UGC NET Eligibility Criteria 2021 for Assistant Professor & JRF: Check Age Limit & Educational Qualification

Archana Shandilya Created On: Feb 4, 2021 12:39 IST

Check UGC NET June 2021 Exam Updates

UGC NET December 2020 Exam	Important Dates
Online Application and Registration Date	2nd February to 2nd March 2021 Get Direct Link to Apply Online
Last Date of Online Payment of Application Fees	3rd March 2021 (till 11:50 PM)
Correction of Online Application Form	5th to 9th March 2021
Downloading of Admit Cards	To be announced later
UGC NET December 2020 Exam Dates	2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14 and 17 May 2021
Date for announcing results	To be announced later

Let’s look at the Eligibility Criteria for Assistant Professor and Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) or only Assistant Professor posts for NTA UGC NET 2021 Exam:

Age Limit

Posts	Age Limit  (as on 1st March 2021)
Junior Research Fellowship (JRF)	31 years
Assistant Professor	No upper age limit

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Age Limit Relaxation

S. No.	Category	Age Limit Relaxation (as on 1st March 2021)
1	Scheduled Caste / Scheduled Tribe	5 years (36 years)
2	Other Backward Classes (OBC)
3	Women
4	Persons with disabilities (PwD)
5	Transgender
6	Candidates having research experience	Period spent on research – Maximum 5 years
7	Candidates possessing L.L.M. Degree	3 years
8	Candidates who have served in the armed forces	5 years

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Note:

• A relaxation upto 5 years is provided to the candidates belonging to OBC, SC/ ST/ PwD/ Transgender categories and to women applicants. 

• Relaxation will also be provided to the candidates having research experience, limited to the period spent on research in the relevant/related subject of post-graduation degree, subject to a maximum of 5 years, on production of a certificate from appropriate authority.

• Three years relaxation in age will be permissible to the candidates possessing L.L.M. Degree. A relaxation of upto 5 years is provided to the candidates who have served in the armed forces subject to the length of service in the armed forces upto the first day of the month in which the concerned UGC-NET is to be held.

• Total age relaxation on the above ground(s) shall not exceed five years under any circumstances.

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Educational Qualification

Category	Percentage Criteria
General/ EWS (Including candidates waiting for their PG Final Year result or going to be appeared in the exam)	55% aggregate in Master’s Degree or Equivalent Degree
ST/ SC/ OBC/ PwD/ Transgender (Including candidates waiting for their PG Final Year result or going to be appeared in the exam)	50% aggregate in Master’s Degree or Equivalent Degree

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Note:

• For General Category: Candidates who have secured at least 55% marks (without rounding off) in Master’s Degree or equivalent examination from universities/institutions recognised by UGC in Humanities (including languages) and Social Science, Computer Science and Applications, Electronic Science, etc. are eligible for this Test.

• The Other Backward Classes (OBC) belonging to non-creamy layer/Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST)/persons with disability (PwD) category candidates who have secured at least 50% marks (without rounding off) in Master’s degree or equivalent examination are eligible for this Test.

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• Candidates who are pursuing their Master’s degree or equivalent course or candidates who have appeared for their qualifying Master’s degree (final year) examination and whose result is still awaited or candidates whose qualifying examinations have been delayed may also apply for this test. However, such candidates will be admitted provisionally and shall be considered eligible for award of JRF/eligibility for Assistant Professor only after they have passed their Master’s Degree OR equivalent examination with at least 55% marks (50% marks in case of OBC/SC/ST/PwD category candidates). Such candidates must complete their Masters degree or equivalent examination within two years from the date of NET result with required percentage of marks, failing which they shall be treated as disqualified.

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• Candidates belonging to the transgender category would be eligible to draw the same relaxation in fee, age and qualifying criteria for NET (i.e. JRF and Assistant Professor) as are available to SC/ST/PwD categories. The subject wise cut-offs for this category should be the lowest among those for SC/ST/PwD/OBC–NCL categories in the corresponding subject.

• The Ph.D. degree holders whose Master’s level examination have been completed by 19th September 1991 (irrespective of date of declaration of result) shall be eligible for a relaxation of 5% in aggregate marks (i.e., from 55% to 50%) for appearing in NET.

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Exemption - Eligibility for Assistant Professor

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. Let’s have a look at who all are exempted from appearing UGC NET 2021 Exam for the Assistant Professor Post:

For NET/SET/SLET Candidates:

• The Candidates, who have been awarded a Ph.D. Degree in accordance with the University Grants Commission Regulation Act 2009, shall be exempted from minimum eligibility condition of NET/SLET/SET for Assistant Professor or equivalent position in Universities and Colleges.

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

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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 in the universities/colleges situated in the State from where they have cleared their SET.

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So, the candidates are advised to look thoroughly at the above mentioned eligibility criteria, before applying for NTA UGC NET 2021 Exam. If a candidate does not meet the eligibility criteria, then his/her candidature will not be considered during final selection stage.

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