UGC NET Syllabus – Topics for all Subjects, Books, Question Papers

NTA (National Testing Agency) has announced the UGC NET 2021 exam for December 2020 cycle, which will commence from 02nd May 2021. UGC NET syllabus 2021 is available on its official website. Held twice a year (June and December) as a national entrance test by NTA, UGC NET accesses the aspirant’s capabilities to get recruited for the posts of:

  • JRF (Junior Research Fellowship) and Assistant Professor, or
  • Assistant Professor only posts in Indian Universities and Colleges

The NTA UGC NET syllabus is divided into 2 Papers – Paper 1 and Paper 2. Both the tests are conducted in CBT mode (computer-based test/online). A total of 150 questions are asked in the UGC NET examination (including part 1 and part 2) and candidates are required to answer all of them within 3 hours.

Candidates who have applied for the exam must keep themselves armed with the complete details related to UGC NET Syllabus and UGC NET exam pattern. Added to this, those who wish to clear the papers must follow the UGC NET syllabus minutely that Buddy4Study has compiled and put together for easy understanding.

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Important Updates

  • UGC NET exam for December 2020 cycle will be conducted from 02nd May 2021.
  • UGC NET admit cards for exams are notyet announced. Visit the official website to know more about the admit cards. Β 
  • UGC NET exam will be conducted in a single session with no break between Paper 1 and Paper 2.
  • NTA will conduct the UGC NET December 2020 session exam from 02nd May to 17th May 2020 (exam dates distributed during this period).Β 
  • UGC NET syllabus has a list of 81 subjects from which candidates can choose one of their preferred subjects.

Read More:Β  UGC NET Exam Dates – Schedule, Timings, Latest Updates & Highlights

UGC NET Syllabus – Key Highlights

Particulars Details
Name of Examination UGC NET (University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test) 2020
Exam Conducting Body National Testing Agency (NTA)
Exam Level National
UGC NET Official Website https://ugcnet.nta.nic.inΒ 

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https://www.ugcnetonline.in/Β 

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Duration of Exam 3 hours or 180 minutes
Examination Mode CBT/Computer Based Test (Online)
Medium of Exam The exam will be conducted in 2 languages:

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  • English
  • Hindi
Type of Questions Objective/Multiple-Choice (MCQ)
Number of Questions Paper 1 – 50 questions

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Paper 2 – 100 questions

Total Marks Paper 1 – 100 marks

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Paper 2 – 200 marks

Marking Scheme +2 for Every Correct Answer

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No negative marking for incorrect answers

Exam Shifts Shift 1 – 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon

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Shift 2 – 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM

Mock Test Link https://nta.ac.in/quizΒ 

UGC NET Syllabus – Paper 1 (General Aptitude) Syllabus

UGC NET Paper 1 is compulsory and common for all candidates. The UGC NET Syllabus for Paper 1 includes 10 units. Each unit comprises 5 questions. Hence, Paper 1 will have a total of 50 questions worth 100 marks.

The 10 units included in Paper 1 of UGC NET are –Β 

UGC NET Syllabus Paper 1 – Subjects/Units

  1. Teaching Aptitude
  • Research Aptitude
  • Comprehension
  • Communication
  • Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude
  • Logical Reasoning
  • Data Interpretation
  • Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
  • People, Development and Environment
  1. Higher Education System

UGC NET Syllabus – Section-wise Topics (Paper 1)

The main objective of UGC NET Paper 1 is to evaluate the candidates’ teaching and research capabilities. Besides assessing the teaching prowess, it is also a method of checking the awareness level in candidates.Β 

They are expected to possess and display cognitive abilities. These abilities include analysis, comprehension, understanding the structure of arguments, evaluation, and deductive and inductive reasoning.

To crack the Part 1 exam, candidates can find all the important topics related to each subject/unit covered in the prescribed UGC NET syllabus 2021.

UGC NET Syllabus – Unit/Section-wise Topics in Paper 1

Units UGC NET Paper 1 – Subjects TopicsΒ 
Unit 1 Teaching Aptitude
  • Evaluation systems: Elements and types of evaluation, evaluation in Choice Based Credit System in higher education, computer-based testing, innovations in evaluation systems
  • Factors affecting teaching related to Teacher, Learner, Support material, Instructional facilities, Learning environment and Institution
  • Learner’s characteristics: Characteristics of adolescent and adult learners (academic, social, emotional and cognitive), individual differences
  • Methods of teaching in institutions of higher learning: Teacher centred vs. learner-centred methods; offline vs. online methods (Swayam, Swayamprabha, MOOCs etc.).
  • Teaching: Concept, objectives, levels of teaching (memory, understanding and reflective), characteristics and basic requirements
  • Teaching support system: Traditional, modern and ICT based
Unit 2 Research Aptitude
  • Application of ICT in research
  • Methods of research: Experimental, descriptive, historical, qualitative and quantitative methods
  • Research: Meaning, types, and characteristics, positivism and post-positivist approach to research
  • Research ethics
  • Steps of research
  • Thesis and article writing: Format and styles of referencing
Unit 3 Comprehension
  • A passage of text will be given. Questions to be asked from the passage to be answered
Unit 4 Communication
  • Barriers to effective communication
  • Communication: Meaning, types and characteristics of communication
  • Mass-media and society
  • Effective communication: Verbal and non-verbal, inter-cultural and group communications, classroom communication
Unit 5 Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude
  • Mathematical aptitude (fraction, time & distance, ratio, proportion and percentage, profit and loss, interest and discounting, averages etc.)
  • Number series, letter series, codes and relationships
  • Types of reasoning
Unit 6 Logical Reasoning
  • Analogies
  • Evaluating and distinguishing deductive and inductive reasoning
  • Indian Logic: Means of knowledge
  • Structure and kinds of Anumana (inference), Vyapti (invariable relation), Hetvabhasa (fallacies of inference)
  • Pramanas: Pratyaksha (Perception), Anumana (Inference), Upamana (Comparison), Shabda (Verbal testimony), Arthapatti (Implication) and Anupalabddhi (Non-apprehension)
  • Understanding the structure of arguments: Argument forms, the structure of categorical propositions, mood and figure, formal and informal fallacies, uses of language, connotations and denotations of terms, a classic square of opposition
  • Venn diagram: Simple and multiple uses for establishing the validity of arguments
Unit 7 Data Interpretation
  • Data and governance
  • Graphical representation (bar-chart, histograms, pie-chart, table-chart and line-chart) and mapping of data
  • Data interpretation
  • Quantitative and qualitative data
  • Sources, acquisition and classification of data
Unit 8 Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
  • Digital initiatives in higher education
  • Basics of Internet, Intranet, E-mail, Audio and Video-conferencing
  • ICT and Governance
  • ICT: General abbreviations and terminology
Unit 9 People, Development and Environment
  • Environmental Protection Act (1986), National Action Plan on Climate Change, International agreements/efforts -Montreal Protocol, Rio Summit, Convention on Biodiversity, Kyoto Protocol, Paris Agreement, International Solar Alliance
  • Development and environment: Millennium development and Sustainable development goals
  • Environmental issues: Local, regional and global; air pollution, water pollution, soil pollution, noise pollution, waste (solid, liquid, biomedical, hazardous, electronic), climate change and its socio-economic and political dimensions
  • Human and environment interaction: Anthropogenic activities and their impacts on the environment
  • Natural hazards and disasters: Mitigation strategies
  • Impacts of pollutants on human health
  • Natural and energy resources: Solar, Wind, Soil, Hydro, Geothermal, Biomass, Nuclear and Forests
Unit 10 Higher Education System
  • Policies, governance, and administration
  • Institutions of higher learning and education in ancient India
  • Value education and environmental education
  • Evolution of higher learning and research in post-independence India
  • Professional, technical and skill-based education.
  • Oriental, conventional and non-conventional learning programmes in India

UGC NET Syllabus – Paper 2 Syllabus (For All Subjects)

NTA UGC NET Paper 2 exam is conducted for a total of 81 subjects. Candidates applying for this exam have the right to choose their preferred subjects for Paper 2 from the UGC NET syllabus. They can select the subject that they may have studied during their post-graduation programme or any subject related to it.Β 

Buddy4study has arranged the elaborate UGC NET syllabus along with the paper codes and UGC NET syllabus (Paper 2) in pdf format (both Hindi and English) in the table below.

UGC NET Syllabus for all Subjects – Paper 2

Subject Code Subjects UGC NET Syllabus (Paper-2)- English UGC NET Syllabus (Paper-2)- Hindi
00 General Paper on Teaching & Research Aptitude (Paper -I) CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
01 Economics / Rural Economics /Cooperation / Demography / Development Planning/ Development Studies / Econometrics/ Applied Economics/Development Eco./Business Economics CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
02 Political Science CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
03 Philosophy CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
04 Psychology CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
05 Sociology CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
06 History CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
07 Anthropology CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
08 Commerce CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
09 Education CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
10 Social Work CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
11 Defence and Strategic Studies CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
12 Home Science CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
14 Public Administration CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
15 Population Studies CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
16 Music CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
17 Management (including Business Administration Management/Marketing/ Marketing Management/Industrial Relations and Personnel Management / Personnel Management/Financial Management/Co-operative Management) CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
31 Linguistics CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
39 French (French Version) CLICK HERE CLICK HERE (FRENCH)
46 Adult Education/ Continuing Education/ Andragogy/ Non-Formal Education CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
47 Physical Education CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
49 Arab Culture and Islamic Studies CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
50 Indian Culture CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
55 Labour Welfare/Personnel Management/Industrial Relations/ Labour and Social Welfare/Human Resource Management CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
58 Law CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
59 Library and Information Science CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
60 Buddhist, Jain, Gandhian and Peace Studies CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
62 Comparative Study of Religions CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
63 Mass Communication and Journalism CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
65 Performing Art – Dance/Drama/Theatre CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
66 Museology & Conservation CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
67 Archaeology CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
68 Criminology CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
70 Tribal and Regional Language/Literature CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
71 Folk Literature CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
72 Comparative Literature CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
73 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) Β  CLICK HERE
74 Women Studies CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
79 Visual Art (including Drawing & Painting/Sculpture Graphics/Applied Art/History of Art) CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
80 Geography CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
81 Social Medicine & Community Health CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
82 Forensic Science CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
83 Pali CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
85 Konkani Β  CLICK HERE
87 Computer Science and Applications CLICK HERE Β 
88 Electronic Science CLICK HERE Β 
89 Environmental Sciences CLICK HERE Β 
90 Politics including International Relations/International Studies including Defence/Strategic Studies, West Asian Studies, South East Asian Studies, African Studies, South Asian Studies, Soviet Studies, American Studies. CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
91 Prakrit CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
92 Human Rights and Duties CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
93 Tourism Administration and Management CLICK HERE Β 
100 Yoga CLICK HERE CLICK HERE
101 Sindhi CLICK HERE (Arabic) CLICK HERE

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UGC NET Syllabus – PDFs in Regional LanguageΒ 

Subject Code Subjects UGC NET Paper-2 Syllabus – Regional Language
18 Maithili CLICK HERE
19 Bengali CLICK HERE
20 Hindi CLICK HERE
21 Kannada CLICK HERE
22 Malayalam CLICK HERE
23 Oriya CLICK HERE
24 Punjabi CLICK HERE
25 Sanskrit CLICK HERE
26 Tamil CLICK HERE
27 Telugu CLICK HERE
28 Urdu CLICK HERE
29 Arabic CLICK HERE
30 English CLICK HERE
32 Chinese CLICK HERE
33 Dogri CLICK HERE
34 Nepali CLICK HERE
35 Manipuri CLICK HERE
36 Assamese CLICK HERE
37 Gujarati CLICK HERE
38 Marathi CLICK HERE
40 Spanish CLICK HERE
41 Russian CLICK HERE (English)

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Click Here (Russian)

42 Persian CLICK HERE
43 Rajasthani CLICK HERE
44 German CLICK HERE
45 Japanese CLICK HERE
84 Kashmiri CLICK HERE
94 Bodo CLICK HERE
95 Santali CLICK HERE

UGC NET Exam Pattern

To determine the eligibility of candidates applying for Assistant Professor and Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) or Assistant Professor only posts, UGC NET December 2020 will be conducted in online mode.Β 

Candidates who register and apply for the UGC NET 2021 exam should go through the exam pattern thoroughly and practice well with the help of online mock tests before attempting the exam. Here are a few key points that they should keep in mind.

  1. UGC NET will be conducted in CBT modeΒ 
  2. The format of questions asked in the exam will be MCQ (multiple choice questions)
  3. All questions will have 4 options
  4. Candidates will be able to move between papers as NTA has not imposed any restriction to answer questions as per section numbers
  5. There is no negative marking in UGC NET exam
  6. The UGC NET exam will be conducted in 3 hours or 180 minutes –Β 
  • Forenoon (Shift 1) – 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon
  • Afternoon (Shift 2) – 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM
  • There will be no break time between Paper 1 and Paper 2

UGC NET – Section-wise Distribution of Questions

Apart from UGC NET syllabus, candidates must know about the details of the exam structure, how it will be conducted, distributions of questions and marks, etc. This will help the aspirants prepare strategically for the UGC NET exam.

NTA UGC NET 2021 Paper 1 Section-wise Distribution of Questions

Units UGC NET Paper 1 – Subjects Number of QuestionsΒ  Marks Allotted
Unit 1 Teaching Aptitude 5 10
Unit 2 Research Aptitude 5 10
Unit 3 Comprehension 5 10
Unit 4 Communication 5 10
Unit 5 Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude 5 10
Unit 6 Logical Reasoning 5 10
Unit 7 Data Interpretation 5 10
Unit 8 Information and Communication Technology (ICT) 5 10
Unit 9 People, Development and Environment 5 10
Unit 10 Higher Education System 5 10
Β  Total 50 100

NTA UGC NET 2021 Paper 2 Distribution of Questions

Paper 2 Type of Questions Number of QuestionsΒ  Marks Allotted per Question Total Marks
Selected Subject from the 81 Subjects Objective or Multiple-Choice Questions (MCQ) 100 2 200

UGC NET Syllabus – Recommended Books

Questions asked in the UGC NET examination are quite tough compared to other national level exams. To tackle this, candidates need to prepare well from the topics highlighted above to score well in the upcoming UGC NET exam.

To get a better grip on various UGC NET syllabus and subjects, candidates can find several expert-recommended books and online study resources in the tables below.

Books Publisher Author
NTA-UGC-NET (Paper-I) Exam Guide: with Previous Years’ (Solved) Papers Ramesh Publishing House Dr. M S Ansari & RPH Editorial Board
UGC NET/ SET Paper 1 McGraw Hill Education
CBSE UGC NET/SET/JRF – Paper 1: Teaching and Research Aptitude Pearson Education KVS Madaan
UGC NET/ JRF/ SLET General Paper-1 Teaching & Research Aptitude Arihant Publication Arihant Express
Trueman’s UGC NET/ SLET General Paper I Danika Publishing Company M. Gagan (Author), Sajit Kumar

UGC NET Syllabus – Previous Years’ Question Papers and Study Material

As an effective method of preparation, candidates must attempt various mock tests apart from following the UGC NET syllabus. Also, they should solve sample question papers to raise their chances of scoring well in the UGC NET exam 2021. Candidates will find a list of sample question papers in the below table with which they can prepare better for the upcoming UGC NET exam 2021.

UGC NET Solved Question Paper (2012 – 2019)

UGC NET Solved Question Paper 1 (2019) UGC NET Solved Question Paper 1 (December 2018) UGC NET Solved Question Paper 1 (July 2018)
UGC NET Solved Question Paper 1 (November 2017) UGC NET Solved Question Paper 1 (January 2017) UGC NET Solved Question Paper 1 (June 2016)
UGC NET Solved Question Paper 1 (August 2016) UGC NET Solved Question Paper 1 (December 2015) UGC NET Solved Question Paper 1 (June 2015)
UGC NET Solved Question Paper 1 (December 2014) UGC NET Solved Question Paper 1 (June 2014) UGC NET Solved Question Paper 1 (December 2013)
UGC NET Solved Question Paper 1 (June 2013) UGC NET Solved Question Paper 1 (December 2012) UGC NET Solved Question Paper 1 (June 2012)

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UGC NET Online Mock Test – CLICK HERE

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UGC NET Study Material – Click Here

UGC NET Syllabus – FAQs

How many questions will be asked in the UGC NET exam 2021?

A total of 150 questions will be asked in the UGC NET Paper 1 and 100 questions in the UGC NET Paper 2.

What are the different sections of UGC NET syllabus?

UGC NET exam consists of subjects divided into 10 units (paper 1). These include Teaching Aptitude, Research Aptitude, Comprehension, Communication, Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude, Logical Reasoning, Data Interpretation, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), People, Development and Environment, and Higher Education System.

For Paper 2, candidates require choosing any 1 subject amongst the 81 subjects highlighted in the article above.

Is there any negative marking scheme in the UGC NET exam?

No. There is no negative marking for any wrong or unattempted answer. Hence, candidates can attempt all the questions without worrying about negative marking.

Is it useful to solve sample papers or previous years' question papers?

UGC NET previous years' question papers, online mock tests and study materials help candidates to get a better idea about the types of questions asked in the exam and prepare well for it.

Will broad questions be asked in the UGC NET exam?

No. UGC NET exam includes only MCQ-type or multiple-choice questions.

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