New Delhi: In India there are 799 universities as on 31 March 2016. Out of these 799, 46 universities are Central Universities (CUs), which are set up by the Central Universities Act. Getting admission to CUs is a dream for every student considering quality and affordability of higher education in these institutes.

Central Universities like JNU, BHU, Jamia, Delhi University, AMU, IGNOU, Hyderabad University, Pondicherry University conduct their own separated admission test for admitting students in various programmes. Central Universities Common Entrance Test (CUCET) 2017, is another pan India test conducted by a consortium of 10 Central Universities, for selecting students in various programmes including UG,PG and PhD in these 10 participating universities. CUCET 2017 will be held on 17 & 18 May 2017 in 76 centres across India.  The online application window will close on 14 April 2017. Here, SkillOutlook presents 10 key points of CUCET 2017, which may help candidates to understand its process and its features.

1 Participating Universities (PUs): CUCET is conducted for the students of 10+2, Bachelor Degree holders and Master Degree holders to obtain admission into the UG / Integrated Program / BVoc, Post Graduate Program and the Research Programs (PhD & Mphil), respectively in these ten Central Universities (CUs). These participating universities include the following CUs: Central University of Haryana, Central University of Jammu, Central University of Jharkhand, Central University of  Karnataka, Central University of  Kashmir, Central University of  Kerala, Central University of  Punjab, Central University of  Rajasthan, Central University of South Bihar and Central University of Tamil Nadu. Bengaluru Dr BR Ambedkar School of Economics has also joined the consortium.

2 Programmes:  CUCET provides a single window opportunity to the students to seek admission in ten central universities across the country. UG / Integrated Program / B.Voc., Post Graduate Program and the Research Program (MPhil/PhD) aspirant students can apply CUCET 2017 for getting admission to these CUs. Further, students planning to pursue courses in MTech, BEd,MEd, MPharma, and PG Diploma in these CUs, have to appear the common test, CUCET.

Hence, for getting admission to any master degree programme in any of these CUs, aspirant has to apply CUCET 2017 and qualify the test. This similar process is also followed in other degree programmes also.

3 Key Dates:  Online application window has already opened for CUCET 2017 since 20 March 2017. The online application window will close on 14 April 2017. The exams of CUCET 2017 will be held in 76 cities across India on 17 & 18 May 2017. The results of this all India exam will be declared on 07 July 2017. The official website of CUCET 2017 is given below:  https://www.cucet2017.co.in .

4 Eligibility Conditions: Interested candidates should check the eligibility criteria thoroughly before applying for the programme, because, different universities have different eligibility criteria for similar courses. Candidates need to pay attention that the eligibility criteria of each participating university for a given programme may differ with other university. Eligibility conditions and number of seats of all programmes of each university are uploaded at the University Page uploaded on the official website of CUCET 2017: Click here .

5 How to apply: The eligible candidates should apply CUCET 2017 via online only on the official website of the test (https://www.cucet2017.co.in ). There is no offline/physical mode of application system. A candidate can apply for a particular programme for a maximum of three Participating Universities (PUs) with a maximum of 03 options of courses in each of the selected PU. In case a candidate wishes to opt for more PUs with additional (extra) course(s), he/she can opt for “Add-On” option by paying prescribed fee again.

6 Candidates appearing in the qualifying exam can apply CUCET-2017: In the official notification of CUCET 2017 it is clearly mentioned that the candidates appearing in the qualifying examination can also apply for CUCET-2017, but at the time of admission counselling, he/she will have to produce the mark sheet/degree about their fulfilling the eligibility criteria.

Candidates are allowed to appear for CUCET-2017 provisionally subject to the final verification of mark sheets/degrees/certificates, validity of certificates/mark sheets of qualifying examination and also of non-involvement in the adoption of unfair means in any of the University Examinations/ Entrance Tests held earlier, at the time of admission.

7 Pattern of Test:  All Question Papers will be MCQ based consisting of Part A and Part B. Part A  will be based on English Language, general awareness, mathematical aptitude and analytical skills,  comprising of 25 MCQs. Part B will be Domain Knowledge specific, comprising of 75 MCQs. This part may consist of one/two/three or more sections. Each section can have 25 or more questions. A candidate is required to answer a set of ‘X’ sections (75 questions) as specified on the front cover of the Test Question Booklet.

For Admission to some Integrated Courses/B.Voc./MBA/MCA/LLB or any other general course(s), only one paper comprising of 100 MCQs covering English language, reasoning, data interpretations/ numerical ability, general awareness and analytical skills will be held.

Each paper will be only of Two Hours Duration. There will be negative marking in CUCET-2017. Each correct answer will carry 01 mark and for each wrong answer, 0.25 mark will be deducted. Questions not attempted will not be assessed and hence will not be considered for preparing final merit list.

8 Final Admission and Counseling Process: Admissions are handled at the level of each of these ten Central Universities, for their respective programs. After the declaration of the CUCET results, the respective Central Universities will declare the counseling/admission schedule and merit list based on the weightage on CUCET score and the other criteria of PUs.

9 Historical Trend of CUCET: CUCET-2016 was conducted in 57 centers across the country for admission to various Undergraduate, Postgraduate, Research and Integrated programmes.  Over 65,000 candidates have appeared for the Common Entrance Test conducted on 21st and 22nd May 2016. It is proposed to conduct CUCET-2017 in about 76 centres. The popularity of CUCET is increasing among student community.

10 Coordinating University and other Contact:  Central University of Rajasthan is the coordinating university for conduct of the CUCET 2017. Central University of Punjab is the coordinating university for  Advertisement.  For any query related to CUCET 2017, candidates can approach in the following channels:  Mobile No.: 08655887721 or  Email Id: enqcucet2017@curaj.ac.in .