National Testing Agency (NTA), University Grants Commission (UGC), National Eligibility Test (NET) - (NTA UGC-NET) December - 2026

Negative Marking : No

Exam Mode : Online (CBT)

Part

Marks

Questions

Subject

Duration

I

100

50

Teaching & Research Aptitude

03 Hours (180 Minutes)

II

200

100

Selected Subject

Educational Qualification

1. Qualifying Examination Criteria (Master's Degree Track)

• General / Unreserved / General-EWS : Candidates must have secured at least 55% marks (without rounding off) in a Master's degree or equivalent examination from universities or institutions recognized by the UGC.

• Reserved Categories (OBC-NCL / SC / ST / PwD / PwBD / Third Gender) : Candidates must have secured at least 50% marks (without rounding off) in their Master's degree or equivalent examination.

• Third Gender Candidates : Eligible for the same relaxations in fee, age, and eligibility criteria as available to SC/ST/PwD/PwBD categories. Their subject-wise qualifying cut-offs will be the lowest among those for SC/ST/PwD/PwBD/OBC-NCL/General-EWS categories.

• Ph.D. Degree Holders : Those whose Master’s level examination was completed by 19 September 1991 are eligible for a 5% relaxation in aggregate marks (dropping from 55% to 50%).

• Appearing / Result Awaited Candidates : Candidates pursuing their Master's degree, those who have appeared for their final year examination with results awaited, or those whose exams are delayed may apply provisionally. They are considered eligible for JRF/Assistant Professor only after passing the Master's degree with the required percentage (55% or 50% depending on category) within two years from the date of the NET result (or within one year if qualified for "Admission to Ph.D. Only").

2. Qualifying Examination Criteria (4-Year Bachelor's Degree Track)

• Candidates who have passed a 4-year / 8-semester Bachelor's degree programme must have a minimum of 75% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade.

• A 5% relaxation in marks (or equivalent grade) is allowed for candidates belonging to SC, ST, OBC (non-creamy layer), Differently-Abled, EWS, and other eligible categories.

• Candidates in their last semester/year of a 4-year Bachelor's programme may apply provisionally, provided they fulfill the requirement within two years (for JRF) or one year (for Ph.D. admission only) from the NET result date.

• Note: Candidates qualifying for NET based on a 4-year Bachelor's degree are eligible for the award of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and admission to Ph.D., but they are not eligible for appointment as Assistant Professor. They may also appear in any subject they wish to pursue a Ph.D. in, irrespective of their undergraduate discipline.

3. Exemption from NET/SET/SLET (For Assistant Professor)

• NET/SET/SLET remains the minimum eligibility condition for recruitment and appointment of Assistant Professors. Exemptions are governed by UGC regulations and include :

  • Candidates who passed the UGC/CSIR/JRF examination prior to 1989.

  • Candidates who cleared a UGC-accredited SET exam held prior to 01 December 2002 (eligible anywhere in India). For SET exams held from 01 December 2002 onwards, candidates are eligible only within the universities/colleges of the state where they cleared the SET.

How to Apply?

• Step 1 : Single Sign-On Registration — Visit the official NTA website ([https://ugcnet.nta.nic.in](https://ugcnet.nta.nic.in)), access the "Meri Pehchaan" single sign-on platform, register using your basic personal details and mobile number, and complete eKYC verification via DigiLocker or other integration options.

• Step 2 : Generate Application Number and Password — Fill in your initial personal details during registration to create a secure password and generate a unique system-generated Application Number for all future logins.

• Step 3 : Complete Online Application Form — Log in using your Application Number and password to fill out your academic qualifications, choose your exam paper, and select your four preferred exam centre cities.

• Step 4 : Capture Live Photograph and Upload Documents — Switch on your device camera or webcam to capture a live photograph, and upload scanned copies of your recent photograph (10 kb–200 kb with 80% face visibility), signature (10 kb–50 kb), and PwD/UDID certificate (50 kb–300 kb PDF, if applicable).

• Step 5 : Review Application Details — Carefully check all entered particulars on the review page, as no data edits will be permitted after the final submission and closure of the correction window.

• Step 6 : Pay Examination Fee — Remit the required application fee online through Net Banking, Debit Card, Credit Card, or UPI using the integrated payment gateways.

• Step 7 : Download and Print Confirmation Page — Save, download, and print multiple copies of the confirmation page generated immediately after a successful fee transaction to complete your application process.

Selection Process

• Step 1 : Application and Eligibility Verification — Candidates must successfully register online, fulfill the educational and age criteria, and appear for the exam.

• Step 2 : Computer-Based Test (CBT) Appearance — Candidates must appear for both Paper 1 (Teaching & Research Aptitude) and Paper 2 (Domain Knowledge) in a single 3-hour continuous session without any breaks.

• Step 3 : Minimum Aggregate Threshold (Qualifying Criteria) — To be considered for results, candidates must appear in both papers and secure at least 40% aggregate marks (for General/Unreserved/General-EWS) or at least 35% aggregate marks (for SC, ST, OBC-NCL, PwD/PwBD, and Third Gender categories).

• Step 4 : Normalization (If Multiple Shifts) — If a subject exam is conducted across multiple shifts, raw marks are converted into NTA Scores (Percentiles) using the equi-percentile method to maintain a level playing field.

• Step 5 : Category-Wise Slot Allocation (Assistant Professor) — Qualified slots for Assistant Professor are allocated as 6% of the total appearing candidates who pass both papers, distributed across categories based on the Government of India reservation policy.

• Step 6 : JRF and Ph.D. Admission Allocation — Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) slots and Ph.D. admission categories (Category-1, Category-2, and Category-3) are finalized based on combined merit lists, subject cut-offs, and reservation rules.