UGC NET Eligibility 2025: Age Limit, Educational Qualification, Reservation

UGC NET Eligibility 2025: The National Testing Agency has laid out the eligibility criteria for candidates who wish to appear for UGC NET exam 2025. To check the UGC NET 2025 eligibility, candidates should visit the official website, ugcnet.nta.ac.in. Further, those candidates who fulfil the eligibility criteria, are allowed to apply for the exam. 

There are several factors which contribute to the criteria and these factors include age limit, age limit relaxation, nationality, educational qualification and others. Candidates have to check each factor carefully and if they fulfil them, then they can apply for the UGC NET exam. 

Those candidates who will successfully apply for the exam and pay the application fees, will get their UGC NET admit card. Candidates can check the eligibility criteria from the official website of the NTA  and accordingly apply for the examination. 

UGC NET Eligibility 2025: Highlights

Interested candidates can check major highlights for UGC NET June 2025 exam in the table below:

UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025

All the students who intend to apply for the exam must check the official website of NTA for thorough details regarding the eligibility criteria. Along with the examination dates, the education body also releases the eligibility criteria, which are based on the following factors:

• Age Limit and Relaxation
• Education Qualification 

UGC NET Eligibility 2025: Age Limit & Relaxation

One of the most important eligibility factors for the UGC NET is the age limit. Candidates are required to meet the age limit in order to be eligible to appear for the exam. 

UGC NET JRF Age Limit 2025

Candidates who are interested in applying for the UGC NET JRF should note that their age should not be more than 30 years on the first day of the month in which the UGC NET exam comes to an end. Any changes in the age limit for the UGC NET JRF will be mentioned in the official notification. 

UGC NET Assistant Professor Age Limit 2025

Aspirants who are interested in appearing for the UGC NET Assistant Professor exam should know that there is no age limit to apply for the post. 

UGC NET JRF Age Limit Relaxation 2025

According to the rules laid out by the Government of India, the NTA provides a specific age relaxation to students who belong to certain categories. Candidates who belong to the SC, ST, OBC, PwD, women, and other category candidates and are interested in appearing for the UGC NET JRF exam should know their respective age criteria. Check the table below for more information. 

UGC NET Eligibility 2025: Exemptions

Only individuals applying for the position of assistant professor are exempted from the requirements.

• The minimum qualifying requirement for hiring and appointing assistant professors at universities, colleges, and institutions will continue to be NET/SLET/SET. However, applicants who currently hold or have received a Ph. D. in accordance with the University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedure for Award of Ph. D. Degree) Regulations, 2009, shall be exempt from the requirement of the minimum eligibility condition of NET/SLET/SET for recruitment and appointment to the position of Assistant Professor or equivalent positions in Universities, Colleges, and Institutions.
• Moreover, candidates who completed the UGC/CSIR JRF test before 1989 are excused from taking the NET.
• Candidates who passed the State Eligibility Test (SET), which was administered before the first day of June 2002 and was recognised by the UGC as a requirement for assistant professor eligibility, are exempt from taking the NET and are qualified to apply for assistant professor positions throughout India. Only the universities and colleges located in the state where they passed their SET are accepting applications for the position of Associate Professor for SET exams administered starting on June 1, 2002.

UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025: Educational Qualifications

Apart from the age factor, another eligibility criteria which is important to consider is the education qualification of the candidate. Take a look at the table below to have an understanding of the UGC NET educational qualifications as the requirement to appear for the exam. 

• Candidates who have obtained a Master's Degree OR an equivalent degree in Humanities (including languages), Social Sciences, Computer Science & Applications, Electronic Science, etc. from universities/institutions recognised by the UGC are eligible to take this exam. Candidates from the Other Backward Classes (OBC), non-creamy layer, Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST), and People with Disabilities (PWD) categories who achieved a minimum of 50% of the marks in a Master's degree examination or an equivalent are eligible to take this exam.
• Applicants whose qualifying Master's degree (final year) examination results are still pending may also apply for this examination. The same goes for those whose qualifying examinations have been postponed. However, these applicants will only be considered for JRF/Assistant Professor eligibility once they have successfully completed their Master's degree requirements or an equivalent with at least 55% (or 50% in the case of OBC (Non-creamy layer), SC, ST, or PWD (Persons with Disability) category candidates) marks. Those applicants must successfully finish their P.G. degree test within two years of the NET result date and must do so with the requisite percentage of marks in order to avoid disqualification.  
• The Ph.D. degree holders whose Master's level examination was completed by September 19, 1991 (regardless of the date of result declaration) will get a relaxation of 5% aggregate mark reduction (i.e., from 55% to 50%) for NET participation.
• It is advisable for candidates to only appear in the subject of their post-graduation. Candidates may participate in a comparable subject if their post-graduate subject is not included in the list of subjects in item No. 9.
• Applicants must submit a certified copy of their category certification along with an online printout of their application forms if they fall under the OBC (non-creamy layer), SC, ST, or PWD categories (obtained while applying on-line). In addition to the copy of their application form, other candidates are not needed to provide any certifications or papers to prove their eligibility. As a result, the applicants must choose for themselves, in their own best interests, if they are qualified to take the exam. Their candidature will be cancelled and they will face legal consequences if the Commission finds them to be ineligible at any point.

UGC NET Eligibility 2025: Reservation Policy

The reservation policy applicable to the UGC NET exam is defined as per the rule issued by the Government of India. Further, the seats in the central universities and institutes which are deemed to be universities are reserved accordingly. Take a look at the reservation of seats here: 

UGC NET Eligibility 2025: Subject Wise Requirements

The UGC NET exam consists of Paper  1 and Paper 2. Paper 1 is a general paper based on teaching and research aptitude and it is compulsory for all to choose the appropriate subject for Paper 2. According to the official UGC NET notification, candidates must only appear in the subject of their postgraduate degree.

Exceptions:

Candidates with a Master's Degree in Geography (with a specialisation in Population Studies) or Mathematics/ Statistics are also eligible to apply (Subject Code 015).

Women Studies (Subject Code 074) is open to candidates with a Master's Degree in Humanities (including languages) and Social Sciences