NET Exam Question Papers with answers and Study Notes, Syllabus, Exam Schedule and Details

UGC-NET 2023 Exam Date, Exam Pattern, Syllabus, Eligibility, Admit Card, Old Question Papers, Mock Test, Answer Keys

The University Grants Commission-National Eligibility Test is also known as UGC NET, NTA-UGC-NET or NET is a test for determining the eligibility for assistant professor in Indian universities and colleges, and/or for awarding Junior Research Fellowship to Indian students. The UGC-NET is being conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode with effect from December 2018 onwards.

UGC-NET is conducted twice every year (June & December). From December 2018 onward, NTA started releasing the UGC-NET e-certificate and JRF award letter online on its official website for the qualified candidates.

The candidate has obtain minimum qualifying marks in UGC-NET with aggregate 55% and 50% in their postgraduate's or master's degree, for General and Others respectively. UGC follows the Government of India's reservation policy in UGC-NET, as per which a minimum of 27%, 10%, 15%, 7.5% for OBC, EWS, SC, ST respectively and 5% for PWD.

UGC-NET Exam Schedule

Candidates can apply for UGC - NET December 2023 through the Online mode only on the website. Official website: https://ugcnet.nta.ac.in/. The Application Form in any other mode will not be accepted.

The schedule of UGC-NET December 2023, are as follows:

Submission of Online Application Form : 30 September 2023
Closing date of regular online registration/applications: 28 October 2023 (upto 05:00 P.M.)
Last date for submission of Examination fee (through CreditCard/ Debit Card/Net Banking /UPI: 29 October 2023 (upto 11:50 P.M.)
Correction in the Particulars in Online Application Form: 30 - 31 October 2023 (upto 11:50 P.M)
Announcement of City of Exam Centre: Last week of the November 2023
Downloading of Admit Card from NTA Website: First week of the December 2023
Dates of Examination: 06 December 2023 to 22 December 2023
Centre, Date and Shift: As indicated on Admit Card
Display of Recorded Responses and Answer Key(s): To be announced later on the website
Official Website: https://ugcnet.nta.ac.in/, www.nta.ac.in
Application Fee: General/ Unreserved Rs. 1150/-
Application Fee: General/ Unreserved General-EWS/OBC-NCL Rs. 600/-
Application Fee: SC/ST/PwD Rs. 325/-

Pattern of Examination - UGC-NET 2023

Particulars	Details
Mode of examination	Computer Based Test (CBT)
Duration	3 hours
Number of papers	Paper I and Paper II
Types of questions	Objective type, Multiple choice questions.
Number of questions	Paper I : 50 and Paper II: 100
Marks	Paper I = 100 and Paper II = 200

Note: Please refer official website for schedule (Schedule can be updated by NTA and we may not update it on time)

Official website: https://ugcnet.nta.ac.in/, www.nta.ac.in

UGC-NET Exam 2023 NOTIFICATION is available in https://ugcnet.nta.ac.in/, www.nta.ac.in

Marking Scheme

Each question carries 02 (two) marks.
For each correct response, candidate will get 02 (two) marks.
There is no negative marking for incorrect response.
No marks will be given for questions un-answered/un-attempted/marked for Review. To answer a question, the candidate needs to choose one option as correct option. If a question is found to be incorrect/ambiguous or has multiple correct answers, only those candidates who have attempted the question and chosen one of the correct answers would be given the credit.
If a question is found to be incorrect and the Question is dropped, then two marks (+2) will be awarded to only to those candidates who have attempted the question. The reason could be due to human error or technical error. Since, there is no negative marking, candidate needs to choose one most nearest option as correct answer.

Registration and Application Process - Instructions for filling Online Application Form

Before beginning the process of filling the Online Application Form, read Information Bulletin carefully, keep ready required documents and follow the following instructions:

Copy of Board/ University Certificate for Candidate's Name, Mother's Name, Father's Name and Date of Birth.
Type of Identification - Bank A/c passbook with photograph/ Passport Number/Ration Card/ Aadhaar Card Number/Voter ID Card Number/ Other Govt ID.
Qualifying Degree Certificate or last semester marks sheet.
Your Mailing Address as well as Permanent Address with Pin Code (Refer Appendix- VI for State Code)
Four cities for Centres of your choice (Refer Appendix-III for Codes)
Code of NET Subject (Refer Appendix-II for Code)
Code of subject at Post Graduation level (Refer Appendix-IV for Code)
Code of Post-Graduation Course (Refer Appendix-V for Code)
Category Certificate, if applicable
Economically Weaker Section (EWS) Certificate, if applicable
Person with Disability (PwD) Certificate, if applicable
e-mail address and Mobile Number of candidate
Scanned images in JPG/JPEG format only.

Steps to Apply online for UGC-NET 2023

There are 3 Steps may be followed to Apply Online:

Step-1: Apply for Online Registration using own Email Id and Mobile No.

Step-2: Fill in the Online Application Form and note down the system generated Application Number. Upload scanned images of: (i) the recent photograph (file size 10Kb - 200Kb) either in colour or black
& white with 80% face (without mask) visible including ears against white background; (ii) candidate's signature (file size: 4kb - 30kb)

Step-3: Pay fee using SBI/ CANARA/ ICICI/ HDFC Bank/Debit Card/Credit Card/UPI and keep proof of fee paid.

How to Download Admit Card for UGC NET 2023

You can download the UGC NET 2023 Admit Card in simple steps shown below (This is example, it may change every year).

Open the official webpage : https://ugcnet.nta.ac.in/, www.nta.ac.in
Click on the link 'UGC NET December 2023 Admit Card Window open Click Here.'
Enter your Application Number
Enter your Date of Birth (DOB)
Enter the Security Pin

How to UGC NET Exam Results

You can check the UGC NET exam results in simple steps shown below (This is example, it may change every year).

Open the official webpage : https://ugcnet.nta.ac.in/, www.nta.ac.in
Click on the link 'NET Result 2023'
Enter your Application Number
Enter Your Password
Click on "Submit" and your UGC NET exam result is here for you....

How to get Application Number

Have you forgot your UGC NET Application Number? Don't worry, you can get it from official website in few steps as below.

Open the webpage : https://ugcnet.nta.ac.in/, www.nta.ac.in
Select the login option.
Click on the link "forgot application number"
Enter 'Candidate's Name', 'Fathers Name', 'Mothers Name', 'Date of Birth', and 'Security Pin'.
Click on 'Get Application Number' and
You will receive the Application Number on your mobile or Email...

UGC NET 2023 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA: Educational Qualifications

For applying UGC NET the qualification for Assistant Professor or Junior Research Fellowship programs are as follows -

General/Unreserved/General-EWS candidates who have secured at least 55% marks in Master's Degree or equivalent examination from universities/institutions recognized by UGC (available on the website: www.ugc.ac.in in). Humanities and Social Science (including languages), Computer Science and Applications, Electronic Science etc. are eligible for this Test. List of subjects at Post Graduation level is attached as Appendix -V. The Other Backward Classes (OBC) belonging to Non-Creamy Layer/Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Persons with Disability (PwD)/Third gender category candidates who have secured at least 50% marks in Master's degree or equivalent examination are eligible for this Test.
Candidates who are pursuing their Master's degree or equivalent course or candidates who have appeared for their qualifying Master's degree (final year) examination and whose result is still awaited or candidates whose qualifying examinations have been delayed may also apply for this test. However, such candidates will be admitted provisionally and shall be considered eligible for award of JRF/eligibility for Assistant Professor only after they have passed their Master's Degree or equivalent examination with at least 55% marks (50% marks in case of OBC-NCL/ SC / ST / PwD / Third gender category candidates). Such candidates must complete their Master's degree or equivalent examination within two years from the date of NET result with required percentage of marks, failing which they shall be treated as disqualified.
Candidates belonging to the Third gender category are eligible to draw the same relaxation in fee, age and Eligibility Criteria for NET (i.e. JRF and Assistant Professor) as are available to SC/ST/PwD categories. The subject-wise qualifying cut-offs for this category would be the lowest among those for SC / ST / PwD / OBC-NCL / General-EWS categories in the corresponding subject.
The Ph.D. degree holders whose Master's level examination have been completed by 19 September 1991 (irrespective of date of declaration of result) shall be eligible for a relaxation of 5% in aggregate marks (i.e. from 55% to 50%) for appearing in NET. The list of Post - Graduation courses and their codes is given at Appendix -VI.
Candidates are advised to appear in the subject of their Post - Graduation only. The candidates, whose Post Graduation subject is not covered in the list of NET subjects attached as Appendix -V, may appear in a related subject.
Candidates are neither required to send any certificates/documents in support of their eligibility nor printout of their Application Form or Confirmation Page to NTA. However, the candidates, in their own interest, must ensure themselves about their eligibility for the test. In the event of any ineligibility being detected by the UGC/NTA at any stage, their candidature will be cancelled and they shall be liable for legal action. NTA does not verify the information provided by the candidates during online registration and hence candidature will be purely provisional subject to the fulfillment of eligibility criteria.
Candidates with post-graduate diploma/certificate awarded by Indian University/ Institute or foreign degree/diploma/certificate awarded by the foreign University/ institute should in their own interest, ascertain the equivalence of their diploma/degree/ certificate with Master's degree of recognized Indian universities from Association of Indian Universities (AIU), New Delhi (www.aiu.ac.in).

Age Limit and Relaxation

Age limit for general and other categories for both the JRF and Assistant Professors are given below

UGC NET - Age Limit For JRF:

Not more than 30 years as on 1st day of the month in which the examination is concluded i.e. 01.12.2023.
Age relaxation of upto 5 years is provided to the candidates belonging to OBC-NCL (as per the Central list of OBC available on website: www.ncbc.nic.in) /SC/ST/PwD/Third gender categories and to women applicants.
Relaxation will also be provided to the candidates with research experience, limited to the period spent on research in the relevant / related subject of post-graduation degree, subject to a maximum of 5 years, on production of a certificate from appropriate authority, which should be a recognized Indian university / Institute of National Importance / foreign university which is duly approved / recognized / accredited in its own
Country / Public Sector Undertaking of Government of India / State Government in India. The research should not have been carried out towards completion of graduation or post-graduation degree(s).
Three years relaxation in age will be permissible to the candidates with L.L.M. degree.
A relaxation of upto 5 years is provided to the candidates who have served in the armed forces subject to the length of service in the armed forces upto the first day of the month in which the concerned UGC-NET is, conducted, i.e., 01.12.2023.

UGC NET - Age Limit For Assistant Professor:

There is no upper age limit in applying for UGC-NET for Assistant Professor

Note : Total age relaxation shall not exceed five years under any circumstances.

UGC NET - Documents to be carried to the Examination Centre

Candidates must bring the following documents to the Examination Centre.

Printed copy of Admit Card downloaded from NTA website.
One passport size photograph (same as uploaded on the Online Application Form) for pasting on the specific space in the Attendance Sheet at Centre during the Examination.
Any one of the authorized photo IDs (must be original, valid and non- expired) - PAN card/ Driving License/Passport/ Aadhaar Card (With photograph)/ Aadhaar). The name on the photo identification must match with the name as shown on the Admit Card.
PwD certificate issued by the Competent Authority, if claiming the relaxation under PwD category.

UGC NET - Percentile Scores:

UGC NET Percentile scores are scores based on the relative performance of all those who appear for the examination.

The Percentile Scores will be calculated up to 7 decimal places to avoid bunching effect and reduce ties.
The Percentile score of a Candidate is calculated as follows:
100 X Number of candidates appeared in the 'Session' with raw score EQUAL TO OR LESS than the candidate. divided by Total number of the candidates appeared in the 'Session'.

Note: The Percentile of the Total shall NOT be an aggregate or average of the Percentile of individual subject. Percentile score is not the same as percentage of marks obtained.

Sample Questions

Answer Keys