The University Grants Commission (UGC) conducts an all-India examination (NET) to assess candidates' eligibility for the award of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and for recruitment of Lecturers in Universities and Colleges. This test is held twice in a year (June and December) in the faculties of Humanities (including Languages), Social Sciences, etc.

• A minimum of 55% (50% for SC/ST candidates) marks in a postgraduate degree or equivalent examination in Humanities (including Languages) and Social Sciences, Computer Applications, Electronic Sciences, etc.

• It is mandatory for candidates to appear in subjects of their postgraduate studies. If the particular subject is not included in the list then he / she may opt for a related subject.

• Candidates who have appeared or will be appearing for the qualifying Master's Degree examination and whose result is awaited (or) candidates whose examinations have been delayed may also apply for this test. However, such candidates are admitted provisionally and shall be considered eligible for the award of JRF / Lectureship eligibility only after they have passed the Master's Degree Examination (or) equivalent with at least 55% marks (50% in the case of SC/ST candidates). These candidates must submit their relevant PG Degree within 2 years of the declaration of the NET examination.

 
i) Age Limit

(a) For Junior Research Fellowship: 
The candidate must not be more than 28 years as on June1 / December 1 for the June / December examination with relaxation up to, - 5 years SC/ST/OBC categories, physically handicapped and female candidates. Relaxation is also made for candidates who have done research / training at the level of postgraduate study, limited to the period spent on research / training in the subject, subject to a maximum of 5 years and supported by a certificate from the appropriate authority. For those possessing an LLM degree, 3 years age-relaxation is granted.

(b) For Lectureship:
Candidates who have passed an M.Phil Degree or submitted a Ph.D. thesis on or before December 31, 1993, or passed the UGC-CSIR-JRF test before 1989, or passed the State Level Eligibility Test (SLET) accredited by the UGC for Lectureship, are exempted. The UGC notification that generally appears 4 months ahead of the examination in the Employment News may be referred to for further details.

 
Paper I - Assesses the teaching / research aptitude by testing reasoning ability, comprehension and divergent thinking. The 1 hour 15 minute paper carries a maximum of 100 marks and is common for all subjects.

Paper II - Corresponds to the subject of postgraduate study. This 1 hour 15 minute paper also carries a maximum of 100 marks and the candidate has the option to choose the subject. Generally each of Papers I and II consist of a test booklet, each of 50 objective-type questions. There will be no negative marking for wrong answers in Papers I and II.

Paper III - Descriptive-type questions are asked on the subject chosen by the candidate. This 2 hour 30 minute paper carries a maximum of 200 marks. Only those who score a prescribed minimum aggregate in Paper I and II will have their Paper III evaluated.

 
The subject with their respective code numbers are given below:
01. Economics / Rural Economics / Co-operation / Demography / Development Planning / Development Studies / Econometrics / Applied Economics / Development Economics / Business Economics
02. Political Science
03. Philosophy
04. Psychology
05. Sociology
06. History
07. Anthropology
08. Commerce
09. Education
10. Social Work
12. Home Science
14. Public Administration
16. Music
17. Management (including Business Administration Management / Marketing / Marketing Management / Industrial Relations and Personnel Management / Personnel Management / Financial Management / Co-operative Management.)
18. Maithili
19. Bengali
20. Hindi
21. Kannada
22. Malayalam
23. Oriya
24. Punjabi
25. Sanskrit
26. Tamil
27. Telugu
28. Urdu
29. Arabic
30. English
31. Linguistics
32. Chinese
33. Dogri
34. Nepali
35. Manipuri
36. Assamese
37. Gujarati
38. Marathi
39. French
40. Spanish
41. Russian
42. Persian
43. Rajasthani
44. German
45. Japanese
46. Adult Education / Continuing Education /Andragogy / Non Formal Education. 47. Physical Education
49. Arab Culture and Islamic Studies
50. Indian Culture
55. Labour Welfare / Personnel Management / Industrial Relations / Labour and Social Welfare / Human Resource Management
58. Law
59. Library and Information Science
60. Buddhist, Jaina, Gandhian and Peace Studies
63. Mass Communication and Journalism
65. Performing Art - Dance / Drama / Theatre
66. Museology and Conservation
67. Archaeology
68. Criminology
70 Tribal and Regional Language / Literature
71. Folk Literature
72. Comparative Literature
73. Sanskrit traditional subjects (including Jyotisha / Sidhanta Jyotish / Navya Vyakarna / Vyakarna / Mimansa / Navya Nyaya / Sankhya Yoga / Tulanatmaka Darsan / Shukla Yajurveda / Madhav Vedant / Dharmasasta / Sahitya / Puranotihasa /Agama.)
74. Women Studies
79. Visual Art (including Drawing and Painting / Sculpture Graphics / Applied Art / History of Art.)
80. Geography
81. Social Medicine and Community Health
82. Forensic Science
83. Pali
84. Kashmiri
85. Konkani
87. Computer Science and Applications
88. Electronic Science
89. Environmental Sciences
90. Politics (including International Relations / International Studies including Defence / Strategic Studies, West Asian Studies, South East Asian Studies, African Studies, South Asian Studies, Soviet Studies, American Studies.)
91. Prakrit
92. Human Rights and Duties**
93 Tourism Administration and Management

**The candidates who have passed any of the Masters Degree examination in Political Science, Sociology, Social Work, Public Administration and Law are eligible to appear in the subject - Human Rights and Duties (Code No. 92).