UGC NET stands for University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test. It is a national level exam conducted by the National Testing Agency to determine the eligibility of Indian nationals for ‘Assistant Professor’ and ‘Junior Research Fellowship in Indian universities and colleges. National Testing Agency conducts the NET exam twice a year, one in June and another in December. 

What is the eligibility criterion for UGC NET? 

The eligibility for the UGC NET exam depends on two factors: education qualification and age limit. 

Educational Qualification:

1. General/Unreserved/General-EWS candidates who have secured at least 55% marks in Master’s Degree or equivalent examination from universities/institutions recognized by UGC in Humanities and Social Science(including languages), Computer Science and Applications, Electronic Science, etc. are eligible for this Test.

2.  The Other Backward Classes (OBC) belonging to Non-Creamy Layer/Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Persons with Disability (PwD)/Transgender category candidates who have secured at least 50% marks in Master’s degree or equivalent examination are eligible for this Test.

3. Candidates who are pursuing their Master’s degree or equivalent course or candidates who have appeared for their qualifying Master’s degree (final year) examination and whose result is still awaited or candidates whose qualifying examinations have been delayed may also apply for this test.

Age Limit:

JRF: Not more than 30 years

Assistant Professor: There is no upper age limit in applying for UGC-NET for Assistant ProfessorThere is no upper age limit in applying for UGC-NET for Assistant Professor.

What is the exam pattern of UGC NET? 

UGC-NET is conducted as a computer-based test. It carries two papers, Paper 1 and Paper 2. Both the paper have multiple-choice questions The duration of both the exam is 3 hours. There is no break in between the exams.  1 hour for 1st paper, and 2 hours for 2nd paper. Paper 1 consists of 50 questions and the questions intended to assess the teaching/ research aptitude of the candidate. It is designed to test reasoning ability, reading comprehension, divergent thinking, and general awareness of the candidate.  It is of 100 marks exam whereas, Paper 2 consists of 100 questions based on the subject selected by the candidate and will assess domain knowledge. Paper 2 is of 200 Marks. There is no negative marking for an incorrect response.

The UGC NET paper 2 is conducted for 81 different subjects are – 

What is the cut-off score to qualify the UGC NET Exam? 

UGC NET has set a minimum cut off score to qualify the exam in all the papers as – 

In Paper 1 and Paper 2, the general category candidate has to score at least 40% of the marks in each paper, whereas the reserved category has to score at least 35% of the marks.

In total, the general category has to score at least 50% of the total marks, whereas the reserved category has to score at least 40% of the total marks.

What is the amount of application fees? 

Application fee is different for different categories – 

For the general category – Rs. 1000/-

For the OBC-NCL category – Rs. 500/-

For the SC/ST/PWD category – Rs. 250/-

Application form can only be filled online on the website of UGC NET. 

To know more about the UGC NET exam, you can visit on the official website https://ugcnet.nta.nic.in