The National Institute of Advanced Studies in Architecture (NIASA), a constituent body of the Council of Architecture (CoA) in New Delhi, India, administers the National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA). This national-level exam assesses applicants’ aptitude for undergraduate architecture programmes. This year the exam will be conducted three times in two sessions between the months of March and July. Per the latest update from CoA, 50,000 candidates are expected to sit for the exams in each session.

What is the NATA Exam?

NATA is a country-level entrance exam conducted by the Council of Architecture (CoA) for admission to the 5-year B.Arch. course in all CoA-approved institutes across the nation. It is an aptitude test that measures the candidates’ drawing and observation skills, sense of proportion, aesthetic sensitivity, and critical thinking ability; all attributes essential for the field of Architecture. 

Purpose of the NATA Exam

The purpose of the NATA exam is to provide a single scheme of examination for holding aptitude tests. It is also to facilitate prospective students all over the country to apply for admission in architecture courses in institutions spread across the country and to avoid appearing in multiple aptitude tests. 

In addition, the NATA scores are used by admission authorities of different government, government aided & unaided schools/colleges of Architecture for admission to the five-year Bachelor of Architecture (B.Arch.) degree programme.

Highlights & Exam Pattern of the NATA

Name of the Exam	National Aptitude Test for Architecture (NATA)
Conducting Body	Council of Architecture (CoA)
Exam Level	Undergraduate
Exam Frequency	Thrice a Year
Duration	3 hours
Mode of Exam	Online Computer-Based Exam
Sections	Mathematics, Drawing, General Aptitude
Types of Questions	Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQ) Multiple Select Questions (MSQ) Preferential Choice Questions (PCQ) Numerical Answer Type (NAQ) Match The Following Type MFQ
Marking Scheme	1, 2 and 3 marks questions will be there. No provision for negative marking
Exam Duration	3 Hours
Total Questions	125
Total Marks	200
Medium of Exam	English, some questions may be in regional languages as well
Official Website	nata.in

Eligibility Criteria

The eligibility criteria for applying to the NATA 2023 examination are as follows:

1. Candidates must have completed 10+2 with Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics as compulsory subjects.
2. Candidates who have completed a 3 year diploma with Mathematics as a subject after 10th are also eligible to apply.
3. Candidates appearing for 10+2 are also eligible to apply to the NATA exam

NATA Exam Date 2023

Official information related to NATA 2023 dates is yet to be released by the Council of Architecture. However, tentative dates for NATA 2023 have been tabulated below based on previous trends.

Session I

Event	Tentative Dates
The registration process begins	March 2023
The last date for the registration process	April 2023
Last Date for Uploading Images & Documents	April 2023
Last date to submit the Application Fee	April 2023
Availability of confirmation printout	April 2023
Correction in Application form (if any)	April 2023
Admit card release	May 2023
Exam date	May 2023
Announcement of the result	June 2023

Session II

Events	Tentative Dates
Online Registration	March 2023
Last date to submit the application form	June 2023
Mock Available	July 2023
Admit card release date	July 2023
NATA 2023 Exam dates	July 2023
Announcement of result	July 2023

Registration Process & Fee

Registration for NATA 2023 will be conducted online via the official website. The detailed process for NATA registration is described below:

1. To begin the registration process, visit www.nata.in 
2. Click the registration link for NATA 2023. Generate a username and password by entering some basic details about yourself and then click on the requisite link.
3. Fill the application form.
4. After filling the form, you need to upload your photograph and signature.

Application Fee

To complete the application process, payment must be made online using net banking, debit card or credit card. Remember to keep a printout of the application form for future reference, as this is the final step of the application process.

For One Attempt: General Category: INR 2,000. SC/ST/ Female: INR 1,500

For Two Attempts: General Category: INR 4,000. SC/ST/ Female: INR 3,000

For Three Attempts: General Category: INR 5,400. SC/ST/ Female: INR 4,050

NATA Admit Card

The admit card for NATA 2023 will be released online in April. The admit card will contain essential details such as the candidate’s name, exam date and time, roll number, and test centre venue.

As a mandatory requirement all candidates must bring a valid photo ID proof along with the admit card to the examination centre.

NATA 2023 Exam Centres

1. Andaman and Nicobar: Port Blair
2. Andhra Pradesh: Guntur, Kakinada, Kurnool, Rajahmundry, Tirupathi, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam
3. Arunachal Pradesh: Itanagar
4. Assam: Dibrugarh, Guwahati, Silchar
5. Bihar: Bhagalpur, Gaya, Muzaffarpur, Patna, Purnea
6. Chandigarh
7. Chhattisgarh: Bhilai, Bilaspur, Raipur
8. Delhi
9. Goa: Panaji
10. Gujarat: Ahmedabad, Anand, Daman, Gandhinagar, Jamnagar, Rajkot, Surat, Vadodara
11. Haryana: Ambala, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Hisar, Karnal, Narnaul, Rohtak, Sonepat
12. Himachal Pradesh: Hamirpur, Shimla
13. Jammu and Kashmir: Jammu, Srinagar
14. Jharkhand: Bokaro Steel City, Dhanbad, Hazaribagh, Jamshedpur, Ranchi
15. Karnataka: Belgaum, Bellary, Bengaluru, Davangere, Gulbarga, Hubli, Mangalore, Mysore, Udupi
16. Kerala: Alappuzha, Ernakulam, Kannur, Kollam, Kottayam, Kozhikode, Thrissur, Trivandrum
17. Madhya Pradesh: Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Ratlam, Rewa, Sagar, Ujjain
18. Maharashtra: Ahmednagar, Akola, Amravati, Aurangabad, Chandrapur, Chinchwad, Akurdi, Jalgaon, Kalyan, Kolhapur, Latur, Mumbai, Nagpur, Nanded, Nashik, Navi Mumbai, Navi Mumbai – Nerul, Panvel, Pune, Ratnagiri, Sangli, Satara, Solapur
19. Manipur: Imphal
20. Meghalaya: Shillong
21. Mizoram: Aizawl
22. Nagaland: Dimapur, Kohima
23. Odisha: Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Rourkela, Sambalpur
24. Puducherry: Puducherry
25. Punjab: Amritsar, Bhatinda, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali, Pathankot, Patiala
26. Rajasthan: Ajmer, Bikaner, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Sriganganagar, Udaipur
27. Sikkim: Gangtok
28. Tamil Nadu: Chennai, Coimbatore, Erode, Madurai, Nagercoil, Salem, Tiruchirappalli, Tirunelveli, Vellore
29. Telangana: Hyderabad, Karimnagar, Warangal
30. Tripura: Agartala
31. Uttar Pradesh: Agra, Aligarh, Allahabad, Bareilly, Bilaspur, Ghaziabad, Gorakhpur, Greater Noida, Jhansi, Kanpur, Lucknow, Meerut, Moradabad, Muzaffarnagar, Noida, Varanasi
32. Uttarakhand: Dehradun, Haldwani, Roorkee
33. West Bengal: Asansol, Durgapur, Howrah, Kolkata, Siliguri

NATA 2023 Exam Syllabus

The syllabus for this year’s NATA exam consists of three sections, namely 

1. Mathematics
2. General Aptitude
3. Drawing

The detailed topic-wise syllabus is provided below:

General Aptitude

1. Objects, Texture Related to Architecture and the Built Environment
2. Interpretation of Pictorial Compositions, Visualising 3-Dimensional Objects from the 2-Dimensional Drawing
3. Visualising Different Sides of 3D Objects
4. Analytical Reasoning, Mental Ability (Visual, Numerical and Verbal), General Awareness of National/ International Architects and Famous Architectural Creations
5. Statements, Logical Operations like AND, OR, ‘If and Only If’, ‘implies’, ‘implied by’, etc.
6. Understanding of Tautology, Converse, Contradiction, and Contrapositive
7. The idea of Sets, Subsets, Power Sets, Complement, Union, Intersection and Difference of Sets, Venn Diagram, De Morgan’s Laws, Relation and its Properties
8. Equivalence Relation — Definition and Elementary Examples

Mathematics

1. Algebra
2. Statistics and Probability
3. Application of Calculus
4. Dimensional Coordinate geometry
5. Trigonometry
6. Logarithms
7. Matrices
8. Coordinate geometry
9. Theory of Calculus
10. Permutation and combination

Drawing Test

1. Creating 2D and 3D compositions using given shapes and forms.
2. Perspective drawing, sketching of urban scape and landscape.
3. Understanding of scale and proportion of objects, geometric composition, and shape.
4. Aesthetics, building forms and elements, colour texture, harmony and contrast.
5. Form transformations in 2D and 3D like union, subtraction, rotation, surfaces and volumes.
6. Generating plan, elevation, and 3D views of an object.
7. Conceptualisation and visualisation
8. Drawing of patterns- both geometrical and abstract

NATA 2023: Section Wise Distribution of Question Paper

The NATA 2023 exam comprises two papers: Paper-1 and Paper-2. 

• Paper-1 focuses on General Aptitude and Mathematics questions
• Paper-2 is a drawing test

To know about the section-wise distribution of the NATA paper, refer to the below table.

Subjects	Total Questions	Total Marks
(Paper 1) Maths	30	60
(Paper 1) General Aptitude	30	60
(Paper 2) Drawing test	2	80
Total	62	200

NATA 2023: Counselling Process

The Council of Architecture (CoA) is only responsible for conducting the NATA exam and does not oversee counselling for admission to B.Arch. courses. Instead, individual institutes will conduct the counselling process, for which notifications will be released online. 

To participate, it is recommended that candidates regularly check the official website of the institutes for updates regarding the dates and procedure for this year’s NATA counselling.

Counselling Eligibility

To participate in the counselling process conducted by the various institutes, candidates must fulfil certain guidelines; namely:

• Firstly, they must qualify for the NATA 2023 exam with the minimum qualifying marks mandated by the CoA. The overall qualifying cut-off mark for this year’s exam is 70, which has been revised from 75 in the previous year.
• Secondly, candidates must fulfil the eligibility criteria set by the institute to which they are applying for admission.

NATA 2023 Counselling Dates 

The counselling dates for NATA 2023 are yet to be announced. The participating institutes will individually notify the dates when the results are out.

Colleges that Accept the NATA Exam  Score

• School of Planning and Architecture – [SPA], New Delhi
• Jamia Millia Islamia University-[JMI], New Delhi
• Andhra University, College of Engineering – [AUCE], Visakhapatnam
• Department of Architecture, IIT Roorkee
• Chandigarh College of Architecture, Chandigarh
• Sushant School of Arts and Architecture, Gurgaon
• Faculty of Architecture and Ekistics, JMI
• Department of Architecture, BIT, Mesra
• RV School of Architecture, RVSE, Bangalore
• Faculty of Architecture, Manipal University

NATA 2023: Expected Exam Cut off 

The cut-off marks for NATA 2023 will be released online by the Council of Architecture (COA). The cut-off score is determined by evaluating the performance of all candidates, and several other factors. 

Here are some crucial factors that affect the qualifying criteria for NATA:

1. Total seats available 
2. The difficulty level of the exam 
3. The number of candidates appearing
4. Previous year’s trends

Candidates must remember that securing the cut-off marks in the exam is necessary to be eligible for the further steps.

NATA Important Exam Guidelines

The National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA) is an essential examination for individuals aspiring to pursue an undergraduate course in Architecture. Hence, candidates must familiarise themselves with the exam guidelines to ensure a smooth and hassle-free examination process. 

Mentioned below are some important NATA exam guidelines that candidates must follow:

1. No candidates will be permitted to enter the examination hall after 10:00 a.m., so they should arrive at the venue at least 1 hour before the exam time to complete the pre-exam verification process.
2. During the exam, candidates are only allowed to carry a pen. Electronic gadgets such as mobile phones, calculators, Bluetooth devices, smartwatches, palm tops, or other devices are strictly prohibited inside the exam hall.
3. Candidates must carry their admit cards and a valid photo ID card containing their date of birth and photograph. Acceptable forms of photo ID include Voter’s ID, Passport, PAN Card, and Driving Licence.
4. The exam conducting body will provide rough papers for calculations inside the exam hall, so candidates need not bring their own. 
5. If a candidate causes any sort of disturbance, appears for the exam on behalf of another candidate, engages in conversation, or damages exam properties, appropriate action will be taken against them.

NATA Preparation Tips

NATA is considered a fairly difficult exam to crack; however, anyone can easily ace the exam with a better preparation strategy. Below are some top preparation tips for NATA 2023 that candidates can follow to enhance their performance in the exam.

1. During preparation for the exam, it is crucial to prioritise the General Aptitude and Drawing sections as they are the most critical.
2. To ensure that students allocate their preparation time effectively, it is recommended that they create a personal timetable.
3. The mathematics section mainly comprises questions based on the 12th-grade syllabus. Therefore, to prepare effectively, it is recommended that you solve questions from CBSE textbooks.
4. Regularly attempting mock tests are advised to help students track their progress and identify common mistakes. Mock tests will also provide you insight into the format of the entrance examination.
5. It is recommended that candidates prepare notes for complex topics so that they can study them at their convenience.
6. Regularly revising all topics and subjects is essential to ensure that candidates remember what they previously studied.

Previous Year Question Papers & Mock Tests

Previous Year’s Question Papers
Mock Tests

FAQs

When can I apply for NATA 2023?

Candidates can apply for NATA 2023 when the registration starts, which will be sometime in March. 

Is there a drawing section in NATA 2023?

CoA will release the official notification for the exam soon, until then we can’t determine if the exam will include a drawing test.

Is NATA conducted twice a year?

The NATA exam in 2023 will be conducted three times.

Can I give NATA without jee?

Yes, you can appear for the National Aptitude Test in Architecture (NATA) without taking the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).

Can I join architecture without NATA?

Yes, you can pursue B.Arch without NATA from institutes like the IITs and NITs, however, for these institutes you need to pass the JEE exam. 

Is 125 a good score in NATA?

A score exceeding 120 can be deemed a good NATA score, increasing the likelihood of admission to top colleges.

How many attempts are there in the NATA Exam?

Students can take the NATA exam up to five times within two years from their initial attempt date.

How many seats are there in NATA?

NATA is expected to offer more than 15,000 seats in various architecture courses for 2023.

Does NATA have a negative marking?

According to the NATA Exam pattern, there is no provision for negative marking in the examination.

Tags: NATA Exam, NATA Exam 2023