Is UGC-NET Mandatory for PhD programs in India? [2024]

As per the notification by the commission, the decision was made on 13th March 2024 that UGC-NET examination scores are valid to pursue PhD in India.

No multiple entrance examinations are valid to pursue PhD in India. Hence it becomes mandatory to crack the UGC NET examination to gain admission in PhD in India.

UGC-NET 2024 was canceled on June 19th by the Education Ministry saying that the examination integrity has been compromised. Click Here To know More Details. 

However, you can get multiple other options to pursue doctorate programs without an entrance examination that is valid in India. 

UGC NET Examination is conducted twice a year and is known as an extremely difficult examination. The passing percentage of the NET examination is so low and hence many candidates get demotivated after examination results.

Candidates seeking to pursue PhD degree often take this examination. However, due to its high competition level and low passing ratio, the candidates are often left empty-handed.

But worry not, many other alternatives can be taken by the candidates. Here in this blog, we have given the alternatives to the UGC NET examination, to pursue doctorate programs in India. 

What is the UGC NET Examination?

UGC NET is a national-level entrance examination that is conducted by the NTA(National Testing Agency). This examination is conducted to offer admission to the candidates for PhD and also grants fellowships to the candidates who qualify for NET JRF. The examination is conducted twice a year in two cycles.

This examination is going to be conducted soon in June. The examination’s syllabus comprises the syllabus of both undergraduate and postgraduate.

The examination is difficult and requires a lot of hard work and revisions. As per the latest update, the UGC NET examination will be conducted on 18th June in 2 Shifts.

The examination for UGC-NET June 2024 will be conducted in a Pen-Paper module as per the latest notification by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Examinations for more than 100 subjects will be held on the same day on 18th June at various examination centers.

Eligibility criteria to enrol in UGC- NET examination?

If you are looking to appear in the UGC- NET examination, you must have to fulfil certain eligibility criteria.

We have mentioned important criteria here -

• Candidates applying for the UGC NET examination must have a master’s degree or equivalent from a recognised university. 
• Candidate must have at least scored 50% marks in the master's degree. This percentage varies for different sections. 

UGC NET examination pattern 

Here we have given the examination pattern of the UGC NET examination.

Parameters	Paper 1	Paper 2
Examination Duration	3 hours	3 hours
Examination Mode	Online	Online
Question Type	Multiple choice questions(MCQ)	Multiple choice questions(MCQ)
Type of Examination	Same for all candidates	It is a subject-specific examination.
Marking Scheme	2 marks for the right answer and 0 marks for the wrong answer.	2 marks for the right answer and 0 marks for the wrong answer.
Total Marks	100	200
Total Questions	50	100

Syllabus of paper 1 of UGC NET

Here we have given the syllabus for Paper 1 of the UGC NET which is common for all subjects. 

• Teaching aptitude 
• Research Ethics 
• Communications 
• Information & Communication Technology
• Reading comprehension
• Logical reasoning and Aptitude 
• Data Interpretation 

What are the other alternatives of the UGC NET examination to get Dr title with your name?

You can get a title with your name by either studying medicine or by having a doctorate. The candidate must attempt and clear the UGC NET examination if they want to pursue a doctorate, but this is not a fact.

The candidate can also enrol in the online Doctorate program to get dr title with the name.

The candidates must have to fulfil some basic eligibility criteria to enrol in these online doctorate programs. These doctorate programs are offered by foreign universities and are valid globally including India. 

Some of the universities offering doctorate programs are -

• Rushford Business School Online
• Golden Gate University Online
• Columbia Southern University
• George Fox University
• Wilmington University
• University of Arizona Law
• Liberty University
• William Howard Taft University
• ESGCI Paris Online
• UCLA Law
• Swiss School of Business and Management Online
• Yale Law School

What are the benefits of pursuing doctorate programs Online?

There are certain benefits to pursuing a doctorate program online. 

• Candidates who are unable to clear the UGC NET examination are eligible to pursue Online doctorate programs without appearing in any entrance examination. 
• The candidate can get dr title with the name after completion of the doctorate program 
• The candidate can also get the advanced knowledge and skills that can help them to take their career to the next level. 
• You will get better career and job opportunities at top C-level positions and other top positions. 
• Working professionals who are willing to upskill their knowledge and have good work experience can get into these courses that help them to take better career opportunities. 

Online doctorate programs that can be pursued without entrance examinations 

 

1) Doctorate in Business Administration 

DBA or Doctorate in Business Administration online can be conducted without giving any entrance examination.

But you must have some work experience in the related field if you are looking to enrol in DBA. You can pursue a DBA in online mode from the top foreign universities. Some eligibility criteria must be fulfilled. 

Those eligibility criteria are -

• The applicant must have a master’s degree in the related field from a recognised institute 
• Applicants can also apply if he/she has a bachelor's degree, only with work experience. 
• There is no requirement to give an entrance examination. 

There are various specialisations from which you can opt -

• DBA in Generative AI
• DBA in Emerging Technologies
• DBA in Business and Data
• DBA in Healthcare Management
• DBA in International Business
• DBA in Supply chain management 
• DBA in Human Resource 
• DBA in Finance
• DBA in Marketing
• DBA in Leadership and Strategy 

Some of the top DBA universities are -

• Rushford Business School Online
• Golden Gate University Online
• Columbia Southern University
• George Fox University
• Wilmington University
• University of Arizona Law
• Liberty University
• William Howard Taft University
• ESGCI Paris Online
• UCLA Law
• Swiss School of Business and Management Online
• Yale Law School

2) Doctorate in Juridical Sciences 

If you are interested in law and regulations and have a deep understanding of it, you can pursue an online doctorate program in juridical sciences program that is a 3 years long course.

After completion of the program, you can take up many job roles like  Attorney, Assistant Advisor, Legal manager, Lawyer, Assistant Legal Analyst, and many more. 

Eligibility criteria to enrol in an Online Doctorate Program in juridical sciences 

• The candidate must have law related bachelor’s degree from an accredited university. 
• There is no requirement to appear in any entrance examination, but one must have work experience in the related field. 

The top Universities offering SJD(Doctorate in Juridical Science) are -

• Stanford Law School (USA)
• New York University School of Law (USA)
• Yale Law School (USA)
• University of Chicago Law School (USA)
• Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law (USA)
• Harvard Law School (USA)
• The University of California, Berkeley (USA)
• University of Pennsylvania Law School (USA)
• Columbia Law School (USA)
• University of Michigan Law School (USA)

3) Doctor of Education(EdD)

You can also enrol in an online doctorate in an education program that also requires no entrance examination. You must fulfil certain eligibility criteria to enrol in this program. 

Eligibility criteria to enrol in Doctor of Education

• Candidates have to submit SOP and LOR to get admission to the program. 
• The candidate must have law related bachelor’s degree from an accredited university. 
• There is no requirement to appear in any entrance examination, but one must have work experience in the related field. 

Top Universities offering EdD in online mode are -

• University of Southern California (USC)
• Johns Hopkins University 
• Vanderbilt University
• University of Virginia
• University of Washington
• University of Florida 
• University of Nebraska-Lincoln
• University of Illinois Urbana
• University of Georgia
• Pennsylvania State University (Penn State)

4) Doctor of Psychology

You can also enrol in the Doctor of Psychology online mode if you cannot clear the UGC NET examination.

The examination is tough and if you cannot clear it, you can pursue an online doctorate program. 

Eligibility criteria to enrol in Doctor of Psychology are -

• The candidate must have law related bachelor’s degree from an accredited university. 
• There is no requirement to appear in any entrance examination, but one must have work experience in the related field.
• Candidates have to submit SOP and LOR to get admission to the program. 

Top Universities offering online Doctor of Psychology(PsyD)

• Capella University
• The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
• California Southern University
• Saybrook University
• California Coast University
• University of the Cumberlands
• California Institute of Integral Studies
• Touro University Worldwide
• Fielding Graduate University
• Walden University

5) Doctor of Public Administration

If you are interested in pursuing a doctorate program you can enrol in an online doctorate in public administration.

This program is specially designed for students interested in policy analysis, and administration understanding. The candidate can also get a deep understanding of the practical skills.

You must clear certain eligibility criteria to enrol in Doctor of Public Administration -

• The candidate must have law related bachelor’s degree from an accredited university. 
• There is no requirement to appear in any entrance examination, but one must have work experience in the related field.

The top Universities offering DPA are -

• Walden University
• University of Illinois Springfield 
• Arkansas State University 
• Liberty University
• University of the Potomac 
• Valdosta State University
• California State University
• Northcentral University
• California Baptist University 
• National University

Other Online doctorate programs that can be pursued without entrance exmaintion like UGC NET are -

Doctor of Engineering (DEng)	Doctor of Engineering (EngD)
Doctor of Social Work (DSW)	Doctor of Optometry (OD)
Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)	Doctor of Social Work (DSW)
Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)	Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)
Doctor of Science (DSc)	Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA)
Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)	Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)
Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)	Doctor of Music (DMus)
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)

Other Career Options if you cannot clear the UGC NET examination

There are many alternative career options if you do not clear the UGC NET examination. You can take another path of career to make your future secure.

Here we have given some of the career options that can be taken if you score low in the entrance examination. 

1) Teaching Career

Students can opt teaching career if they do not clear the UGC-NET examination. Those candidates who unfortunately couldn’t qualify UGC NET examination, but also want to continue their teaching journey, can get into a teaching career by pursuing a B.ed.

This teaching degree allows candidates to pursue teaching careers in schools and teaching institutes.

The students can pursue a B.ed degree from top institutes like - 

• Delhi University
• IGNOU
• CCSU - Chaudhary Charan Singh University
• Galgotias University
• SVSU - Swami Vivekanand Subharti University
• Amity University
• Jamia Millia Islamia
• Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University
• Shyama Prasad Mukherji College for Women

Each University has its entrance examination that needs to be qualified. So if you are interested in the teaching field you can opt for the B.ed degree from any of these universities.

2) Government Jobs

Many examinations are conducted by different departments of government that offer government jobs. In case you can’t clear the examination you can start preparing for any government job examination. Such examinations are conducted for posts like clerical, assistant, officer and many more.

The examination that can be taken by you are -

• SBI Clerk Examination
• SBI PO examination 
• SBI SO examination
• RRB PO examination
• RRB Clerk Examination 
• UPSC
• SSC CGL 
• SSC CHSL
• SSC stenographer 

These are the top government job examinations, there are many more examinations that you can enrol on and make your career in the field of government jobs. 

3) Corporate Sector

If you fail in your UGC-NET examination attempt, worry not, you can restart your career by grabbing a job role in a corporate company.

The candidate can also pursue some diploma or certificate program to get more skills and grab a job role in the corporate sector.

You can pursue job roles in the field like journalism, translation, content writing and many more. 

4) Entrepreneurship

The candidates can also try their luck with the business and entrepreneurship fields. You can start with some business ideas and strategies.

But you must have some knowledge. You can use the knowledge of the preparation of UGC NET. Check where your interest lies and based on this, you can decide in which domain you want to work.

Conclusion

There are many other career options apart from this if you cannot clear the entrance examination. The opportunities are enormous in this world. All you need is dedication and motivation to start over.UGC NET is not the result of life and you can do a doctorate even without an entrance examination. Just fulfil the eligibility criteria and you are enrolled in the program.