The University Grants Commission (UGC) in a public notice issued on Wednesday informed that the NET- score can be used by candidates for admission to Ph.D. programmes in place of entrance tests conducted by the different universities/HEIs.
Many universities conduct entrance tests for admission to their Ph.D. programmes, requiring the students to write multiple Ph.D. entrance tests. To help these students with one national entrance test for Ph.D. admissions as a part of implementing the National Education Policy 2020. The UGC constituted an expert committee to review the National Eligibility Test (NET) provisions.
Based on the recommendations of the committee in a meeting held on March 13, 2024, it was decided that from the academic year 2024-2025, the NET score could be used by students to seek admission to Ph.D. programmes in place of entrance tests conducted by the different universities/HEIs.
The following are the three categories where NET candidates will be declared eligible:
- Eligible for (i) admission to Ph.D. with JRF and (ii) appointment as Assistant Professor
- Eligible for (i) admission to Ph.D. without JRF and (ii) appointment as Assistant Professor
- Eligible for admission to Ph.D. programme only and not for the award of JRF or appointment as Assistant Professor
NET scores will be declared in percentile along with the candidate’s marks to utilize the marks for admission to Ph.D, as per official notification.
UGC also informed that for candidates 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. The 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.
Official Notification: DOWNLOAD PDF FILE