UGC NET JRF 2026 — Complete Syllabus & NPTEL Guide

National Eligibility TestUGC NET 2026 (June & Dec)Paper I & Paper II

Complete UGC NET JRF 2026 Preparation Hub (Paper 1 + Paper 2)

Comprehensive syllabus coverage for UGC NET 2026 across both Paper I (General Teaching & Research Aptitude) and Paper II (Computer Science & Applications). Paper I units link to Kumar Bharat's YouTube Foundation Courses (best free resource for Paper 1). Paper II units link to NPTEL / SWAYAM video courses from top IITs.

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UGC NET 2026 Official Examination & Information Portals

Direct access to NTA 2026 examination portal, UGC official circulars, and authoritative syllabus downloads for Paper 1 & Paper 2.

Paper 1UGC NET JRF

Paper I - Unit 1: Teaching Aptitude

Teaching methods, offline vs online methods (SWAYAM, SWAYAMPRABHA, MOOCs), Choice Based Credit System (CBCS), and Computer Based Testing (CBT).

Key Syllabus Topics

Concepts, Objectives, Levels of Teaching (Memory, Understanding, Reflective), Learner Characteristics, Factors Affecting Teaching, Support Systems, Evaluation Systems.

Paper 1UGC NET JRF

Paper I - Unit 2: Research Aptitude

Formulating research problems, hypotheses, sampling techniques, APA/MLA referencing, plagiarism, and application of ICT tools in data collection.

Key Syllabus Topics

Meaning, Types & Characteristics of Research, Positivism & Post-positivistic approach, Experimental/Descriptive/Qualitative Methods, Thesis Writing, ICT in Research, Ethics.

Paper 1UGC NET JRF

Paper I - Unit 3: Comprehension

Techniques for rapid reading, extracting central arguments, answering fact-based and inference-based comprehension questions.

Key Syllabus Topics

Reading Comprehension Passages, Analytical Questions, Contextual Vocabulary, Critical Passage Inference.

Paper 1UGC NET JRF

Paper I - Unit 4: Communication

Effective interpersonal and intercultural communication, overcoming psychological/physical barriers, and media impact.

Key Syllabus Topics

Meaning, Types & Characteristics of Communication, Verbal & Non-verbal, Classroom Communication, Barriers to Communication, Mass-Media & Society.

Paper 1UGC NET JRF

Paper I - Unit 5: Mathematical Reasoning & Aptitude

Shortcuts for speed math, quantitative problem solving, seating arrangement, blood relations, and distance-speed problems.

Key Syllabus Topics

Types of Reasoning, Number Series, Code-Decoding, Relationships, Fractions, Time & Distance, Ratio, Percentage, Profit & Loss, Simple/Compound Interest, Averages.

Paper 1UGC NET JRF

Paper I - Unit 6: Logical Reasoning

Categorical propositions, formal and informal fallacies, classical square of opposition, and Indian Epistemology.

Key Syllabus Topics

Structure of Arguments, Deductive & Inductive Reasoning, Venn Diagrams, Indian Logic (Pramanas: Pratyaksha, Anumana, Upamana, Shabda, Arthapatti, Anupalabdhi), Hetvabhasa.

Paper 1UGC NET JRF

Paper I - Unit 7: Data Interpretation (DI)

Calculations based on data sets, percentage growth, ratio comparisons, data visualization analysis, and tabular interpretation.

Key Syllabus Topics

Sources & Classification of Data, Bar-Charts, Histograms, Pie-Charts, Table-Charts, Line-Charts, Data & Governance.

Paper 1UGC NET JRF

Paper I - Unit 8: Information & Communication Technology (ICT)

Computer memory (RAM/ROM), IP/MAC addresses, malware/phishing threats, digital initiatives (SWAYAM, e-PG Pathshala, National Digital Library), and e-governance.

Key Syllabus Topics

ICT Terminology & Abbreviations, Basics of Internet/Intranet, E-mail, Audio/Video Conferencing, Digital Initiatives in Higher Education, ICT & Governance.

Paper 1UGC NET JRF

Paper I - Unit 9: People, Development & Environment

Air, water, noise pollution, renewable energy sources (Solar, Wind, Hydro), Paris Agreement, Montreal Protocol, and Rio Summit.

Key Syllabus Topics

Millennium & Sustainable Development Goals (MDGs & SDGs), Human-Environment Interaction, Environmental Pollution, Climate Change, Natural Disasters, Environmental Protection Act.

Paper 1UGC NET JRF

Paper I - Unit 10: Higher Education System

UGC, AICTE, NAAC accreditation, NIRF rankings, National Education Policy (NEP 2020), and higher education governance framework.

Key Syllabus Topics

Institutions of Higher Learning in Ancient India (Takshashila, Nalanda), Post-Independence Evolution, Value & Environmental Education, Policies, Governance & Administration.

Paper 2UGC NET JRF

Paper II - Unit 1: Discrete Structures & Optimization

Foundational logic, counting principles, posets, lattices, Boolean algebra, graph coloring, and simplex method optimization.

Key Syllabus Topics

Mathematical Logic, Sets, Relations, Functions, Group Theory, Graph Theory, Optimization & Linear Programming.

Paper 2UGC NET JRF

Paper II - Unit 2: Computer System Architecture

K-map minimization, instruction cycle, memory hierarchy, cache mapping, hazard handling, and multiprocessors.

Key Syllabus Topics

Digital Logic Circuits, Data Representation, Register Transfer, Microoperations, Pipeline & Vector Processing.

Paper 2UGC NET JRF

Paper II - Unit 3: Programming Languages & Computer Graphics

Grammars, storage management, parameter passing, graphics pipelines, Bresenham's algorithms, and 3D projections.

Key Syllabus Topics

Language Design, OOP (C++, Java), Web Programming, 2D/3D Transformations, Rendering & Clipping.

Paper 2UGC NET JRF

Paper II - Unit 4: Database Management Systems

Functional dependencies, 1NF to 5NF, B/B+ trees, serializability, 2PL, deadlock handling, and NoSQL concepts.

Key Syllabus Topics

ER Model, Relational Algebra, SQL, Normalization, Transaction & Concurrency Control, NoSQL Databases.

Paper 2UGC NET JRF

Paper II - Unit 5: System Software & Operating Systems

Process synchronization, semaphores, Banker's algorithm, paging/segmentation, page replacement, and shell scripts.

Key Syllabus Topics

Process Management, Deadlocks, Memory Management, File Systems, Unix/Linux Commands & Virtualization.

Paper 2UGC NET JRF

Paper II - Unit 6: Software Engineering

Waterfall, Spiral, Agile Scrum, SRS, COCOMO model, Cyclomatic complexity, black/white box testing, and DevOps CI/CD.

Key Syllabus Topics

Software Process Models, Requirements Engineering, Software Design, Testing & Quality Assurance, Agile & DevOps.

Paper 2UGC NET JRF

Paper II - Unit 7: Data Structures & Algorithms

Time/space complexity analysis, BSTs, AVL, Heaps, Dijkstra, Floyd-Warshall, Kruskal, Prim, and NP-hard reductions.

Key Syllabus Topics

Arrays, Trees, Graphs, Sorting & Searching, Asymptotic Notation, Greedy, Dynamic Programming, NP-Completeness.

Paper 2UGC NET JRF

Paper II - Unit 8: Theory of Computation & Compilers

DFA/NFA, Pumping Lemma, PDA, Turing Machine halting problem, LL(1), LR parsing, syntax-directed translation, and DAG.

Key Syllabus Topics

Regular Expressions, Finite Automata, Context-Free Grammars, Turing Machines, Lexical Analysis, Parsing & Code Generation.

Paper 2UGC NET JRF

Paper II - Unit 9: Data Communication & Networks

Framing, error control, distance vector/link state routing, subnetting, CIDR, TCP congestion control, RSA, and firewalls.

Key Syllabus Topics

OSI & TCP/IP Reference Models, Routing Algorithms, IP Addressing (IPv4/IPv6), Network Security & Cryptography.

Paper 2UGC NET JRF

Paper II - Unit 10: Artificial Intelligence (AI)

A* search, alpha-beta pruning, propositional/predicate logic, membership functions, perceptrons, backpropagation, and NLP POS tagging.

Key Syllabus Topics

Search Strategies, Knowledge Representation, Fuzzy Logic, Artificial Neural Networks, Natural Language Processing.

PYQ & Mock Tests

Practice with previous year papers and free mock tests to boost your exam readiness.