UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2026: Age Limit, Educational Qualification, Relaxation & Reservation for December Session

UGC NET December 2026 notification has been released on October 8, 2026, at ugcnet.nta.ac.in. Candidates can check below UGC NET eligibility criteria for December 2026 session, including educational qualifications, age limits and relaxation norms, before filling out UGC NET application form.

UGC NET Eligibility 2026 for JRF & Lecturership

UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2026: National Testing Agency (NTA) released UGC NET December 2026 session notification on October 8, on official website at ugcnet.nta.ac.in. online application form link is active from October 8 to October 31 (up to 11:50 PM). Application correction window will open from November 2 to November 4(up to 11:50 PM). exam will be conducted in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode from December 14 to December 18 and 21.

Candidates must check eligibility criteria before applying for UGC NET December 2026 session. Below are complete eligibility criteria covering educational qualifications, age limit, and category-wise relaxations.

UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2026

Also Read:

• UGC NET Hindi Syllabus
• UGC NET Geography Syllabus

UGC NET Eligibility 2026: Educational Qualification

Candidates need to have following educational qualifications to be eligible to apply for UGC NET exam:

• Candidates should have secured at least 55 per cent marks in master’s degree exams. A relaxation of five per cent is given to candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBS/PwD.
• Candidates should have completed their post-graduation from a UGC-recognised college/university in relevant streams such as Humanities, Social Science, Electronic Science, Computer Science & Applications, etc
• Candidates appearing in or awaiting results for their final year examination for a master’s degree are also eligible to apply online for UGC NET exam.
• Candidates pursuing a 4-year/8-semester bachelor's degree programme and who are in their final year/semester, or those who have completed a 4-year undergraduate degree, are eligible to appear for UGC NET (both for JRF and Ph.D. admission). Such candidates must have secured a minimum of 75% marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade.
• PhD degree holders whose master’s exams were completed on September 19, 1991 (regardless of result declaration date) are eligible for a relaxation of five per cent marks in aggregate i.e., from 55 per cent to 50 per cent marks are required for such candidates.

Also Read:

• List of UGC NET subjects

UGC NET Age Limit 2026

UGC NET age criteria that candidates need to meet to be eligible for exam are as follows:

UGC NET Assistant Professor Age Limit 2026

There is no age limit to apply for post of UGC NET Assistant Professor or Lecturership.

NTA NET JRF Age Limit 2026

Candidates applying for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) should not be more than 30 years of age as on first day of month i.e., 1/6/2026 in which UGC NET 2026 exam concludes.

UGC NET JRF Age Limit Relaxation 2026

Relaxation of JRF age criteria is given to SC, ST, OBC, PwD, women, and other category candidates. Have a look at age relaxation for reserved categories below.

NET JRF Eligibility: Candidates who qualify for NET JRF are eligible for both Assistant Professor posts and fellowship programmes. Also, a candidate who qualifies for JRF will be deemed qualified for a lectureship. But, it is important to note here that if a candidate qualifies for a lectureship, he or she won't be considered qualified for JRF. In this case, a candidate will be considered for a lectureship only.

UGC NET Eligibility 2026: Exemptions (For Assistant Professor)

exemptions in UGC NET eligibility criteria 2026 apply only to candidates applying for Assistant Professor post. These exemptions are:

• NET/SET/SLET shall remain minimum eligibility condition for recruitment and appointment of Assistant Professors in Universities/Colleges/Instructions/ In this regard, exemption from NET/SET/SLET will be governed by UGC regulations and amendments notified in Gazette of India from time to time.
• Candidates who have cleared UGC/CSIR JRF examination before 1989 are exempted from appearing for UGC NET exam.
• Those who have cleared State Eligibility Test (SET) such as MH SET, APSET, KSET, etc. before June 1, 2002, are exempted from appearing for UGC NET exam. Such candidates can apply for post of Assistant Professor in colleges/ universities across India based on their SET score.
• Those who have cleared State Eligibility Test after June 1, 2002, can apply for post of Assistant Professor only in colleges/ universities that are located in state from where they have cleared SET exam.

Also Read: How to prepare for UGC NET 2026?

UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2026: Reservation Policy

reservation policy applicable to UGC NET exam is as per Government of India rule. Accordingly, seats are reserved in central universities and institutes which are deemed to be universities. reservation of seats is given below.

Also Read:

UGC NET exam centres

UGC NET Subject Eligibility 2026

One of most important eligibility criteria for UGC NET exam is selection of appropriate subject while submitting application form. UGC NET exam comprises Paper 1 and Paper 2. While Paper 1, that is, 'General Paper on Teaching and Research Aptitude' is compulsory for all, candidates need to choose an appropriate subject for Paper 2. As per official UGC NET notification 2026, candidates are advised to appear in subject of their Post-Graduation only. However, there are some exceptions as mentioned below:

• Candidates with a Master’s Degree in Geography (with specialisation in Population Studies) or Mathematics/ Statistics are also eligible to appear for 'Population Studies (Subject Code 015).
• Candidates with a Master’s Degree in Humanities (including languages) and Social Sciences are eligible to appear for 'Women Studies' (Subject Code 074).

Important Points for UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2026

Some of important points that candidates need to note regarding UGC NET eligibility criteria are:

• Candidates are recommended to give UGC NET 2026 exam in subject of their post-graduation only
• If post-graduation subject is not covered in list of subjects given by UGC, candidates may appear in a related subject as per official recommendation
• Those holding a post-graduate diploma/certificate from an Indian university or degree/diploma/certificate from a foreign university must determine if their diploma/degree/certificate is equivalent to a master’s degree from a recognised Indian university.
• equivalence must be determined by Association of Indian Universities (AIU), New Delhi

At last, eligibility will be determined in following manner:

As per official notification, JRF-qualified candidates are admitted into Ph.D. programme based on an interview as per UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2022.

Read More:

• UGC NET Vs CSIR NET: Know Differences & Similarities