UGC NET 2025 Eligibility Criteria - Check Age Limit, Marks Required, No of Attempts, Important Factor

UGC NET 2025 Eligibility Criteria

UGC NET 2025 eligibility criteria for Assistant Professor and Junior Research Fellowship posts are prescribed by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Students with a four-year undergraduate degree with 75% or equivalent grades (5% relaxation for reserved categories) can now directly appear for NET and pursue a PhD. They can appear in a subject in which they wish to pursue a PhD, regardless of the discipline in which they have obtained a four-year bachelor's degree. Earlier, it was mandatory to have a master's degree with 55% marks to appear for the UGC NET.

UGC NET 2025 December session will be conducted from January 01 to January 19, 2026. The eligibility criteria for both posts of UGC NET 2025 are different. The UGC eligibility requirements help the exam conducting authorities ensure that only qualified candidates are selected for the available positions. Candidates will find all the necessary information regarding the UGC NET eligibility criteria 2025 here!

Basic Eligibility Criteria for UGC NET 2025

Aspirants must note that their application for UGC NET will be considered valid only after their confirmation of the Age Criteria and Educational Qualification of the UGC NET Eligibility Criteria. However, the UGC NET Eligibility requirements for the applicants for Junior Research Fellowship and Assistant Professor will categorically differ. Similarly, some relaxation has also been imposed for the reserved category candidates. The National Testing Agency (NTA) has defined each criterion in detail, candidates can check out the details given below to have a better understanding of the UGC NET eligibility criteria:

• Candidates should have a four-year bachelor's degree with a minimum of 75% marks or equivalent grades from a UGC-recognized university.
• Students belonging to the SC/ ST/ OBC/ PwD category get a relaxation of 5% marks to be eligible for the test.
• Candidates appearing in the qualifying exam or waiting for the results can also apply, according to the UGC NET eligibility criteria. However, they are required to complete their UG within two years from the date of the UGC NET result.
• PhD degree holders who have completed their Master’s degree by September 19, 1991, will be eligible for a relaxation of 5% in the aggregate marks.

Junior Research Fellowship

• The candidate should not be more than 30 years of age.

• There is a relaxation of 5 years for women applicants and candidates belonging to SC/ST/ OBC and PwD categories.

• Candidates with research experience have been granted time relaxation for their research work on the subject related to their post-graduation course. 

Assistant Professor

• There is no upper age limit for the candidates applying for the post of Assistant Professor according to the UGC NET Eligibility criteria.

• Candidates who have completed or are about to complete their Ph.D. need not meet the minimum eligibility requirements.

• Candidates with a passing certificate of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research - Junior Research Fellowship (CSIR JRF) or UGC JRF dated before 1989, need not appear for UGC NET 2025, as they can directly apply to any college or university all over India for the post of Assistant Professor.  

• Candidates with the SET (States Eligibility Test) score are also exempted from appearing for UGC NET 2025. The only thing to keep in mind for such candidates is that the SET certificate allows them to apply for the Assistant Professor post in universities and colleges all over India but for the candidates with SET certificate can apply only to the institutions within the SET States only.

UGC NET Eligibility Criteria for Master’s Degree Qualified Candidates

Candidates must take a look at the educational qualification requirements according to the UGC NET eligibility criteria.

• Candidates must have secured at least 55% marks in their Masters's degree without rounding off the score 

• Or, the candidates must have qualified for any equivalent examination from a university or institution which is recognized by the UGC. 

• Candidates belonging to reserved categories such as Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Class, and Persons with disabilities or transgender candidates must score 50% to be eligible to appear for this examination.

Eligibility Criteria for Candidates Pursuing a Master’s Degree

• Candidates who are pursuing a Master’s Degree or Equivalent Course and have appeared for their qualifying examination and are awaited for the result.

• Candidates who have appeared for the Master’s Degree examination and the results have been delayed are also eligible to apply for this test. 

• Such applicants will be admitted provisionally and shall be considered eligible for Assistant Professor only after they have passed the Master’s degree or equivalent examination with at least 55% 

• Candidates belonging to reserved categories such as Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Class, and Persons with disabilities or transgender candidates must score 50% to be eligible to appear for this examination. 

• Candidates must complete the master’s degree within two years of the release of UGC NET results with the required percentage of marks. 

Eligibility Criteria for Transgender Category

• Candidates belonging to this category would get an equal relaxation in fee, age, and qualifying criteria for the NET examination as the other reserved categories such as Scheduled Tribe, Scheduled Caste, and Persons with Disabilities. 

• The subject-wise cut-off for this category is lowest among the Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Class, and Persons with Disabilities.

Eligibility Criteria for Ph.D. Degree Holders

• The candidate who holds a Ph.D. degree and has completed the Masters by 1991, September would be eligible for this examination. 

• The Ph.D. degree holder candidates will get a 5% relaxation for NET qualified candidates.

UGC NET 2025 General Eligibility for All Applicants

There are some general requirements that all applicants must fulfill according to the UGC NET eligibility criteria. Check out the general requirements for UGC NET mentioned below:

• Candidates are requested to appear for the subject of their post-graduation only. 

• Candidates do not have to prove their eligibility by sending any application form to the NTA or any such documents or certificates. Bust the candidates must ensure themselves that they are eligible for the examination. If any ineligibility is detected then the candidate’s candidature would be cancelled and the candidate will be liable to legal action. 

• NTA does not do any verification when they do the online registration hence every applicant would be provisionally eligible to apply until document verification. 

• Applicants with a post-graduate diploma/certificate awarded by Indian University or a foreign degree/diploma/certificate awarded by a foreign university should in their own interest, satisfy the equivalence of their diploma/degree/ certificate with a Master’s degree of recognized Indian universities from the Association of Indian Universities. 

Age Limit

• The age of the applicant of UGC NET must not be more than 30 years on the year they choose to appear for the examination. 

• A relaxation of 5 years will be given to the candidates belonging to the Non-Creamy Layer of reserved categories such as Other Backward Category, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe, and other reserved categories as per the central list of OBC. 

• The 5 year age relaxation will also be given to transgender applicants and women candidates and also the applicants who have research experience. 

• 3 year age relaxation will be given for LLM degree holders.

• Candidates who have served in the armed forces will be given a relaxation of 5 years

UGC NET Eligibility 2025 and Exemptions for Assistant Professor

• SET/SLET and NET would be the minimum eligibility condition for recruitment and appointment of Asst. Professor in Universities, Institutes and Colleges. 

• The applicants who have passed the UGC/CSIR/ JRF examination prior to 1989 are also exempted from appearing in NET.

• The exemption from the NET/SET/SLET will be governed by UGC regulations and amendments notified in the Gazette of India from time to time. 

• Candidates who clear the State Eligibility Test from any UGC recognized University are exempted from NET to be eligible for Asst. Professor from anywhere in India.

UGC NET Eligibility 2025: Reservation Policy

Reservation category candidates must be aware of the reservation policy followed by the UGC NET exam to understand what kind of relaxations and concessions they are entitled to according to the UGC NET eligibility requirements. The commission carries out the Government of India's stated Reservation Policy. In all colleges and universities, every seat is reserved in accordance with the percentage set for each category. The seat reservation for UGC NET is mentioned in the table below:

UGC NET Eligibility 2025: Nationality Status Requirements

One of the most vital parts of the UGC NET eligibility criteria that candidates are required to fulfill before applying for the exam is the nationality status requirement. Candidates must be Indian citizens in order to apply for the UGC NET examination. If an aspirant holds citizenship of any other country apart from India, they are ineligible for the UGC NET examination. That being said, Indian Nationals who reside overseas are eligible for the UGC NET exam. Such candidates must produce proper documentation and paperwork to verify their nationality and other UGC NET eligibility criteria to apply for the exam.