UGC NET Exam 2024: Date (Out), Application, Syllabus, Eligibility

UGC NET Examination is conducted by NTA(National Testing Agency) and this examination is conducted twice a year in two cycles that is December and June cycle. The June cycle of the NET examination is approaching and hence the forms will be released by the third week of April 2024.

All the candidates who wish to appear in the examination must submit the form for the June cycle on the official website ugcnet.nta.ac.in.

The chairman of UGC Jagadesh Kumar has announced that UGC NET examination will be conducted will be conducted Between 21st August to 4th September through Computer Based Test (CBT). Here in this blog, we have given brief information about the UGC NET Examination. 

UGC Examination

If you are aspiring to become a professor in India, you must appear in the UGC NET examination. This examination is conducted by NTA UGC. The examination is also helpful for the candidates seeking to pursue a PhD.

The candidates can get funding from the government after clearing the entrance examination. UGC-NET (University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test), conducted by the National Testing Agency is a national-level examination and is highly competitive.

The students qualifying for JRF(Junior Research Fellowship) are eligible to teach as professors in the universities and also get funding from the government. On the other hand, candidates qualifying for assistant professors can apply as professors in Indian universities only.They do not get any funding from the government.

UGC NET Highlights 

Here we have given some important highlights of the UGC-NET examination

Parameters	Examination Details
Name of the examination	UGC-NET
Full name of the Examination	University Grants Commission- National Eligibility Test
Exam conducted	Twice a year
Eligibility to appear in the exam	Candidate must possess a master's degree or must be in the final year of master's.
Examination Mode	Online
Number of applicants	9.45 lakhs
Number of applicants appearing	6.55 lakhs
Examination Fees	INR- 1150(general) INR-650(OBC) INR-325(SC/ST/PwD)
Duration of the examination	3 hours
Timings	Shift I- 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon Shift II-3:00 PM to 06:00 PM
Numbers of papers	Two examinations are conducted  Paper 1- 100 Marks  Paper 2- 200 Marks
Language of Examination	Hindi and English
Marking Scheme	+2 marks for each correct question  No negative marking for wrong answer
The examination is conducted in	181 cities
Number of subjects	83 subjects

The examination is conducted for around 83 subjects and the syllabus for all these subjects varies. The candidate has to study the bachelor’s and master's syllabus for clearing the entrance examination.

The examination can also be used to take admission to the PhD in India. After clearing JRF, the candidates got a stipend of INR 35,000 per month. Let's understand about the UGC NET posts a little deeper. 

• Junior Research Fellowship - The top 1% candidates of the total applied candidates are eligible for the JRF posts. These students get a stipend of INR 35,000 for the first two years and later for 3 years INR 42,000 per month. The candidates get the stipend for only five years till the candidates complete the PhD program. Such candidates can also become professors in any Indian University and can work as assistant professors. 
• Assistant Professors -The candidates qualifying for the NET examination are only 6% of the total candidates who applied. The candidates can also apply for the assistant professor in Indian Universities and Institutions. The candidates are not eligible to get the stipend. 

UGC NET Examination Dates and Schedule 

Tentative Dates	Updates
April 2024	Notification of the UGC NET examination
August and September 2024	NET Examination
October 2024	Expected date of release of results

What is the alternative to pursue PhD without UGC-NET?

In India, if one person aspires to become a professor, he/she must either have passed the UGC-NET examination or must have a doctorate.

The candidate looking to enrol in a PhD, on the other hand, must have to pass the competitive examinations as this is the only way to get admission to the PhD.

Working Professionals May be Interested!
Online DBA Programs	DBA After MBA
Global DBA	PhD Abroad
PhD Distance Education	PhD Online

However, there is an alternative option that can be used to get the doctorate without an entrance examination. The students can enrol in Online doctorate programs.

These programs are offered by top foreign universities and are valid globally. You can pursue many doctorate programs like -

Online Doctor of Business Administration (DBA)	Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS)
Doctor of Education (EdD)	Doctor of Juridical Science (SJD)
Doctor of Science (DSc)	Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)
Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM)	Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD)
Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT)	Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP)
Doctor of Engineering (EngD)	Doctor of Optometry (OD)
Doctor of Fine Arts (DFA)	Doctor of Social Work (DSW)
Doctor of Public Health (DrPH)	Doctor of Psychology (PsyD)
Doctor of Occupational Therapy (OTD)	Doctor of Music (DMus)

Online Doctorate program Vs PhD- Which is better?

Parameters	Online Doctorate	PhD
Entrance examination	No need to appear in the entrance examination to pursue an Online doctorate program.	You must appear in the entrance examination to pursue a PhD.
Lectures	No need to attend the lectures.	The candidate must attend the lectures regularly. There is no relaxation.
Flexibility	The candidate can work along with research work.	The candidate can only study. You cannot do job along with research.
Duration	The duration of the doctorate program is 3-5 years.	The duration of the program is 5-6 years.
Approach	It is a solid blend of both practical as well as theoretical knowledge.	PhD is more about the theoretical understanding of the concepts.
Focus	It aims to find a practical solution for the market through research and studies. It is more about practical application.	It aims to study theoretical concepts and dig deep to fetch the information through the research work.
Approval	The doctorate programs are offered by many foreign universities.	Many universities offering PhD to the students.

How to apply for the UGC NET Examination?

If you wish to apply for the examination, you can apply on the official website of the NTA.

Here we have given the application procedure to apply for the examination -

• Visit the official website of the NTA- ugcnet.nta.ac.in.
• Check for the notification of the NTA June examination. 
• Click on the notification link and you will find the pdf. 
• Now, download the PDF, and check for the application link.
• Open a new registration link and make a new registration with a valid number and name. 
•  Fill the details in the application form and upload all the essential documents. 
• Now, make the fee payment of the application form. 
• The fee for the unreserved general category is INR 1150, for OBC INR 600 and for SC/ST/ Women/PwD the fee is INR 325.

Documents required to apply for the UGC NET examination

• A Copy of the University Certificate/Board for verification of  Name, Mother's Name, Father's Name, and date of birth. 
• Degree Certificate/last semester result
• Choice of centres 
• Category certificate, PwD certificate (if applicable)
• Identification Card- Aadhar card/ Voter ID card or other
• Active Email ID & Mobile Number
• Subject Code
• Scanned signature and photograph.

Subjects in UGC NET

Here we have given the subjects in which the UGC-NET examination is conducted. 

General Paper on Teaching & Research Aptitude	Labour Welfare
Political Science	Library and Information Science
Economics	Law
Philosophy	Buddhist, Jaina, Gandhian and Peace Studies
Sociology	Mass Communication and Journalism
Psychology	Comparative Study of Religions
History	Performing Art
Commerce	Archaeology
Anthropology	Museology & Conservation
Education	Criminology
Defence and Strategic Studies	Folk Literature
Social Work	Tribal and Regional Language/Literature
Home Science	Comparative Literature
Population Studies	Women Studies
Public Administration	Sanskrit traditional subjects
Music	Visual Art
Maithili	Social Medicine & Community Health
Management	Geography
Bengali	Forensic Science
Kannada	Kashmiri
Hindi	Pali
Malayalam	Konkani
Punjabi	Electronic Science
Oriya	Computer Science and Applications
Sanskrit	Environmental Sciences
Telugu	Prakrit
Tamil	Politics
Urdu	Human Rights and Duties
English	Bodo
Arabic	Tourism Administration and Management.
Linguistics	Santali
Dogri	Sindhi
Chinese	Yoga
Nepali	Hindu Studies
Assamese	Russian
Manipuri	Indian Knowledge System
Gujarati	Persian
French (French Version)	German
Indian Culture	Physical Education
Spanish	Japanese
Arab Culture and Islamic Studies	Adult Education
Marathi	Rajasthani

UGC NET Syllabus 

The syllabus for the paper 2 for different subjects is given here below -

Subject Code	Subject Name	PDF of the syllabus
0	General Paper on Teaching & Research Aptitude	Download
1	Economics	Download
3	Philosophy	Download
4	Psychology	Download
5	Sociology	Download
6	History	Download
7	Anthropology	Download
8	Commerce	Download
9	Education	Download
10	Social Work	Download
11	Defence and Strategic Studies	Download
12	Home Science	Download
14	Public Administration	Download
15	Population Studies	Download
16	Music	Download
17	Management	Download
18	Maithili	Download
19	Bengali	Download
20	Hindi	Download
21	Kannada	Download
22	Malayalam	Download
23	Oriya	Download
24	Punjabi	Download
25	Sanskrit	Download
26	Tamil	Download
27	Telugu	Download
28	Urdu	Download
29	Arabic	Download
30	English	Download
31	Linguistics	Download
32	Chinese	Download
33	Dogri	Download
34	Nepali	Download
35	Manipuri	Download
36	Assamese	Download
37	Gujarati	Download
38	Marathi	Download
39	French (French Version)	Download
40	Spanish	Download
41	Russian	Download
42	Persian	Download
43	Rajasthani	Download
44	German	Download
45	Japanese	Download
46	Adult Education	Download
47	Physical Education	Download
49	Arab Culture and Islamic Studies	Download
50	Indian Culture	Download
55	Labour Welfare	Download
58	Law	Download
59	Library and Information Science	Download
60	Buddhist, Jaina, Gandhian and Peace Studies	Download
62	Comparative Study of Religions	Download
63	Mass Communication and Journalism	Download
65	Performing Art	Download
66	Museology & Conservation	Download
67	Archaeology	Download
68	Criminology	Download
70	Tribal and Regional Language/Literature	Download
71	Folk Literature	Download
72	Comparative Literature	Download
73	Sanskrit traditional subjects	Download
74	Women Studies	Download
79	Visual Art	Download
80	Geography	Download
81	Social Medicine & Community Health	Download
82	Forensic Science	Download
83	Pali	Download
84	Kashmiri	Download
85	Konkani	Download
87	Computer Science and Applications	Download
88	Electronic Science	Download
89	Environmental Sciences	Download
90	Politics	Download
91	Prakrit	Download
92	Human Rights and Duties	Download
93	Tourism Administration and Management.	Download
94	Bodo	Download
95	Santali	Download
100	Yoga	Download
101	Sindhi	Download
102	Hindu Studies	Download
103	Indian Knowledge System	Download

Syllabus of paper 1 of UGC NET

Paper 1 of UGC-NET is the same as all the subjects and has the same syllabus.

The paper comprises of the topics like -

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

Examination Pattern

The examination of UGC-NET consists of two papers paper 1 and paper 2. Paper 1 is the same for all the subjects. Paper 2 is subject-based. Here we have given the pattern for the entrance examination.

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

Eligibility criteria to enrol in the examination

The candidate looking to apply for the examination must have to fulfil certain eligibility criteria.

The candidate must be passed in post-graduation or must be in the final year of the post-graduation. 

Universities offering PhD after UGC NET

Many universities offer admission to pursue PhD after clearing the UGC-NET examination.

Here we have mentioned some of the top universities -

Jawaharlal Nehru University	Presidency University
University of Delhi	University of Calcutta
Aligarh Muslim University	University of Allahabad
Mizoram University	ICFAI University
Hidayaullah National Law University	Jamia Millia Islamia
North Eastern Hill University	Assam University
Dibrugarh University	University of Madras
Jiwaji University	Banaras Hindu University
Sarguja University

What is the Validity of the UGC NET Certificate?

UGC NET assistant professor certificate is valid for a lifetime, while the award letter is valid for three years. The candidate who clears the NET examination is eligible to become a professor in an Indian University or institute.

The candidates who apply for the UGC JRF examination are eligible to pursue a PhD that will be funded by the government of India and also are eligible to get an assistant professorship. 

Conclusion

If you are also aspiring to pursue PhD but are worried about the UGC-NET examination, then opt for the alternative to the entrance examination which is an online doctorate program. These programs are pursued by the top universities abroad and are globally approved. These online doctoral programs are more towards the practical application of theoretical knowledge.