UGC NET Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility, Important Dates

• Computer based, 180 minutes in one sitting with no break between the papers. You split the time yourself.
• Two marks a question and no negative marking. An unanswered question scores nothing, so answer everything.
• All questions are compulsory.
• Papers are in English and Hindi, except language papers, which are in that language. If the translation is ambiguous, the English version stands. You pick the medium on the form.
• If a question has more than one correct option, anyone who marked one of them gets the two marks. A dropped or wrong question gives two marks to everyone who attempted it.

The result is in marks plus a percentile score. Where a subject runs in more than one shift, marks are normalised by the equi-percentile method before cut-offs are applied.

UGC publishes the syllabus for every subject on its UGC-NET syllabus page, under the heading of syllabi applicable from June 2019 onwards. NTA does not send copies to candidates.

Paper I: ten units, five questions each

1. Teaching Aptitude: levels of teaching, learner characteristics, teaching methods (including SWAYAM and MOOCs), evaluation systems
2. Research Aptitude: types of research, methods, steps, thesis and article writing, referencing, research ethics
3. Comprehension: a passage with questions
4. Communication: types, barriers, classroom communication, mass media and society
5. Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude: series, codes, fractions, ratio, percentage, profit and loss, interest, averages
6. Logical Reasoning: argument structure, syllogism, fallacies, Venn diagrams, and Indian logic (the pramanas, anumana, hetvabhasas)
7. Data Interpretation: data types, graphical representation, data and governance
8. ICT: internet, e-mail, video conferencing, digital initiatives in higher education
9. People, Development and Environment: SDGs, pollution, climate change, energy resources, disasters, the Environment Protection Act 1986 and the major international agreements
10. Higher Education System: ancient Indian learning, post-independence evolution, value and professional education, policy and governance

Where Paper I has a graph or picture question, visually impaired candidates get a passage with the same number of questions instead.

Paper II

One subject, set on its UGC syllabus, covering the whole of it. The December 2026 list has 87 subjects: the social sciences and humanities, over 30 Indian and foreign languages, Commerce, Management, Law, Education, Computer Science and Applications, Electronic Science, Environmental Sciences, Forensic Science, and newer papers such as Hindu Studies, Indian Knowledge System, Disaster Management, Ayurveda Biology, Forestry and Statistics. The physical, chemical, life, earth and mathematical sciences are not here: they belong to the separate Joint CSIR-UGC NET.

Take the subject of your post-graduation. If it isn't on the list, take a related one.

Master's degree

• 55 per cent in a UGC-recognised Master's for General, Unreserved and General-EWS candidates.
• 50 per cent for OBC (Non-Creamy Layer), SC, ST, PwD/PwBD and Third gender candidates.
• No rounding off.
• Ph.D. holders who finished their Master's by 19 September 1991 get the 50 per cent threshold too.

Final-year students and those awaiting results can apply provisionally. They must complete the Master's with the required marks within two years of the NET result, or within one year if they qualify only for Ph.D. admission.

Four-year bachelor's degree

A four-year (eight-semester) graduate with at least 75 per cent can sit the test, in any subject they want to do a Ph.D. in, whatever their degree was in. SC, ST, OBC-NCL, EWS and disabled candidates can get 5 per cent off. Qualifying this way opens JRF and Ph.D. admission, not Assistant Professor eligibility.

Age

The JRF limit relaxes by up to 5 years for OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD/PwBD, Third gender and women candidates, for research experience in the subject (up to 5 years), for armed forces service, and by 3 years for an LL.M. The total relaxation can't exceed 5 years.

Nobody checks documents when you apply. If you're found ineligible later, your candidature is cancelled.

Qualifying for Assistant Professor works on slots, not a pass mark:

1. The number who qualify is 6 per cent of those who sat both papers on the basis of a Master's degree.
2. Those slots are divided between categories by the central reservation policy.
3. To be counted at all you need 40 per cent aggregate across both papers (General and General-EWS) or 35 per cent (all reserved categories).
4. A category's slots are shared across subjects in proportion to how many in that category cleared the minimum in each subject. The aggregate where a subject's slots run out is its cut-off for that category.
5. JRF slots are allotted separately, again by category.

Third gender candidates get the lowest cut-off among the SC, ST, PwD, OBC-NCL and General-EWS cut-offs in their subject. There's no re-evaluation.

Using the result

• JRF: the award letter is valid for three years. You still need a place at a university or institute to draw the fellowship.
• Ph.D. admission (categories 2 and 3): the NET marks count for 70 per cent and the university's interview for 30 per cent. The marks are valid for one year from the result.
• Assistant Professor: NET is the minimum eligibility. Recruitment then follows the employer's own rules.

Apply online only, at ugcnet.nta.nic.in. Don't post anything to NTA.

• Bank or gateway charges and GST are extra.
• Applying in the late window costs another ₹500, whatever your category.
• Only OBCs on the central Non-Creamy Layer list can claim OBC. A state-list OBC must apply as General.
• Pick four exam cities in order of preference, from your permanent or present state only.
• No refunds.

UGC-NET December 2026

The June cycle is usually notified around April and held in June.

• ugcnet.nta.nic.in: application, admit card, keys and results
• Updated Information Bulletin, UGC-NET December 2026 (16 October 2026)
• UGC-NET syllabus, every subject
• Earlier information bulletins

Is there negative marking?

No. Two marks for a right answer, nothing for a wrong or blank one.

Is there an age limit?

Only for JRF: 30 on 1 December 2026, with relaxations up to five years. None for Assistant Professor or Ph.D.

Can I apply in my final year of the Master's?

Yes, provisionally. You have two years from the result to finish with the required marks.

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

Yes, with 75 per cent, or 70 with the relaxation for SC, ST, OBC-NCL, EWS and disabled candidates. It can get you JRF or Ph.D. admission, not Assistant Professor eligibility.

Where are Physics, Chemistry, Life Sciences and Mathematics?

Not in UGC-NET. They're in the Joint CSIR-UGC NET.

Does NET make me eligible in every state?

Yes. A State Eligibility Test held after 2002 counts only in that state; NET counts everywhere.