UCEED 2018 Syllabus

To sum up the aim of the UCEED, it is to test the aptitude of the candidate as well as if said aptitude leans towards the designers way of thinking and problem solving. As compared to the other design exams, artistic abilities aren't as important although a basic idea of the skill is required. The scope of the questions asked are broad, but also center around certain essential concepts:

Visualization and Spatial Ability

• Pictorial and diagrammatic questions to test
• Understanding of transformation and/ or manipulation of 2D shapes and 3D objects and their spatial relationships.
• Knowledge of practical and everyday mechanical and scientific concepts.

Observation and Design Sensitivity

• Ability to detect concealed properties in ordinary things, people, situations and events while thinking critically about them.
• Application of attention to certain details, reasoning, analyzing, classifying, inferring and predicting.
• Ability to discern subtle differences in visual properties and aesthetic outcomes.

Environmental and Social Awareness

• General awareness of environmental factors such as climate, population, water, vegetation, pollution, weather, natural resources, etc., and their implications on the design of products, images, infrastructure and environment.
• History of art, literature and sculpture.
• Awareness of social and cultural connection with the design, history of the designed artifact and socially responsible and environmentally sustainable design responses.

Analytical and Logical Reasoning

• Ability to weigh opinions, arguments or solutions against appropriate criteria.
• Ability to look at information, be it qualitative or quantitative in nature and discern patterns within the information.
• Ability to check for hidden bias or assumptions and whether evidence or argument support conclusions.
• Ability to use logic and structured thinking to deduce from a short passage, which of a number of statements is the most accurate response to a posed question. Data interpretation, brain teasers and patterns.

Language and Creativity

• Ability to understand and use standard English.
• Reading comprehension, knowledge of English grammar such as sentence structure and usage, use of tenses, verb patterns, articles, and active and passive constructions, etc., along with vocabulary skills.

Design thinking and problem solving

• Ability to think creatively in terms of alternatives, ability to distinguish innovative options and think out of the box.
• Ability to use visual analogies, metaphors, signs and symbols.
• Ability to understand complexity, identify problem, generate alternatives, evaluate options and select options.