CSIR-UGC NET December 2026: Exams 19 to 27 Dec, Five Assam Centres

NTA says it will try to give you a city of your choice but doesn’t promise it. The city slip and admit card dates haven’t been announced. For other entrance and eligibility tests, see the admission section.

Five Subjects, One Form Only

The test covers Chemical Sciences, Earth, Atmospheric, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, Life Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, and Physical Sciences. You can fill in one form in one subject. Filling more than one gets every form cancelled and is treated as unfair means.

Each paper is three hours, in English or Hindi, with shifts from 9 AM to 12 noon and 3 PM to 6 PM. Negative marking differs by subject. In Mathematical Sciences, for example, Part C carries none.

55% in Your Master’s, With No Rounding Up

General and EWS applicants need 55% in a master’s degree or equivalent, and OBC (non-creamy layer), SC, ST, PwBD and third gender applicants need 50%. A 54.9% does not become 55. If you’re in your final year or waiting for a result, you can apply provisionally, but you must pass with the required marks within two years of the NET result (one year if you qualify only for PhD admission).

With a four-year bachelor’s degree you need 75% (5% less for reserved categories), and you can take any subject you want to do a PhD in. You can qualify for JRF and PhD admission that way, but not for Assistant Professor.

JRF Age Limit: 30 on 1 December 2026

By our count, a general candidate must be born on or after 2 December 1995 to be considered for JRF. OBC (non-creamy layer), SC, ST, PwBD and third gender applicants and all women get up to 5 years more. Research experience and armed forces service can also add years, but the total relaxation can’t go past five. There is no upper age limit for Assistant Professor or PhD-only eligibility. The age calculator works it out from your date of birth.

For the OBC relaxation and the lower fee, your caste must be on the Central OBC list at ncbc.nic.in. A state OBC certificate for a caste that is only on Assam’s list won’t qualify. Our caste certificate guide covers how to apply in Assam.

₹1,150 Fee, ₹325 for SC and ST

Category	Fee
General	₹1,150
General-EWS, OBC (non-creamy layer)	₹600
SC, ST, PwBD, third gender	₹325

Pay online by 11:50 PM on 5 November. If you miss it, you can still apply from 6 to 9 November with ₹500 extra. Bank or gateway charges come on top. Corrections are open from 10 to 12 November.

On 17 October, the “Online Application” link on csirnet.nta.nic.in took me to a page on examinationservices.nic.in, the NIC exam portal NTA uses, not to an nta.ac.in address. That is the official form, so the different domain is nothing to worry about.