UGC NET December 2025 Expected Cutoff for SC/ST Category

The UGC NET December 2025 expected cutoff for the SC/ST category depicts the level of competition across various subjects. The most competitive subject, Political Science, is anticipated to have a cutoff of around 232 for the SC category and 223 for the ST category, for the JRF section, followed by Philosophy and Sociology. However, other subjects like Economics, Commerce, Education, Hindi, English and History are also expected to have moderately high cutoffs for the SC/ST category candidates.

It is important to go through the UGC NET 2025 Cutoff for the SC/ST category if you are aiming for JRF, Assistant Professor or PhD admissions. A basic idea of the past year cutoffs can help you in analysing the trends and preparing better for the upcoming examination. The actual cutoffs are way higher than the minimum qualifying marks, making it important for the candidates to target a safe score in order to qualify the UGC NET December 2025 Exam .

NTA will release the official UGC NET 2025 cutoff after the final results, which is expected by February 2026. The expected cutoff provides a true picture as it is based on the previous year's trends, exam difficulty level, and the number of candidates appearing in the examination. In order to qualify the exam, the SC/ST category candidates must secure at least 35% of the aggregate marks.

Also Read: UGC NET December 2025 Expected Cutoff for General Category

Subject-wise UGC NET Expected Cutoff December 2025 for SC/ST

Based on expert analysis and previous year cutoff trends, the expected UGC NET December 2025 cutoff for SC/ST candidates in major subjects is as follows:

Economics / Rural Economics

Political Science

Philosophy

Sociology

History

Commerce

Education

Hindi

English

The above data clearly states that Political Science is recorded to have the highest cutoff for the SC/ST category, followed by Philosophy, Commerce and Sociology. However, English and History remain less competitive but require marks way higher than the minimum qualifying marks.

Factors Affecting UGC NET December 2025 Cutoff

Several factors have an impact on category-wise cutoff scores for the UCG NET exam, such as:

• Number of Candidates Registered: If the number of applicants increases every year, it evidently increases the competition level and cutoff scores.
• Paper Difficulty Level: If the question paper difficulty level is deemed to be tough, then usually the cutoffs are on a lower side. If a paper is on an easier level, then the cutoffs can be quite high.
• Normalisation of scores - Score adjustments ensure fairness across multiple sessions.
• Historical Cutoff Trends - Past cutoffs set a benchmark for current cutoff results.
• Reservation Policy - Category-wise cutoffs are affected by reservation norms, so each category's cutoff ranks have a major rank difference.
• Subject-wise Variation - Each subject has a unique cutoff based on performance and category.
• Number of Vacancies - Seat availability is one of the major factors affecting cutoff ranks and qualification thresholds.

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The UGC NET Dec 2025 result will determine eligibility for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), Assistant Professor, and PhD admission across 85 subjects. Therefore, candidates can set realistic targets by analysing the category-wise cutoff and previous years. A higher UGC NET percentile score increases the chances of qualifying for JRF and Assistant Professor posts.

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