CUCET (PG) 2026: Exam Pattern, Eligibility & Study Plan

CUET-PG (Common University Entrance Test — Postgraduate) is NTA's national-level entrance exam for admission to postgraduate programmes (MA, MSc, MCom, MBA, LLM, etc.) in central universities and other participating institutions across India. It covers over 90 universities including Delhi University (PG courses), Banaras Hindu University (PG courses), University of Allahabad, and many state universities. CUET-PG replaced individual university entrances for most central universities from 2023 onwards. The exam covers a wide range of disciplines — candidates choose one domain/paper based on their postgraduate programme. It is a single standardised gateway replacing dozens of individual university PG entrances.

CUET-PG consists of a single domain-specific paper of 100 multiple-choice questions to be answered in 2 hours (120 minutes). Each question carries 4 marks; 1 mark is deducted for each wrong answer. The exam is conducted online (CBT) in multiple sessions across India. There are over 80 domain-specific papers covering: Humanities (History, Political Science, Sociology, Economics, Psychology, etc.), Sciences (Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, Botany, Zoology, etc.), Commerce & Management (Accounting, Business Management, Economics), Law (LLM), and others. Candidates select the paper code matching their desired postgraduate programme. The exam is available in English and Hindi (and other regional languages for language papers).

CUET-PG scores are reported as percentiles. The cutoffs vary significantly by university and programme. For top central universities like DU, BHU, and University of Allahabad: a percentile above 85–90 (approximately 200+ out of 400) is needed for popular programmes like MBA, Economics (Hons), and Psychology. For less competitive programmes like Arts and Humanities, 70–80 percentile may suffice. CUET-PG is a relatively new exam — cutoffs are still being established. Since multiple universities use CUET-PG, candidates can apply to several universities with a single score through the centralized admission portal. The exam is typically held in June–July each year.