NET Score For PhD Admissions 2024-25 – UGC Notice
As per the latest tweet by the UGC chairman, Starting from the academic year 2024-25, students aiming for PhD programs will no longer need to write separate entrance exams for each university. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has decided to allow the use of scores from the National Eligibility Test (NET) for PhD admissions instead. This change, based on the recommendations of an expert committee, aims to streamline the admission process and align with the National Education Policy 2020. The NET, conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA), will now categorize candidates based on their scores, determining eligibility for various Ph.D. programs. This includes admission with a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), without JRF, or solely for the Ph.D. program. The NET scores and interview performance will decide admission, with different weights for different categories. This move is expected to simplify the application process for Ph.D. aspirants and enhance efficiency in the admission process.
Official Notice reads as follows:
University Grants Commission
(शिक्षा मंत्रालय, भारत सरकार)
(Ministry of Education, Govt. of India)
March 27, 2024/7 1946
PUBLIC NOTICE
National Eligibility Test (NET) as an Entrance Test for Admission to Ph.D.
The University
Grants Commission conducts the National Eligibility Test (NET) through the National Testing Agency (NTA). The NET is conducted twice a year, in June and December. Currently, the NET scores are used (a) to award Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and (b) as eligibility for appointment as Assistant Professor for those with a Master’s degree.Many universities conduct their entrance tests for admission to their Ph.D. programmes, requiring the students to write multiple Ph.D. entrance tests. To help the 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 provisions of the National Eligibility Test (NET).
Based on the expert committee’s recommendations, in its 578th Meeting held on 13 March 2024, the UGC has decided that from the academic session 2024-25, the NET score can be used for admission to Ph.D. programmes in place of entrance tests conducted by the different universities/HEIs.
From June 2024 onwards, therefore, the NET candidates will be declared eligible in three categories:
Category-1: Eligible for (i) admission to Ph.D. with JRF and (ii) appointment as Assistant Professor.
Category-2: Eligible for (i) admission to Ph.D. without JRF and (ii) appointment as Assistant Professor.
Category-3: Eligible for admission to Ph.D. programme only and not for the award of JRF or appointment as Assistant Professor.
The determination of the eligibility of NET for different categories is summarized below:
The result of NET will be declared in percentile along with the marks obtained by a candidate to utilize the marks for admission to Ph.D.
The JRF-qualified students are admitted into the Ph.D. programme based on an interview as per the University Grants Commission (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2022.
For students 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 Ph.D. 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.
NET Score For PhD Admissions 2024-25 – UGC Notice
Check the official tweet below
From the academic session 2024-2025, all universities can use NET score for admission to PhD programmes in place of entrance tests conducted by the different universities/HEIs. NTA is working on launching the NET application process for June 2024 session sometime next week. pic.twitter.com/IVzKgu56gB
— Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar (@mamidala90) March 27, 2024
