UGC NET December 2026: Dates, Eligibility & Syllabus

UGC NET December 2026: Important Dates

Candidates must stay updated with the last date of application and the new examination notification.

Event	Date
Notification	October 8, 2026
Application deadline	October 28, 2026, by 11:50 PM
Late-fee window	October 29–31, 2026
Correction window	November 2–4, 2026
Examination	December 14–19, 2026
City intimation slip and admit card	To be announced
Result	To be announced

Check the official UGC NET website for the latest notices.

UGC NET December 2026 Eligibility Criteria

Candidates can apply for UGC NET December 2026 exam 2026 via master's degree or 4 years/8-semester bachelor's degree, based on eligibility criteria:

• Eligibility via Master's degree: The eligibility criteria states that General/Unreserved & General-EWS candidates should secure an aggregate mark of 55% or above. Whereas, the OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD/PwBD and third-gender candidates should obtain an aggregate of 50% in their education.
• Eligibility via 4-year Bachelor's degree: A candidate must score an aggregate mark of 75% or equivalent grade. The eligible reserved category students are given relaxation of 5%. The students can apply for JRF and PhD admission through this method. However, it doesn't make them eligible for Assistant Professor.
• Final year students: The final year students appearing or passed out can apply provisionally, subject to the eligibility criteria.
• Age criteria: A candidate should not exceed 30 years of age, as on the last date of applying for JRF. The age relaxation applies for reserved categories. Although there is no age bar for assistant professor eligibility and PhD admission.

UGC NET December 2026 Application Fee

The examination fee is different for different categories.

Category	Fee
General/Unreserved	₹1,150
General-EWS/OBC-NCL	₹600
SC/ST/PwD/PwBD/Third Gender	₹325

The late fee is ₹500 apart from the applicable examination fee which can be paid through the online payment methods as prescribed.

How to Apply for UGC NET December 2026

To apply for the exam you have to log in to the official UGC NET portal, and complete the following steps:

1. Register to the portal by submitting your mobile number and email.

2. Enter your personal information and qualification.

3. Choose your subject/s and city/s of the exam.

4. Take a photograph in the camera and upload the scanned photograph, signature and applicable certificate/s.

5. Complete the payment process and download the confirmation page.

The photograph size should be between 10-200 KB with 80% of the face visible on a white background and the signature in size of 10-50 KB. The disability/UDID certificate must be uploaded as a PDF with size between 50-300 KB where applicable.

UGC NET candidates can make changes in their application form till November 4, 2026. The correction window will be open from November 2-4, 2026. However, only the editable fields will be allowed for changes, so it is better to review the application form before final submission.

UGC NET December 2026 Exam Pattern

UGC NET is a computer-based test comprising two papers conducted in the same three-hour sitting without a break.

Paper	Questions	Marks
Paper 1	50	100
Paper 2	100	200
Total	150	300

Paper 1 tests the candidate’s teaching/research aptitude while paper 2 assesses subject-specific knowledge. Each correct answer scores two marks and there is no negative marking for wrong answers.

UGC NET December 2026 Syllabus

Paper 1 covers these ten units:

• Teaching Aptitude
• Research Aptitude
• Comprehension
• Communication
• Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude
• Logical Reasoning
• Data Interpretation
• Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
• People, Development and Environment
• Higher Education System

Paper 2 evaluates the candidate’s knowledge of the subject. The candidate has to choose the subject according to their specialisation in postgraduate studies while also considering the eligibility criteria set by the NTA. The table below shows the subjects:

No. & Subject
Adult Education / Continuing Education / Andragogy / Non-Formal Education	Anthropology	Arab Culture and Islamic Studies	Arabic
Archaeology	Assamese	Bengali	Bodo
Buddhist, Jaina, Gandhian and Peace Studies	Chinese	Commerce	Comparative Literature
Comparative Study of Religions	Computer Science and Applications	Criminology	Defence and Strategic Studies
Dogri	Economics / Rural Economics / Co-operation / Demography / Development Planning / Development Studies / Econometrics / Applied Economics / Development Economics / Business Economics	Education	Electronic Science
English	Environmental Sciences	Folk Literature	Forensic Science
French (French Version)	Geography	German	Gujarati
Hindi	Hindu Studies	History	Home Science
Human Rights and Duties	Indian Culture	Indian Knowledge System	Japanese
Kannada	Kashmiri	Konkani	Labour Welfare / Personnel Management / Industrial Relations / Labour and Social Welfare / Human Resource Management
Law	Library and Information Science	Linguistics	Maithili
Malayalam	Management	Manipuri	Marathi
Mass Communication and Journalism	Museology and Conservation	Music	Nepali
Oriya	Pali	Performing Art – Dance / Drama / Theatre	Persian
Philosophy	Physical Education	Political Science	Politics, including International Relations / International Studies and regional studies
Population Studies	Prakrit	Psychology	Public Administration
Punjabi	Rajasthani	Russian	Sanskrit
Sanskrit Traditional Subjects	Santali	Sindhi	Social Medicine and Community Health
Social Work	Sociology	Spanish	Tamil
Telugu	Tourism Administration and Management	Tribal and Regional Language / Literature	Urdu
Visual Art	Women Studies	Yoga	Disaster Management
Ayurveda Biology	Forestry	Statistics	—

UGC NET Qualifying Criteria and Cut-Off

UGC NET has three categories of qualification:

Category 1: Eligibility for JRF and Lectureship (Assistant Professor)

Category 2: Eligibility for Lectureship (Assistant Professor) and Qualification for PhD admission

Category 3: Qualification for PhD admission

The minimum percentage required for eligibility is usually 40% for General / General-EWS category students and 35% for SC / ST / OBC / EWS category students in both papers combined. However, just qualifying the minimum percentage is not sufficient for eligibility. 

However, qualifying the exam is not sufficient to secure a position. The cut-off marks for qualifying the exam are decided subject- and category-wise, and the result depends on the candidate's performance. Moreover, qualifying the UGC NET exam is not sufficient to get a government job, fellowship, or PhD admission.

UGC NET December 2026 Admit Card and Result

NTA will release the city intimation slip and admit card date separately. The city slip is informative of the candidate's examination city, whereas the admit card comprises all the details for the examination centre, date, shift, and reporting instructions. The candidates must also carry the prescribed admit card, original photo ID, and additional documents if required with the official instructions.

The official will release the provisional answer key and the challenge window after the examination along with the final answer key and result. Candidates must check the official website for the latest updates.

How to Prepare for UGC NET December 2026

Start your preparation by taking the official syllabus and break down the Paper 1 and Paper 2 accordingly. Practice Paper 1 consistently and focus on Paper 2 to learn the subject areas. Try solving previous years’ question papers to get an understanding of question patterns and know your weaknesses.

Take mocks tests within a stipulated time and evaluate your mistakes after every test. As there is no negative marking, attempt every question diligently. Use the last few weeks for revisions, mocks practice, and tackling the difficult areas.

Conclusion

UGC NET December 2026 application process is open till October 28, and candidates will get the chance to apply by paying late fees till October 31. Aspirants are advised to utilise the syllabus, past year’s question papers, and mock tests to prepare a proper strategy and boost their preparations for the exam.