Getting familiar with UGC NET Exam Paper Structure

UGC NET Exam Overview

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has been entrusted by the University Grants Commission (UGC) with the task of conducting UGC-NET Exam, which is a Test to determine the eligibility of Indian nationals for ‘Assistant Professor’ as well as ‘Junior Research Fellowship and Assistant Professor’ in Indian Universities and Colleges.
The UGC-NET Exam is being conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA) in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode w.e.f. December 2018 onwards.

Awarding of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and/ or Eligibility for Assistant Professorship depends on the aggregate performance of the candidate in Paper-I and Paper-II of UGC-NET. The candidates qualifying only for Assistant Professorship are not eligible to be considered for the award of JRF. Candidates who qualify the eligibility test for Assistant Professorship are governed by the rules and regulations of the concerned Universities/Colleges/State Governments, as the case may be for recruitment of Assistant Professor.

UGC-NET Exam is conducted twice every year (June & December). Due to the outbreak of COVID- 19 pandemic in 2020 & 2021, the cycles of UGC NET Exam were merged and conducted together.

In order to regularize the UGC-NET Examination cycle, the National Testing Agency (NTA), with the concurrence of UGC is conducting UGC NET Exam December 2022 in the month of February & March 2023 in 83 subjects, at selected cities across the country.

Going a step further and to regularise the exam cycle, the NTA has released exam dates for the later half of the year and the exam will be held from 13th to 22nd June 2023. 

As NTA gears up to conduct the exam in a proper manner, students also need to prepare themselves for the exam in a dedicated manner. The first question that comes to mind is that how can one prepare for UGC NET Exam and get through the exam with flying colours. 

Our JRF team is the best in the business and almost all of them have already been selected as JRF. So, in your preparation journey we will be the best guide for you and our experienced team will prove to be a vital cog in your preparation journey.

Detailed Analysis of exam pattern

Mode of Examination 

The Examination shall be conducted in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode only.

Pattern of Examination

The Test will consist of two papers. Both the papers will consist of objective type, multiple choice questions. There will be no break between papers.

Medium of Question Paper 
(i)The medium of Question Paper shall be in English & Hindi only. 
(ii)Option of medium of Question Paper should be carefully chosen by the Candidate, while filling the Application Form online. The option once exercised cannot be changed. 
(iii)Candidates opting for Hindi medium in the Application Form will be given bilingual paper, but candidates opting for English medium will be given English version only. 
(iv) Candidates are required to answer in the medium as per option exercised in the Application Form. 
(iv)In case of any ambiguity in translation/construction of a question in the exam, its English version shall be treated as final and the decision of NTA shall be final in this regard.

Marking Scheme
(i)Each question carries 02 (two) marks. 
(ii)For each correct response, candidate will get 02 (two) marks. 
(iii)There is no negative marking for incorrect response. 
(iv) No marks will be given for questions un-answered/un-attempted/marked for Review. 
(v)To answer a question, the candidate needs to choose one option as correct option. 
(vi)If a question is found to be incorrect/ambiguous or has multiple correct answers, only those candidates who have attempted the question and chosen one of the correct answers would be given the credit. 
(vii)If a question is found to be incorrect and the Question is dropped, then two marks (+2) will be awarded to only to those candidates who have attempted the question. The reason could be due to human error or technical error.

NOTE: The eligibility for ‘Assistant Professor’ or for ‘Junior Research Fellowship and Assistant Professor’ will depend on the performance of the candidate in both the papers of UGC-NET Exam in aggregate. However, the candidates qualifying exclusively for Assistant Professor will not be considered for the award of JRF. Candidates appearing in UGC-NET Exam should thoughtfully select in the Application Form whether they are applying for ‘Assistant Professor’ or ‘Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Assistant Professor’. Candidates who qualify the Test for eligibility for Assistant Professor will be governed by the rules and regulations for recruitment of Assistant Professor of the concerned Universities / Colleges/ State governments, as the case may be.