CSIR NET Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

One paper, three parts, no break

Computer Based Test, 180 minutes, 200 marks, objective multiple choice throughout. Part A is general; Part B covers the syllabus conventionally; Part C tests scientific concepts and their application.

Part A is General Science, Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis, and Research Aptitude: 20 questions, 15 to attempt, 2 marks each, in every subject. It's the only part the five subjects share.

Five subjects, five different papers

• Earth Sciences is the only subject that penalises Part C at 33%: you lose 1.32 marks for a wrong answer against 4 for a right one.
• Mathematical Sciences has no negative marking in Part C. Leaving a question blank there gains you nothing.
• Physical Sciences sets 75 questions and asks for 55, nearly three quarters of the paper. Earth Sciences sets 150 and asks for 75. You have far less room to skip in Physical Sciences.

Only the first answers count

Each part has a maximum number of questions that will be evaluated. Answer more than that and only the first ones in order are marked, not your best ones. Answer 30 in a Part C that evaluates 25 and questions 26 to 30 are thrown away, right or wrong.

CSIR NET is held in five subjects and no others:

Engineering, technology, management and the humanities aren't covered. Humanities and social science candidates sit UGC NET, a different exam with two papers rather than three parts.

Where the syllabus lives

The subject syllabi are published by CSIR-HRDG, not by NTA, and the information bulletin sends you there. Each subject has its own page on the CSIR-HRDG syllabus page; download the version that applies to your cycle.

Revisions under way

Life Sciences is moving to a new syllabus. CSIR-HRDG now lists two files for it: the existing Life Sciences syllabus, labelled as valid up to the June 2026 cycle, and a revised one titled UGC-CSIR-DBT NET Life Sciences and Biotechnology. It has 14 units: ten running from biomolecules and cell organisation through physiology, inheritance and evolution to ecology, then Bioinformatics and Computational Biology, Biochemical Engineering and Industrial Biotechnology, Advances in Biotechnology, and Methods in Biology.

The other four subjects have draft revisions. A CSIR-HRDG notice of 13 April 2026 published proposed syllabi for Chemical Sciences, Earth/Atmospheric/Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Mathematical Sciences and Physical Sciences, set beside the existing ones. Feedback was taken through an online form from 13 April to 14 May 2026. In October 2026 the subject pages still carry the existing syllabi, so prepare from those until CSIR-HRDG says otherwise. Comparing the draft with the existing syllabus shows where your subject is heading.

Part A: the section all five share

General Science, Quantitative Reasoning and Analysis, and Research Aptitude: 20 questions, 15 attempted, 2 marks each, 30 of the 200 marks. It needs no subject specialisation and is 15% of the paper in every subject.

Qualification

A Master's degree or equivalent with at least:

• 55% for General, Unreserved and General-EWS candidates;
• 50% for OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD/PwBD and Third gender candidates.

Marks are taken without rounding off, so 54.9% is not 55%.

Still studying

If you're doing your Master's or waiting for the final-year result, you can apply and are admitted provisionally. You then have to finish the degree with the required percentage within two years of the result, or within one year if you qualify for PhD admission only. Miss that and you're disqualified.

The four-year bachelor's route

A four-year or eight-semester bachelor's degree with at least 75% in aggregate (with the usual 5% relaxation) also lets you sit the test. Final-year students on such a programme can apply provisionally on the same two-year and one-year timetables.

Qualifying on a four-year bachelor's degree makes you eligible for JRF and PhD admission, but NOT for appointment as Assistant Professor. The bulletin says so and it's easy to miss.

Other cases

• PhD holders whose Master's was completed by 19 September 1991 get a 5% relaxation, from 55% to 50%.
• Third gender candidates get the same fee, age and eligibility relaxations as SC/ST/PwD, and their subject-wise cut-off is the lowest among the reserved categories.
• Foreign qualifications should be equivalence-certified by the UGC; an Indian post-graduate diploma should be checked with the AIU.

NTA checks nothing at application. You submit no certificates, candidature is provisional, and ineligibility found at any later stage cancels it.

There's one exam and no interview stage. What happens after the result depends on your category.

Category 1: JRF

Eligible for the fellowship, for appointment as Assistant Professor, and for PhD admission. JRF candidates enter a PhD programme through an interview, under the UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of PhD Degree) Regulations, 2022.

Categories 2 and 3: the 70:30 rule

For Assistant Professor and PhD, or PhD only, the CSIR NET score replaces a university's own PhD entrance test. Admission is then decided on:

• 70% weight for the CSIR NET written marks;
• 30% weight for the interview or viva voce at the institution.

Those marks are valid for one year only from the result, which limits how long you can look for a supervisor.

Numbers qualifying

The results committee decides each cycle how many qualify for JRF, Assistant Professor and PhD only. Fellowships per subject are limited and change from cycle to cycle.

The Junior Research Fellowship

Plus an annual contingent grant of Rs 20,000, reimbursed directly to the fellow.

Upgradation to SRF

After two years, and only if you're registered for a PhD, an expert committee assesses your research progress: your guide, the head of department and an external member not below Professor or Associate Professor, who chairs it where possible.

If the committee doesn't recommend upgradation, or you haven't registered for a PhD, you either stay on Rs 37,000 for a third year or the fellowship ends, on the committee's recommendation and CSIR's decision. So register for the PhD early.

Fee

Online payment only (net banking, debit or credit card, or UPI), plus the gateway's service charges.

OBC means the central list. If you're state-list OBC but not on the National Commission for Backward Classes central list, apply as General-EWS if you meet those requirements.

Applying

Register, fill the form with scanned photograph and signature, a verified Result Awaited Attestation Form where it applies, and category or PwD certificates, then pay. You can save between steps, but the form is rejected unless steps 2 and 3 are both done. The confirmation page appears only after payment goes through.

No confirmation page after paying means the transaction didn't complete. Contact the bank or gateway, and if it still doesn't show on the portal, pay again.

• A submitted application cannot be withdrawn.
• One application per candidate. If you submit several, only the first counts.
• The email address and mobile number can't be changed later, and everything goes to them. Use your own.
• Aadhaar is not mandatory; a passport, ration card or other valid government ID will do.
• A short correction window follows the closing date: two days in the June 2026 cycle.

It's a Computer Based Test at NTA centres across India, in the city you chose. You give city preferences when applying, and the allotted city is sent separately before the admit card.

Each subject runs as one 180-minute session with no break between the three parts. You divide the time between Parts A, B and C yourself.

CSIR NET runs roughly twice a year. The latest published cycle is Joint CSIR-UGC NET June 2026; the next notification will appear on csirnet.nta.nic.in.

The window is short: about three weeks to register, two days to correct, and under a month from the close of applications to the exam.

You get a city intimation slip first and the admit card later. Both come from csirnet.nta.nic.in, and the release dates are announced there.

The admit card gives your centre, date and shift (09:00 to 12:00 or 15:00 to 18:00).

The name on your photo ID must match the admit card. If it has changed, through marriage or otherwise, carry the marriage certificate, divorce decree, legal name change document or gazette notification. Also take six to eight passport photographs identical to the uploaded one, for the attendance sheet.

Results are declared on csirnet.nta.nic.in. Recorded responses and the answer key go up first, with a paid challenge window.

The scorecard shows your total percentile score and marks and which of the three categories you qualified in.

How long the result lasts

• JRF and Assistant Professor eligibility: governed by CSIR and UGC rules for taking up the award or appointment.
• PhD admission under categories 2 and 3: the marks are valid for one year from the result.

NTA and UGC may share candidate data with higher education institutions for PhD admission and with PSUs and other organisations for recruitment.

NTA publishes cut-offs with each result on csirnet.nta.nic.in, by subject, by category, and separately for JRF, Assistant Professor and PhD only. That's fifteen or more thresholds a cycle across five subjects.

They move every cycle with the paper's difficulty and the number of fellowships, and the results committee decides how many qualify. Older cut-offs are history, not a target.

The scorecard shows both a percentile score and marks.

1. Work from your own subject's mark scheme. The five subjects differ in questions set, questions evaluated, marks per question and negative marking. Advice written for Life Sciences is wrong for Mathematical Sciences on three of those four.
2. Count your answers as you go. Only the first N answered questions in each part are marked. Go over the limit and your later answers are thrown away.
3. In Mathematical Sciences, attempt every Part C question you can reach. There's no negative marking there, and Part C is 95 of the 200 marks.
4. In Earth Sciences, be careful in Part C. It's the only subject that penalises Part C at 33%: 1.32 marks lost against 4 gained.
5. Don't leave Part A to the last week. Thirty marks, the same in all five subjects, and it responds well to practice.
6. Use the current CSIR-HRDG syllabus, dated for your cycle.
7. Plan your time across the three parts. There's no per-part limit, so a Part C that overruns eats into the parts you'd have scored in.
8. Know which outcome you want. JRF, Assistant Professor and PhD only have separate cut-offs. For the fellowship you need the highest.
9. If you win a JRF, register for the PhD promptly. Upgradation to SRF at Rs 42,000 depends on it.

CSIR NET (NTA): csirnet.nta.nic.in

National Testing Agency: nta.ac.in

CSIR-HRDG, for the subject syllabi and scheme of examination: csirhrdg.res.in

Information bulletin, Joint CSIR-UGC NET June 2026 (PDF): download

Public notices and documents: csirnet.nta.nic.in/documents

Which subjects does CSIR NET cover?

Five: Chemical Sciences, Earth/Atmospheric/Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences and Physical Sciences. Humanities, social sciences, commerce and management come under UGC NET.

Is the pattern the same for all five subjects?

No. All are 200 marks in 180 minutes, but questions set, questions evaluated, marks per question and negative marking all differ. Physical Sciences sets 75 questions; Earth Sciences sets 150.

Is there negative marking in Part C?

25% in Chemical, Life and Physical Sciences; 33% in Earth Sciences; none in Mathematical Sciences.

What happens if I answer more questions than allowed?

Only the first answers up to the limit are marked. The rest are discarded.

What are the three qualifying categories?

Category 1: JRF, Assistant Professor and PhD. Category 2: Assistant Professor and PhD, no fellowship. Category 3: PhD admission only.

How much is the JRF stipend?

Rs 37,000 a month for two years, then Rs 42,000 as SRF from the third year, plus Rs 20,000 a year contingent grant.

Can I apply with a four-year bachelor's degree?

Yes, with at least 75% (5% relaxation for reserved categories). It makes you eligible for JRF and PhD admission but not Assistant Professor.

Can I apply while still doing my Master's?

Yes, provisionally. Finish within two years of the result, or one year if you qualify for PhD only.

What percentage do I need in my Master's?

55% for General, Unreserved and General-EWS; 50% for OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD/PwBD and Third gender. No rounding off.

How long is the result valid for PhD admission?

One year from the result, for categories 2 and 3. The marks count 70% and the interview 30%.

What is the fee?

Rs 1,150 General; Rs 600 General-EWS and OBC-NCL; Rs 325 SC, ST, PwD/PwBD and Third gender.

Can I withdraw or resubmit my application?

No. A submitted form can't be withdrawn, and only the first of several applications counts.

Where is the syllabus?

On the CSIR-HRDG website, not NTA's. Use the version for your cycle.

Is Aadhaar compulsory?

No. A passport, ration card or other valid government ID is accepted.