UGC NET 2021: Application Form (Released), Eligibility, Syllabus, Exam Dates

UGC NET 2021 2021 application form has been released online on 2nd February 2021. The National Testing Agency is the concerned authority, which has released official dates for UGC NET 2021 exam. Candidates must know that the UGC NET exam held two times a year in the month of June and December. Candidates seeking career options as Junior Research Fellowship and Assistant Professor in Universities, Institutions, IITs and other national organizations should fill the UGC NET application form. Aadhar Card is an essential document for making the UGC NET application form. It is pertinent to mention here that the NTA is only an exam conducting authority while other formalities such as the issuance of e-certificate to the qualified candidates are exercised by the UGC Board itself. Aspirants can access here all the relevant information about NTA UGC NET 2021 exam including the application form, eligibility criteria, exam pattern & syllabus and dates etc.

UGC NET 2021 Notification: Application Started

  • The competent authority has released official notification for UGC NET 2021 exam on its official website.
  • UGC NET 2021 registration process has been started online from 2nd February 2021.
  • The last date of application form is 2nd March 2021. Click here to know the application form details.
  • UGC NET 2021 exam is scheduled to be held on 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th & 17th May 2021.

UGC NET 2021 Exam Dates

As per the official information bulletin, crucial dates with regard to the UGC NET 2021 exam have been updated in the table below.

Events Dates (Released)
Detailed official notification will release on 2nd February 2021
Submission of online application form will start from 2nd February 2021
Last date for applying online 2nd March 2021
Last date for submission of application fee 3rd March 2021
Correction in the application form if any 5th-9th March 2021
Admit card issuance date June 2021
UGC NET 2021 exam 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 14th & 17th May 2021
Answer keys & OMR Sheet will be available June 2021
Declaration of Result July 2021

Eligibility Criteria

Each candidate must fulfil requisite eligibility criteria to appear in the UGC NET 2021 exam. The important eligibility conditions for appearing in the UGC NET exam are as below:

  • Academic Qualification: Candidates must be a post-graduate degree holder from a recognized university/institute.
  • Subjects: The NTA will conduct UGC NET in 84 subjects at various examination centres throughout the country.
  • Minimum Qualifying Marks: They should have obtained at least 55% marks in the qualifying exam.
  • Relaxation: There will be a relaxation of 5% marks in the qualifying examination to Ph.D. degree holders (or equivalent) and candidates belonging to the reserved category (SC/ST/OBC-NCL/PwD).

Age Criteria

  • For Junior Research Fellowship: Candidate’s age should not exceed 30 years as on 1st January 2021.
  • Relaxation: There is a relaxation of 5 years to the candidates belonging to reserved category (SC/ST, OBC-NCL, PwD). Candidates having research experience are also eligible to seek relaxation. LL.M. degree holder will be eligible for 3 year age relaxation.
  • For Assistant Professor: No upper age limit for applying for Assistant Professor.

Aadhar Card Requirement

  • It will help to ascertain the identity of applicants at the examination centres in a very convenient way.
  • Candidates who have Aadhar Card should provide Aadhar number, name, date of birth etc. details in the UGC NET online application form carefully.
  • Those who have not enrolled yet for Aadhar, need to apply for Aadhar enrolment as per prescribed rules. Such candidates may visit UIDAI’s official website i.e. www.uidai.gov.in or any Aadhar enrolment centre.
  • Candidates belonging to the State of Jammu & Kashmir, Assam and Meghalaya are exempted from this provision.
  • The applicants from these States need to use passport number, ration card number, bank account number and any other valid identity proof number provided that they must opt city of examination in respective State only.

Exemption for Appearing in UGC NET (for Assistant Professor)

  • D. Degree Holder: The candidates who possess Ph.D degree recognised by UGC shall be exempted from of NET/SET/SELT for the requirement of Assistant Professor in Universities/Institutions.
  • UGC/CSIR JRF Qualified Candidates: The candidates who qualified UGC/CSIR JRF exam prior to 1989 are also exempted from appearing in UGC NET.
  • States Eligibility Test (SET) Qualified Candidates: SET (held prior to 1st June 2002) qualified candidates are eligible for exemption from appearing in UGC NET. All these candidates can apply for the post of Assistant Professor anywhere in India. Candidates who qualified SET held after 1st June 2002 are eligible to apply for the post of Assistant Professor in the University/Institutes situated in the concerned State only from where he/she passed the SET.

UGC NET Application Form 2021: Guidelines

All the candidates who are fulfilling the eligibility conditions as mentioned above can submit UGC NET 2021 application form via online mode within the prescribed time frame. Check the instruction below:

  • Candidates can fill UGC NET 2021 application form via online mode at the official website of the NTA.
  • The application form will be available online on the official website from 2nd February to 2nd March 2021.
  • Candidates should apply before the last date as no application form will be accepted after due date.
  • Fill the application form completely without leaving any blank.
  • The candidates have to go through four steps to complete the application process i.e. filling up of the application form, uploading of scanned photograph & signature, payment of examination fee and printing of confirmation page.
  • Candidates must pay the application fee to complete the application.
  • Take a printout of the confirmation page or filled-in application form for future reference.
  • There is no need to send the hard copy of the application or confirmation page to the NTA.
  • The NTA will also provide the facility to correct or modify UGC NET application form 2021.

Application Fee

  • In order to complete the application form, general category candidates have to pay Rs.600/- as application fee.
  • OBC-NCL category candidates have to pay Rs.300/- as application fee.
  • SC/ST/PwD candidates have to pay Rs.150/- as application fee.

Exam Pattern

Candidates appearing in the NTA UGC NET 2021 exam should know the exam pattern and syllabus. Candidates can avail the details about exam pattern and syllabus from the official information brochure. Check crucial information regarding UGC NET exam pattern below:

  • Total Papers: The entrance test will consist of two papers i.e. Paper-I and Paper-II.
  • Mode of Exam: The entrance test will be conducted in offline mode (Pen and Paper based). The Candidates have to mark their answers on the OMR (Optical Mark Reader) sheet.
  • Number of Questions: The Exam will consist of a total 150 questions which will be divided into Paper-I and Paper-II. Paper-I will contain 50 questions while Paper-II will consist of 100 questions. All 150 questions are mandatory to attempt.
  • Nature of Questions: All 150 questions will be multiple choice questions in nature.
  • Syllabus: The Paper-I will consist of General Aptitude Questions and the Paper-II will consist the questions based on the subject selected by candidates.
  • Language of the Paper: Candidates have both Hindi and English language options which they can choose during filling up of the application form.
  • Duration of Exam: The duration of Paper-I will be exactly 1.00 hour and Paper-II will be 2.00 hours.
  • Marking Scheme: Every correct answer will be awarded by 2 marks.
  • Negative Marking: The provision of negative marking is not applicable in the UGC NET exam.
Paper Total Questions Max Marks Exam Duration
I 50 (All compulsory) 100 1 Hour
II 100 (All compulsory) 200 2 Hours

UGC NET Syllabus

The candidates should collect proper information about the prescribed syllabus. There are total 94 subjects in UGC NET and hence syllabus will be different for the different subjects. Candidates must have a strong command on the concerned subject to qualify the NET 2021.

Preparation Tips

The NTA UGC NET is one of the toughest competitive entrance test which enables PG students to qualify for the university-level teaching jobs and to take admission in Ph.D. programmes. To qualify the UGC NET, candidates can follow the tips given below:

  • First of all, collect complete information about the examination pattern and syllabus.
  • Buy some good reference books which cover the entire syllabus.
  • Make study notes and revise them from time to time.
  • You can also check previous year exam papers for reference.
  • Stay updated with current affairs and general knowledge.
  • Always follow your study timetable for better preparation.
  • Candidates must revise important topics from time to time for better understanding and result.
  • Do not take the extra burden and stay healthy & fit.

UGC NET 2021 Answer Key

The exam conducting authority after completion of the exam will release answer keys on its official website. Candidates can easily download the same from the website. The answer key is expected to be published in the month of June 2021. If anyone does not satisfy with any answer then he/she can challenge it in the proper way by paying requisite fee of Rs.1000/-. If the authority finds your challenge is acceptable then they will refund the fee.

UGC NET Admit Card 2021

The admit card for the UGC NET 2021 exam will be issued to those candidates who have submitted the application form for appearing in the entrance test. The admit card will be available one or two weeks prior to the exam on the official website of the NTA NET. Candidates can download the same from the website. Candidates have to bring admit card along with ID proof on the day of the exam.

UGC NET 2021 Result

All the candidates who will appear in the exam will get their respective result on the official website probably in the month of June 2021. Those who will achieve the qualifying marks will be able to apply for Assistant Professor and Junior Research Fellowship.

The candidates should take the printout of the UGC NET result from the official website and should keep it safe for further process. It is very easy to obtain the result from the website. Candidates need to enter roll number and date of birth for downloading the result.

UGC NET Cut-off Marks

Candidates need to score minimum marks in the UGC NET 2021 exam to become eligible for the award of JRF and Assistant Professor in Paper-I, Paper-II and Paper-III. The criteria are given below:

Category Minimum Marks to be obtained (in %)
Paper-I Paper-II Paper-III
General 40% (40 Marks) 40% (40 Marks) 50% (75 Marks)
SC/ST/OBC-NCL/PwD 35% (35 Marks) 35% (35 Marks) 40% (60 Marks)

Note: The category and subject wise merit list will be prepared for the candidates who will meet the cut-off scores. The merit list will be prepared on the basis of candidates’ score in all three papers. Those who are in top 15% of the qualified candidates will be eligible for Assistant Professor only. A separate merit list will be prepared for JRF from the 15% UGC NET qualifiers.

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