UGC NET syllabus: the 10 Paper 1 units and 87 Paper 2 subjects

UGC NET has two papers. Paper 1 is common to every candidate. Paper 2 is the subject you choose. The official syllabi are published on the UGC NET syllabus page, and those PDFs are the version to work from.

What is the UGC NET Paper 1 syllabus?

Paper 1 has 50 questions for 100 marks, which is a third of your total. It has ten units:

1. Teaching Aptitude
2. Research Aptitude
3. Comprehension
4. Communication
5. Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude
6. Logical Reasoning
7. Data Interpretation
8. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
9. People, Development and Environment
10. Higher Education System

The Paper 1 English PDF on the UGC NET syllabus page lists the topics inside each unit.

Which subjects can I take in Paper 2?

There are 87 subjects in December 2026. The full list, with subject codes, is in Annexure II of the December 2026 Information Bulletin. They cover humanities, social sciences, languages, commerce, management, law, education and more.

Humanities and social sciences

Adult Education, Anthropology, Archaeology, Criminology, Defence and Strategic Studies, Economics, Education, Geography, History, Home Science, Human Rights and Duties, Indian Culture, Indian Knowledge System, Linguistics, Philosophy, Political Science, Politics including International Relations, Population Studies, Psychology, Public Administration, Social Work, Sociology, Women Studies and others.

Languages and literature

Arabic, Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Chinese, Comparative Literature, Dogri, English, Folk Literature, French, German, Gujarati, Hindi, Japanese, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Pali, Persian, Prakrit, Punjabi, Rajasthani, Russian, Sanskrit, Santali, Sindhi, Spanish, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, and Tribal and Regional Language/Literature.

Professional and applied subjects

Commerce, Computer Science and Applications, Electronic Science, Environmental Sciences, Forensic Science, Labour Welfare/HRM, Law, Library and Information Science, Management, Mass Communication and Journalism, Museology and Conservation, Physical Education, Social Medicine and Community Health, Tourism Administration and Management, Yoga, Disaster Management (code 104), Ayurveda Biology (105), Forestry (106) and Statistics (107).

Religion, culture and the arts

Arab Culture and Islamic Studies; Buddhist, Jaina, Gandhian and Peace Studies; Comparative Study of Religions; Hindu Studies; Music; Performing Art; Sanskrit traditional subjects; and Visual Art.

These groupings are ours, to make the list easier to scan. The bulletin lists subjects by code, not by group. Check the exact subject name and code in Annexure II before you apply.

How should I use the syllabus?

• Print the Paper 1 PDF. It is the same whatever your subject, so every hour on it counts towards a third of your marks.
• Get your Paper 2 PDF from the UGC NET syllabus page and tick off topics as you go.
• Remember the pattern. All 150 questions are compulsory MCQs with no negative marking, so breadth across the syllabus pays. See the exam pattern page.

The preparation strategy page turns this into a weekly plan for the time before 14 December.

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