UGC NET exam pattern 2021 comprises of the marking scheme, type of questions, duration and other aspects of the exam. Candidates appearing for the UGC NET exam must make themselves familiar with its exam pattern in order to understand the overall structure of the exam. The exam will be conducted in computer-based mode where the candidates will be allotted a computer system to mark the answers of the questions displayed on their screen. Candidates will be given one hour to complete paper-I and two hours to finish paper-II. For effective preparation, candidates should go through the syllabus prescribed by the authority.
UGC NET Exam Pattern 2021
The National Testing Agency (NTA) will be conducted UGC NET examination at the 91 selected cities spread across the country. Candidates can appear for any one of the 84 subjects for which the exam will be held. The exam will be organized twice a year. Candidates can check the exam pattern and related aspects from this post. The UGC NET exam pattern is composed of the following features-
- Exam mode: The exam will be online one and only be conducted in computer-based mode. Here candidates will be allocated a computer system to mark the answers.
- Duration: For paper-I, candidates will be given a total of 1 hour to finish the exam followed by a break of 30 minutes. After that paper-II will begin which will be of 2 hours.
- Type of questions: There will be objective type questions asked in the exam.
- Marking scheme: For each correct answer, candidates will be given 2 marks.
- Exam shift: The exam will be conducted in two shifts for both the papers.
- Total number of paper: There will be a total of 2 papers held in the exam i.e. Paper-I and Paper-II. Paper-I will be common to all and will assess the teaching/research aptitude of the candidates. Whereas, Paper-II will be subject-specific paper i.e. the subject chosen by the candidates at the time of filling the application form.
- Negative marking: There will be no provision for negative marking i.e. no marks will be deducted if case the candidates choose the incorrect answer. Therefore, they should try to attempt all the questions if possible.
| Paper | Maximum marks | Number of questions | Duration |
| I (common to all) | 100 | 50 | 1 hour |
| II (subject-specific) | 200 | 100 | 2 hours |
| Total | 300 | 150 | 3 hours |
What is online mode?
Online mode corresponds to the computer-based mode in which the candidates are allotted a computer system. They are instructed to login into their system using the credentials written on the admit card. A timer starts showing on the screen stating the time left for commencement of the exam. Once the timer stops, a window with important instruction pops up and candidates are advised to read them before they begin the test. On the instruction of the invigilator, candidates are then told to begin their test. Since the exam is MCQ based, candidates are provided with four choices against a question and they have to select the one that they think is appropriate. In this way, the questions are to be answered and as soon as the exam time is over, the window automatically gets closed.
Exam schedule
The exam will be conducted in two shifts for each paper i.e. paper-I and paper-II. The shift timings for the exam are as follows-
| Paper | Shift | Timing |
| Paper-I | First | 9:30 am to 10:30 am |
| Second | 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm | |
| Paper-II | First | 11:00 am to 1:00 pm |
| Second | 3:30 pm to 5:30 pm |
Exam cities
Candidates while filling the application form have to enter their preference for exam centers. They have to select four choices among the options given for the exam center where they wish to appear for the exam. Here they should note that it is not necessary that the exam center filled by them will be allotted to them. Due to administrative issues, the allotment of the exam center might vary. Here are the cities where the exam will be conducted-
Andaman & Nicobar Islands: Port Blair (AN01)
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Andhra Pradesh: Anantapur (AP01), Bapatla (AP02), Bheemavaram (AP03), Chirala (AP04), Chittoor (AP05), Eluru (AP06), Guntur (AP07), Kadapa (AP08), Kakinada (AP09), Kurnool (AP10), Nellore (AP11), Ongole (AP12), Rajahmundry (AP13), Srikakulam (AP14), Tadepalligudem (AP15), Tirupathi (AP16), Vijayawada (AP17), Visakhapatnam (AP18), Vizianagaram (AP19)
Arunachal Pradesh: Itanagar (AL01), Naharlagun (AL02).
Assam: Dibrugarh (AM01), Guwahati (AM02), Jorhat (AM03), Silchar (Assam) (AM04), Tezpur (AM05).
Bihar: Aurangabad (BR01), Bhagalpur (BR02), Bihar Sharif (BR03), Darbhanga (BR04), Gaya (BR05), Muzaffarpur (BR06), Patna (BR07), Purnia (BR08).
Chandigarh: Chandigarh (CH01).
Chhattisgarh: Bhilai/Durg (CG01), Bilaspur (CG02), Raipur (CG03).
Dadra and Nagar Haveli: Dadra and Nagar Haveli (DN01).
Daman and Diu: Daman (DD01)
Delhi/New Delhi: Delhi (DL01).
Goa: Panaji/Madgaon (GO01).
Gujarat: Ahmedabad (GJ01), Anand (GJ02), Bhavnagar (GJ03), Gandhinagar (GJ04), Godhra (GJ05), Jamnagar (GJ06), Junagadh (GJ07), Mehsana (GJ08), Patan (GJ09), Rajkot (GJ10), Surat (GJ11), Vadodara (GJ12), Valsad (GJ13).
Haryana: Ambala (HR01), Bahadurgarh (HR02), Faridabad (HR03), Gurugram (HR04), Hissar (HR05), Karnal HR06, Kurukshetra (HR07), Panipat (HR08), Sonepat/Murthal (HR09).
Himachal Pradesh: Bilaspur (HP01), Dharamshala (HP02), Hamirpur (HP03), Kangra (HP04), Palampur (HP05), Shimla (HP06), Solan (HP07).
Jammu and Kashmir: Baramulla (JK01), Jammu (JK02), Samba (JK03), Srinagar (J & K) (JK04).
Jharkhand: Bokaro (JH01), Dhanbad (JH02), Jamshedpur (JH03), Ranchi (JH04).
Karnataka: Bagalkot (KK01), Belgaum (KK02), Bellary (KK03), Bengaluru (KK04), Bidar (KK05), Davangere (KK06), Dharwad (KK07), Gulbarga (KK08), Hassan (KK09), Hubli (KK10), Kolar (KK11), Mangaluru (KK12), Manipal (KK13), Mysuru (KK14), Shivamogga (KK15), Tumakuru (KK16), Udupi (KK17).
Kerala: Alappuzha (KL01), Angamaly (KL02), Chenganur (KL03), Ernakulam/Kochi (KL04), Idukki (KL05), Kanjirappally (KL06), Kannur (KL07), Kasaragod (KL08), Kollam (KL09), Kothamangalam (KL10), Kottayam (KL11), Kozhikode( KL12), Malappuram (KL13), Moovattupuzha (KL14), Palakkad (KL15), Pathanamthitta (KL16), Thiruvananthapuram (KL17), Thrissur (KL18).
Lakshadweep: Kavaratti (LD01).
Madhya Pradesh: Balaghat (MP01), Betul (MP02), Bhopal (MP03), Chhatarpur (MP04), Chhindwara (MP05), Gwalior (MP06), Indore (MP07), Jabalpur (MP08), Khargone (MP09), Mandsaur (MP10), Rewa (MP11), Sagar (MP12), Satna (MP13), Shahdol (MP14), Ujjain (MP15), Vidisha (MP16).
Maharashtra: Ahmednagar (MR01), Akola (MR02), Amravati (MR03), Aurangabad (Maharashtra) (MR04), Beed (MR05), Bhandara (MR06), Bhusawal (MR07), Buldhana (MR08), Chandrapur (MR09), Dhule (MR10), Gadchiroli (MR11), Gondia (MR12), Jalgaon (MR13), Kolhapur (MR14), Latur (MR15), Mumbai/Mumbai Suburban (MR16), Nagpur (MR17), Nanded (MR18), Nasik (MR19), Navi Mumbai (MR20), Parbhani (MR21), Pune (MR22), Raigad (MR23), Ratnagiri (MR24), Sangli (MR25), Satara (MR26), Solapur (MR27), Thane (MR28), Wardha (MR29), Washim (MR30), Yavatmal (MR3).
Meghalaya: Shillong (MG01).
Manipur: Imphal (MN01).
Mizoram: Aizawl (MZ01).
Nagaland: Dimapur (NL01), Kohima (NL02).
Odisha: Angul (OR01), Balasore (OR02), Behrampur (Ganjam) (OR03), Bhubaneshwar (OR04), Cuttack (OR05), Dhenkanal (OR06), Jeypore (OR07), Rourkela (OR08), Sambalpur (OR09).
Puducherry: Puducherry (PO01).
Punjab: Amritsar (PB01), Bhatinda (PB02), Fatehgarh Sahib (PB03), Jalandhar (PB04), Ludhiana (PB05), Mohali (PB06), Pathankot (PB07), Patiala (PB08), Phagwara (PB09), Ropar (PB10), Sangrur (PB11).
Rajasthan: Ajmer (RJ01), Alwar (RJ02), Bharatpur (RJ03), Bhilwara (RJ04), Bikaner (RJ05), Jaipur (RJ06), Jodhpur (RJ07), Kota (RJ08), Sikar (RJ09), Sriganganagar (RJ10), Udaipur (RJ11).
Sikkim: Gangtok (SM01).
Tamil Nadu: Chennai (TN01), Coimbatore (TN02), Cuddalore (TN03), Dindigul (TN04), Kanchipuram (TN05), Kanyakumari (TN06), Karur (TN07), Madurai (TN08), Nagarcoil (TN09), Namakkal (TN10), Salem (TN11), Thanjavur (TN12), Thoothukudi (TN13), Tiruchirappalli (TN14), Tirunelveli (TN15), Tiruvallur (TN16), Tiruvannamalai (TN17), Vellore (TN18), Viluppuram (TN19), Virudhunagar (TN20).
Telangana: Hyderabad (TL01), Karimnagar (TL02), Khammam (TL03), Mahbubnagar (TL04), Nalgonda (TL05), Ranga Reddy (TL06), Warangal (TL07).
Tripura: Agartala (TA01)
Uttar Pradesh: Agra (UP01), Aligarh (UP02), Allahabad (UP03), Bareilly (UP04), Bulandshahr (UP05), Faizabad (UP06), Ghaziabad (UP07), Gorakhpur (UP08), Greater Noida/Noida (UP09), Jhansi (UP10), Kanpur (UP11), Lucknow (UP12), Mathura (UP13), Meerut (UP14), Moradabad (UP15), Muzaffarnagar (UP16), Sitapur (UP17), Varanasi (UP18).
Uttarakhand: Dehradun (UK01), Haldwani (UK02), Haridwar (UK03), Nainital (UK04), Pantnagar (UK05), Roorkee (UK06).
West Bengal: Asansol (WB01), Burdwan (WB02), Darjeeling (WB03), Durgapur (WB04), Haldia (WB05), Hooghly (WB06), Howrah (WB07), Kalyani (WB08), Kharagpur (WB09), Kolkata (WB10), Siliguri (WB11).
