UGC NET January 3, 2026 Exam Analysis (OUT)- Check Shift 1 & 2 Subject-wise Difficulty, Questions & Review

University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test 2026 ( UGC NET )

Shikha
Shikha Goyal
Assistant Manager
Updated on Jan 3, 2026 18:54 IST
The National Testing Agency conducted the January 3 UGC NET exam in two shifts. Both shifts are over. The UGC NET exam analysis for paper 1 and 2 based on the student reactions is provided here. Scroll down for the UGC NET exam analysis including difficulty level, topics asked, expected cutoff etc.

The UGC NET 2025 analysis for the exam January 3 (Day 3) is provided here. Both Shifts are Over. Candidates can check below UGC NET 2025 Dec exam day analysis, difficulty level, memory-based questions and answers, whether the paper is easy or tough, etc., based on the students' responses.

UGC NET Exam Analysis January 3, 2026

UGC NET Exam Analysis January 3, 2026

UGC NET 2025 January 3 Exam Analysis: The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted the December session exam on January 3, 2026. Today is the Day 3 of the exam. It is conducted in two shifts. Both Shifts are Over. Check student reactions, difficulty level, memory-based questions and answers, etc. below based on the students' responses for UGC NET 2025 Shift 1.

Analysis plays a significant role in the preparation as it provides information about the level of difficulty of the examination, the question paper, the topics asked in the exam, etc. Candidates can predict about the cutoff, whether it will rise or drop. The UGC NET 2025 exam dates are December 31, January 2, January 3, January 5, January 6 and January 7. Scroll down for detailed exam analysis for the NTA UGC NET exam for January 3 based on the student reactions.

Table of contents
  • UGC NET 2025-26 January 3 Exam Analysis (Shift 2) OUT: Student Reactions & Topics Asked
  • UGC NET 2025-26 January 3 Exam Analysis (Shift 1) OUT: Student Reactions & Topics Asked
  • UGC NET 2025 Paper 1 Analysis (Shift 1, January 3)
  • Check UGC NET 2025-26 January 3 Exam Schedule
  • UGC NET Exam Pattern 2025
  • UGC NET 2025 Dec Paper 1 Syllabus

UGC NET 2025-26 January 3 Exam Analysis (Shift 2) OUT: Student Reactions & Topics Asked

As per the students' Paper 1 of Shift 2 is Moderate. Some students' felt Easy.

Topics asked are:

  • Informal Fallacy
  • Validity
  • Research Scale
  • QL/QN statement
  • Variables- Reinforcement
  • Philosophy- Indian Logic
  • Hetvabhas-Statement, etc.
Q&A Icon
Commonly asked questions
Q:   Why is an analysis important for the preparation journey of the UGC NET exam?
A: 

Analysis is important for candidate in NTA NET exam. It helps in preparation, understand paper structure, difficulty level, topics asked or high weightage areas, expected cutoff. By analyzing mock tests and previous years papers students can prepare well.

Q:   Why is it important to solve the mock test for the NTA UGC NET exam?
A: 

To give mock test is important. It helps them to find out strengths and weaknesses. regular practice also improves speed, gain confidence, reduce the exam pressure, helps to understand the exam pattern, improves speed, etc.

Q:   What are the units covered in the UGC NET Economics syllabus?
A: 

The UGC NET Paper 2 subject specific i.e, Economics, consists of 100 questions worth 2 marks each. The exam will be of 3-hour duration, so there will be no breaks between paper 1 and paper 2. Candidates should cover all significant units of the of the Economics syllabus as mentioned below:

  • Micro Economics 
  • Macro Economics 
  • Statistics and Econometrics 
  • Mathematical Economics 
  • International Economics 
  • Public Economics 
  • Money and Banking 
  • Growth and Development Economics 
  • Environmental Economics and Demography 
  • Indian Economy 

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UGC NET 2025-26 January 3 Exam Analysis (Shift 1) OUT: Student Reactions & Topics Asked

As per the students' Paper 1 of Shift 1 is Easy to Moderate. Chronology was also asked.

Topics asked are:

  • Validity
  • IL (hetabhyaas)
  • GHG
  • Qn/Ql
  • DI was easy
  • Fallacy formal
  • SOO
  • Conversion
  • Informal Fallacy
  • ICT (Malware, Hacking, Phishing, etc.)
  • Bits
  • App
  • LAN
  • Argument, etc.

Also Read:

UGC NET 2025 Exam Analysis Dec 31

UGC NET 2025-26 Exam Analysis January 2

UGC NET 2025 Paper 1 Analysis (Shift 1, January 3)

Candidates can check below in detail about the Paper 1 analysis, questions, topics asked, weightage, etc. as per the students' review:

Section Topics asked (Shift 1) Difficulty Level (Shift 1)
Data Interpretation

DI (Table based), Percentage calculation, DI was easy as compared to the previous shifts

Moderate
Communication Mass Media, Communication Models (Aristotle, 5W-Chronology, TV Channel Series, News Agencies & Sources, Barriers of Communication, etc. Moderate
Logical Reasoning Fallacies, Square of Opposition, Indian Logic, Assertion-Reason, Coding-Decoding, Number Series, alphabet based question, etc. Moderate
ICT
Binary-Octal, RAM & ROM, CPU, Number System, Generation of Computers, MS Excel (Short Cut Keys), Network Devices, Full Forms
Easy
People and Environment Environment Protection Act (Chronology), Greenhouse Gases, Ozone Protocol, Ethanol, Coal Formation (Stages & Longest Period), earth Development Stage, etc. Easy to Moderate
Mathematics to be updated here Easy
Reading Comprehension The passages were direct and factual, no tricky vocabulary was asked, questions were straight forward Moderate
Higher Education System

 

NAAC-UGC Sequence, History of Coal Information, Governance-related fact based questions, Universities (Matching), etc.

Easy
Teaching Aptitude Types of Evaluation and Functions (Match the following), Formative & Summative Evaluation, P-Value, Assertion and Reason questions, Ancient Universities (Nalanda-Takshila match the following), Teaching-learning Process Moderate
Research Aptitude
Research Hypothesis & Null Hypothesis, Research Methodology, P-Value, Statistics-based question, Research Evaluation concepts, etc.
Easy

Check UGC NET 2025-26 January 3 Exam Schedule

Candidates can check below the shift-wise Exam schedule for January 3

Also Read: UGC NET Exam Centre 2025

UGC NET Exam Pattern 2025

Candidates can check below the exam pattern below.

UGC NET Paper

Number of Questions

Marks

Paper 1

50 

100

Paper 2

100 

200

Total

150 

300

Also Read: UGC NET Exam pattern

UGC NET 2025 Dec Paper 1 Syllabus

The Paper 1 syllabus is provided below. Paper 1 comprises 50 questions from 10 units that hold a total weightage of 100 marks:

  • 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

Also Read:

UGC NET Syllabus 2025

UGC NET Exam Analysis 2025

About the Author
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Shikha Goyal
Assistant Manager

Role: Editorial Domain

Education: Mass Com & Journalism, MSC Mathematics

Expertise: Sarkari Exam Expert

About

Shikha Goyal is a double post graduate with more than 12 years of experience in education domain, journal

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Answered 5 days ago

Yes, IIT Hyderabad does accept UGC NET scores to decide admissions to the PhD courses. Several IIT Hyderabad departments also accept the GATE scores as well to decide the PhD admissions of candidates.

In addition to the aforementioned entrance exams, candidates are also required to fulfill the specif

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Saurabh Khanduri

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Answered a week ago

Candidates can check below the methods to make corrections if required in the UGC NET application or registration form:

  • Visit at ugcnet.nta.nic.in
  • Login using the application number and password
  • Click on the link/button available for the application form correction
  • Read the instructions and click on the

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Manisha Singh

Contributor-Level 6

Answered a week ago

The NTA has not yet released the UGC NET 2026 notification and so the application process dates have not been announced for the June session. It is expected that the application is likely to start in April 2026 and the last date for the registration may likely be in May 2026. The authority will also

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Chanchal Shekhar

Contributor-Level 6

Answered a week ago

Yes, the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the UGC NET exam twice in a year in two sessions namely June and December session. Candidates can give the exam unlimited times. There is no limit in number of attempts. Two sessions increase the opportunity for a candidate to qualify the exam for JRF

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Satyendra Garg

Contributor-Level 6

Answered a week ago

The registration for the UGC NET 2026 June session is expected to begin in the April 2026. The authority will release the application form and notification on the official portal at ugcnet.nta.nic.in. Without filling the application form online, candidates will jot be able to sit in the exam.

I

Ishita Kaur

Contributor-Level 6

Answered a week ago

As per the previous analysis, in the UGC NET Paper 1; Research aptitude and DI can be considered difficult or challenging at times. Also, higher education system or environmental Science require to learn or memorize the facts, policies and is so time consuming. Where as Paper 2 is lengthy and subjec

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Shikha Goyal

Contributor-Level 10

Answered a week ago

Some of the UGC NET Political Science books to prepare are mentioned below:

  • Indian Polity by M. Laxmikanth
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  • Modern Political Theory by Madan Gandhi
  • Comparative Politics: A Global Introduction by Michael J. Sodaro
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Virajita Shukla

Contributor-Level 6

Answered a week ago

UGC NET exam is considered to be moderate to difficult in the overall difficulty level as per the experts. The syllabus of the exam is vast and a bit challenging to cover for the candidates. In depth subject knowledge is required to crack the examination. Frequent revision also plays an important ro

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Kritika Sharma

Contributor-Level 6

Answered a week ago

The UGC NET June session 2026 exam date has not been announced yet. The exam will be conducted for a total duration of three hours or 180 minutes. The UGC NET exam will be conducted in a single session for both papers without any breaks. It will be conducted online.

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Gunjan Majumder

Contributor-Level 6

Answered a week ago

Candidates must score good marks for clearing the UGC NET exam. For General Category the minimum qualifying mark is 40% and for reserved category it is 35%. In the June session 2025, the good score in History subject for the unreserved category was 162 for Asst. Professor and 180 for JRF. 

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Nitesh Pruthi

Contributor-Level 6