Checked 3 October 2026. Medium. The fellowship rate was last revised from 1 January 2023 and the UGC scheme page still showed it on 3 October 2026. The UGC draft teacher-qualification regulations of January 2025 were not final on that day; if they are notified, the Assistant Professor section changes.
A UGC NET result puts you in one of three categories. Category 1 is the Junior Research Fellowship plus eligibility for Assistant Professor and PhD admission; Category 2 is Assistant Professor eligibility plus PhD admission, without the fellowship; Category 3 is PhD admission only. The JRF pays Rs 37,000 a month for two years and Rs 42,000 a month as a Senior Research Fellow after that, for up to five years in all (UGC notice of 16 October 2023, from 1 January 2023). A JRF offer is valid for three years from the award letter, Assistant Professor eligibility does not expire, and NET marks used for PhD admission are valid for one year.
Great Indian Festival dealsSale prices live on laptops, tablets, phonesSee on Amazon
Laptop dealsStudent laptops — see today's pricesSee on Amazon
Tablet dealsFor notes, PDFs and online classesSee on Amazon
Bluetooth speakersPocket-size to party-sizeSee on Amazon
UGC-NET solved papersPrevious years, with answersSee on AmazonBooks for UGC-NETGuides and reference booksSee on Amazon
Study lampsEye-friendly light for late nightsSee on Amazon
Bags and backpacksRoom for books and a laptopSee on AmazonAs an Amazon Associate, ProSyllabus earns from qualifying purchases. Prices and availability are set by the seller.
Sources: UGC public notice of 16.10.2023, NTA bulletin June 2026 sections 1.3 and 3.2, UGC public notice of 27.03.2024.
The three categories, as NTA defines them
| Qualified for | JRF | Assistant Professor | PhD admission |
|---|---|---|---|
| Category 1: award of JRF and appointment as Assistant Professor | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Category 2: appointment as Assistant Professor and admission to Ph.D. | No | Yes | Yes |
| Category 3: admission to Ph.D. only | No | No | Yes |
This is the table in section 1.3 of the June 2026 bulletin, and it has been in every bulletin since the UGC decided, at its 578th meeting on 13 March 2024, that NET would be used for PhD admission from the 2024-25 session (public notice of 27 March 2024). The category is decided by which cut-off your total crosses in your subject and category; see the cut-off guide in this series for every subject's three cut-offs.
Side by side: what each category gives you
| Question | Category 1 (JRF) | Category 2 | Category 3 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly fellowship | Rs 37,000 as JRF, Rs 42,000 as SRF | None from NET | None from NET |
| Assistant Professor eligibility | Yes (not on a four-year bachelor's degree) | Yes (not on a four-year bachelor's degree) | No |
| How PhD admission works | Interview (PhD Regulations 2022) | 70% NET marks + 30% interview | 70% NET marks + 30% interview |
| How long it lasts | JRF offer: three years from the award letter; Assistant Professor eligibility: no expiry | Assistant Professor eligibility: no expiry; PhD-admission marks: one year | PhD-admission marks: one year |
| Upper age limit | 30 years for JRF (on 1 June 2026), up to 5 years relaxation | None | None |
| Master's still pending at the result | Complete it within two years | Complete it within two years | Complete it within one year |
Sources for each row: bulletin sections 1.3, 3.1 and 3.4; UGC fellowship notice of 16 October 2023; UGC FAQ question 4 ("The validity of UGC-NET certificate of Eligibility for Assistant Professor / Lectureship is forever"); UGC PhD-admission notice of 27 March 2024. The age relaxation covers OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD/PwBD, third-gender and women candidates, research experience (up to 5 years), an LL.M. (3 years) and armed-forces service, with five years as the overall ceiling.
The fellowship: amounts, tenure and what is paid on top
| Item | Amount (from 1 Jan 2023) | Before 2023 | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| JRF | Rs 37,000 a month | Rs 31,000 | UGC notice 16.10.2023; MoE OM 11.09.2023 |
| SRF | Rs 42,000 a month | Rs 35,000 | UGC notice 16.10.2023; MoE OM 11.09.2023 |
| Contingency, Humanities and Social Sciences | Rs 10,000 a year (JRF), Rs 20,500 a year (SRF) | not compared here | UGC scheme page |
| Contingency, Sciences | Rs 12,000 a year (JRF), Rs 25,000 a year (SRF) | not compared here | UGC scheme page |
| House rent allowance | By Government of India city category, on the fellowship amount; not paid if you live in a hostel | — | UGC notice 16.10.2023; JRF guidelines 4.1 |
| Dearness allowance | Not paid | — | MoE OM 11.09.2023 |
Tenure, from the UGC JRF guidelines: two years as JRF; then experts evaluate your work and, if it is satisfactory, you continue for three years as SRF at the higher rate. If it is not, you get a third year as JRF and are assessed again. Either way the total is five years, and the UGC scheme page adds "or submission of thesis whichever is earlier". The UGC scheme page lists 11,750 fellowship slots. We did not find any revision of the rates in 2025 or 2026.
With two JRF years, three SRF years and no HRA, the fellowship comes to Rs 24,00,000 over five years and the Humanities contingency to Rs 81,500 (our arithmetic: 24 × 37,000 + 36 × 42,000; 2 × 10,000 + 3 × 20,500).
Two time limits that are easy to confuse
- Three years: the NTA bulletin says "The validity period of the offer will be three years w.e.f. the date of issue of JRF Award Letter."
- Six months: the UGC JRF guidelines say the candidate "must join the fellowship within 6 months from date of issue of the award letter", and registration for the PhD must follow within two years.
- Both are official and they are not the same clock. Read your own award letter and ask the university's fellowship cell which date it will apply before you let months pass.
Assistant Professor: what NET does and does not decide
NET is an eligibility, not a job. Under the UGC 2018 regulations, NET, SLET or SET is the minimum eligibility for Assistant Professor, with a master's degree of at least 55% (50% for SC, ST, OBC-NCL and PwD candidates), and a PhD awarded under the UGC PhD Regulations of 2009 or 2016 exempts you from NET. The 2018 rule that a PhD would be mandatory for university Assistant Professors from July 2021 was replaced in June 2023 by a new clause 3.10: "NET/SET/SLET shall be the minimum criteria for the direct recruitment to the post of Assistant Professor for all Higher Education Institutions." Recruitment itself, the interview and any extra weightage are the employing university's or state's, as the bulletin says.
The pay attached to the post, once you are appointed, is Academic Level 10 of the 7th Pay Commission matrix, with an entry pay of Rs 57,700 a month (MHRD letter of 2 November 2017, from 1 January 2016). That is basic pay; allowances depend on the employer.
Watch this: draft rules of January 2025
- The UGC placed draft Regulations 2025 on teacher qualifications in the public domain for feedback in January 2025. The draft would allow a PhD, or a 55% postgraduate degree with NET or SET, as routes to Assistant Professor.
- On 3 October 2026 the UGC regulations page still listed the 2018 regulations and their amendments up to the 4th Amendment of June 2024 as the rules in force. A draft is not a rule; this page will change when a final notification appears.
How many reach each category
The totals printed at the foot of each NTA cut-off PDF, all categories. June 2026 adds the 84-subject PDF and the re-examination PDF (our arithmetic). The PDFs do not say whether the Assistant Professor column also counts JRF qualifiers.
Read across, about 5,000 candidates a cycle reach JRF, roughly ten times as many sit in the Assistant Professor column and about twice that again in the PhD-only column. The JRF figure has stayed between 4,970 and 5,269 in every cycle since June 2024, which matches the bulletin's design: JRF slots are allocated in advance (Step V), while the Assistant Professor list is 6% of those who appear (Step I).
Questions
What is the JRF stipend in 2026?
Rs 37,000 a month for the first two years and Rs 42,000 a month as SRF after a satisfactory assessment, plus a yearly contingency grant and HRA where applicable. These rates apply from 1 January 2023 under the UGC notice of 16 October 2023; no later revision was found on 3 October 2026.
Is the UGC NET Assistant Professor certificate valid for life?
Yes. The UGC FAQ says: "The validity of UGC-NET certificate of Eligibility for Assistant Professor / Lectureship is forever."
How long is a JRF valid?
The JRF offer is valid for three years from the date of the JRF award letter, according to the NTA bulletin. The UGC guidelines also ask you to join the fellowship within six months of the award letter, so act on it early.
Can a PhD-only qualifier apply for Assistant Professor posts?
No. Category 3 gives admission to a PhD only, not JRF and not Assistant Professor eligibility.
How long can I use NET marks for PhD admission?
For Categories 2 and 3, the marks are valid for one year from the declaration of the NET result, and admission is on 70% NET marks and 30% interview.
I qualified on a four-year bachelor's degree. What can I do?
You are eligible for JRF (if in Category 1) and for PhD admission, but not for Assistant Professor appointment. You need at least 75% in the four-year degree (5% relaxation for reserved categories) to apply on that basis.
Is there an age limit?
Only for JRF: 30 years on the first day of the month in which the exam concludes, with up to five years of relaxation for listed groups. There is no age limit for Assistant Professor or PhD admission.
Practise it, don't just read it
Paper 1 is the same 100 marks whichever category you are aiming at, and the gap between Assistant Professor and JRF is often a dozen correct answers.
Nine UGC NET quizzes are live on ProSyllabus today, all on Paper 1: teaching aptitude, research types and methods, research aptitude, reading comprehension, syllogisms and fallacies, logical reasoning, mathematical reasoning, ICT, and the higher education system. There is no Paper 2 subject quiz yet.
ProSyllabus is an independent study site. It is not part of the National Testing Agency (NTA), which conducts UGC-NET, or of the University Grants Commission (UGC). Always confirm on ugcnet.nta.nic.in and nta.ac.in.
More in this series
- UGC NET cut-offs by subject and category, every cycle since 2023
- UGC NET pattern, marking, percentile and normalised marks
- UGC NET previous papers and official answer keys
- UGC NET December 2026 dates and every past cycle's timeline
- UGC NET notice board — alerts and updates
- UGC NET exam day: time management and CBT
- UGC NET syllabus and a study plan
- CSIR NET: JRF vs Assistant Professor
Sources
- official — UGC Public Notice F.No. 21-1/2010(PDFPolicy/SA-III), 16.10.2023 — revision of fellowship: JRF Rs 37,000 pm for 2 years, SRF Rs 42,000 pm for the remaining period, w.e.f. 01.01.2023 (existing: Rs 31,000 and Rs 35,000); HRA percentage on the fellowship amount
- official — Ministry of Education OM F.No. 12-2/2023-U1, 11.09.2023 — fellowship revision from 01.01.2023, SRF after external assessment at two years, no DA (copy enclosed in a Department of Pharmaceuticals file of 10.11.2023; the education.gov.in link no longer loads)
- official — UGC — Junior Research Fellowship in Science, Humanities and Social Sciences (scheme page): 11,750 slots, tenure 5 years or thesis, JRF Rs 37,000, SRF Rs 42,000, contingency Rs 10,000 / Rs 20,500 (Humanities and Social Sciences) and Rs 12,000 / Rs 25,000 (Science) a year
- official — UGC — JRF scheme guidelines (XII Plan): two years as JRF, expert evaluation, three years as SRF, total five years; join within six months of the award letter; HRA by Government of India city category, not for hostel residents
- official — UGC — Frequently asked questions, Q.04: "The validity of UGC-NET certificate of Eligibility for Assistant Professor / Lectureship is forever"
- official — UGC Public Notice F.4-1(UGC-NET Review Committee)/2024(NET)/140648, 27.03.2024 — UGC-NET for PhD admission from 2024-25: Categories 1, 2 and 3; 70% test score and 30% interview for Categories 2 and 3; valid for one year
- official — UGC (Minimum Standards and Procedures for Award of Ph.D. Degree) Regulations, 2022, Gazette 07.11.2022 — clause 5(2): fellowship holders admitted on interview
- official — UGC Regulations on Minimum Qualifications for Appointment of Teachers, 2018 (Gazette 18.07.2018) — 3.3(I) NET/SLET/SET the minimum eligibility, Ph.D. (2009/2016 Regulations) exemption; 3.4 55% at master's, 5% relaxation
- official — UGC (Minimum Qualifications ...) (2nd Amendment) Regulations, 2023, 30.06.2023 — new 3.10: "NET/SET/SLET shall be the minimum criteria for the direct recruitment to the post of Assistant Professor for all Higher Education Institutions"
- official — UGC draft Regulations 2025 on minimum qualifications (placed for feedback, PIB 06.01.2025); no final notification on the UGC regulations page on 03.10.2026
- official — MHRD letter No. 1-7/2015-U.II(1), 02.11.2017 — revision of pay of university and college teachers: Assistant Professor at Academic Level 10, entry pay Rs 57,700, w.e.f. 01.01.2016
- official — NTA — Information Bulletin, UGC-NET June 2026 (as on 30.04.2026): pattern (s.2.2), marking (s.2.5), eligibility and age (ch.3), result procedure (s.6.3), normalisation (Appendices VIII and IX), subject codes (Appendix II)
- official — NTA — UGC-NET June 2026, (84) subjects, subject/category-wise cut-off marks (published with the result, 28.08.2026)
- official — NTA — UGC-NET June 2026 re-examination of 9 and 10 September 2026 (English, Commerce, Sociology), subject/category-wise cut-off marks (17.09.2026)
- official — NTA — UGC-NET December 2025, subject/category-wise cut-off marks
- official — NTA — UGC-NET June 2025, subject/category-wise cut-off marks
- official — NTA — UGC-NET December 2024, subject/category-wise cut-off marks
- official — NTA — UGC-NET June 2024, subject/category-wise cut-off ("*" marks a cut-off in percentile)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
