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The National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the UGC NET December 2026 notification on 8 October 2026 for the University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test. This national-level exam decides the eligibility of Indian nationals for Junior Research Fellowship, appointment as Assistant Professor and admission to Ph.D. in Indian universities and colleges. UGC NET is an eligibility test, so no fixed vacancy count is announced; the exam covers 87 subjects. Candidates holding a master’s degree with at least 55% marks (50% for reserved categories), as well as final-semester students, can apply. The upper age limit for JRF is 30 years with relaxation for OBC-NCL, SC, ST and PwD candidates, while there is no upper age limit for Assistant Professor. Online applications are open from 8 October 2026 to 28 October 2026. The fee is Rs. 1150 for General, Rs. 600 for General-EWS/OBC-NCL and Rs. 325 for SC/ST/PwD and Third Gender candidates. Selection depends on the CBT score in Paper 1 and Paper 2 and the category-wise cut-off. Apply at www.ugcnet.nta.nic.in and stay tuned here for admit card, answer key and result updates. Check the latest Sarkari Result updates here.
NTA
UGC NET
NATIONAL TESTING AGENCY (NTA)
University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test
Ministry of Education, Government of India
UGC NET
DECEMBER 2026
EXAM NOTIFICATION 2026
UGC NET December 2026 NotificationDate: 8 October 2026
UGC NET DECEMBER 2026 NOTIFICATION
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has released the UGC NET December 2026 notification. Eligible candidates can apply online from 8 October 2026 to 28 October 2026 at www.ugcnet.nta.nic.in.
SUBJECTS
87
APPLICATION MODE
ONLINE
START DATE
08.10.2026
LAST DATE
28.10.2026
EXAM DATE
14-19.12.2026
1. EXAM OVERVIEW
| Conducting Body | : National Testing Agency (NTA) | Exam Name | : UGC NET 2026 |
| Full Form | : University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test | Exam Level | : National |
| Exam Frequency | : Twice a year (June & December) | Mode of Application | : Online |
| Exam Mode | : Computer Based Test (CBT) | No. of Subjects | : 87 subjects |
| No. of Test Cities | : 239 | Official Website | : www.ugcnet.nta.nic.in |
2. IMPORTANT DATES
| Notification Date | : | 08.10.2026 |
| Opening Date | : | 08.10.2026 |
| Last Date | : | 28.10.2026 |
| Fee Payment Last Date | : | 28.10.2026 |
| Application Correction | : | 02.11.2026 – 04.11.2026 |
| Exam City Intimation | : | 7 to 10 days before the exam |
| Admit Card | : | 3 to 5 days before the exam |
| Exam Date | : | 14.12.2026 – 19.12.2026 |
3. IMPORTANT LINKS
| UGC NET December 2026 Notification PDF | Download |
| Apply Online | Click Here |
| UGC NET Paper 1 Syllabus 2026 | Click Here |
| Official Website | ugcnet.nta.nic.in |
4. APPLICATION FEE
| General / Unreserved | : | Rs. 1150/- |
| General-EWS / OBC-NCL | : | Rs. 600/- |
| SC / ST / PwD & Third Gender | : | Rs. 325/- |
| Payment Mode | : | Credit / Debit Card or e-Challan |
| Note | : | Processing charges & GST extra as applicable; fee is non-refundable and non-transferable |
5. EDUCATIONAL QUALIFICATION
- Master’s degree or equivalent from a UGC-recognised university / institution with 55% marks (50% for reserved categories).
- 4-year / 8-semester bachelor’s degree holders need a minimum of 75% aggregate marks; 5% relaxation for SC/ST/OBC (NCL)/Differently-Abled/EWS and other categories.
- Candidates appearing in the final semester / final year of the master’s degree can also apply.
- Qualifying exam in Humanities (including languages) and Social Science, Computer Science & Applications and Electronic Science.
- 5% relaxation in aggregate marks for Ph.D. degree holders whose master’s degree examination was completed by 19 September 1991.
6. AGE LIMIT
- Junior Research Fellowship (JRF): not more than 30 years.
- Assistant Professor: no upper age limit.
- Age relaxation of 5 years for OBC-NCL, SC, ST and PwD categories.
- 3 years relaxation for candidates with an L.L.M. degree.
- Up to 5 years relaxation for candidates who served in the armed forces, subject to length of service up to the first day of the month of the exam.
- Total age relaxation shall not exceed 5 years under any circumstances.
7. EXAM PATTERN
UGC NET 2026 – Computer Based Test (CBT)
| Paper | Questions | Marks | Duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper 1 | 50 | 100 | 1 Hour |
| Paper 2 | 100 | 200 | 2 Hours |
| Total | 150 | 300 | 03 Hours (180 Minutes) |
- Both papers have objective-type multiple-choice questions; there is no break between the two papers.
- 2 marks for every correct answer; no negative marking for incorrect answers.
- Question paper medium: English and Hindi.
8. POSTS & BENEFITS
| Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) | : | Full-time Ph.D. / research; ₹37,000/month (first 2 years), ₹42,000/month (from 3rd year), HRA, UGC funding |
| Assistant Professor | : | Eligible for permanent / contractual teaching jobs in colleges and universities, academic promotions; Ph.D. optional |
| Ph.D. Admission | : | 70% weightage to NET score, 30% to university interview |
9. RESERVATION POLICY
| Category | Reservation |
|---|---|
| Scheduled Castes (SC) | 15% |
| Scheduled Tribes (ST) | 7.5% |
| Other Backward Classes (OBC) Non-Creamy Layer (NCL) | 27% |
| General-Economically Weaker Sections (General-EWS) | 10% |
| Persons with Disability (PwD) with 40% or more disability | 4% |
10. SELECTION PROCESS
Online Registration
➤
CBT Exam (Paper 1 + Paper 2)
➤
Subject & Category-wise Merit List
➤
JRF / Assistant Professor / Ph.D. Eligibility
- Top 6% of candidates who appeared in both papers are considered qualified.
- JRF / Assistant Professor eligibility is decided on the basis of category-wise cut-off scores.
- Top 15% of candidates from each category and subject are declared eligible for Assistant Professor only.
11. DOCUMENTS REQUIRED
- All educational certificates and mark sheets.
- PAN Card / Licence / Passport / Aadhaar / Voter ID or any Government ID proof.
- Category, EWS and PwD certificates (if applicable).
- Candidate’s, Mother’s and Father’s name and Date of Birth (dd/mm/yyyy) as in the Secondary / Senior Secondary certificate.
- Scanned photo (10 kb to 200 kb) and signature (4 kb to 30 kb) in JPG format.
- Valid email ID, mobile number, permanent and correspondence address with PIN code.
- Subject code and post-graduation course code (given in the information brochure).
12. LIST OF SUBJECTS AND CODES
| Subject | Subject Code |
|---|---|
| Adult Education / Continuing Education / Andragogy / Non-Formal Education | 46 |
| Anthropology | 07 |
| Arab Culture and Islamic Studies | 49 |
| Arabic | 29 |
| Archaeology | 67 |
| Assamese | 36 |
| Bengali | 19 |
| Bodo | 94 |
| Buddhist, Jaina, Gandhian and Peace Studies | 60 |
| Chinese | 32 |
| Commerce | 08 |
| Comparative Literature | 72 |
| Comparative Study of Religions | 62 |
| Computer Science and Applications | 87 |
| Criminology | 68 |
| Defence and Strategic Studies | 11 |
| Dogri | 33 |
| Economics / Rural Economics / Co-operation / Demography / Development Planning / Development Studies / Econometrics / Applied Economics / Development Economics / Business Economics | 01 |
| Education | 09 |
| Electronic Science | 88 |
| English | 30 |
| Environmental Sciences | 89 |
| Folk Literature | 71 |
| Forensic Science | 82 |
| French (French Version) | 39 |
| Geography | 80 |
| German | 44 |
| Gujarati | 37 |
| Hindi | 20 |
| Hindu Studies | 102 |
| History | 06 |
| Home Science | 12 |
| Human Rights and Duties | 92 |
| Indian Culture | 50 |
| Indian Knowledge System | 103 |
| Japanese | 45 |
| Kannada | 21 |
| Kashmiri | 84 |
| Konkani | 85 |
| Labour Welfare / Personnel Management / Industrial Relations / Labour and Social Welfare / Human Resource Management | 55 |
| Law | 58 |
| Library and Information Science | 59 |
| Linguistics | 31 |
| Maithili | 18 |
| Malayalam | 22 |
| Management (including Business Admn. Mgt. / Marketing / Marketing Mgt. / Industrial Relations and Personnel Mgt. / Personnel Mgt. / Financial Mgt. / Co-operative Management) | 17 |
| Manipuri | 35 |
| Marathi | 38 |
| Mass Communication and Journalism | 63 |
| Museology & Conservation | 66 |
| Music | 16 |
| Nepali | 34 |
| Oriya | 23 |
| Pali | 83 |
| Performing Art – Dance / Drama / Theatre | 65 |
| Persian | 42 |
| Philosophy | 03 |
| Physical Education | 47 |
| Political Science | 02 |
| Politics including International Relations / International Studies including Defence / Strategic Studies, West Asian Studies, Southeast Asian Studies, African Studies, South Asian Studies, Soviet Studies, American Studies | 90 |
| Population Studies | 15 |
| Prakrit | 91 |
| Psychology | 04 |
| Public Administration | 14 |
| Punjabi | 24 |
| Rajasthani | 43 |
| Russian | 41 |
| Sanskrit | 25 |
| Sanskrit traditional subjects (including Jyotisha / Sidhanta Jyotish / Navya Vyakarna / Vyakarna / Mimansa / Navya Nyaya / Sankhya Yoga / Tulanatmaka Darsan / Shukla Yajurveda / Madhav Vedant / Dharmasasta / Sahitya / Puranotihasa / Agama) | 73 |
| Santali | 95 |
| Sindhi | 101 |
| Social Medicine & Community Health | 81 |
| Social Work | 10 |
| Sociology | 05 |
| Spanish | 40 |
| Tamil | 26 |
| Telugu | 27 |
| Tourism Administration and Management | 93 |
| Tribal and Regional Language / Literature | 70 |
| Urdu | 28 |
| Visual Art (including Drawing & Painting / Sculpture Graphics / Applied Art / History of Art) | 79 |
| Women Studies | 74 |
| Yoga | 100 |
13. FAQs
What is the last date to apply for UGC NET December 2026?
The last date to apply online and pay the fee is 28 October 2026 on www.ugcnet.nta.nic.in.
When will the UGC NET December 2026 exam be held?
The exam will be conducted from 14 to 19 December 2026 in CBT mode for 87 subjects.
What is the age limit for UGC NET December 2026?
For JRF the upper age limit is 30 years (5 years relaxation for OBC-NCL, SC, ST and PwD). There is no upper age limit for Assistant Professor.
What qualification is required for UGC NET 2026?
A master’s degree with at least 55% marks (50% for SC/ST/OBC/PwD/Third Gender). Final-semester master’s students can also apply.
What is the application fee for UGC NET December 2026?
Rs. 1150/- for General/Unreserved, Rs. 600/- for General-EWS/OBC-NCL and Rs. 325/- for SC/ST/PwD & Third Gender, plus processing charges and GST.
Is there negative marking in UGC NET 2026?
No. Each correct answer carries 2 marks and there is no negative marking for wrong answers.
Note : For complete details, read the official UGC NET December 2026 information brochure at www.ugcnet.nta.nic.in.🌐www.ugcnet.nta.nic.in