in the admission procedure, the seats will be filled with the other eligible and qualified candidates.

For candidates with B.Arch. the degree awarded - Master of Architecture (Housing Design)

Last date to Apply: 6th April 2026 (Extended)

Online CEPT PG Test: 11th April 2026

Total Intake: 24

Government Seats : 6

University Seats: 18

The admissions for Government Seats shall be conducted by the respective Admission Committee constituted in accordance with the provisions of the said Act. These seats shall be offered to the students who have passed the qualifying examination from an eligible Board or University located in the State of Gujarat. The students who qualify as per the eligibility criteria and possess domicile of the State of Gujarat shall also be eligible for admission.

Information will be updated soon

CEPT University offers a number of Merit and Means based scholarships. Merit-based scholarships are offered to applicants along with their admission offer letter based on their standing in the admissions merit list. Applicants can apply for means-based scholarships on the online admissions portal after they have submitted their admission application. Apart from these, students can access several work-based financial aids during the course of their studies. For more information, please see this link.