The Indian nationals are eligible to apply for CSIR NET and UGC NET examinations in order to be considered for lectureships in colleges and Universities and to be eligible for JRF which is Junior Research Fellowship, that is awarded for the pursuit of Ph.D. programs.
Most of the candidates apply for both of these exams parallelly and prepare for them simultaneously. The UGC NET and CSIR NET exams are different from each other and must be understood before moving forward with the preparations.
There are various factors that are the grounds for differentiation between both exams. These factors can be learned from BYJUS exam prep.
Difference Between CSIR NET and UGC NET
Following are the differences between the CSIR NET and UGC NET-
- Exam Conducting Body
The bodies conducting both exams are different.
- CSIR NET: The exam conducting body for CSIR NET is the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research.
- UGC NET: The exam conducting body for UGC NET is the National Testing Agency.
- Subjects of Exam:
The subjects are of the great difference in both the exams. In UGC NET, there are 82 subjects, in nearly all the streams, other than the science stream. Whereas, in CSIR NET, there are 5 subjects-
- Life Science
- Earth Science
- Physical Science
- Chemical Science
- Mathematics
- The Pattern of Exams:
There is quite a difference between the pattern of exams conducted for UGC NET and CSIR NET. The UGC NET exam consists of two papers where paper 1 is of general aptitude where the questions are common for all the candidates and paper 2 consists of the subject specifically chosen by the candidates.
Whereas the CSIR NET exam consists of three papers where paper 1 consists of the general aptitude paper 2 is a subject-specific paper and paper 3 consists of the scientific concepts.
Take the reference of the exam pattern in the tabular form given below-
UGC NET Exam-
| Papers | Subjects | Marks | Questions |
| Paper 1 | General Awareness | 100 | 50 |
| Paper 2 | Optional Subject | 200 | 100 |
CSIR NET Exam-
| Papers | Subjects | Marks | Questions | Negative
Marking |
No. of Questions to be attempted |
| Paper 1 | General Aptitude | 30 | 20 | 0.5 | 15 |
| Paper 2 | Optional Subject | 70 | 25-50 | 0.5-0.875 | 20-35 |
| Paper 3 | Scientific Concepts | 100 | 30-75 | 1-1.32 | 20-25 |
- Mode of Exam:
The mode of conduct of exam is different in both. The CSIR NET Exam is conducted in an offline mode, which means the candidates have to carry their pen/pencil and other essential documents with them. Whereas, the UGC NET Exam is conducted on a computer-based test, popularly called the CBT. formerly, it was also conducted in offline mode.
- Eligibility Criteria of Exam:
Eligibility Criteria for CSIR NET-
- For the General Category, the candidate should have secured at least 55% marks without rounding off, whereas, the reserved categories candidates and PWD category candidates should have secured at least 50% marks without rounding off.
- The candidates who have appeared in the Master’s course or have just completed the Master’s course, and results are awaited, or have an equivalent degree are also eligible to apply for the test.
- The maximum age of JRF is 28 years.
- For women, SCs, STs, and PWDs, there is an age relaxation of up to 5 years. For OBCs, the age relaxation is 3 years.
- For the position of Assistant Professor, there is no age limit.
Eligibility Criteria for UGC NET-
- Students who have achieved 55% in a Master’s degree or equivalent from a government-recognized university are eligible to apply for UGC NET.
- The candidates who have appeared in the Master’s course or have just completed the Master’s course, and results are awaited, or have an equivalent degree are also eligible to apply for UGC NET.
- For JRF, the upper age limit is 30 years.
- Applicants with SC/ST/Women/Armed forces/LLM degrees are granted a relaxation of 5 years.
- There is no upper age limit for Assistant Professor Position.
