The University Grants Commission (UGC) conducts the national eligibility test (NET) to determine eligibility for lectureship and for junior research fellowship (JRF). The exam is conducted in humanities, social sciences, forensic science, environmental sciences, computer science and applications and electronic science.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) conducts the UGC-CSIR NET for other science subjects, namely, life sciences, physical sciences, chemical sciences, mathematical sciences and planetary sciences.

Eligibility

You should have a minimum of 55 per cent (50 per cent for SC/ST candidates) marks in your postgraduate degree or equivalent examination in humanities (including languages) and social sciences, computer applications, electronic sciences, etc. It is mandatory for candidates to take NET in subjects they had studied for their postgraduation. If the subject is not included in the list, then the candidate may opt for a related subject.

If you have appeared or will be appearing for the qualifying masters degree examination, you can still apply for the test. Such candidates are admitted provisionally and shall be considered eligible for the award of JRF or lectureship only after they have passed the masters degree exam or equivalent with at least 55 per cent marks. For junior research fellowship, you must not be more than 28 years old. The contact details are: University Grants Commission, Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg, New Delhi 110002 (www.ugc.ac.in).

Entrance exam

UGC conducts NET twice a year, that is, in June and December in about 65 cities in India. The notifications announcing the June and December examinations are published in the months of March and September respectively in Employment News, a weekly journal.

Pattern of exam

There are three papers in the exam:

Paper I: Objective-type test on reasoning and aptitude. The paper?s duration is 1 hour 15 minutes and it carries 100 marks. It is common to all subjects and includes questions on arithmetic sums, logic and reasoning, teaching methodology, reading comprehension, analysing charts and graphs, analysing tables, etc.

Paper II: Objective-type test in the chosen subject. This paper too is of 1 hour and 15 minutes and carries a maximum of 100 marks.

Paper III: This is an essay-type paper of 2 hours and 30 minutes. It carries 200 marks and has two parts. Only those who score the minimum aggregate in Paper I and II have their Paper III evaluated.

How to prepare

To prepare for Paper I, practise regularly from books like Reasoning by R.S. Agarwal, UGC NET guides by Bookhives, Upkar and Ramesh Gupta. For papers II and III, guides by Cosmos Bookhives and Upkar are helpful.