UGC NET 2025 Exam Date Out for December Session, Exam Pattern, Syllabus

National Testing Agency (NTA) is responsible for conducting the UGC NET exam twice a year (June session and December session) to determine eligibility for Assistant Professorships, Junior Research Fellowships, or both for Indian Universities and Colleges. UGC NET Exam 2025 for the December session is going to be held from 31st December to 7th January 2025. Candidates can check the complete exam schedule from the article. 

What is UGC NET Exam?

UGC NET is a national-level exam held to determine the eligibility of Indian nationals for ‘Award of Junior Research Fellowship’, ‘Appointment as Assistant Professor’, ‘Appointment as Assistant Professor and admission to Ph.D.’, and ‘Admission to Ph.D. only’ in Indian Universities and Colleges. UGC NET is an exam that qualifies candidates for:

• Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) to pursue research with financial aid
• Assistant Professor roles to teach in universities/colleges
• PhD Admission Eligibility – 70% weightage given to NET score, 30% to university interview

UGC NET December 2025 Exam

Those candidates who hold a master's degree and fulfil the other required eligibility parameters can register for the UGC NET Application Form 2025 through the official website portal of the National Testing Agency (NTA).

UGC NET Exam Date 2025 Out

National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced the exam date for University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test for the December session through the official notice released at www.ugcnet.nta.nic.in. As per the schedule, the UGC-NET December 2025 Exam will be held from 31st December 2025 to 07th January 2026 in Computer-Based Test (CBT) at various exam centres throughout the country.

UGC NET December Exam Date 2025 Out - Click to Check

UGC NET 2025- Important Dates

All important dates for the UGC NET 2025 December exam have been released along with the release of the UGC NET Notification 2025 PDF. Check important dates from the table below.  

UGC NET 2025 Notification

National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the UGC NET 2025 Notification along with registration dates at the official website www.ugcnet.nta.nic.in. Candidates interested in the UGC NET exam should go through the detailed notification to ascertain their eligibility and other details. 

UGC NET Notification 2025 PDF - Click to Download

• Is UGC NET Exam Tough?
  Usually UGC NET exam (University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test) is considered moderately to highly tough, due to its high level of competition and the need for strong subject-specific and general aptitude knowledge.
• What is NFOBC in UGC NET?
  National Fellowship for Other Backward Classes (OBC) is also known as NFOBC, is a scheme that provides financial support to OBC students for higher studies (M.Phil. and Ph.D.) in various streams.
• What is NFSC in UGC NET?
  The National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste Students NFSC in UGC NET is a scheme that provides financial assistance for higher education (M.Phil./Ph.D.) to students from the Scheduled Caste (SC) category

UGC NET 2025 Eligibility Criteria

Candidates must apply after reading the UGC NET Eligibility Criteria to appear in the UGC NET 2025 exam. Here are the broad pointers:

UGC NET Educational Qualification

- Candidates must be graduates of UGC-recognized universities or institutions with a master’s degree or its equivalent.
- Candidates having passed a 4-year/8-semester bachelor’s degree program should have a minimum of 75% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade on a point scale wherever the grading system is followed. A relaxation of 5% marks or its equivalent grade may be allowed for those belonging to SC/ST/OBC (non-creamy layer)/Differently-Abled, Economically Weaker Section (EWS) and other categories
- Candidates who are in their last semester of a post-graduate degree are also eligible to apply.
- The qualifying exam has to be passed in Humanities (including languages) and Social Science, Computer Science & Applications and Electronic Science.
- Candidates should have scored 55% marks and 50% marks for reserved category students.
- Candidates, appearing in the final semester of the master’s degree can also apply.
- 5% relaxation is given to Ph.D degree holders in aggregate marks. Such candidates should have a Master’s degree examination which shall be completed by 19th September 1991.

• Who can give the UGC NET Exam?
  The Indian candidates holding a Master's degree with at least 55% aggregate marks (or 50% for SC/ST/OBC/PwD/Third Gender) and candidates who are appearing for their final Master's degree can apply and appear for the UGC NET exam.
• How Many Attempts for UGC NET?
  There is no specific age limit on the number of attempts for the UGC NET exam, but there is an upper age limit of 30 years to apply for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF).

UGC NET Age Limit 

Junior Research Fellowship(JRF) - Not more than 30 years. 

- Relaxation of 5 years is provided in the upper age limit for OBC-NCL, SC, ST and PwD categories.
- Three years of relaxation in age will be permissible to the candidates with an L.L.M. degree. A relaxation of upto 5 years is provided to the candidates who have served in the armed forces subject to the length of service in the armed forces up to the first day of the month in which the concerned UGC-NET is to be held.
- Total age relaxation on the above ground(s) shall not exceed five years under any circumstances.

UGC NET 2025 Application Form

The online application process for UGC NET 2025 has started on 7th October 2025 at the official website of www.ugcnet.nta.nic.in, along with the release of the detailed notification PDF. Candidates can apply online till 7th November 2025 of the application. Candidates must keep important documents handy while submiting the application form. 

UGC NET Application Form 2025 Link (Active) - Click to Apply

UGC NET 2025 Application Fee 

The application fee for the UGC NET 2025 exam is different for all categories. The application fee is not refundable or transferable once paid. It can be paid through a credit/ debit card or an e-Challan. All the candidates paying through e-Challan have to make the cash payment in the bank. The category-wise fee details are mentioned below:

1. General/ Unreserved- Rs. 1150/-
2. General-EWS/OBC-NCL- Rs. 600/-
3. SC/ST/PwD & Third Gender- Rs. 325/-

Processing charges & Goods and Services Tax (GST) are to be paid by the candidate, as applicable.

Assistant Professor: There is no upper age limit in applying for UGC-NET for Assistant Professor.

UGC NET 2025 Reservation Policy 

According to the reservation policy of India, UGC NET candidates are subject to the reservation policy. Below is a table with the reservation policies according to the categories for the UGC NET exam:

Important Documents for UGC NET 2025 Exam

Candidates have to upload all the original documents with the proper size given in the notification pdf. The documents required for UGC NET Dec Application Form 2025 are given below.

UGC NET 2025 Exam Pattern

UGC NET 2025 Examination shall be conducted as Computer-Based Test (CBT) only. The Online Test will consist of two papers. both the papers will consist of objective-type, multiple-choice questions. There will be no break between two papers.

Is there negative marking in UGC NET?
There is no negative marking in the UGC NET exam.

UGC NET Paper Details

Exam Mode: The entrance test will be organized in Online CBT mode.

Number of Papers: There will be two papers for the exam – Paper-I and Paper-II.

Number of Questions: A total of 150 questions will be there in the exam paper. 50 questions in Paper I and 100 questions in Paper-II.

Type of Questions: The question paper will contain multiple-choice type questions.

Language Medium: The question paper will be available in the medium language of English and Hindi.

Time Duration: Paper I will be of 1-hour duration while Paper II will be of 2 hours.

Total Marks: Paper 1 will be 100 marks and Paper-II will be 200 marks.

Marking Scheme: For every correct answer, 2 marks will be given. There will be no provision of negative marking for incorrect answers.

Click Here to View UGC NET Exam Pattern (Paper I + Paper II)

UGC NET 2025 Syllabus

NTA has released the UGC NET Syllabus 2025 exam along with its official notification. A candidate must know the syllabus of the exam before preparing for the same. UGC NET 2025 exam will be a Computer-Based Test (CBT) consisting of two papers, i.e., Paper I and II conducted in a single session (No break between both papers). 

UGC NET Paper 1 Syllabus 2025 - Click to Check

UGC NET Previous Year Question Papers PDF- Click Here

UGC NET Posts 2025

The UGC NET exam provides candidates with the opportunity to qualify for two prestigious roles in Indian higher education: the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Assistant Professor. Depending on their performance in the exam, candidates may become eligible for funded research programs (Ph.D.), teaching positions in colleges and universities, or both.

1. Junior Research Fellowship (JRF)

• Purpose - For full-time Ph.D. and research
• Benefits: ₹37,000/month (1st 2 years), ₹42,000/month (from 3rd year), HRA, UGC funding

1. Assistant Professor

• Purpose - For teaching roles in colleges/universities
• Benefits - Eligible for permanent/contractual teaching job, academic promotions, and Ph.D. optional

List of Subjects and their Codes

The list of subject names and subject codes has been given in the tabulated forms for UGC NET Dec Exam 2025.

UGC NET 2025 Selection Procedure

Candidates qualifying for the entrance test of UGC NET 2025, will be selected in the subject-wise and category-wise merit list published online. Top 6% of total students who have appeared for both the papers in the test will be considered qualified for the entrance test. Admission into various Indian Universities or Institutions for the position of Assistant professor or JRF will be offered on the basis of cut-off score secured as per their categories. The top 15% of candidates from each category and subject will be selected and declared eligible for Assistant Professor Position only. 

UGC NET 2025 Exam Centre

National Testing Agency conducts the UGC NET 2025 exam across 224 cities all over the country. The applicants have to choose their preferences while submitting their UGC NET Application Form. The list of UGC NET exam centers is provided below.

UGC NET 2025 Answer Key

After completion of the entrance exam, the board will publish the UGC NET 2025 Answer key. Candidates will be able to download the Answer key online mode. The Answer key will be released for both Paper – I and II in various sets containing all the right answers of the questions asked in the exam paper. Candidates can also challenge the answer key in case they are not satisfied with the answers given in it. After considering the challenges, a final answer key will be released by the board.

UGC NET 2025 Result

After the completion of exams and the release of the answer key, the board will announce the result. The results will be released once the exam has been conducted. Students can check their results online mode by submitting their roll number and date of birth. Only the candidates who will qualify for the test by securing the cut-off marks will be called for the counselling process.

UGC NET 2025 Scorecard

The scorecard will be released along with the release of results. UGC NET 2025 Scorecard will mention various important details about the candidate and the entrance exam. These details will include the candidate’s name, course name, hall ticket number, total marks, marks secured by the candidate in Paper I and II, rank scored and percentage.

UGC NET 2025 Cut Off

UGC NET 2025 Cut Off will be published online by the authority after the entrance test. Separate category wise and subject wise merit lists will be drawn for the students successfully securing the cut off marks. In the below table we have mentioned the cut off marks for various categories as per last year trends:

UGC NET Cut Off [Previous Year]- Click to Check