UGC NET Passing Marks 2026: Category-wise & Subject-wise

If you are preparing for UGC NET 2026, you need to know the passing marks set by NTA for different categories. To qualify, you must score at least 40% marks if you belong to the General category, and at least 35% marks if you belong to a reserved category. This applies to both papers of the exam. By clearing these marks, you become eligible for two important positions, Assistant Professor and Junior Research Fellowship (JRF).

The UGC NET 2025 exam that you may have appeared for was held from December 31, 2025 to January 7, 2026. If you took this exam, you will be glad to know that NTA has already declared the results on 4th February 2026. You can check your result on the official NTA website.

Make sure you are aware of the category you belong to, as your qualifying marks will depend on it. Scoring at or above the minimum passing marks is the first step toward securing your position as an Assistant Professor or JRF recipient.

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UGC NET Passing Marks 2026

These are the minimum marks you need to score just to pass the exam. If you score below the passing marks, your result is simply marked as "failed" and you are not considered for anything. For UGC NET, this means scoring at least 40% (General) or 35% (Reserved) in both papers combined.

Expected UGC NET 2026 Passing Marks for Assistant Professor (Aggregate of Paper 1 and Paper 2)

The passing marks for UGC NET 2026 December session for the Assistant Professor position are as follows:

Factors Determining UGC NET Passing Marks 2026

The UGC NET passing marks are calculated considering a range of factors. Candidates must know these parameters to gauge their preparedness for the exam accordingly. The factors determining the UGC NET qualifying marks 2026 are as follows:

• Total number of exam takers
• Number of slots available for each category
• Difficulty level of the exam
• Marking scheme
• The ratio of candidates to seats
• The aggregate percentage secured by candidates in the two papers corresponding to the number of slots
• Number of candidates declared UGC NET qualified in any subject for a particular category

UGC NET Qualifying Marks 2026

These are the marks you need to actually qualify for a specific purpose, like getting shortlisted for Assistant Professor or JRF. Qualifying marks are usually higher than passing marks because they are determined based on the cutoff, which depends on how many seats are available and how well all the candidates performed that year. So even if you pass the exam, you may not necessarily qualify for JRF or Assistant Professor if your score falls below the cutoff.

How to Calculate UGC NET Cutoff 2026 Marks?

The guidelines listed in the steps below are used to determine UGC NET passing marks for each subject:

• Step 1: The number of candidates who will qualify in the UGC NET examination is determined as six percent of the total number of candidates who appeared for both papers.
• Step 2: As per the Government of India's reservation policy, the available slots for the UGC NET are allocated to applicants from different categories based on the reservation guidelines.
• Step 3: To be eligible for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and/or assistant professor positions, candidates must achieve the minimum qualifying marks as specified.
• Step 4: The eligibility criteria for applicants who pass the UGC NET examination will be determined based on their subject-wise category. The qualifying cut-off will be calculated based on the combined percentage obtained by candidates in both papers, considering the total number of available slots.
• Step 5: As per the reservation rules, the total number of slots available for the junior research fellow awards are distributed among different categories according to the reservation guidelines.

How to Check UGC NET Cutoff 2026?

Follow these steps to check and download the UGC NET Passing Marks PDF.

• Step 1: Open your web browser and go to the official UGC NET website using the username @ugcnet.nta.nic.in.
• Step 2: Once on the homepage, locate the latest information section and find the UGC NET cutoff link.
• Step 3: Click on the cutoff link to be directed to a new page.
• Step 4: On the new page, the UGC NET 2025 cutoff PDF will be displayed.
• Step 5: Download the PDF to review the subject-wise and category-wise UGC NET qualifying marks for 2026.

UGC NET December 2025- Subject-Wise Qualifying Marks for Assistant Professor

Candidates need to achieve the qualifying marks in the UGC NET exam to be considered for the Assistant Professor. The cutoff marks for Assistant Professor tend to be slightly lower than those for the Assistant Professor position. It is mandatory to Be UGC NET assistant professor qualified along with Master's in the relevant subject to be appointed as an Assistant professor in Indian Universities. A PhD completed candidate do not need to qualify UGC NET to be appointed as an assistant professor.

UGC NET December 2025- Subject-Wise Qualifying Marks for JRF

Candidates need to achieve the qualifying marks in the UGC NET exam to be considered for the Junior Research Fellowship (JRF). The cutoff marks for JRF tend to be slightly higher than those for the Assistant Professor position. This is primarily because the number of available seats for JRF positions is limited, leading to intense competition among applicants. The official cutoff marks will be made available in a separate PDF document on the official website. The expected UGC NET cutoff list 2026 for Assistant Professor and Junior Research Fellowship for various subjects for the December session has been provided below:

UGC NET December 2025- JRF Qualifying Marks

UGC NET Previous Year Cut Offs (2025-2018)

Check the previous Year UGC NET cutoffs in the tables below, which include results from the December 2025, 2024, 2023, 2022, 2019, and December 2018 exams as well as the December 2020 and December 2021 merged cycles.

UGC NET Cut Off December 2025 for JRF & Assistant Professor

UGC NET Cut Off June 2025 for JRF & Assistant Professor

UGC NET Cut Off December 2024 for JRF & Assistant Professor

UGC NET Cut Off June 2024 for JRF & Assistant Professor

UGC NET Cut Off December 2023 for JRF & Assistant Professor

UGC NET Cut Off June 2023 for JRF & Assistant Professor

UGC NET Cut Off December 2022 for JRF & Assistant Professor

UGC NET Cut Off 2021 for JRF & Assistant Professor

The table below contains the UGC NET cutoff 2021 for all 81 disciplines. The category-wise cutoff marks are listed below:

UGC NET 2019 Cutoff for JRF & Assistant Professor

The UGC NET cutoff percentile 2019 for all 81 disciplines has been listed below:

UGC NET 2018 Cutoff for JRF & Assistant Professor

Check out the UGC NET cutoff 2018 for all 81 disciplines listed below:

The UGC NET passing marks will be released along with the UGC NET Result, and aspirants must use their login credentials to check their results and the cutoff marks. In the meantime, check out the articles below to learn more about the UGC NET Cutoff.

Also Read: UGC NET Result: Qualified or Not, Here's Your Next Step

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