Commonly known as UGC NET, University Grants Commission (UGC) National Eligibility Test (NET) is an entrance test conducted in order to select the eligible candidates for the post of Assistant Professor for Colleges/Universities level lectureship and for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF).
JRF awardees will be eligible to pursue research in their postgraduate subject from IIT's or other national organisations. Such candidates are also eligible for the post of Assistant Professor in Colleges/Universities of India.
The award of ‘Junior Research Fellowship and Eligibility for Assistant Professor both’ or ‘Eligibility for Assistant Professor only’ depends on the performance of the candidate in both the papers of UGC-NET in aggregate.
Candidates who qualify for ‘Assistant Professor only’ are not eligible for award of JRF. Candidates who qualify the Test for eligibility for Assistant Professor governed by the rules and regulations for recruitment of Assistant Professor of the concerned universities/colleges/state governments.
The UGC NET exam was initiated by UGC and later, the CBSE conducted the NET in 84 subjects at 91 centres across the country. From December 2018 onwards, the responsibility of UGC NET has been transferred to the National Testing Agency (NTA), which has been established as a premier and autonomous testing organization for admission/fellowship in higher educational institutions.
Exam name | University Grants Commission (UGC) National Eligibility Test (NET) |
Conducted by | National Testing Agency (NTA) |
Frequency | Twice a year (June & December) |
Exam level | National |
Purpose | For posts of Assistant Professor and Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) |
Application mode | Online |
Exam mode | Online |
Exam duration | 180 minutes (3 hours) |
Average no of test-takers (single session) | Over 8 lakhs |
Official website | ugcnet.nta.nic.in |
NTA helpdesk | 0120-6895200 |
The NTA will release the UGC NET notification on its official website. The UGC NET exam notification is available in both English and Hindi. Aspirants who are aiming for an exam should check all the details in UGC NET information bulletin to get familiar with exam pattern, exam dates, syllabus, the application process, etc. It is advised to download UGC NET notification pdf and keep the hard copy for future reference. Candidates can download UGC NET notification 2021 (May here.
UGC NET notification date | February 2, 2021 |
UGC NET registration | February 2 to March 2, 2021 |
UGC NET admit card | April 2021 |
UGC NET exam date | May 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 17, 2021 |
UGC NET result | June 2021 |
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) has established the National Testing Agency (NTA) as an independent autonomous, self-reliant, and self-sustained premier testing organisation to the conduct the various exams like NEET-UG, JEE Main (I) & (II), CMAT, GPAT, and UGC NET.
NTA will conduct the UGC NET for only Assistant Professor or for both Junior Research Fellowship and Assistant Professor in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode only from June 2021. A test will consist of two papers and click here to know.
Candidates who hold a Master's or equivalent degree with a minimum of at least 55% marks from a recognised UGC universities/institutions in Humanities (including languages) and Social Science, Computer Science & Applications, Electronic Science etc. are eligible to apply.
The candidates from Other Backward Classes (OBC) belonging to non-creamy layer/Scheduled Caste(SC)/Scheduled Tribe(ST)/persons with disability (PwD) category candidates are to be entitled with a relaxation 5% marks ineligibility. Click here to know more about the eligibility criteria in details.
NTA strictly follows the Government of India's reservation policy, as per which a minimum of 27%, 15%, 7.5% and 5% of fellowships are reserved for the OBC (non-creamy layer), SC, ST and Persons with Disabilities (PwD).
1. For Assistant Professor: There is no upper age limit for applying for Assistant Professor.
2. Junior Research Fellowship (JRF): The Upper age limit fixed 30 years as on 01-06-2020, (Age relaxation up to 5 years to candidates belonging OBC).
Application Fee:
For General Candidates - INR 1000/-
For OBC Candidates - INR 500/-
For SC/ST/PwD/Transgender Candidates - INR 250/-
In order to appear in UGC NET May 2021 exam, the candidates are required to apply online by following the terms & conditions strictly mentioned in the registration procedure.
The submission of Online Application Form may be done by accessing NTA website, i.e. www.ntanet.nic.in only. To know more about the detailed scenario of registration procedure click here.
A candidate has to select any four cities of his/her choice. The board will be made to allow the city of examination of the candidates in order of the choice opted by them in their application form. However, in some exceptional circumstances, a different city of the nearby area may be allotted. Click here to know the list of Exam Centres.
Note:
The candidates, before submitting the Online Application Form, shall satisfy their eligibility to appear in the test.
The Candidates should fill their complete postal address with PIN Code for further correspondence.
The NTA shall not be held responsible for any loss due to an incorrect address was given by the applicant in the Online Application Form.
In 2013, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced that the aspirants who clear the NET would be eligible for remunerative jobs in Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). PSUs will use the UGC NET scores for the recruitment process of the posts of executives in their organisations in disciplines like Science (Research & Development), Management, Corporate Communications, Human Resources, and Finance etc. Candidates with UGC NET scorecard can occupy prominent positions in PSUs. Candidates can find the list of career options after passing UGC NET here.
The National Testing Agency has extended the last date to apply for UGC NET 2021 May examination. The online applications will be accepted till March 9, 2021. Interested candidates who have not yet registered for the exam can apply online through the official site of NTA UGC - ugcnet.nta.nic.in.
The UGC NET 2021 is scheduled to be conducted on May 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14, and 17, 2021. The admit card will be released at least 10 days before the exam date.
3 March 2021
The National Testing Agency (NTA) will be closing the UGC NET 2021 application window tomorrow, i.e., March 2. Candidates who have not yet registered for the UGC NET 2021 can apply online on the official website - ugcnet.nta.nic.in.
The NTA has started the UGC NET 2021 registration process on February 2. The Agency will be conducting the UGC NET exam from May 2 to 17, 2021.
1 March 2021
The upper age limit for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) in UGC NET 2021 has been increased to 31 years from 30 years.
"This age limit is applicable for the current examination only," the exam conducting agency, NTA, has said. "A relaxation of upto 5 years is provided to the candidates belonging to OBC-NCL /SC/ST/PwD/Third gender categories and to women applicants."
"Relaxation will also be provided to the candidates with research experience, limited to the period spent on research in the relevant / related subject of post-graduation degree, subject to a maximum of 5 years, on production of a certificate from appropriate authority," it also adds.
3 February 2021
Union Education Minister Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank has announced the exam dates of UGC NET 2021. The exam is for December 2020 and May 2021 cycle.
Education Minister tweeted, “National Testing Agency will conduct next UGC-NET exam for Junior Research Fellowship & eligibility for Assistant Professor on 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14 & 17 May 2021”.
The application window and official notification will be available on the official website.
2 February 2021
UGC has extended the deadline to qualified candidates of the UGC NET or the CSIR-UGC NET in June 2018. Candidates who could not complete their Master's degree yet due to COVID-19, the Commission has extended the date till December 2021.
The notice reads, "In the interest of the affected candidates, UGC has taken a decision to extend the last date for completing the Master's degree or equivalent course with requisite percentage of marks as per the eligibility of NET till December 31, 2021."
23 January 2021