UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced the official eligibility criteria for the UGC NET 2025 exam. These criteria outline the academic qualifications, age limits, and other essential requirements that candidates must meet to appear for the exam. The UGC NET exam, conducted twice a year, is a crucial step for individuals aspiring to pursue careers in academia or research. Candidates must carefully review the eligibility details to ensure they meet all prerequisites before applying for the exam.
UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025
Cracking the UGC NET exam is a significant achievement for those aiming for a career in research and college-level teaching. The UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 includes specific conditions related to age limit, educational qualifications, nationality, and experience requirements. Before delving into the detailed UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025, it’s important to understand the various categories for which the UGC NET exam is conducted.
UGC NET 2025 Exam Categories
UGC NET 2025 Exam is currently held for three categories in which candidates qualify for three different post as per the cut-off. The highest cut-off is for UGC NET JRF, followed by UGC NET Assistant Professor and admission to Ph.D and the lowest cut-off is for students with Ph.D admission only. All the three categories are eligible for admission to Ph.D. program. Here is a table for UGC NET 2025 Exam Categories for December cycle:
Categories | Eligible for JRF | Eligible for Assistant Professor | Eligible for Ph.D. admission |
Category-1 Award of JRF and appointment as Assistant Professor | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Category-2 Appointment as Assistant Professor and admission to Ph.D | No | Yes | Yes |
Category-3 Admission to Ph.D. only | No | No | Yes |
UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 – Educational Qualification
Candidates are required to have specified UGC NET educational qualifications to meet UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 for the UGC NET exam 2025. Here are the UGC NET Educational Criteria 2025:
- UGC NET Minimum Qualification: The candidates who have secured at least 55% marks (without rounding off) in master’s degree in Humanities (including languages) and Social Science, Computer Science, and Applications, Electronic Science, etc, or any other equivalent examination from universities/ institutions recognized by UGC are eligible for UGC NET 2024.
- Relaxation: Those belonging to the SC / ST / OBC-NCL category should have secured at least 50% marks in their master’s degree or equivalent program.
- The Ph.D. degree holders whose Master’s level exam has been completed by 19 September 1991 (irrespective of the date of declaration of result) will also be eligible for a relaxation of 5% in aggregate marks.
- Applicants in the final year of their master’s degree course who will appear in the final exams in the year 2024 those who are awaiting their results or candidates whose qualifying examinations have been delayed can also apply for NET.
- UGC NET Basic Qualification: Candidates with a postgraduate degree/diploma/ certificate awarded by an Indian University / Institute or a foreign degree/ diploma/ certificate awarded by a foreign University/institute are advised in their own interest to ascertain the equivalence of their diploma/degree/certificate with Master’s degree of recognized Indian universities from Association of Indian Universities (AIU), New Delhi.
UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 – Age Limit
The following is the UGC NET age limit and relaxation for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Assistant Professorship in UGC NET 2025:
- UGC NET Maximum Age for JRF: The maximum age to apply for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), candidates should not be of more than 30 years.
- UGC NET Maximum Age for Assistant Professor: There is no maximum age limit to apply for the role of UGC NET Assistant Professor.
- UGC NET Maximum Age Admission to PhD: There is no upper age limit for Admission to PhD category.
- Age relaxation for UGC NET JRF:
- SC/ST/OBC/PwD and women candidates are given a relaxation of five years.
- Candidates will be also given relaxation in age limit if they have research experience and will be given relaxation limited to the period spent on research in the relevant subject of Post-Graduation degree.
- Candidates holding an LLM degree will have 3 years of relaxation in age criteria.
UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 Exemptions
The minimum UGC NET Eligibility condition for recruitment and appointment of Assistant Professorship is NET/SET/SLET in Indian universities and colleges. The UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 Exemptions are given below:
- The awardees of PhD degrees with GC Regulations, 2009 are exempted from the requirement of meeting the minimum UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025.
- Those candidates who have cleared the UGC JRF examination before 1989 will get an exemption from appearing for the UGC NET 2025 exam.
- An exemption is provided to those candidates who have cleared the State Eligibility Test (SET) before June 1, 2002, from appearing for the UGC NET 2025 exam. Based on their SET scores, such candidates get a chance to apply for the post of Assistant Professor in colleges or universities across India.
- Candidates who have cleared the State Eligibility Test after June 1, 2002, can apply for the post of UGC NET 2025 Assistant Professor only in colleges or universities which are located in the same state from where they have cleared the SET exam.
UGC NET Eligibility Criteria December 2025 – Reservations
The reservation policy applicable to the UGC NET 2025 exam is according to the rules set by the Government of India.
Category | Reservation of seats (%) |
Scheduled Castes | 1.5% |
Scheduled Tribes | 7.5 % |
Other Backward Classes Non-Creamy Layer | 27 % |
General – Economically Weaker Sections | 10% |
Persons with Disability with 40 % or more disability | 4 % |
UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 – Selection Procedure for Assistant Professor
The UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 allows candidates who have cleared a specific set of marks to qualify the UGC NET 2025 exam. Generally, only 6 percent of candidates will qualify or the post of Assistant Professor in the UGC NET 2025 examination. UGC NET Qualified candidates will be subject to a category wise reservation policy.
UGC NET Qualifying Marks 2025
Category | Paper I (Out of 100 marks) | Paper II (Out of 200 marks) |
UGC NET qualifying marks for General (Unreserved) | 40 (40%) | 40 (40%) |
OBC Non-creamy layer, PWD/SC/ST and Transgenders | 35 (35%) | 35 (35%) |
Condition | Explanation |
Number of candidates to be declared qualified for Eligibility for Assistant Professor in ‘Any subject’ for the General category | Number of candidates belonging to General category who secure at least 35% aggregate marks in both the papers taken together in ‘Any subject’ (x) Total slots derived for SC category as per Step II (÷) Total number of candidates* belonging to SC category over all subjects who secure at least 35% aggregate marks in both the papers taken together. |
UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 – Selection Procedure for JRF
UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) allows only 1% of the appeared candidates to be eligible for the UGC JRF certificate. The formula to select the qualified candidates for UGC JRF is:
Number. of Qualified Candidates (General Category) for Lectureship in English Subject | The number of candidates (General category) who opted for JRF and have qualified for assistant professor in English subject multiplied by the total number of slots available for JRF (General category), divided by the total number of candidates (General category) overall subjects who opted for JRF and qualified for Assistant Professor. |
UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 Conclusion
In conclusion, the UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 outlines the necessary academic qualifications, age limits, and other requirements for candidates wishing to appear for the exam. It’s essential for all aspirants to thoroughly review and ensure they meet the criteria before applying. Meeting these eligibility requirements is the first step towards a successful career in research and teaching through the UGC NET exam. Stay updated with the official notifications for any further details and changes.
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UGC NET Exam Eligibility Criteria 2024 – FAQs
A1. No, negative marking is not applicable.
A2. The duration of the examination is 3 hours (180 minutes).
A3. No, the UGC NET application form can be submitted online on the official website of the examination only.
A4. No, the UGC NET application fee can be paid in online mode through credit card/ debit card/ net banking/ UPI only.
A5. The last date to apply for UGC NET 2024 was 15th May 2024.
A6. Visit the official UGC NET website – https://ugcnet.nta.nic.in/ to download your admit card.
Ans. Candidates of the SC/ST category, OBC NCL category, and transgender candidates will be given a relaxation of 5% in qualifying marks.
Ans. No, the applicants must have a master’s degree in Humanities, Social Science, Computer Science and Applications, Electronic Science, etc for the UGC NET exam 2024.
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