UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism 2024 Exam

UGC NET Notification 2023 Out : UGC NET December 2023 Notification was released on 30th September 2023 by the National Testing Agency (NTA). Every year, the National Testing Agency (NTA) conducts the UGC NET exam twice to determine eligibility for Assistant Professorships, Junior Research Fellowships, or both for Indian Universities and Colleges. The online application process for UGC NET 2023 has been extended and interested and eligible candidates can apply online before 31st October 2023 by 11:59 pm. The NTA UGC NET exam is conducted twice in June & December every year. Though there is a provision for conducting the UGC NET exam twice a year. A session of the UGC NET 2023 (December 2023) will be conducted by the National Eligibility Authority (NTA) for the recruitment of Assistant Professors and Junior Research Fellows (JRFs). Universities and Colleges.  

The online registration dates and other important dates for the UGC NET Dec 2023 exam have been announced along with UGC NET Notification 2023. The UGC NET Application Form 2023 filling process has been extended till 31st October 2023 at www.ugcnet.nta.nic.in. Check the important dates for UGC NET 2023 as mentioned below. 
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Age criteria that candidates need to have in order to be eligible for the exam is as follows:

• To apply for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) Candidates should not be aged more than 31 years as of June 01, 2022.
• For the role of Assistant Professor, there is no age bar to apply
• SC/ST/OBC/PwD and women candidates will be given a relaxation of five years. Candidates who have research experience will be given relaxation, limited to the period spent on research in the relevant subject of Post Graduation degree.

The candidates who are appearing for the UGC NET Exam for the post of Assistant professor only do not have to adhere to any upper limit pertaining to the age criteria.
 

The candidates applying for the UGC NET Exam 2022 for the post of JRF should not exceed the age of 31 years as of June 01, 2022. The candidates are also offered several relaxations based on the category they belong to. The candidates will not be eligible for the position if they cross the upper age limit set for the category they belong to.
 

Candidates need to obtain the below given educational qualification in order to be eligible for the UGC NET exam. Read them thoroughly before applying for the same:

• Candidates should secure at least 55% marks in master’s degree exam candidates belonging to Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Other Backward Class (OBC)/Persons with Disability (PwD)/Transgender category is given relaxation of 5%.
• Candidates should have a post-graduation degree from a UGC-recognized college or university in relevant streams such as Electronic Science, Humanities, Computer Science & Applications, Social Science etc.
• Candidates appearing or waiting for their final year results (master’s degree) are also eligible to apply online for UGC NET. However, such candidates will be accepted provisionally and will be considered eligible only when they pass their master’s exam with the required percentage. “Such candidates need to complete their PG degree examination within two years from the date of NET result with required percentage of marks, failing which they shall be treated as disqualified”, notifies the Official website.
• Those who hold PhD degree whose master’s exams completed on September 19, 1991, are eligible for a relaxation of five percent marks in the aggregate i.e. only 50 percent marks will be required for such candidates.
• Candidates who have qualified as CA or CS or ICWA can appear for the UGC NET exam.
• SC students are applicable for National Fellowship based on the merit of each UGC-NET-JRF or CSIR-NET-JRF examination.

A candidate should be an Indian national to be eligible for UGC NET Recruitment. He should have any of the following document to prove his nationality:

1. Birth Certificate
2. Aadhar Card
3. Pan Card
4. School Leaving Certificate

The candidates must go through the below mentioned steps to download the UGC NET Admit Card.

Step 1: Click the direct link above to download the UGC NET Admit Card 2022.

Step 2: Candidates are required to enter their Login ID, date of birth, and security pin correctly.

Step 3: Click on the login button provided.

Step 4: Your UGC NET Admit Card will appear on your screen.

Step 5: Alternatively, you can also visit the UGC NET Official Website.

Step 6: The homepage of UGC NET will appear.

Step 7: Click the link “Download UGC NET Admit Card 2022.”

Step 8: Repeat the steps above mentioned downloading the admit card.

Step 9: Download it and take a print out of your admit card.

Step 10: Keep it safe for future reference.

Paper-I Syllabus

The UGC NET exam paper shall consist of two sessions Paper-I and Paper-II. The paper-I of UGC NET shall be a general paper based on teaching and aptitude regarding research. It shall consist of 50 Objective Type questions. The paper 2 of UGC NET shall comprise of specialization or any particular subject selected by the candidate. It shall also consist of 100 questions of objective type. There shall be a total of 84 specialization subjects for the UGC NET paper 2.

UGC NET Paper-I ( A General Paper on the Teaching & Research Aptitude) is actually quite common but mandatory for all aspirants. Go through the complete UGC NET Paper-I Syllabus 2022 as mentioned below:

The UGC NET Syllabus is a must-have before beginning your preparation. You get to familiarise yourself with the subjects and units that the exam will cover. The detailed UGC NET Mass Communication and Journalism Syllabusis given below:

• Concept of Journalism and mass communication, mass communication in India.
• History, growth and development of print and electronic media. Major landmarks in print and electronic media in Indian languages. Media’s role in formulation of states of India.
• Media criticism and media literacy, Press Council and Press Commissions of India, status of journalism and media education in India. Media policies of the Government of India since Independence.
• Models and theories of mass communication, normative theories, administrative and critical traditions in communication, media and journalism studies, communication and theories of socio-cultural, educational and agricultural change. Technological determinism, critique of Marshall McLuhan’s views on media and communication and Marxist approaches. Information and knowledge societies.
• Indian traditions and approaches to communication from the Vedic era to the 21st century. Western and Eastern philosophical, ethical and aesthetic perceptions of communication - Aristotle and Plato, Hindu, Buddhist, and Islamic traditions.
• Media and culture - framework for understanding culture in a globalised world. Globalisation with respect to politico-economic & socio-cultural developments in India.

• Concept and definition of development communication, role of media and journalism in society, characteristics of Indian society – demographic and sociological impact of communication, media and journalism. Media and specific audiences.
• Development and social change. Issues and post-colonial conceptions.
• Deconstruction of the dominant paradigm of communication and development. Responses and critique of dominant models.
• Corporatisation of development - Corporate Social Responsibility, non-state actors in development, mass campaigns by NGOs, Government of India, international agencies and corporates. Paradigms and discourse of development communication.
• Emergence of global civil societies, public sphere, global communication system - nation state-universal, national communication policies.
• Leading influencers of social reform in India - Raja Rammohan Roy, Pandit Madanmohan Malviya, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, Mahatma Gandhi, Acharya Vinoba Bhave, Dr B. R. Ambedkar, Deendayal Upadhyay, Dr Ram Manohar Lohia etc.

• News-concepts, determinants (values), structure and perspectives. Reporting for print, radio, television and digital media. Types of reporting. National and international news agencies and feature syndicates, functions and role.
• Writing for print, electronic and digital news media. Translation and transcreation.
• Editing and presentation techniques for print, television and digital media.
• Journalism as profession, reportage of contemporary issues, ethics of reporting.
• Critique of western news values, effect of new technology on global communication flows.
• Niche Reporting.

• Definition, concept, functions, types, evolution of advertising, standards and ethics in advertising. Theories and models of communication in advertising.
• Brand management.
• Advertising management - agency-role, structure and function, client-agency relationship, media planning and budgeting.
• Advertising and creativity, language and translation.
• Advertising campaign and marketing.
• Advertising and marketing research.

• Public Relations and Corporate Communication - definition, concept and scope.
• Structure of PR in State, Public, Private and non-government sectors.
• Tools and techniques of PR and Corporate Communication.
• Crisis communication and crisis communication management.
• Ethics of Public Relations.
• International Public Relations, communication audit.

• Concept of law and ethics in India and rest of the world.
• The Constitution of India, historical evolution, relevance.
• Concept of freedom of speech and expression in Indian Constitution.
• Defamation, Libel, Slander-IPC 499-502, Sedition IPC 124(A), Contempt of Courts Act 1971, Official Secrets Act 1923, Press and Registration of Books Act 1867, Working Journalists and other Newspaper Employees (Conditions of Service) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1955, Wage Boards, Law of Obscenity (Section 292-294 of IPC); the Miller test, the Hicklin test, Indecent Representation of Women (Prohibition) Act 1986, Scheduled Castes and Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989, Parliamentary Privileges. Famous cases involving journalists and news media organisations.
• Right to Information Act 2005, Copyright Act 1957, Intellectual Property Rights, Cable Television Network (Regulation) Act 1995, Information Technology Act (relevant) 2000 and cyber laws, Cinematograph Act 1952, Film Censorship, Press Council Act as amended from time to time, IPR, ASCI, Drugs and Magic Remedies (Objectionable Advertisements) Act, 1954, Various regulatory bodies for print, TV, Advertising, PR, and Internet.
• Rules, regulations and guidelines for the media as recommended by Press Council of India, Information and Broadcasting ministry and other professional organisations, adversarial role of the media, human rights and media.

• Definition, concept of media management. Grammar of electronic media.
• Communication design theories and practice.
• Media production techniques – print and electronic.
• Digital media production techniques.
• Economics and commerce of mass media in India.
• Principles and management in media industry post liberalisation.

• ICT and media - definition, characteristics and role. Effect of computer mediated communication. Impact of ICT on mass media. Digitisation.
• Social networking.
• Economics and commerce of web enabled media.
• Mobile adaption and new generation telephony by media, ethics and new media.
• ICT in education and development in India, online media and e-governance.
• Animation - concepts and techniques.

• Film and television theory.
• Film and identity in Indian film studies, leading film directors of India before and after Independence. Indian cinema in the 21st century.
• Approaches to analysis of Indian television.
• Visual Communication. Visual analysis.
• Basics of film language and aesthetics, the dominant film paradigm, evolution of Indian cinema-commercial and ‘non-commercial’ genres, the Hindi film song, Indian aesthetics and poetics (the theory of Rasa and Dhvani).
• National cinema movements: Soviet Montage cinema, German Expressionistic cinema, Italian Neo-Realistic cinema, French New Wave cinema, British New Wave cinema, Indian New Wave cinema, Period cinema. Cinema in the new millennium.

• Definition, concept, constructs and approaches to communication research process.
• Research Designs - types, structure, components, classical, experimental and quasi experimental, variables and hypotheses; types and methods of research; basic, applied, descriptive, analytical, historical, case study, longitudinal studies.
• Research in journalism, Public Relations, advertising, cinema, animation and graphics, television, Internet, social media practices, magazines, children’s media. Communication, journalism and media research in India.
• Levels of measurement: sampling-probability and non-probability, tests of validity and reliability, scaling techniques. Methods and tools of data collection-interviews, surveys, case studies, obtrusive and non-obtrusive techniques, ethnography, schedule, questionnaire, dairy, and internet based tools, media specific methods such as exit polls, opinion polls, telephone, SMS surveys and voting with regard to GEC (general entertainment content).
• Data analysis, testing, interpretation, application of statistical tests-parametric and non- parametric, tests of variance-univariate, bivariate and multivariate, tests of significance, computer mediated research.
• Ethical considerations in communication, media and journalism research, writing research reports, plagiarism.

When you decide to take the test, the first thought that crosses your mind is how to study. The best way to start your exam preparation is to be familiar with the UGC NET exam pattern, scoring system, and so on.

• The UGC NET Paper - I will be common for everyone. This test consists of questions about comprehension, general aptitude, and awareness.
• UGC NET Paper-2 contains all of the questions about mass communication and journalism.

The mark distribution and the total number of questions for both papers are displayed in the table below.

Every candidate that has applied for the UGC NET exam will mandatorily have to sit for paper 1 which consists of a total of 10 sections. Candidates will have to attempt the questions and clear this paper in order to appear for the paper 2 which is the next stage in the UGC NET examinations.

• The questions will be objective type.
• Each question will carry 2 marks.
• Paper I will be for a duration of 1 hour.
• No negative marking for wrong answers in Paper I.

NTA in its latest notification on UGC NET Paper 2 exam has stated that this paper will depend on the subject that an individual chooses out of the 82 available subjects while filling out the UGC NET examination. Also the Candidates can only  appear in their Post-Graduation subject for Paper 2 of UGC NET exam In case, their subject of Post graduation is not included in the list of 82 subjects, they can choose a comparable subject.
However, for any subject, people choose, the exam pattern will be the same for all subjects. The candidates have to be very well read and through with their subjects as it will test their subject knowledge mainly. The paper will be objective type. Below is an overview of the NTA UGC NET paper pattern for the same.

• Each question will carry 2 marks.
• Paper-II will have a duration of 2 hours.
• No negative marking will be given for wrong answers in Paper-II.

The candidates will have to apply for the exam on the official website of NTA. The steps to be followed to apply online for the UGC NET Exam have been given below.
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Step 1: Visit the official website of UGC.

Step 2: UGC NET Application Form will be showcased on the screen. 

Step 3: Fill in all the required details ( personal and educational details) in the UGC application form carefully without any mistakes.

Step 4: Candidates can then proceed to upload the scanned photograph

Step 5: After the photograph has been attached a message consisting of the application number will be displayed on the screen.

Step 6: After that, the required fee must be paid

Step 7: Once the payment is done, you can take the printout of the Application form 2023 for future reference.

Note - Candidates are also requested to download and install the SANDES application as a secondary channel to receive time-to-time notifications from NTA.

It is really important to know about the UGC NET application fee which all candidates are required to pay for registering themselves for the examination. The detailed application fee for different categories is shown below in table-