The UGC NET Eligibility 2024 is detailed in the official notification released by the NTA.
The National Testing Agency (NTA) selects candidates who fulfil NET Exam Eligibility Criteria for Assistant Professor and Junior Research Fellow (JRF) in reputed Indian universities and colleges.
As per the required UGC NET Qualification:
Candidates possessing a postgraduate degree with 55% marks can apply for the exam.
Candidates should not be more than 30 years of age for JRF. However, there is no age limit to apply for the post of Assistant Professor.
If you are a NET aspirant, you must check the complete UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2024 for Assistant Professor and Junior Research Fellowship before applying for the exam.
In this article, you will find all the following information: -
UGC NET 2024 Eligibility Criteria
Exemption for Assistant Professor
What Subject should I select for UGC NET?
Eligibility for B.Tech Candidates
UGC NET 2024 Eligibility for Commerce Students
Eligible Subjects for Diploma Graduates
Eligibility for MBA Candidates
UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2024 for JRF and Assistant Professor
The UGC NET Eligibility includes age limit and educational qualification criteria. The eligibility for UGC NET JRF & Assistant professor is different and you have to specify this while filling out the application form. Below are the details of the Eligibility criteria for UGC NET 2024.
UGC NET Educational Qualifications
Educational qualification for assistant professors and JRF is the same. In order to appear for the UGC NET Exam, you need to fulfil the below-mentioned UGC NET Eligibiity Criteria for Education:
55% aggregate marks (without rounding off) in master’s or equivalent degree from universities recognized by UGC - for General/EWS category candidates.
50% aggregate marks (without rounding off) in master’s or equivalent degree - for ST/SC/OBC-NCL/ PWD/Transgender candidates.
PhD degree holders who have completed their master’s examination on or before 19th September 1991 (irrespective of the date of declaration of result) will be eligible for a relaxation of 5% in aggregate marks for appearing in the NTA NET.
75% aggregate marks in 8-semester/ 4-year bachelor’s degree programme from any universities - for ST/SC/OBC-NCL/ PWD/Transgender candidates.
Important Note-
You can still apply for the UGC NET Exam if the final exam results for your master's degree are awaited.
However, you will be only considered for the award of JRF and Lectureship when you pass the master’s degree with the required percentage within 2 years of UGC NET Result declaration. Otherwise, you will be exempted from it.
If you have completed your post-graduate degree/diploma/certificate from a foreign university/institute. In that case, you should ascertain the equivalence of the diploma/degree/certificate with a degree from the Association of Indian Universities (AIU) in New Delhi.
Candidates are neither required to send any certificate/document supporting their eligibility nor printout of their UGC NET Application Form to the NTA. However, candidates must mention their category in the form and bring relevant certificates at the time of admission/appointment.
If any ineligibility is found by NTA at any stage, the student's candidature will be cancelled, and they shall be liable for legal actions.
You can apply for the NET Exam only for the subject in which you have completed your master’s degree/equivalent. But in case, the subject is not on the list, you may apply for the related subject. We have mentioned the list of subjects and courses that you can apply for in our UGC NET subjects blog.
Candidates belonging to the third gender category are eligible to draw the same relaxation in fee, age, and Eligibility Criteria for NET.
UGC NET Age Limit
The applicants who are less than or equal to 30 years as of Jun 1, 2024, can apply for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF). The candidates who fall under the category of SC/ST/OBC get relaxation according to UGC norms.
Age Limit criteria for JRF are different from lectureship. Below is the UGC NET Exam age limit for JRF and Assistant professor:
For Junior Research Fellowship, you must not be above 30 years of age as on the 1st day of the month when the examination is concluded.
For Assistant Professor, there are no upper age limit criteria.
For Admission to PhD, there are no upper age limit criteria.
Age Relaxation
University Grant Commission provides some relaxation in the upper age limit for UGC NET aspirants, such as:
| Category |
Age Relaxation |
| OBC, ST, SC, PWD, Transgender and females Applicants |
5 years |
| Research Experience (only if an approved university or institute produces the certificate) |
5 years |
| L.L.M. Degree |
3 years |
| Armed Forces |
5 years |
If you fulfill all these NTA UGC NET Eligibility Criteria for assistant professor/JRF, then you must download the following free study kit by experts. These sample notes and papers will help you take your preparation in the right direction.
| Download Free UGC NET Material for All Subjects [Trusted & Recommended by 4600+ Selected Students] |
Also, you can use the free UGC NET Rank Predictor to check the expected all-India percentile score.
Along with it, you will get other benefits such as paper analysis, question paper PDF, career catalog, etc.
UGC NET Eligibility - Exemption for Assistant Professor
The following relaxations will be provided to the candidates applying for the post of Assistant Professor to appear in the UGC NET examination.
Candidates who have qualified for the UGC/CSIR/JRF before 1989 are exempted from appearing in UGC NET Exam.
Candidates who have qualified States Eligibility test ( SET) such as MH SET, KSET, RSET, etc. before June 1, 2002, are exempted from appearing in UGC NET 2024 Exam.
Candidates who have qualified SET Exam after 1st June 2002, can also apply for the post of Assistant Professor only in colleges/universities in India.
UGC NET Eligibility - Reservation Policy
The reservation policy of the Government of India applies to UGC NET as the UGC NET Eligibility Criteria.
According to this, in the Central Universities and Institutions that are deemed to be Universities, the reservation of seats shall be as follows as recommended by the NET Eligibility:
| Category |
Reservation of seats |
| Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates |
15% |
| Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates |
7.5% |
| Other Backward Classes (OBC) Non-Creamy Layer (NCL) |
27% |
| General – Economically Weaker Sections (General – EWS) candidates |
10% |
| Persons with Disabilities (PwD) with 40% or more disability |
05% |
What Subject should I select for NTA UGC NET?
In this section, you will find the queries regarding the subjects for NET Eligibility Criteria 2024.
Every year, many aspirants get confused about the subject eligibility for UGC NET 2024 which sometimes affects the application process. Check out these NTA NET subjects’ eligibility queries to know whether you can apply for the exam.
Can B-Tech Graduates Apply for the UGC NET?
An engineering candidate must have completed or should be pursuing an M-Tech degree to appear for the UGC NET.
You can download the list of engineering courses and their eligible UGC NET Subjects by clicking the below link.
UGC NET Qualification - Eligible Subjects for B.Tech Graduates
Can an Art Student Apply for UGC NET?
It would help if you had a master’s degree in arts to give the NET exam.
Here are all the art courses in which you can appear for the NTA UGC NET Exam. Kindly click the link below-
Eligibility UGC NET - Suitable Subjects for Arts
Download UGC NET Mock Test Papers Free PDF
Can an M.Sc. student appear for UGC NET Exam?
To check the details of UGC NET science subjects and courses, you must click the below-mentioned link.
UGC NET Qualification - Eligible Subjects for MSc
Is it possible to apply for UGC NET after doing a Master's in Commerce?
Below is the list of all the courses in commerce. Candidates can apply for different subjects of UGC NET according to these courses. Please click the link below.
Eligibility for UGC NET - Suitable Subjects for Commerce
UGC NET Subjects for Various Diploma Courses
If you want to apply for the UGC NET Exam after qualifying for the diploma courses, below is the list of UGC NET subjects for which you can appear in the exam. Please click the link below.
Eligible UGC NET Subjects for Diploma
How to Become a Professor after doing an MBA?
Candidates with MBA degrees have wonderful opportunities to fulfill their dreams of becoming lecturers in India’s prestigious universities by qualifying for the National Eligibility Test conducted by NTA.
Check the list of all the latest management courses from which you can choose the suitable UGC NET Subjects. Refer to the link below.
UGC NET Qualification - Eligible Subjects for MBA
Once you check the UGC NET eligibility 2024 then you must check the other important steps of the process. Such as:
UGC NET Online Coaching & Course
UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2024 Frequently Asked Questions
Here in this section, you can check the most common questions related to the UGC NET Eligibility Criteria. You can also check the NTA UGC NET FAQs if you have any queries regarding the UGC NET exam.
Question - Is B.Tech students eligible for UGC NET?
Answer – Yes, B.Tech students can appear for the UGC NET exam if they pursue or have pursued M.Tech with minimum qualification marks.
Question - How many attempts are there for the UGC NET exam?
Answer - There is no limit on the number of attempts for the NET Exam. However, the age limit for JRF is 30 years, and for Assistant Professor there is no age limit. You can check the complete UGC NET JRF Eligibility here.
Question - Can a graduate apply for the UGC NET exam?
Answer– A graduate student cannot apply for the UGC NET exam. If you have successfully completed 8-semester/ 4-year bachelor’s degree programme with a minimum of 75% marks, you are eligible.
Question - What is the UGC NET age limit/relaxation criteria for candidates appearing in the exam?
Answer– There is no age limit for the post of Assistant Professor in NTA NET. But, the UGC NET JRF Age limit is 30 years.
Subscribe to Eduncle’s UGC NET Channel Now!
Question - Is there any exemption available for the eligibility for the assistant professor?
Answer– Qualifying in NET/SET/LSET is the minimum eligibility condition to be appointed as an assistant professor. Officials will notify you in regard to the exemption of these exams that will be governed by UGC Regulations.
Question - Am I eligible for UGC NET Exam after PGDM/PGDMB Degree?
Answer– Yes, you can apply for the UGC NET exam after PGDM/PGDMB.
Question - Am I eligible for the UGC NET Exam after Charted Accountant (CA)/ Company Secretary (CS)?
Answer– Yes, NTA allows CA/CS students to apply for the UGC NET exam.
Get Free UGC NET Study Plan & Boost your Learning
If you have any queries about the NTA UGC NET Eligibility criteria 2024, you can share them with us through the comment box below. We will try to solve your queries as soon as possible.
You can also join India’s No.1 Learning Community for UGC NET, where you will get a doubt solution for all your exam-related queries with the help of experts from all over India. To join the community, you can download the Eduncle app now.
Thank you
