UGC NET Selection Procedure

The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the UGC NET to assess candidates for the roles of Assistant Professor, Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), and Ph.

D. admissions in Indian universities and colleges. The June 2025 cycle will be followed by the December 2025 cycle, scheduled to take place from January 1 to January 19, 2025. The cut-off marks for each cycle will be released in PDF format on the official website – ugcnet.nta.ac.in. Candidates can also review cut-offs from previous exam sessions to understand the trend.

Step-by-Step Selection Process for UGC NET 2025

1. Online Application Submission

Candidates must complete the online application process through the official NTA UGC NET portal. This involves:

• Filling out the application form
• Uploading the required documents
• Paying the applicable examination fee

2. Download of Admit Card

Once the application is successfully submitted, candidates can download their UGC NET Admit Card from the website. It must be carried to the examination center on the day of the test.

3. UGC NET Examination

The exam is conducted in Computer-Based Test (CBT) format, consisting of two papers:

Paper 1: General Aptitude

• 50 Questions
• 100 Marks

Paper 2: Subject-Specific

• 100 Questions
• 200 Marks

Both papers are held in a single 3-hour session with no negative marking.

4. Result Declaration

NTA declares the results based on a normalized scoring system, ensuring fairness across all exam shifts. The combined marks of Paper 1 & Paper 2 are used to compile the merit list.

5. Merit List & Cut-Off Scores

JRF & Assistant Professor Eligibility: Only on top 6% of candidates who meet the subject-wise cut-off criteria are shortlisted.

Category-wise Cut-Offs: Separate cut-off scores are released for each category (General, OBC, SC, ST, EWS, etc).

The subject-wise and category-wise cut-offs are published in PDF Format in the Public Notes section of the NTA UGC NET website.

6. Issuance of Certfiicates

Qualified candidates will receive:

• An E-Certificate confirming eligibility for Assistant Professor.
• A separate JRF Award Letter for those whose qualify for the Junior Research Fellowship.

7. Validity of Certificates

JRF Award: Valid for 3 years from the date of issue.

Assistant Professor Eligiblity : The certificate has lifetime validity.

UGC-NET June 2025 Selection Process includes unique rounds of screening candidates.

UGC-NET 2025 : Computer Based Test (CBT) is one such round of the selection process. A Candidate has to score minimum marks in both the papers to be considered for the award of JRF and eligibility for Assistant Professor.

The candidates will be selected and declared as NET qualified for Assistant Professor is based on the top 15% candidates from each of the reservation category merit list with prescribed minimum marks.

Reservation are as follows:

Reservation Policy of the Government of India is applicable to UGC-NET According to this, in the Central Universities and Institutions which are deemed to be Universities, the reservation of seats shall be as follows:

1. 15% of the Seats for Scheduled Caste (SC) Candidates.

2. 7.5% of Seats Scheduled Tribe (ST) Candidates.

3. 27% of the Seats for Other Backward Classes (OBC) Non-Creamy Layer (NCL) candidates as per the Central List*

4. 10% of the Seats for General-Economically Weaker Sections (General-EWS) candidates.

5. 5% of the Seats in the above mentioned categories for persons with Disabilities (PwD) with 40% or more disability (increased from 4% to 5% vide decision from the commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (PwD) in the court of Chief Commissioner for Persona and Disabilities (PwD), dated 05.04.2022 as per section 32 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.

What after the UGC NET Cut Off?

Prior to anything further students must pass the JRF or UGC NET Exams.

Students who successfully complete the JRF exam will be paid Rs. 35,000 Per month, while those who pass the UGC NET exam will earn a stipend may range depending on the university.

While students who pass the JRF exam are guaranteed a post as an assistant professor in colleges and institutions throughout India, those who pass the NET exam will be allowed to apply for the role. After passing the NET, students who want to become assistant professors must show up for two further rounds of testing, a WAT and an interview, the results of which will determine how they are chosen. Conversely, students who pass the JRF are able to bypass the WAT exam and go straight to the interview stage. Nonetheless, in certain situations as well, the interview is not required to students who have a clear JRF.

Students have the option to work as assistant professors in addition to private sector companies like ONGC, NTPC, EdCIL, etc. However,  applicants will only be hired in these private sector companies if they meet specific experience requirements in terms of years of service.