The University Grants Commission has decided to use the score of the National Eligibility Test (NET) for admission to Ph.D. programmes in place of entrance tests conducted by the different Universities and Higher Education Institutions.

Accordingly, from June 2024 onwards, NET candidates will be declared eligible in three categories:

Category-1: Eligible for (i) admission to Ph.D. with JRF and (ii) appointment as Assistant Professor.

Category-2: Eligible for (i) admission to Ph.D. without JRF and (ii) appointment as Assistant Professor.

Category-3: Eligible for admission to Ph.D. programme only and not for the award of JRF or appointment as Assistant Professor.

The result of NET will be declared in percentile along with the marks obtained by a candidate to utilize the marks for admission to Ph.D.

JRF-qualified students are admitted into the Ph.D. programme based on an interview as per the University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Admission to Ph.D. Degree) Regulations. 2022.

For students who qualify in Categories 2 and 3, 70% weightage will be given for test scores and 30% weightage for the interview for admission to Ph.D. programmes. Ph.D. admission will be based on the combined merit of NET marks and the marks obtained in the interview/viva voce.

The marks obtained in the NET by the candidates in Categories 2 and 3 will be valid for a period of one year for admission to Ph.D. 

The notification and Bulletin of Information for the NET June 2024 will be issued by the National Testing Agency shortly at https://ugcnet.nta.nic.in.