PhD Entrance Exams 2025: Dates, Eligibility, Application, Fee, Selection

PhD Entrance Exams 2025: Candidates who seek admission to PhD (Doctorate in Philosophy) in India can take exams like UGC NET (University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test), CSIR NET (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research National Eligibility Test), GATE (Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering), Joint Entrance Screening Test (JEST), SET (State Eligibility Test) and University wise PhD entrance exams. Here we have discussed the upcoming PhD entrance exam of 2025, eligibility, fee structure, and selection process. Candidates who want to pursue a PhD degree can check the complete details of the PhD entrance exams 2025  in India

PhD Entrance Exams 2025

Candidates can check the list of exams conducted in India for the enrollment in PhD courses below:

1. UGC NET 2025: The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the UGC NET twice a year to provide the eligibility to enroll in PhD programmes as well as become Assistant professors in the Universities of India. In every session, 83 subject exams are conducted for the candidates to become eligible for NET & JRF, NET, and PhD admission only.
2. CSIR NET 2025: NTA conducts the CSIR NET exam twice a year in June & December to award students with Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), National Eligibility Test, and PhD admissions for five subjects- Chemical Science, Life Science, Earth Science, Physical Science and Mathematical Science.
3. GATE 2025: The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering is jointly conducted by 7 IITs- IIT Bombay, IIT Roorkee, IIT Delhi, IIT Madras, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Kanpur and Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore (IISC Bangalore) on behalf of National Coordination Board (NCB - GATE), Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Human Resource & Development (MHRD), Government of India. The exam is conducted once a year to enroll students from Arts, Science, and Engineering backgrounds in M.Tech & PhD programs in IIT, IISC, and other Universities across India
4. JEST: The Joint Entrance Screening Test is conducted by the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) to enroll students in PhD programs under Physics (Astronomy & Astrophysics, Atmospheric Sciences, Computational Biology, Condensed Matter, High Energy Physics, Neuroscience, Plasma Research, Quantum Optics & more)  and Theoretical Computer Science. The exam is conducted once a year.

UGC NET 2025

The National Testing Agency (NTA) will conduct the UGC NET 2025 exam for two sessions- June & December cycles for 83 subjects. The candidates who want to get admission through the UGC NET PhD Entrance Exam 2025 can check the dates for the upcoming exam in the table below:

Particulars	UGC NET Dates
UGC NET June Notification 2025	April 2025
UGC NET June Application 2025	April/May 2025
UGC NET June Exam 2025	May/June 2025
UGC NET June Result	August 2025

UGC NET 2025 Eligibility

Candidates must meet the eligibility criteria to appear for the UGC NET 2025 exam for PhD (Doctorate in Philosophy) courses. Check the UGC NET eligibility criteria in the article below.

Educational Eligibility for UGC NET 2025

Check the UGC NET educational eligibility criteria below:

• Candidates must possess a master's degree in the relevant subject they want to pursue their PhD with at least 55% marks

Or,

• Must be in the final year of their master's degree and the result must be published before the release of the UGC NET result.

Or,

• Candidates who are pursuing or completed 4-year graduation degree can appear for the UGC NET PhD entrance exam.

UGC NET Age Limit 2025

There is no age limit to appear for the UGC NET exam however, candidates who are looking to get an award for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) must be equal to or less than 30 years old.

UGC NET Application 2025

The application for the UGC NET 2025 will be released in April/May 2025  for the June cycle. Candidates who want to appear for the UGC NET exam must fill out the NTA NET application form. The steps to fill out the application form are given below:

• Go to the official website: ugcnet.nta.ac.in
• Click on the UGC NTA NET application link
• Register on the application portal
• Fill out the UGC NET application form
• Upload the documents
• Pay the application fee
• Save the application form

UGC NET Application Fee 2025

Check the category-wise application fees for the UGC NET 2025 exam in the table below:

General/Unreserved Category	INR 1150
OBC	INR 600
SC/ST/PwD/Third Gender	INR 375

CSIR NET PhD Entrance Exam 2025

Candidates seeking admission to PhD programmes like oceanography, geophysics, chemicals, drugs, genomics, biotechnology, nanotechnology,  mining, aeronautics, instrumentation, environmental engineering, information technology, and more can take the CSIR NET exam 2025. Check the upcoming dates for the CSIR NET June 2025 session in the table below:

Particulars	CSIR NET Dates 2025
CSIR NET June Notification 2025	April/May 2025
CSIR NET June Application 2025	May 2025
CSIR  NET June Exam 2025	June 2025
CSIR NET June Result	August 2025

CSIR NET Eligibility 2025

Candidates can check the eligibility criteria to appear for the CSIR NET 2025 exam below:

• Educational Eligibility for CSIR NET: Candidates must possess a degree in BTech/BE/BPharma/MBBS/BS (four years)/Integrated BS-MS/MSc with a minimum of 55 percent marks for General (UR)/General-EWS and OBC (50 percent for SC/ST, Third gender and PwD)
• Age Limit: There is no age limit to appear for the CSIR NET exam, however, the candidate must be less than or equal to 28 years. The relaxation in the age limit is given according to the norms of the Indian Government.

CSIR NET Application 2025

The application for the CSIR NET June exam will tentatively begin in April 2025. The candidates will be able to apply for the CSIR NET 2025 exam by following the steps given below:

• Go to the official website: csirnet.nta.ac.in
• Click on the CSRI UGCNET application link
• Register on the application portal
• Fill out the CSIR UGC NET application form
• Upload the documents
• Pay the application fee
• Save the application form

CSIR NET Application Fee 2025

Check the category-wise CSIR UGC NET application form in the table below:

Category	Application Fee
General	1,150
OBC – Non-creamy layer	600
SC/ST/PwD	325

GATE PhD Entrance Exam 2025

Candidates who want to take admissions to IIT, IISC, and other universities for PhD courses in Science can take the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE). It is an eligibility cum entrance test for PhD programmes in India. Check the tentative dates for the GATE 2025 in the table below:

Particulars	GATE Dates 2025
GATE Application Date 2025	28-Aug-2024 to 7-Oct-2024
GATE Exam Date	1-Feb-2025 ton 2-Feb–2025 and 15-Feb-2025 to 16-Feb-2025
GATE Result 2025	19-Mar-2025

GATE Application 2025 for PhD Entrance

The application for the GATE 2025 will be activated on the official website- gate2025.iitr.ac.in from August 28, 2024, to September 26, 2024. However, the candidates can also fill out the GATE 2025 application form by paying the late fines from September 27 to October 7, 2024.  The steps to apply for the GATE 2025 PhD entrance exam are given below:

• Go to the official website
• Register on GOAPs portal
• Fill out the GATE application form
• Upload the documents
• Pay the application fee
• Download the GATE 2025 application preview and save it for later use

GATE 2025 Application Fee

The candidates can check the category-wise application fee for the GATE 2025 exam in the table below:

Category	Regular Period	During the Extended Period
Female/SC/ST/PwD candidates (per test paper)	₹ 900	₹ 1400
All other candidates including foreign nationals (per test paper)	₹ 1800	₹ 2300

GATE Eligibility 2025

Candidates who want to appear for the GATE 2025 exam must fulfil the eligibility criteria. Check the eligibility criteria provided below:

Candidates who have completed their undergraduate and master's or are in the final year of their undergraduate/master's degree can apply for the GATE exam 2025 . The list of subjects in master's have been completed or pursuing the master's degree is given below:

• BE/BTech

• BPharma

• BArch

• BSc (Research)/BS

• Professional Society Examination (equivalent to BE/BTech/BArch)

• MSc/MA/MCA or equivalent

• Integrated ME/MTech

• Integrated MSc/Integrated BS-MS

• Integrated ME/MTech or Dual Degree (after Diploma or 10+2)\

• MA

• MCom

Age Limit: There is no age limit to appear for the GATE 2025 exam

JEST 2025

The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) will conduct the JEST 2025 in the first week of March 2025. The candidates can check the expected dates for the JEST 2025 in the table below:

Particulars	CSIR NET Dates 2025
JEST Notification 2025	January 2025
JEST Application 2025	January 2025
JEST Exam Date 2025	March 2025
JEST Result Date 2025	April 2025

JEST Application 2025 for PhD Entrance

The application for the JEST PhD entrance exam will tentatively begin in January 2025. The candidates will be able to apply for the JETS 2025 exam by following the steps below:

• Go to the official website
• Click on the JEST 2025 application link
• Register for the JEST 2025 exam using your mobile number and date of birth
• Fill out the JEST application form
• Upload the documents
• Pay the application fee
• Save the application for later use

JEST Application Fee 2025

Candidates can check the JEST category-wise application fees in the table below:

Category	Application fee
General	Rs. 800/-
SC/ ST	Rs. 400/-

JEST Eligibility Criteria 2025

Candidates can check the eligibility criteria for the JEST 2025 exam for PhD entrance below:

JEST Educational Eligibility 2025

• M.Sc. in Physics: Candidates must have passed B.Tech/ M.Sc./ B.E/ M.Tech in applied physics and mathematics.
• Ph.D in Computational Biology at IMSc: Students must complete M.Sc./ M.E./ M.Tech/ MCA in any engineering or science discipline.
• Ph.D in Neuroscience: The institute will accept M.Sc. (Physics/ Mathematics), B.E/ B.Tech/ MCA in Computer Science.
• Theoretical Computer Science at IMSc: Applicants must pass M.Sc./ M.E/ M.Tech in Computer Science and related disciplines.
• Integrated Ph.D programmes in Theoretical Computer Science at IMCs: Students should have passed B.Sc./ B.E./ B.Tech./ MCA in Computer Science or related disciplines.
• Integrated M.Tech- Ph.D.  Programme at IIA: Candidates must have passed M.Sc. (Physics/ Applied Physics)/Post-B.Sc. (Hons) in Optics and Optoelectronics/ Radio Physics and Electronics.

State Eligibility Test (SET) 2025

State Eligibility Test (SET) is conducted by several states in India to provide eligibility for PhD courses in specific states. Check the list of state-wise SSET exam in the table below:

SET Exams Name	Official Website	SET Exam Date 2025
Kerala SET	lbsedp.lbscentre.in/setjan24	July 2025
CG SET	vyapam.cgstate.gov.in	July 2025
Andhra Pradesh SET (AP SET)	apset.net.in	April 2025
Tamilnadu SET (TN SET)	msutnset.com	June 2025
MH SET	setexam.unipune.ac.in	April 2025
KSET	kset.uni-mysore.ac.in	Jan 2025
HP SET	www.hppsc.hp.gov.in	April 2025
JK SET	www.jujkset.in	October 2025
Assam SLET	sletneonline.co.in	March 2025
USET	usetonline.co.in	January 2025
GSET	gujaratset.ac.in	November 2025
Rajasthan SET	rpsc.rajasthan.gov.in	To be announced
Haryana SET	www.highereduhry.ac.in	To be announced
MP SET	mppsc.mp.gov.in	To be announced
Telangana SET (TS SET)	www.telanganaset.org	To be announced
West Bengal SET (WB SET)	www.wbcsconline.in	To be announced

We hope that you have got the idea of the PHD entrance exam 2025  through this article. Students can choose the PhD entrance exam according to their subjects and eligibility provided in the article. We wish you all the success in your higher studies. Stay tuned with CollegeDekho for the latest updates regarding the PhD entrance exams 2025.