UGC NET Eligibility 2025: Everything You Must Know
TABLE OF CONTENTS
If you are planning to appear for the UGC NET June 2025 exam, it is very important to first understand the eligibility rules.
The UGC NET eligibility criteria are based on your educational qualification, category, and in some cases, your age.
1. Educational Qualification
For General / Unreserved / General-EWS Candidates:
- You must have at least 55% marks (without rounding off) in your Master’s degree or equivalent.
- Your degree must be from a university/institution recognized by the UGC.
- The eligible subjects include Humanities (including languages), Social Science, Computer Science, and Electronic Science.
For OBC (Non-Creamy Layer), SC, ST, PwD, and Third Gender Candidates:
- You must have at least 50% marks (without rounding off) in your Master’s degree or equivalent.
For Final Year / Awaiting Result Candidates:
- You can apply if you are in the final year of your Master’s degree or if your result is awaited.
- You will be provisionally admitted and must get the required marks (as per your category) within 2 years of the result declaration of NET.
- For candidates qualifying only for Ph.D. admission, this deadline is 1 year.
Third Gender Candidates
- They are eligible for the same relaxation in fee, age, and marks as SC/ST/PwD candidates.
- Their cut-off marks will be the lowest among all reserved categories in their subject.
Ph.D. Holders (Special Relaxation)
- If you completed your Master’s degree on or before 19 September 1991, you get a 5% relaxation (i.e., 50% minimum required instead of 55%).
Candidates with 4-Year Bachelor’s Degrees
- You can apply for UGC NET if you have completed a 4-year/8-semester bachelor’s degree with at least 75% marks or equivalent grade.
- For SC/ST/OBC (NCL)/EWS/PwD candidates, a 5% relaxation is given.
- If you qualify, you will be eligible for JRF and Ph.D. admission.
- However, you will not be eligible for Assistant Professor posts based on the bachelor’s degree alone.
- Final-year students of 4-year bachelor’s degrees can apply.
- But they must meet UGC NET eligibility within 2 years (for JRF) or 1 year (for Ph.D. only) from the result date.
2. Subject Selection
You should appear in the subject of your Post-Graduation only.
If your subject is not in the list of UGC-NET subjects, you can choose a related subject.
The complete list is available in Appendix II of the bulletin.
3. No Document Submission at Application Stage
You do not need to upload or send your documents or application printout to NTA.
But your UGC NET eligibility will be verified later.
If you are found ineligible, your candidature will be cancelled.
4. Important Instructions for Candidates
- Your NET result depends on your combined performance in both Paper I and Paper II.
- Those who qualify for Assistant Professor or Ph.D. only will not be considered for JRF.
- Candidates qualifying for JRF can apply for research and also for Assistant Professor roles.
- If you get the JRF, you must find a university or institution to start your research.
- UGC will provide the fellowship only after that.
- The JRF offer is valid for 3 years from the date of the award letter.
- If you already enrolled in a Ph.D., it starts from the result date or the joining date, whichever is later.
5. Exemptions from NET
SET (State Eligibility Test):
If you passed SET before 1 June 2002, you can apply for Assistant Professor anywhere in India.
If you passed SET after 1 June 2002, you can apply only in the state where you passed SET.
UGC/CSIR JRF passed before 1989:
Such candidates are exempted from NET.
6. Junior Research Fellowship Age Limit and Relaxation
Maximum age for JRF (Junior Research Fellowship) is 30 years (as on 01 June 2025).
Relaxations:
- Up to 5 years relaxation is given for: OBC (NCL), SC, ST, PwD, Third gender, and Women candidates.
- Candidates with research experience (maximum 5 years; supported by certificate).
- Candidates with LL.M. degree get 3 years relaxation.
- Armed forces service also gives up to 5 years’ relaxation (based on length of service).
- Note: Maximum total relaxation is 5 years under all categories combined.
7. Age Limit for Assistant Professor and Ph.D. Admission
- No upper age limit.
UGC NET is a gateway to academic and research careers in India.
Understand the UGC NET eligibility rules carefully before applying.
Always cross-check your qualification, category, and age criteria.
For more information, visit https://ugcnet.nta.ac.in.
If you’re preparing for UGC NET exams, we at Learning Skills can help you with our online preparation courses for General Paper 01, English Literature, Commerce, Political Science and Management.
Read our article on UGC NET June 2025 for more info about the notification and other details.
| Download PDF of UGC NET June 2025 Information Bulletin |
- UGC NET Normalization and Result Preparation Process 2025 - May 2, 2025
- UGC NET Reservation Policy and Support for Candidates 2025 - May 2, 2025
- UGC NET Eligibility 2025: Everything You Must Know - May 2, 2025