UGC NET Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2026: Paper 1 & Paper 2 Syllabus, Marking Scheme, Subject Codes

By Pradip Chakraborty Published: October 12, 2026 Updated:

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has published the UGC NET Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2026 for the December 2026 exam in the official Information Bulletin. The exam will be held in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode from 14 to 19 December 2026. The question paper has two papers in one sitting: Paper 1 (General Paper on Teaching and Research Aptitude) with 50 questions and Paper 2 (subject paper) with 100 questions. The total duration is 3 hours (180 minutes) with no break, and there is no negative marking.

The exam is held in 87 subjects, including subjects like Hindu Studies, Indian Knowledge System, Disaster Management, Ayurveda Biology, Forestry and Statistics. This article covers the full UGC NET exam pattern, marking scheme, Paper 1 syllabus, the complete subject list with codes, qualifying marks and normalization, all taken from the official notice.

Quick summary:

➤ Exam: UGC NET December 2026 (conducted by NTA)

➤ Mode: Computer Based Test (CBT) only

➤ Papers: Paper 1 (50 questions, 100 marks) + Paper 2 (100 questions, 200 marks)

➤ Total: 150 questions, 300 marks

➤ Duration: 3 hours (180 minutes), no break between the papers

➤ Marking: +2 for each correct answer, no negative marking

➤ Medium: English and Hindi (except language papers)

➤ Subjects: 87 (Paper 1 compulsory for all)

➤ Syllabus: Download from ugcnetonline.in

➤ Exam dates: 14 to 19 December 2026

Table of Contents

UGC NET Exam Pattern 2026
UGC NET Marking Scheme 2026
UGC NET Paper 1 Syllabus 2026
UGC NET Paper 2 Syllabus 2026
UGC NET Subject List with Codes 2026
Medium of Question Paper
UGC NET Qualifying Marks and Result Criteria
Normalization and Percentile
Answer Key and Challenge
FAQs
Important Links

UGC NET Exam Pattern 2026

Paper	Questions	Marks	What It Tests	Duration
Paper 1 (General Paper)	50	100	Teaching and research aptitude, reasoning ability, reading comprehension, divergent thinking and general awareness	3 hours (180 minutes), no break
Paper 2 (Subject Paper)	100	200	Domain knowledge of the subject chosen by the candidate
Total	150	300	All questions are compulsory

Both papers have objective type, multiple choice questions (MCQs).
There is no break between Paper 1 and Paper 2. You can move between sections at any time within the 3 hours.
PwBD candidates eligible for a scribe get at least 1 extra hour for the 3-hour exam, whether they use a scribe or not.

UGC NET Marking Scheme 2026

Response	Marks
Correct answer	+2
Wrong answer	0 (no negative marking)
Unanswered / not attempted	0
Marked for review without answering	0
Answered and marked for review	Will be evaluated

Special cases in the marking scheme:

If more than one option is found correct, +2 marks go only to those who marked any of the correct options.
If all options are found correct, +2 marks go to everyone who attempted the question.
If no option is correct, or a question is wrong or dropped, +2 marks go only to those who attempted the question.

Tip: Since there is no negative marking, attempt every question. An unattempted question can never earn marks, even if it is later dropped.

UGC NET Paper 1 Syllabus 2026

Paper 1 is common and compulsory for all subjects. As per the UGC syllabus on ugcnetonline.in, it has 10 units:

Unit	Topic	Main Areas
I	Teaching Aptitude	Concept and objectives of teaching, learner characteristics, factors affecting teaching, teaching methods, teaching aids, evaluation systems
II	Research Aptitude	Meaning, types and characteristics of research, research methods, steps of research, thesis and article writing, application of ICT in research, research ethics
III	Comprehension	A passage followed by questions
IV	Communication	Meaning, types and characteristics, effective communication, barriers, mass media and society
V	Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude	Types of reasoning, number series, letter series, codes and relationships, fraction, time and distance, ratio and proportion, percentage, profit and loss, interest, averages
VI	Logical Reasoning	Structure of arguments, deductive and inductive reasoning, analogies, Venn diagrams, Indian logic (Pramanas)
VII	Data Interpretation	Sources and classification of data, graphical representation (bar chart, histogram, pie chart, table, line chart), data and governance
VIII	Information and Communication Technology (ICT)	General abbreviations and terminology, basics of internet, intranet, e-mail, audio and video conferencing, digital initiatives in higher education, ICT and governance
IX	People, Development and Environment	Development and environment, human and environment interaction, environmental issues, pollution, natural hazards and disasters, environmental protection acts and international agreements
X	Higher Education System	Institutions of higher learning in ancient India, evolution of higher education after independence, oriental and professional education, value education, policies, governance and administration

Note: The unit names above are from the UGC syllabus. Download the official Paper 1 syllabus from ugcnetonline.in for the full detailed topics.

UGC NET Paper 2 Syllabus 2026

Paper 2 is based on the subject you choose and tests your domain knowledge at the Post Graduation level.
The syllabus for all NET subjects can be downloaded from the UGC website: ugcnetonline.in/syllabus-new.php.
NTA will not send a copy of the syllabus to any candidate.
Candidates should appear in the subject of their Post Graduation. If your PG subject is not in the list, you can appear in a related subject.
Candidates with a 4-year Bachelor's degree can choose any subject in which they want to do a Ph.D., irrespective of their UG discipline.

Check whether you are eligible to take the exam: UGC NET Eligibility 2026: Qualification, Marks and Age Limit.

UGC NET Subject List with Codes 2026

S. No.	Subject	Code
1	Adult Education / Continuing Education / Andragogy / Non-Formal Education	46
2	Anthropology	07
3	Arab Culture and Islamic Studies	49
4	Arabic	29
5	Archaeology	67
6	Assamese	36
7	Bengali	19
8	Bodo	94
9	Buddhist, Jaina, Gandhian and Peace Studies	60
10	Chinese	32
11	Commerce	08
12	Comparative Literature	72
13	Comparative Study of Religions	62
14	Computer Science and Applications	87
15	Criminology	68
16	Defence and Strategic Studies	11
17	Dogri	33
18	Economics / Rural Economics / Co-operation / Demography / Development Planning / Development Studies / Econometrics / Applied Economics / Development Economics / Business Economics	01
19	Education	09
20	Electronic Science	88
21	English	30
22	Environmental Sciences	89
23	Folk Literature	71
24	Forensic Science	82
25	French (French Version)	39
26	Geography	80
27	German	44
28	Gujarati	37
29	Hindi	20
30	Hindu Studies	102
31	History	06
32	Home Science	12
33	Human Rights and Duties	92
34	Indian Culture	50
35	Indian Knowledge System	103
36	Japanese	45
37	Kannada	21
38	Kashmiri	84
39	Konkani	85
40	Labour Welfare / Personnel Management / Industrial Relations / Labour and Social Welfare / Human Resource Management	55
41	Law	58
42	Library and Information Science	59
43	Linguistics	31
44	Maithili	18
45	Malayalam	22
46	Management (including Business Admn. Mgt. / Marketing / Marketing Mgt. / Industrial Relations and Personnel Mgt. / Personnel Mgt. / Financial Mgt. / Cooperative Management)	17
47	Manipuri	35
48	Marathi	38
49	Mass Communication and Journalism	63
50	Museology & Conservation	66
51	Music	16
52	Nepali	34
53	Oriya	23
54	Pali	83
55	Performing Art – Dance / Drama / Theatre	65
56	Persian	42
57	Philosophy	03
58	Physical Education	47
59	Political Science	02
60	Politics including International Relations / International Studies including Defence / Strategic Studies, West Asian Studies, Southeast Asian Studies, African Studies, South Asian Studies, Soviet Studies, American Studies	90
61	Population Studies	15
62	Prakrit	91
63	Psychology	04
64	Public Administration	14
65	Punjabi	24
66	Rajasthani	43
67	Russian	41
68	Sanskrit	25
69	Sanskrit traditional subjects (including Jyotisha / Sidhanta Jyotish / Navya Vyakarna / Vyakarna / Mimansa / Navya Nyaya / Sankhya Yoga / Tulanatmaka Darsan / Shukla Yajurveda / Madhav Vedant / Dharmasasta / Sahitya / Puranotihasa / Agama)	73
70	Santali	95
71	Sindhi	101
72	Social Medicine & Community Health	81
73	Social Work	10
74	Sociology	05
75	Spanish	40
76	Tamil	26
77	Telugu	27
78	Tourism Administration and Management	93
79	Tribal and Regional Language / Literature	70
80	Urdu	28
81	Visual Art (including Drawing & Painting / Sculpture Graphics / Applied Art / History of Art)	79
82	Women Studies	74
83	Yoga	100
84	Disaster Management	104
85	Ayurveda Biology	105
86	Forestry	106
87	Statistics	107

Candidates with a Master's degree in Geography (with specialisation in Population Studies) or Mathematics / Statistics can also appear in Population Studies (Code 15).
Candidates with a Master's degree in Humanities (including languages) and Social Sciences can appear in Women Studies (Code 74).
Paper 1 (Teaching and Research Aptitude) is compulsory for all subjects.

Medium of Question Paper

The question paper will be in English and Hindi only, except for language papers.
Choose the medium carefully while filling the online form. It cannot be changed later.
You must answer in the medium you chose in the form.
If there is any doubt in translation, the English version will be treated as final.

UGC NET Qualifying Marks and Result Criteria 2026

Category	Minimum Aggregate Marks (Paper 1 + Paper 2)
General (Unreserved) / General-EWS	40%
SC / ST / OBC-NCL / PwD / PwBD / Third Gender	35%

You must appear in both papers to be considered.
The number of candidates declared eligible for Assistant Professor will be 6% of the candidates who appeared in both papers on the basis of their Master's degree.
These slots are divided among categories as per the Government of India reservation policy, and subject-wise cut-offs are then calculated.
JRF slots are allotted separately among categories as per the reservation policy.
Getting the minimum marks makes you eligible to be considered; the final subject-wise cut-off decides who qualifies.
There is no re-evaluation or re-checking of the result.

UGC NET Normalization and Percentile

If a subject is held in more than one shift, raw marks are converted to an NTA Score (percentile) so that no one gains or loses from a harder or easier shift.
Percentiles are calculated up to 7 decimal places to reduce ties.
For Ph.D. admission, the result is declared in percentile along with normalized marks, using the Equi-percentile method for multi-shift subjects.
If percentiles differ across shifts, the lowest percentile becomes the cut-off for that category for all shifts.
Percentile score is not the same as the percentage of marks.

UGC NET Answer Key and Challenge

NTA will publish the recorded responses and provisional answer key on ugcnet.nta.nic.in, usually for 2 to 3 days.
The fee to challenge an answer is Rs. 200 per question (non-refundable), paid online.
The result is prepared from the final answer key after experts review the challenges.

Also read: UGC NET Exam Centre West Bengal 2026: Full City List with Codes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q1. What is the UGC NET exam pattern 2026?

The exam has Paper 1 (50 questions, 100 marks) and Paper 2 (100 questions, 200 marks), a total of 150 questions and 300 marks in 3 hours, with no break.

Q2. Is there negative marking in UGC NET December 2026?

No. Each correct answer gets 2 marks and there is no deduction for a wrong answer.

Q3. Where can I download the UGC NET syllabus 2026?

The syllabus for all subjects is on the UGC website at ugcnetonline.in/syllabus-new.php. NTA does not send it to candidates.

Q4. How many subjects are there in UGC NET December 2026?

There are 87 subjects. Paper 1 is common and compulsory for all.

Q5. What is the subject code for Bengali in UGC NET?

The subject code for Bengali is 19. Santali is 95 and Nepali is 34.

Q6. What are the minimum qualifying marks for UGC NET?

40% aggregate in both papers for General/EWS, and 35% for SC/ST/OBC-NCL/PwD/Third Gender. The final cut-off is decided subject-wise.

Q7. Can I write the UGC NET exam in Bengali?

No. The medium is English or Hindi only, except for language papers such as Bengali (Code 19).

Q8. Is there a break between Paper 1 and Paper 2?

No. Both papers are in one 3-hour session, and you can switch between sections at any time.

UGC NET Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2026 Important Links

Important Links

UGC NET December 2026 Information Bulletin PDF	Download UGC NET December 2026 Notification PDF
UGC NET Syllabus 2026 PDF (All Subjects)	Download UGC NET Syllabus
UGC NET December 2026 Apply Online	ugcnet.nta.nic.in
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