UGC NET 2021: Exam Date(Phase 2), Admit Card (13 Nov)

Candidates aspiring for the post of Assistant Professor in colleges/ universities of India and those wish to earn the fellowship award can apply for UGC NET 2021. The eligibility test will be conducted as two papers- Paper I and Paper II. The eligibility of candidates for Assistant Professor and for both Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Assistant Professor will be determined on the basis of combined performance in both papers. The test will be conducted twice a year- in the month of July and December. Interested and eligible candidates can apply for NET in online mode.

UGC NET Phase 2 will be held on 24th, 26th and 27th December 2021.

Check below the revised date for UGC NET 2021.

UGC NET 2021 admit card releases on 1st October 2021.

UGC NET 2021 application process restarts from 10th August 2021.

UGC NET December session exam has been postponed now.

UGC NET application form for December 20 cycle(May 2021) has been released now.

Major highlights of UGC NET 2021

• Applicants will be able to apply online for the test from the official website of NTA.
• Candidates must ensure their eligibility to appear in the test before submitting the application form.
• The candidates must keep the following documents ready before applying- scanned photograph & signature, Aadhaar card and a valid debit card or credit card for submission of application fee.
• Use of Aadhaar is mandatory to fill the application. Candidates not in possession of Aadhaar must enroll for the same.
• Submission of form without scanned document and fee payment will be incomplete.
• Candidates must clearly mention in their form whether they are applying for ‘only Assistant Professor’ or ‘for both Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Assistant Professor’.
• Those who face difficulty in filling the online application can approach the Common Services Centre.

UGC NET 2021 Important Dates

The official dates related to UGC NET 2021 are given below:

Activities	Important Dates
Application process restarts	10th August 2021
Closing of application process	5th September 2021
Last date for application fee submission	6th September 2021
Correction in application form begins	7th September 2021
Last date for from correction	12th September 2021
Printing of admit card	13th November 2021
Examination dates (phase 2)	24th, 26th and 27th December 2021
Declaration of result	To be announced

UGC NET 2021 Eligibility Criteria

The following eligibility criteria must be ensured by the candidates before applying for NET:

Age limit:

For JRF:

• The age of the candidates must not be more than 30 years. A relaxation of 5 years in the upper age will be given to OBC-NCL/ SC/ ST/ PwD/ transgender/ female candidates.
• Relaxation of 3 years will be given to the candidates with LLM degree and upto 5 years to the candidates who have served in the armed forces subject to the length of service.

For Assistant Professor:

• There is no upper age limit for applying for Assistant Professor.

Educational qualification:

• Candidates with at least 55% marks (50% for OBC-NCL/ SC/ ST/ PwD/ transgender category candidates) in master’s degree or equivalent exam from UGC recognized university are eligible.
• The Ph.D degree holders whose Master’s level examination has been completed by 19^th September 1991 will also be given a relaxation of 5% in aggregate marks.
• Candidates in the final year of their master’s degree are also eligible to apply for NET.
• The applicants are advised to appear in the NET paper in their postgraduation subject or related subject if the exact subject is not available.
• Applicants with post-graduate diploma/ certificate awarded by Indian University/ Institute or foreign degree/ diploma/ certificate awarded by the foreign University/ institute should ascertain the equivalence of their degree with Master’s degree of recognized Indian universities from Association of Indian Universities (AIU), New Delhi.

Exemption (eligibility for assistant professor):

• The candidates who have passed the UGC/ CSIR JRF examination prior to 1989 are exempted from appearing in NET.
• The candidates who have cleared SET held prior to 1st June 2002 are exempted from appearing in NET and can apply for Assistant Professor anywhere in India.
• For SET held after 1st June 2002, the qualified candidates are eligible to apply for the post of Assistant Professor only in the universities/ colleges situated in the respective state.

UGC NET 2021 Application Form

The application form for NET will be released online on the NTA website ntanet.nic.in. The candidates must download and read the information bulletin and application form replica before they fill the actual application.

• Candidates will have to provide their basic information such as name, date of birth, mobile number, etc to generate application number.
• Using the application number, the applicants will have to log in to fill rest details in the application form.
• The applicants will also have to provide the choice for exam center and NET subject in the application.
• Photograph (size 10-200 kb) and signature (size 4-30 kb) of the candidates will be uploaded in the form.
• After providing all details in the application, the candidates will have to submit it along with application fee.
• Proof of fee payment and printout of the confirmation page must be kept by the candidates in case of future reference. 
• Status of receipt of application will be uploaded on the official website. The candidates whose particulars are not shown must contact the helpline with proof of fee payment and confirmation page.

Application fee:

• The application fee will be Rs.1000/- for general candidates and Rs. 500/- for OBC-NCL candidates.
• For SC/ST/PwD/ Transgender candidates, application fee will be Rs. 250/-.
• Submission of fee can be done via debit card, credit card or internet banking or through Cash Deposit by submitting e-Challan at State Bank of India branches.
• Fee once submitted will not be refunded under any circumstances.

UGC NET 2021 Exam Pattern

Basic overview of UGC NET exam pattern:

• Mode of exam: Online
• Number of papers: 2 (with a break of 30 minutes)
• Duration of test: Paper I- 1 hour and Paper II- 2 hours
• Total marks: 300
• Number of questions: 150
• Marking scheme: 2 marks will be given for each correct answer
• Negative marking: No negative marking

Papers	Topics	Number of questions	Maximum marks
Paper I	Reasoning Ability, Divergent Thinking Comprehension & General Awareness	50	100
Paper II	Subject related questions	100	200

Syllabus

The candidates can find the complete syllabus from the official website and also from the libraries of all Indian universities.

• General Paper on Teaching & Research Aptitude: Nature, Objective & Characteristics Of Teaching And Research, Number Series, Letter Series, Reading Passage, Data Interpretation, People & Environment, etc
• Political Science: Political Theory & Thought, Comparative Politics & Political Analysis, Indian Government & Politics, Public Administration, International Relations, etc
• Education: Philosophical, Sociological and Psychological Foundation of Education, Methodology of Educational Research, etc
• Management: Financial Management, Marketing Environment, Production Management, Probability Theory, Ethics & Management System, etc
• Law: Constitutional Law of India, Legal Theory, Public International Law, Family Law, Law of Torts, Labour Law, Law of Crimes, etc

How to Prepare?

Certain preparation hacks that might help candidates in clearing their NET are given below:

• Take your time. You just cannot prepare in a rush for NET. You need to take your time to prepare well for the test.
• Go in depth of every topic. You need to prepare each topic deeply and thoroughly if you wish to answer the related questions in your exam.
• Make your own notes. Nothing can help you in studying more than the notes you prepare yourself.
• Practice previous years’ questions as much as you can. This will help you in getting detailed idea of the exam.
• Always be confident of what you study. Confidence and faith in yourself- these are the most important thing you need while writing NET.

UGC NET 2021 Admit Card

• The admit card for UGC NET 2021 will be available for download on the official website of NTA.
• Candidates should take a printout of the downloaded admit card and carry it to the exam center.
• Exam center will the one mentioned on the admit card along with exam date and time.
• No candidate without admit card will granted entry in the exam hall.
• Along with admit card, one passport size photograph, an authorized photo ID and PwD certificate (if applicable) must also be carried to the exam center.
• Those who face any problem in downloading the admit card should contact the helpline.
• Discrepancy in the admit card should also be removed by contacting the helpline. In case the discrepancy is not removed before the exam, the candidates must carry the already downloaded admit card.

Answer Key

• The answer key will be uploaded on the NTA website so that the candidates can check their answers before actual result declaration.
• Candidates will also be allowed to challenge the answers on payment of Rs. 1000/- per question.
• On the basis of final answer key, NET result will be declared.

UGC NET 2021 Result

• The result of the eligibility test will be declared online a few weeks after the conclusion of exam.
• Candidates who qualify the test will be eligible for fellowship or for the post of assistant professor or both based on eligibility and paper they appear.
• Re-evaluation or re-checking of the result will not be considered under any circumstances.

Assistant Professor and Junior Research Fellowship

• The candidates who qualify the test for eligibility for Assistant Professor, their recruitment will be governed by the rules and regulations of the concerned universities/ colleges/ state governments.
• Candidates qualifying for the award of JRF will be eligible to receive fellowship, subject to their finding placement in universities/ institutions.
• The validity period of the offer will be three years from the date of issue of JRF Award Letter.
• For candidates who have joined M. Phil/ Ph.D, the commencement of Fellowship will be from the date of declaration of NET result or date of their joining, whichever is later.

UGC NET 2021 FAQs