University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC - NET) - Instructions for online application

The eligibility for ‘Assistant Professor’ or for ‘Junior Research Fellowship and Assistant Professor’ will depend on the performance of the candidate in both the papers of UGC-NET in aggregate. However, the candidates qualifying exclusively for Assistant Professor will not be considered for the award of JRF. Candidates appearing in UGC-NET should thoughtfully select in the Application Form whether they are applying for ‘Assistant Professor’ or ‘Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Assistant Professor’. Candidates who qualify the Test for eligibility for Assistant Professor will be governed by the rules and regulations for recruitment of Assistant Professor of the concerned Universities / Colleges/ State governments, as the case may be.

The candidates who qualify for the award of JRF are eligible to pursue research in the subject of their post-graduation or in a related subject and are also eligible for Assistant Professor. The universities, institutions, IITs and other national organizations may select the JRF awardees for full time research work in accordance with the procedure prescribed by them.

Junior Research Fellowship: Candidates qualifying for the award of JRF will be eligible to receive fellowship of UGC under various schemes, subject to their finding placement in universities/IITs/Institutions. The validity period of the offer will be three years w.e.f. the date of issue of JRF Award Letter. However, for those candidates who have already joined M. Phil. / Ph.D., the date of commencement of Fellowship shall be from the date of declaration of NET result or date of their joining, whichever is later.

The National Fellowship for Scheduled Caste Students (NFSC), National Fellowship for Other Backward Classes (NFOBC) and the Maulana Azad National Fellowship for Minority Students (MANF) shall be governed by the guidelines available on the official websites of the concerned Ministries and/or the UGC.

NET/SET/SLET shall remain the minimum eligibility condition for recruitment and appointment of Assistant Professors in Universities/Colleges/ Institutions. In this regard, exemption from NET/SET/SLET will be governed by UGC regulations and amendments notified in the Gazette of India from time to time.

The candidates who have passed the UGC/CSIR/ JRF examination prior to 1989 are also exempted from appearing in NET.

For SET Candidates: The candidates who have cleared the States Eligibility Test (SET) accredited by UGC for Assistant Professor held prior to 1st June 2002, are exempted from appearing in NET, and are eligible to apply for Assistant Professor anywhere in India. For SET held from 1st June 2002 onwards, the qualified candidates are eligible to apply for the post of Assistant Professor only n the universities/colleges situated in the State from where they have cleared their SET.