The National Testing Agency (NTA) will hold the UGC NET December 2026 exam on 14 to 18 December and 21 December 2026. The exam decides eligibility for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), Assistant Professor posts, and PhD admission across 87 subjects. Applications for this cycle are already closed — the window ran from 8 October to 31 October 2026 — so this guide is for candidates who have already applied and are now waiting for their exam city, admit card and exam day.

The correction window, in which candidates could edit their submitted applications, ran from 2 to 4 November 2026 and is now closed as well. If you applied, the next step is the exam city slip.

Important dates

EventDate
Notification released8 October 2026
Online applications8 to 31 October 2026 (extended from 28 October, no late fee)
Application correction window2 to 4 November 2026
Exam city intimation slip23 November 2026
Admit card7 December 2026
Exam (CBT)14 to 18 December and 21 December 2026
Answer key and resultNot announced yet

Note the change in exam dates: the first notice of 8 October gave 14 to 19 December, but NTA revised the schedule through a corrigendum on 16 October 2026 to 14 to 18 December and 21 December. Go by the revised dates.

Exam pattern

  • The exam is a Computer-Based Test (CBT), held in two shifts — Shift 1 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM and Shift 2 from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM.
  • Paper 1 is common for all candidates and tests teaching and research aptitude, reasoning, comprehension and general awareness.
  • Paper 2 is subject-specific, based on the subject you chose from the 87 available.
  • Both papers are held in a single session of three hours, with no break between them.
  • There is no negative marking in UGC NET.

Your own subject, date and shift will be printed on your admit card. The subject-wise schedule will be published by NTA on its website before the exam.

What is UGC NET for

UGC NET is the national eligibility test for teaching and research careers in Indian universities and colleges. Qualifying it makes you eligible for:

  • Assistant Professor posts in universities and colleges across India.
  • Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), which comes with a monthly fellowship for research, for candidates who clear the higher cut-off.
  • PhD admission, since many universities use the NET score for admission to doctoral programmes.

The JRF cut-off is higher than the Assistant Professor cut-off, and both vary by subject and category every cycle.

What to do now

  • On 23 November, open ugcnet.nta.nic.in and download your exam city intimation slip. This tells you the city of your exam centre so you can plan travel and stay in advance.
  • On 7 December, download your admit card from the same website. NTA does not send admit cards by post.
  • Check your name, photograph, subject, date, shift and centre on the admit card as soon as you download it. If anything is wrong, contact NTA through the official website immediately.
  • Carry a printed admit card and a valid photo ID to the exam centre. Reach before the reporting time printed on the hall ticket.
  • The answer key and result dates have not been announced yet. NTA usually releases the provisional answer key a few days after the exam, followed by the final result.

How to prepare in the remaining weeks

With about five weeks left, the most useful work is revision and mock tests, not new topics. Go through the previous years’ papers for your subject, practise Paper 1 daily — it is common to all and often decides the final score — and take full-length mock tests in the actual three-hour format. Keep your documents ready: admit card, photo ID, and a few passport photos, in case the centre asks for them.

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