National Aptitude Test in Architecture

Council of Architecture (CoA)

The Council of Architecture (CoA) is an autonomous statutory body of the Ministry of Education, Government of India constituted under the provisions of the Architects Act, 1972.

Any person desirous of carrying on the profession as an ‘Architect’ must have registration with the Council of Architecture. For the purpose of registration, one must undergo education in accordance with the Council of Architecture Minimum Standards of Architectural Education Regulations and possess the recognized qualification as appended to the Architects Act.

Architectural Education

Architectural education is a challenging field and the toughest among professional studies. It not only teaches creativity but incorporates technology and other related aspects. Architectural education makes you a holistic person and prepares you to face challenges in the coming years. Architects help shape and build a nation and you as future architects should contribute to helping our nation become a world leader.

There are about 375 institutions presently imparting architectural education in India leading to recognized qualifications. The standards of education being imparted in these institutions (constituent colleges/departments of universities, deemed universities, affiliated colleges/schools, IITs, NITs and autonomous institutions) are prescribed and monitored by the Council of Architecture by way of regulations and norms and standards prescribed from time to time, which set forth the requirement of eligibility for admission, course duration, standards of staff and accommodation, course content, examination etc.

The minimum standards as prescribed by the Council of Architecture (CoA) are required to be maintained by all institutions. The CoA is empowered to make recommendations to the Government of India with regard to the recognition and/or derecognition of a qualification.

National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA)

National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA) is being conducted by CoA since 2006, in terms of the provisions of CoA (Minimum Standards of Architectural Education) Regulations, 1983, published in the Gazette of India.

Unlike any other entrance examination, NATA is an aptitude test that assesses a candidate’s innate ability through a variety of testing formats and cannot be taught, learnt or induced.

NATA measures the aptitude of the applicant for a specific field of study, i.e. Architecture, through assessment of cognitive skills, visual perception and aesthetic sensitivity tests, logical reasoning and critical thinking ability, etc., besides the learning that the candidate has acquired over the past few years and is related to the specific field of study.

Who Can Apply?

NATA is the qualifier for admission to 5 year B.Arch. program offered by Universities/Institutions in the country, subject to the fulfillment of eligibility criteria as prescribed by the Council.

• Passed or appearing in 10+1 Examination with  Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics (PCM) Subjects;
• Passed or appearing in 10+2 Examination with PCM subjects:
• Passed or appearing in 10+3 Diploma Examination with Mathematics as subjects: 
• Pass in 10+2 scheme of examination with at least 50 per cent. Aggregate marks in Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics and also at least 50 per cent. marks in aggregate of the 10+2 level examination or pass 10+3 Diploma Examination with Mathematics as compulsory subject with at least 50 per cent. marks in aggregate.

Outline of Aptitude Test

The medium of Aptitude test shall be in English and Hindi. The Test would be organised as follows.

1. Part A - Drawing and Composition Test - Offline Test - 90 Minutes
   • A1 – 1 Question – Composition and Color -25 Marks - Creating suitable compositions for various situations and coloring them appropriately. Re-arranging various shapes in visually appealing manner and coloring it suitably
   • A2 - 1 Question – Sketching & Composition (Black and White)- 25 Marks - Ability to draw, visualize, depict a situation, involving buildings / its components, people, environment, products with an understanding of scale, proportions, textures, shades and shadow etc
   • A3 – 1 Question - 3D Composition - 30 Marks - Creating interesting 3D composition for the given situation using the provided kit.
   • Total 3 Questions - 80 Marks
2. Part B - MCQ - Computer based online Test - 90 Minutes
   • B1 - 30 questions x 2 Marks - 60 Marks
   • B2 - 15 questions x 4 Marks -60 Marks
   • Total 45 Questions – 120 Marks
3. TOTAL MARKS: PART – A & PART – B = 200

PART-B
This is one and half hour (90 minutes), 120 Marks Test where candidate has to appear for online test. It shall have two type of Questions viz., B1 – 30 Questions of 2 Marks and B2 – 15 Questions of 4 Marks from the following topics:

• Visual Reasoning Ability to understand and reconstruct 2D and 3D composition, knowledge about its composition and technical concepts.
• Logical Derivation Ability to decode a situation, composition, context and generate meaning. Understanding the minute information hidden in a particular situation and drawing conclusions.
• G.K., Architecture & Design General awareness of architecture and design, current issues, recent episodes etc., Knowledge about important buildings, historical progression, innovation in materials and construction technology.
• Language Interpretation Ability to correctly & logically generate meaning of words, sentences, understanding about English grammar.
• Design Sensitivity Ability to observe record and analyze, people, space, product, environment. Critical thinking, reasoning and ability to identify the subtle communications.
• Design Thinking Ability to understand semantics, metaphors, problem identification and definition, analysis of a given situation.
• Numerical Ability Basic Mathematics and its association with creative thinking. To unfold a space with use of geometry.

Application Fee

NATA Test Schedule

With the objective of giving opportunities to a greater number of bright aspirants to join Architecture, Council will be conducting NATA-2024 for admission to B.Arch., in the academic year 2024 - 2025 on all weekends in two sessions starting from April to July, 2024.

The candidates can appear for maximum of 3 attempts in NATA 2024 in one academic year. The best score out of all the attempts shall be considered for declaration of results. The score of NATA Test would be valid for a period of 2 academic years. 

The candidates need to indicate their preference for the session and city of examination while registering at the NATA portal www.nata. in.

The online form filling starts from 01st March, 2024.

Qualifying marks

The Qualifying Marks for the NATA 2024 would be based on the following Rules:

• A minimum of 20 marks must be secured in PART A
• A minimum of 30 marks must be secured in PART B
• Overall qualifying marks for NATA 2024 shall be 70 marks out of 200 as aggregate of Part A and Part B.

A Candidate will not qualify in NATA-2024 unless all three conditions mentioned above are satisfied. In case the candidate appears in multiple tests, all the previous scores shall appear on the score card. The best score obtained in all attempts shall be taken as the valid score for NATA 2024.

NATA Helpdesk

Email ID : nataexam2024@gmail.com
Help Desk Number: 08045549467

Related Links

• NATA 2024 Information Brochure
• NATA Online Application Form
• Council of Architecture (CoA)