UGC NET Eligibility 2023: UGC NET 2023 Notification will be released by National Testing Agency and lakhs of candidates who wish to appear in the exam must submit their UGC NET Application Form after confirming their eligibility. Before applying for UGC NET 2023, the candidates must be aware of the detailed UGC NET Eligibility 2023. Candidates who fail to meet the UGC NET Eligibility Criteria will not be approved to appear in the UGC NET examination by NTA.

UGC NET Eligibility 2023 – Educational Qualification

Candidates need to have the following educational qualification in order to be eligible to apply for the UGC NET 2023 exam:

1. Candidates should have secured at least 55 per cent marks in master’s degree exams. A relaxation of five per cent is given to candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Other Backward Class (OBC)/Persons with Disability (PwD)/Transgender category. Therefore, candidates from reserved categories require only 50 per cent aggregate marks in their master’s degree exams.

2. Candidates should have completed their post-graduation from a UGC recognised college/university in relevant streams such as Humanities, Social Science, Electronic Science, Computer Science & Applications, etc

3. Candidates appearing in or awaiting results for their final year examination of master’s degree are also eligible to apply online for the UGC NET exam. However, such candidates are admitted provisionally and are considered eligible only when they pass their master’s exam with the required percentage. “Such candidates must complete their PG degree examination within two years from the date of NET result with required percentage of marks, failing which they shall be treated as disqualified”, informs the official website.

4. PhD degree holders whose master’s exams were completed on September 19, 1991 (regardless of the result declaration date) are eligible for a relaxation of five per cent marks in the aggregate i.e, only 50 per cent marks are required for such candidates.

UGC NET 2023 Notification Out- Click to Check

UGC NET Apply Online 2023- Click to Check

UGC NET Eligibility 2023- Age Limit 

The UGC NET age criteria that candidates need to meet in order to be eligible for the exam is as follows:

UGC NET Age Limit 2023 for Assistant Professor 

There is no age limit to apply for the post of UGC NET Assistant Professor or Lecturership.

UGC NET Age Limit 2023 for JRF

Candidates applying for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) should not be more than 31 years of age as on the first day of the month in which the UGC NET 2023 exam concludes. This age limit is applicable for the current examination only.

UGC NET Age Limit Relaxation 2023

Age Relaxation of JRF age criteria is given to SC, ST, OBC, PwD, women, and other category candidates. Have a look at the age relaxation for the reserved categories below. 

CategoryAge Relaxation
SC/ST/OBC/PwD/Transgender5 years
Females of all categories5 years
Candidates having research experienceLimited to the period spent on research
(Maximum of 5 years)
Candidates holding LLM degree3 years
Candidates in armed forces (subject to the length of service in the armed forces)5 years

UGC NET Eligibility 2023- Reservation Policy

The reservation policy of the Government of India is applicable to UGC-NET. According to this, in the Central Universities and Institutions which are deemed to be Universities, 10% of the seats are reserved for the category General-Economically Weaker Section (GEN-EWS), 15% of the seats are reserved for the category Scheduled Caste(SC), 7.5% for the category Scheduled Tribe(ST) and 27% for the category Other Backward Classes belonging to the Non Creamy layer”(OBC-NCL).

Each category will have 4 (four)% reservations horizontally for Persons with Disabilities(PwD) as defined in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act,2016) (source-Press Release by UGC).

UGC NET Syllabus 2023 and Exam Pattern for Paper 1 & Paper 2

UGC NET Previous Year Question Papers PDF- Click Here

UGC NET Eligibility 2023: FAQs

Ans. No, candidates belonging to unreserved category should secure at least 55% marks and belonging to OBC Non-Creamy Layer/ Scheduled Caste (SC)/ Scheduled Tribe (ST)/ Persons with Disability (PwD) category have to score at least 50%.

Ans. There is no age limit for applying for the UGC NET exam if you are applying for the Assistant Professor posts.

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