PhD After Four-Year Degree Courses - 5 Points You Should Know
University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Mamidala Jagadesh today announced that the four-year degree students will be allowed to pursue PhD right after their graduation after clearing their UGC-NET examination. The National Testing Agency (NTA) opened the application window of UGC NET yesterday for the June 2024 session. Earlier, students with masters or post graduate degrees were allowed to appear for the University Grants Commission (UGC)-National Eligibility Test (NET) which is being held as an eligibility test for PhD admission.
NTA Starts UGC-NET June 2024 Session Registration, Exam To Be Held On June 16, 2024
PhD After Four-Year Degree Courses With UGC NET – 5 Points You Should Know
- Mr Kumar announced that candidates with four-year undergraduate degrees can now directly pursue PhD and appear for the NET. They are permitted to choose their PhD subject regardless of their undergraduate discipline.
- According to Kumar, candidates with four-year bachelor”s degrees must have achieved a minimum aggregate of 75% marks or equivalent grade on a point scale, with a relaxation of five percent for certain categories like SC, ST, OBC (non-creamy layer), differently-abled, economically weaker sections, and others as per UGC decisions.
- Previously, to be eligible for NET, candidates needed a master”s degree with at least 55% marks. However, now students with four-year undergraduate degrees can directly appear for NET and pursue PhD.
- To pursue a PhD, either with or without a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), candidates must meet the minimum requirement of 75% marks or equivalent grades in their four-year undergraduate course.
- These changes aim to expand opportunities for candidates with four-year undergraduate degrees, streamlining the process for pursuing advanced studies and research in various disciplines.
“The candidates with a Four-Year Bachelor’s Degree Programme are allowed to appear in a subject in which they want to pursue a Ph.D. irrespective of the discipline in which they have obtained the four-year bachelor’s degree,” Mr Kumar had said in a tweet last week.
