How much to score for JRF in UGC NET?

Candidates must appear for both papers and receive a minimum of 40% overall for the General (unreserved) category in order to be eligible for the Joint Recruitment Framework (JRF) and Assistant Professor. Candidates in the reserved category (SC/ST/OBC non-creamy layer/PwD/transgender) must receive at least 35%.

How much percentile is a good score in UGC NET?

To be eligible for the UGC NET exam, candidates must receive at least 40% of the possible marks (Unreserved category) and 35% of the marks. However, the top 6% of applicants will be eligible for the Assistant Professor position among those who meet the minimum qualifying scores.

Is it easy to secure a good score in UGC NET?

The difficulty of cracking the exam UGC NET would vary from candidate to candidate in terms of personal factors like educational background, preparatory strategy and acquaintance with pattern. It's a tough test and demands strenuous efforts.

When is NTA conducting UGC NET Exam?

The NTA conducted the UGC NET 2024 Dec session exam from January 2 to January 16, 2025.

How is a 'good score' determined in UGC NET?

A good score in UGC NET is subjective and beyond minimum qualifying marks. It depends on the cutoff declared by NTA, which varies by subject and category for Assistant Professor, JRF, and PhD Only posts.

What is the validity of the UGC NET certificate and JRF letter?

The UGC NET certificate, issued for Assistant Professorship, has lifetime validity. However, the JRF Letter is valid for only 3 years.

How are UGC NET 2026 cut off marks determined?

The calculation involves qualifying 6% of applicants, allocating seats per reservation policy, meeting minimum qualifying cut-offs (40% Gen, 35% Reserved), and then subject-specific categorization based on openings.

When was the UGC NET 2026 December session conducted and when were results expected?

The UGC NET 2026 December session exam was from December 31, 2025, to January 07, 2026. The result link was activated on February 04, 2026, but later became inactive.

What is a good score in UGC NET?

A good score in UGC NET is around 199 for Assistant Professor and 97 for JRF & Assistant Professor, 99 and 97 in Commerce, and 99 and 97 in English (UR category). Check here What is a good score in UGC NET category wise!

Table of Contents

What are UGC NET Qualifying Marks?
How to Calculate Score for UGC NET 2026?
Good Score in UGC NET 2026: Category-wise and Subject-wise
UGC NET Previous Year Good Scores
UGC NET Certificate 2026

Since a good UGC NET score is essential, all aspirants wonder about what a good score is in UGC NET. While the definition of a good score can be subjective, general category candidates need 40% as the minimum qualifying mark, and reserved category candidates need 35%. For candidates belonging to the unreserved category, a good score in the June 2025 session was 162 in History for assistance professor, and 188 for JRF. On the other hand, in English, it was 168 for an assistant professor post and 188 for a JRF.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted the UGC NET 2026 December session exam from December 31, 2025, to January 07, 2026. While the UGC NET NTA result link Dec 2025 was activated on February 04, 2026, it turned inactive due to some server-related issues. However, you can expect a good score in History to be around 190 for JRF, and 175 for Assistant Professor. Similarly, 245 for JRF and 208 for Assistance Professor might be good scores in English.

What are UGC NET Qualifying Marks?

You must receive the minimum qualifying marks as per the UGC NET exam pattern. UGC NET cutoff scores are different from qualifying marks. Additionally, you must receive the required scores from NTA in the UGC NET exams to be considered for a JRF or Associate Professorship. The table below shows the UGC NET Passing Marks for candidates:

Category	Paper 1	Paper 2
General Category	40 (40%) marks	40 (40%) marks
PWD, ST, SC, OBC Non-Creamy Layer, Transgenders	35 (35%) marks	35 (35%)

How to Calculate Score for UGC NET 2026?

Here is how the UGC NET 2026 cut off marks are determined:

Step 1: Overall, at least 6% of the applicants who took both UGC NET exam papers(Paper 1 and Paper 2) will be qualified.
Step 2: The total number of seats will be allocated, in accordance with the Indian government's reservation policy, to candidates from all categories.
Step 3: Your eligibility for the JRF posts or Assistant Professor vacancies in the UGC NET is then determined by the minimum qualifying cut-off given below

UGC NET Candidate Category	UGC NET Minimum Qualifying Cutoff (Paper I and II)
General	40% (both papers attempted together)
OBC/ST/SC/PwD	35% (both papers attempted together)

Step 4: Candidates who pass the exam will be eligible based on their subject-specific categorisation. The total percentage of applications received on both tests will be used as the qualifying cut-off, which varies according to the number of openings.
Step 5: In accordance with the reservation guidelines, the total number of junior research fellow grant slots that are available is distributed among various categories.

Good Score in UGC NET 2026: Category-wise and Subject-wise

UGC NET 2025 Cutoff will be declared after the UGC NET result declaration. You can check the good scores for all the major subjects category-wise and subject-wise, in UGC NET 2026 below:

Philosophy

Category	Assistant Professor Cutoff	JRF Cutoff	PhD Only Cutoff
UNRESERVED	180	202	154
ST	140	168	124
OBC (NCL)	162	190	140
EWS	166	198	140
SC	154	188	134
PWD-HI-UR	110	110	----
PWD-VI-UR	158	158	106
PWD-VI-OB	120	134	----
PWD-LM-UR	168	168	138
PWD-VI-SC	120	120	----
PWD-LM-SC	112	112	110
PWD-LM-OB	148	148	126
PWD-VI-EW	136	136	----

Economics

Category	Assistant Professor Cutoff	JRF Cutoff	PhD Only Cutoff
UNRESERVED	182	210	154
EWS	164	200	140
OBC (NCL)	160	198	140
ST	144	176	128
SC	148	184	130
PWD-HI-UR	120	158	108
PWD-VI-UR	138	176	112
PWD-OD&AO-UR	112	136	----
PWD-LM-UR	150	180	124
PWD-VI-OB	114	160	106
PWD-LM-OB	132	158	114
PWD-HI-OB	106	136	----
PWD-VI-SC	----	110	----
PWD-HI-SC	----	----	----
PWD-OD&AO-OB	106	124	----
PWD-OD&AO-SC	----	112	----
PWD-LM-SC	126	160	112
PWD-HI-ST	----	----	----
PWD-VI-ST	112	130	----
PWD-OD&AO-ST	----	----	----
PWD-LM-ST	112	128	106
PWD-HI-EW	----	----	----
PWD-VI-EW	136	148	----
PWD-OD&AO-EW	----	130	----
PWD-LM-EW	140	172	116

Political Science

Category	Assistant Professor Cutoff	JRF Cutoff	PhD Only Cutoff
UNRESERVED	96.3442108	99.7303386	83.2434462
OBC (NCL)	91.3165364	99.2325753	71.5947717
EWS	90.3911797	99.2422174	67.0228017
SC	83.2434462	97.3204533	64.3024845
ST	78.1581806	96.7656026	58.6466692
PWD-VI-UR	67.0228017	99.10568	15.0430093
PWD-HI-UR	34.8354767	91.3844894	17.1217914
PWD-LM-UR	79.5843992	97.7266521	56.4684599
PWD-OD&AO-UR	18.498791	93.1389951	15.0430093
PWD-VI-OB	42.534817	97.1791008	13.1690333
PWD-HI-OB	11.4998635	71.5947717	----
PWD-LM-OB	65.0361824	95.71784	39.2087465
PWD-OD&AO-OB	11.4998635	80.5707264	----
PWD-VI-SC	26.3482496	90.3911797	13.1690333
PWD-HI-SC	13.1690333	24.2737499	----
PWD-LM-SC	64.3024845	87.1780495	30.3522665
PWD-OD&AO-SC	16.7151417	43.6135543	----
PWD-VI-ST	14.98756	78.1581806	----
PWD-HI-ST	14.98756	76.0752321	----
PWD-LM-ST	44.910568	81.0631811	18.498791
PWD-OD&AO-ST	----	20.3840628	----
PWD-VI-EW	32.6803799	94.5521573	----
PWD-HI-EW	13.1690333	73.3503872	----
PWD-LM-EW	64.3024845	95.71784	19.1015838
PWD-OD&AO-EW	----	----	----
Third Gender	21.2247406	21.2247406	----

History

Category	Assistant Professor Cutoff	JRF Cutoff	PhD Only Cutoff
UNRESERVED	97.6608584	99.7928431	87.9748739
OBC(NCL)	93.4378028	99.3417755	79.3409723
EWS	92.8707031	99.5152214	77.1103126
SC	87.7652722	98.2993084	70.8844265
ST	83.1547902	97.1252288	65.7422567
PWD-VI-UR	79.3409723	98.6609262	24.0626483
PWD-HI-UR	50.519563	94.3299141	26.5950234
PWD-LM-UR	86.402468	97.1252288	65.4010441
PWD-OD&AO-UR	29.2833412	89.1653671	26.5950234
PWD-VI-OB	57.4411825	95.8810767	----
PWD-HI-OB	26.5950234	67.8283273	----
PWD-LM-OB	74.9745745	95.8810767	51.8272425

Commerce

Category	JRF Cutoff	Assistant Professor Cutoff	PhD Only Cutoff
UNRESERVED	99.8478738	97.7994764	90.1857106
OBC(NCL)	99.206861	92.1846789	80.1209934
EWS	99.5365457	93.8870261	80.1038174
SC	97.9978076	86.8110097	71.8955636
ST	97.0034671	83.5729946	66.9460923
PWD-VI-UR	99.2004528	80.1038174	32.992649
PWD-HI-UR	89.4042312	53.3111942	32.992649
PWD-LM-UR	98.7546876	89.0766056	69.4383544

UGC NET Previous Year Good Scores

You must also check the previous year UGC NET cut-offs as well to get a better idea of the marks you need. Refer to the table given below for a detailed bifurcation of UGC NET 2026 previous year scores.

Subjects	Category	Assistant Professor Cut-Off	JRF & Assistant Professor Cut-Off
Psychology	Gen/ UR	196	216
	EWS	174	200
	OBC(NCL)	174	200
	SC	162	184
	ST	158	178
Education	Gen/ UR	190	210
	EWS	172	198
	OBC(NCL)	172	196
	SC	160	182
	ST	162	184
Anthropology	Gen/ UR	174	194
	EWS	160	190
	OBC(NCL)	162	184
	SC	150	166
	ST	150	166
Sociology	Gen/ UR	200	218
	EWS	184	208
	OBC(NCL)	182	204
	SC	168	192
	ST	166	190
Social Work	Gen/ UR	178	196
	EWS	162	188
	OBC(NCL)	156	180
	SC	142	172
	ST	144	166
Philosophy	Gen/ UR	206	226
	EWS	186	216
	OBC(NCL)	186	210
	SC	178	200
	ST	158	180
Home Science	Gen/ UR	182	200
	EWS	162	184
	OBC(NCL)	162	182
	SC	150	176
	ST	150	176
Defence & Strategic Studies	Gen/ UR	208	224
	EWS	194	216
	OBC(NCL)	192	208
	SC	192	214
	ST	182	190
Population Studies	Gen/ UR	182	204
	EWS	168	196
	OBC(NCL)	168	186
	SC	164	174
	ST	160	172
Public Administration	Gen/ UR	182	200
	EWS	168	192
	OBC(NCL)	166	190
	SC	150	172
	ST	150	172
Maithili	Gen/ UR	202	218
	EWS	182	202
	OBC(NCL)	184	198
	SC	198	212
	ST	—	—
Management	Gen/ UR	164	180
	EWS	148	170
	OBC(NCL)	144	164
	SC	136	154
	ST	134	152
Sanskrit	Gen/ UR	178	196
	EWS	164	186
	OBC(NCL)	162	180
	SC	152	170
	ST	138	158
Punjabi	Gen/ UR	160	172
	EWS	148	162
	OBC(NCL)	144	160
	SC	134	152
	ST	136	136
Telugu	Gen/ UR	154	164
	EWS	144	152
	OBC(NCL)	140	154
	SC	134	152
	ST	136	146
Tamil	Gen/ UR	148	160
	EWS	144	140
	OBC(NCL)	138	150
	SC	132	144
	ST	132	—
Law	Gen/ UR	202	224
	EWS	182	210
	OBC(NCL)	180	206
	SC	168	190
	ST	160	182
Urdu	Gen/ UR	202	214
	EWS	190	206
	OBC(NCL)	190	206
	SC	168	204
	ST	178	190
Geography	Gen/ UR	182	202
	EWS	164	192
	OBC(NCL)	164	186
	SC	152	176
	ST	150	168
Mass Communication & Journalism	Gen/ UR	184	208
	EWS	166	194
	OBC(NCL)	166	186
	SC	156	172
	ST	152	166
Computer Science & Applications	Gen/ UR	162	180
	EWS	146	166
	OBC(NCL)	142	162
	SC	136	150
	ST	132	148
Economics	Gen/ UR	192	212
	EWS	172	198
	OBC(NCL)	170	196
	SC	152	176
	ST	150	172

UGC NET Certificate 2026

UGC NET certificate 2026 is a document issued by the National Testing Agency (NTA) for candidates who qualify for the UGC NET. It serves as a formal credential for both Assistant Professorship and JRF. It has a lifetime validity, helping you apply for teaching positions indefinitely. However, the JRF Letter is valid for only 3 years. For the December 2025 UGC NET cycle, UGC NET certificates are expected to be released in the 2nd week of February 2026. You can download it from the official UGC NET portal using your roll number, application number, and date of birth.