UGC PhD Admissions 2022: 40% Of Seats To Be Filled Through Entrance Test Apart From NET/JRF

The National Testing Agency (NTA) administers the NET/JRF (Junior Research Fellowship) exam, which determines a student's eligibility to enrol in a PhD programme at an Indian university.

University Grants Commission. (File Photo)

New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has revised the guidelines for admission to PhD programs by including an admission test in addition to qualification through the existing National Eligibility Test (NET).

The National Testing Agency (NTA) administers the NET/JRF (Junior Research Fellowship) exam, which determines a student's eligibility to enrol in a PhD programme at an Indian university.

However, NET/JRF certified candidates must now occupy 60% of the total seats for the academic year for a PhD course. The remaining 40% will be filled by a university/common entrance exam.

Those who qualified through NET/JRF will be chosen based on an interview/viva-voce.

The selection of applicants who passed the entrance exam will be based on a 70 (written test) to 30 (interview) ratio.

“Merit list for both shall be separately published. In case of unfilled seats in either of the categories, candidates from other categories can be requisitioned to fill up the vacant slots,” the policy document reads. 

According to the regulation, the entrance test syllabus must include questions that assess a candidate's research/analytical/ comprehension/quantitative ability. It will be carried out by individual universities and colleges that have been granted permission to do so.

“Qualifying marks in the entrance test will be 50 per cent, provided that a relaxation of 5 per cent of marks (from 50 per cent to 45 per cent) shall be allowed for candidates belonging to SC/ST/OBC (Non-creamy layers)/Differently-abled category in the entrance examination conducted by the universities,” the document further reads.