UGC NET Eligibility 2025: Education Qualification and Age Limit

The UGC-NET is a national-level test conducted to determine the eligibility of Indian candidates for three categories: Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Assistant Professor, Assistant Professor and admission to Ph.D., and admission to Ph.D. only in Indian universities and colleges. Candidates who want to apply for the UGC NET exam for the December session must fill out the application form. It is very important that they meet the UGC NET eligibility criteria before applying. If a candidate does not have the required qualification, their application will be rejected, and they will not be allowed to appear for the exam. 

UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025

Candidates can refer to the UGC NET eligibility criteria, including educational qualifications and age limit, explained in the article below. To apply for UGC NET, candidates must have a Master’s degree or equivalent from a UGC-recognized university with at least 55% marks for General/EWS and 50% marks for other categories. There is no upper age limit for the post of Assistant Professor and for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), candidates must be 30 years or below as of 1st December 2025.

UGC NET December Notification 2025 Out - Click to Check

UGC NET Apply Online Link (Active) - Click to Apply

UGC NET Qualification 2025

Candidates need to have the following qualifications in order to be eligible to apply for the UGC NET 2025 December exam. Here's a summarized version of the UGC NET Assistant Professor Eligibility:

UGC NET Educational Qualification (Qualifying Exam)

• General/EWS Candidates must have at least 55% marks (without rounding off) in Master’s Degree or equivalent in: Humanities, Social Sciences (including languages), Computer Science & Applications, Electronic Science (From a UGC-recognized university – www.ugc.ac.in)
• OBC (Non-Creamy Layer)/SC/ST/PwD/PwBD/Third Gender candidates need at least 50% marks in Master’s Degree.

Final Year / Awaiting Result Candidates

• Candidates currently in final year of Master’s or waiting for results can apply.
• They must complete their degree within 2 years of the NET result with required marks:

1. 55% for General/EWS
2. 50% for reserved categories
3. For those qualifying only for PhD admission, the Master’s must be completed within 1 year.

Relaxations for Special Categories

• Third Gender candidates get the same relaxation in age, fees, and eligibility as SC/ST/PwD candidates.
• PhD holders who completed Master’s by 19 Sept 1991 get 5% marks relaxation (i.e., 50% required instead of 55%).

Eligibility with 4-Year Bachelor’s Degree

• Candidates with 4-year/8-semester Bachelor’s degrees must have: 75% marks or equivalent grade and relaxation of 5% for SC/ST/OBC-NCL/PwD/EWS
• NET Qualification (with 4-year UG degree):

1. Eligible for JRF and PhD admission
2. Not eligible for Assistant Professor post

Final-Year 4-Year Degree Students

• Candidates in the last year of a 4-year Bachelor’s degree can apply provisionally
• Must complete the degree as per UGC PhD Regulations 2022 within:

1. 2 years (if qualified for JRF)
2. 1 year (if qualified for PhD admission only)

Postgraduate Diplomas in India

• If you have a PG Diploma from an Indian institute, check if it’s equivalent to a Master’s degree with the Association of Indian Universities (AIU).

UGC NET Age Limit 2025 (As on 1/12/2025)

The UGC NET age criteria that candidates need to meet in order to be eligible for the posts of JRF and Assistant Professor through the UGC NET December 2025 exam are as follows:

UGC NET Assistant Professor Age Limit

There is no upper age limit for applying for the UGC NET for Assistant Professor. 

UGC NET JRF Age Limit

Candidates applying for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) should not be more than 30 years of age on the first day of the month in which the UGC NET 2025 exam concludes. This age limit is applicable to the current examination only.

UGC NET Age Limit Relaxation 2025

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

Note: If we are eligible to apply online for the UGC NET 2025 December exam, you can apply online for the UGC NET application form 2025 from 16th April to 7th May 2025 by visiting the official website https://ugcnet.ntaonline.in. 

Reservation Policy for UGC NET Seats

1. 15% seats for Scheduled Castes (SC) candidates.
2. 7.5% seats for Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates.
3. 27% seats for Other Backward Classes (OBC) Non-Creamy Layer (NCL) candidates.
4. 10% for General - Economically Weaker Sections candidates.
5. 5% seats in the above-mentioned categories for Persons with Disability (PwD) with 40% or more disability.