UCG NET JRF exam is a national level exam conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA) twice in a year on the behalf of University Grants Commission (UGC) for determining the eligibility for the post of Assistant Professor and/or Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) or both award in Indian universities and colleges. NTA has been established by the Government of India as a premier and autonomous organization to conduct entrance exams for admission/ fellowship in higher educational institutions. The agency has been given the responsibility to conduct popular exams like UGC NET, JEE Main, NEET, CMAT, and GPAT.
Candidates holding a post graduation degree with maximum age 30 years are eligibile to appear in UGC NET exam. UGC follows the Government of India's reservation policy, as per which a minimum of 27%, 10%, 15%, 7.5% and 5% of fellowships are reserved for the OBC (non-creamy layer), EWS, SC, ST and persons with disabilities (PWD).
Exam Name |
University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test |
Commonly known |
UGC NET JRF Exam |
Conducting Body |
National Testing Agency (NTA) |
Exam Level |
National |
Official Website |
ntanet.nic.in |
Periodicity |
Bi- annually (June and December) |
Conducted for |
Junior Research Fellowship and Assistant Professorship |
Mode of Exam |
Computer based Test |
Medium |
English or Hindi |
Exam Duration |
3 hours |
Score / Marks |
0–100 (Paper I) |
Score / grade validity |
Three years (JRF) Lifetime (for Assitant Professor) |
Offered |
Twice annually |
Attempt |
No restriction on attempt |
Application Fee |
₹1000(General) |
Qualification rate |
6% (2018) |
UGC NET Helpdesk |
8076535482, 7703859909 | ugcnet-nta@nic.in, queries.net.nta@gmail.com |
Website |
There are many universities and colleges who demand for UGC NET JRF qualified candidates for the post of Assistant Professor. After qualifying UGC NET JRF exam, candidates are able to:
The vocation options are not limited to JRF and Assistant Professor only. There are number of career destinations for the UGC NET JRF Qualified candidates.
UGC NET JRF selection process includes the following steps:
Till 2017, UGC NET was conducted as a pen-and-paper based test. However, now the exam is conducted as a Computer-Based Test (CBT) only. NTA is conducting the UGC National Eligibility Test from December 2018 onwards but before 2018, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conducted the UGC NET exam. As per the press-release by Indian Government, the exam will be conducted twice a year June month and December month, and it will be conducted in an online mode instead of offline mode by NTA.