In a major change in admissions for PhD programmes, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has announced students with four-year undergraduate degrees can now directly appear for NET and pursue PhD.

Chairman of the UGC Jagadesh Kumar said , “ To pursue a PhD with or without a Junior Research Fellowship (JRF), the candidates will require a minimum of 75 per cent marks or equivalent grades in their four-year undergraduate course.”

At present a candidate for the National Eligibility Test (NET) needed a master’s degree with a minimum of 55 per cent marks for pursuing a PhD.

“The candidates with four-year undergraduate degrees can now directly pursue PhD and appear for NET;  such candidates will be allowed to appear in a subject in which they want to pursue a PhD, irrespective of the discipline in which they have obtained the four-year bachelor’s degree,” Kumar said .

“The candidates having passed a four-year or eight-semester bachelor’s degree programme should have a minimum of 75 per cent marks in aggregate or its equivalent grade on a point scale wherever the grading system is followed,” the UGC chairman added.

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