CSIR NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 OUT: Check Dec Session Age Limit & Minimum Qualification for JRF/LS

CSIR NET December session 2025 registration window closed on October 27, 2025. The notification was released on September 25, 2025. The authority prescribes the CSIR UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 along with the notification in terms of age limit, educational qualification and nationality. CSIR JRF Age Limit is 30 years. Read below for more details on NTA CSIR NET Eligibility for JRF and LS.

CSIR NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 is the most important aspect of the CSIR UGC NET 2025 exam which is conducted by the NTA two times a year. The notification PDF was released on September 25 at csirnet.nta.nic.in. The application form dates for the December session were September 25 to October 27. The fee payment last date is October 28. The application correction window will open from October 30 to November 1. The eligibility criteria was released for the December session in the information bulletin. The CSIR JRF age limit is 30 years. There is no upper age limit for Lectureship. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) prescribes the CSIR NET eligibility in terms of age limit, educational qualification and nationality. Before filling out the application form for the CSIR NET exam, it is important for candidates to check the CSIR NET Eligibility Criteria.

The CSIR NET Dec 2025 exam will be conducted on December 18, 2025. The exam is conducted for five papers- Mathematical Science, Life Science, Chemical Science, Earth Science, and Physical Science. 

CSIR NET Eligibility Criteria 2025

Candidates must meet CSIR NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 to appear for the exam. It is the minimum criteria that candidates must fulfil before appearing for the exam. Candidates' CSIR NET Application Form is rejected if they do not meet the eligibility criteria. CSIR NET age limit, educational qualification, number of attempts, etc. are the important criteria for CSIR NET eligibility.

Also Read:

CSIR NET Exam Pattern 

CSIR NET Eligibility Criteria 2025: Exam Overview

The Highlights for the CSIR NET 2025 exam are mentioned in the table below:

CSIR NET Eligibility Criteria 2025: Nationality

Only candidates who are Indian citizens are eligible to apply for the exam.

CSIR NET Eligibility Criteria 2025: Minimum Educational Qualification

• Candidates need to possess either of the below-mentioned qualifications with at least 55 per cent marks (for General and OBC) or 50 per cent marks (for Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Persons with Disability (PwD) candidates). 

• Candidates enrolled for MSc or having completed MSc or equivalent degree/Integrated BS-MS/BS-4 years/BE/BTech/ BPharma/ MBBS as of the last date of the CSIR NET Application Form are also eligible to apply under the Result Awaited (RA) category. However, the condition for RA category candidates is such that they should complete their qualifying degree with the required percentage of marks within the validity period of two years from the date of declaration of the Joint CSIR UGC NET result failing which they shall be treated as disqualified.
• Candidates holding a BSc (Hons) or equivalent degree or candidates enrolled in an integrated MS-PhD program with at least 55 per cent marks (50 per cent for SC/ST/PwD candidates) are also eligible to apply for the exam. However, candidates holding an undergraduate degree will be eligible for a CSIR fellowship only after getting registered for PhD/Integrated PhD course within the validity period of two years, informs the official website.
• Candidates possessing only a Bachelor’s degree are eligible to apply for a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) only and not for the Lectureship (LS)/Assistant Professor. For instance, BE/BS/BTech/BPharma/MBBS final year/result awaited candidates are eligible to apply for JRF only. 
• Candidates who possess a PhD degree and who have passed their master’s before September 19, 1991, with at least 50 per cent marks are eligible to apply for lectureship only.

CSIR NET Life Science Eligibility

To be eligible for the CSIR NET Life Science exam, candidates must fulfil the CSIR NET Life Science Eligibility which is mentioned below:

• Educational Qualification: Candidates must have a Master of Science (M.Sc.) or equivalent degree in Life Sciences, with a minimum of 55% marks (50% for SC/ST/OBC candidates) or a B.Tech degree in Biotechnology, with a minimum of 55% marks (50% for SC/ST/OBC candidates)
• Nationality: Candidates must be Indian nationals
• Age limit: The upper age limit for the CSIR NET exam is 30 years. However, there is an age relaxation of 5 years for SC/ST/OBC/PWD candidates and 3 years for women candidates

CSIR NET Eligibility for OBC

Candidates can refer to the table for CSIR NET Eligibility for OBC.

Note: There is also an age relaxation of 5 years for female candidates and candidates with disabilities.

CSIR NET Eligibility for Female

Candidates can refer to the table for CSIR NET Eligibility for OBC.

CSIR NET Eligibility Criteria 2025: Subject-wise Educational Qualification

The table below covers the subject-wise CSIR NET 2025 Qualification.

CSIR NET Age Limit 2025

The CSIR NET age limit criteria differ for JRF and Lecturership. Have a look:

CSIR JRF Age Limit

Candidates should be a maximum of 30 years. That is not more than 30 years as on the 1st day of the month in which the examination is concluded i.e. December, 2025 to be eligible to apply for CSIR NET JRF.

CSIR NET 2025: Relaxation in Upper Age Limit for JRF NET

The upper age limit is relaxed for reserved category candidates who want to apply for CSIR NET JRF. Have a look:

CSIR NET Age Limit for Lectureship

There is no upper age limit for candidates applying for CSIR NET lectureship.

CSIR NET Eligibility Criteria 2025: Relaxation for Third Gender Category

Candidates belonging to the Third gender category are eligible to draw the same relaxation in fee, age and educational qualification for the CSIR NET as are available to SC/ ST categories. The subject-wise qualifying CSIR NET Cut-off for the Third gender category will be the lowest among those for SC/ ST/ PwD/ OBC–NCL/ General-EWS categories.

CSIR NET Reservation Criteria 2025

CSIR follows the stipulated guidelines regarding the marks relaxation for different categories. Candidates can check the table below for CSIR NET Reservation Criteria 2025.

CSIR NET Eligibility Criteria 2025 - Important Points 

• If a candidate applies for a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and fulfils the eligibility criteria for lectureship, s/he is considered for both
• If a candidate is found over-age for JRF, s/he is automatically considered for lectureship/ assistant professorship only
• Candidates who have completed pursuing an MSc or are awaiting the final result of their MSc are eligible for lectureship subject to fulfilling the laid down CSIR NET eligibility criteria
• CSIR NET Admit Card  will not be issued to candidates who do not fulfil the eligibility criteria.

Read More:

CSIR NET Syllabus