UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 - Age limit, Qualification, Marks, Reservation

UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 - Age limit, Qualification, Marks, Reservation

Edited By Namritha Bachwal | Updated on 12 Feb, 2025 11:35 AM IST | #UGC NET
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UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 - National Testing Agency provides the UGC NET eligibility criteria 2025 for the June session on the official website. The UGC NET 2025 eligibility criteria will be elaborated in the official NET notification at ugcnet.nta.ac.in. The UGC NET eligibility criteria comprises of the age limit, academic qualifications and other such conditions that candidates need to fulfill to be considered eligible for UGC NET exam. Candidates who meet the eligibility criteria can fill out the UGC NET 2025 application form.

This Story also Contains
  1. UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025
  2. UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 - Reservations
  3. UGC NET Eligibility Criteria - Application Form
UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 - Age limit, Qualification, Marks, Reservation
UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 - Age limit, Qualification, Marks, Reservation

The minimum academic qualification for the NTA UGC NET 2025 eligibility is a post-graduation degree, and those who are awaiting the result of their master's degree can also apply for UGC NET. The age limit for JRF is not more than 30 years. However, according to the UGC NET eligibility criteria 2025, there is no upper age limit for Assistant Professors/Lecturers. To know more about the UGC NET eligibility criteria, read the full article below.

UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025

Candidates must go through the UGC NET 2025 eligibility criteria before applying. UGC NET is conducted twice every year to determine the qualifying status for candidates aspiring to be JRF and Assistant Professors. Below is the age limit for different posts under UGC NET 2025:

UGC NET Age Limit 2025

Post

Age limit

UGC ET JRF age limit

30 years

UGC NET age limit for Assistant Professor

No upper age limit

Note: The JRF age limit for general category is not more than 30 years.

Read More: UGC NET 2025 Exam Pattern

UGC NET Age Relaxation 2025

The UGC NET 2025 age relaxation details is given in the table below:

Age Relaxation For UGC NET 2025

Category

Age relaxation

Candidates pursuing LLM degree

3 years

Ex-Army man (The length of service in the armed forces up to the first day of the month in which the concerned UGC-NET is conducted, i.e., December 1, 2023).

5 years

SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer)/Female/Transgender

5 years

Research candidates (only on producing the certificate issued by appropriate authority)

5 years

UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 - Educational Qualifications

As per the UGC NET qualification, candidates have to fulfill certain educational qualifications to be eligible for UGC NET exam 2025. The UGC NET 2025 educational qualifications have been specified below:

  • General/ unreserved/ General-EWS candidates must have a score of at least 55% in their Master's degree/ equivalent examination (MA, M.Sc, M.Com, M.Tech, MBA, etc.). The OBC/ SC/ ST/ PwD/ other gender categories must have a score of at least 50% in their Master's degree / equivalent examination to write this test.

  • Candidates who are pursuing their Master's degree or candidates who have appeared for their qualifying masters degree or candidates whose qualifying examination has been delayed are also eligible for this exam. Such candidates must complete their Master’s degree within 2 years from the date of the NET results.

  • Candidates who are from the third gender category will have the lowest subject-wise cut off compared to the other lower categories.

  • Candidates are advised to appear in the subject of their Post- Graduation only.

  • The candidates who have passed the 4 year bachelor's degree program must have a percentage of 75%. A relaxation of 5% marks or its equivalent may be allowed for backward castes ( SC/ST/OBC).

  • Candidates who are still pursuing their 4 year bachelor's degree may also apply for the exam. However, the candidates will be awarded the JRF/ admission to Ph.D only after fulfilling certain requirements.

  • Candidates who are doing their Bachelors degree can choose the subject of their choice in the NET exam in the discipline they want to pursue their Ph.D.

UGC NET 2025 Eligibility Criteria - Subject Relevance (Masters)

Candidates while applying for UGC NET 2025 must make sure that they select the test for the subject they have studied in their post-graduation. In case the subject of the candidate is not given in the list given by NTA, candidates can choose the relevant subject from the list as per their preference.

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UGC NET 2025 Eligibility for JRF

Candidates who are appearing for UGC NET JRF are eligible for both Assistant Professors and fellowships programs. A candidate who qualifies for JRF will also be deemed qualified for a Lectureship. However, if any candidate qualifies for Lectureship won’t be considered qualified for JRF. In such a case, candidates will be considered for Lectureship only.

UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 - Exemption (Eligibility for Assistant Professor)

  • Candidates must have qualified `NET/SET/SLAT to be appointed as Assistant Professors. In this case, the exemption (from appearing in NET/SET/SLET) will be governed by UGC regulations and amendments notified in the Gazette of India from time to time.

  • Candidates who have qualified for the UGC/CSIR JRF exam before the year 1990 are exempted from appearing for the UGC NET 2025 exam.

  • Those candidates who have qualified for the State Eligibility Tests (SETs) before the year 2002 are also exempted from appearing for UGC NET 2025. However, such candidates will have to apply for Assistant Professors in the Universities/Colleges of the state of which they have qualified the SET.

Eligibility criteria of other TET exams

UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 - Reservations

In UGC NET the reservation policy of the Government of India is applicable as per which in central universities and Institutions the reservation of seats shall be as follows:

  • 15% seats for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates.
  • 7.5% seats for Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates.
  • 27% seats for Other Backward Classes (OBC) Non-Creamy Layer (NCL) candidates.
  • 10% for General - Economically Weaker Sections candidates.
  • 5% seats in the above-mentioned categories for Persons with Disability (PwD) with 40% or more disability.

For detailed information on the UGC NET eligibility criteria 2025 aspirants are advised to download the UGC NET information brochure.

UGC NET Eligibility Criteria - Application Form

The National Testing Agency releases the UGC NET 2025 application form for the June 2025 session on the official website at ugcnet.nta.nic.in. The last date to submit the UCG NET application form and pay the application fee will be mentioned in the official notification. The UGC NET exam 2025 application form is available in online mode only. Candidates are required to upload scanned copies of their photograph and signature along with the payment of the application fee to successfully complete the UGC NET 2025 application process.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What is the age limit for the UGC NET exam 2024?

The maximum age limit for JRF is 30 years while there is no upper age limit for the post of assistant professor.

2. Am I guaranteed a job after clearing UGC NET 2024?

No, candidates are not guaranteed a job after clearing UGC NET 2024. The exam is just an eligibility requirement to apply for the post of JRF and Assistant Professor at universities and colleges in the country.

3. I am a graduate, can I apply for UGC NET?

Yes, graduates with a 4 year bachelors degree need to meet certain UP TET eligibility criterias before applying for the examination.

4. Is there any age relaxation for reserved category candidates?

As per the eligibility criteria of UGC NET 2024, reserved category candidates are given age relaxation in the UGC NET exam.

5. What is the UGC NET age limit for female?

The UGC NET age limit for female candidates is 30 years for JRF and no upper age limit for Assistant Profesor. 

6. Where can I get the UGC NET eligibility criteria details?

Candidates can check the UGC NET 2024 eligibility criteria in the official brochure released on the site.

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Questions related to UGC NET

Have a question related to UGC NET ?

Hello there,

It is important to carry all the documents that you have been told to bring on your exam day. Every piece of document in the exam hall matters. NTA guidelines on national level exams states that a candidate must have 2 passport size photographs that is there on their online application. This is solely because the purpose of identification of a candidate. One photograph will be pasted on attendance sheet. You need to carry what else is the guidelines to avoid any issue in exam hall.

I hope this information will be helpful to you.


Hello aspirant,

Solving previous year question papers immensely helps you in enhancing your preparation for a competitive exam like NET UGC. It gives you the idea of exam pattern, level of questions asked in exam etc.

To get the UGC NET last year question papers, you can visit our website by clicking on the link given below.

https://competition.careers360.com/download/ugc-net-sample-papers-previous-years

Thank you

Hope this information helps you.

Hello there,

If you have mistakenly clicked on the wrong gender, you need not to be worried. The NTA (National Testing Agency) conducts UGC-NET Exam twice a year- June and December cycle and always open a correction window for those candidates who have filled any of their details incorrectly. This correction window will give you a chance to correct your mistakes in the application form. But, it is very important to know that this correction window may be or may not be opened for a longer period of time. like for a week or so.

To keep update, carefully watch NTA UGC-NET website.

https://ugcnet.nta.ac.in/

GOOD LUCK!

Hello,

Yes, candidate who has completed their Master's from IGNOU can apply for UGC-NET. The eligibility criteria of appearing in UGC-NET Exam is to score an equivalent or more than 55% in their Master's CGPA.

UGC-NET Exam happens twice a year. The June cycle has been re-scheduled. The second cycle will take place in the month of December.

Hello Aspirant,

As per the guidelines issued by UGC NET, a candidate enrolled in a Master's program, whether in the 1st semester or the last, is eligible to sit for the UGC NET exam of the subject in which they are doing masters in. Please don't let people misguide you, you may even check the eligibility criteria mentioned on the UGC NET website.

Hope this helps!

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