New Delhi, 27 March 2024: National Eligibility Test (NET) will also act as an Entrance Test for admission to PhD Programs by the different universities/HEIs. NET score will now be allowed for admissions to PhD in place of entrance test from academic year 2024-25.

In a public notice the UGC has informed that based on the recommendations of the committee in a meeting held on 13 March  2024, it was decided that from the academic year 2024-2025, the NET score could be used by students to seek admission to PhD programmes in place of entrance tests conducted by the different universities/HEIs.

UGC Secretary Prof Manish R Joshi informed that to help students with one national entrance test for Ph.D. admissions as a part of implementing the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP 2020), an expert committee was constituted to review the provisions of the National Eligibility Test (NET).

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 utilise the marks for admission to Ph.D., informed the public notice.

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.

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.