CUET Made Mandatory for PG Admissions Across State Universities

Admission to postgraduate programmes in state-run universities will now be routed through the Common University Entrance Test, Postgraduate, marking a shift from institution-level entrance exams to a single national assessment.

The state higher education department has decided that all government universities and their affiliated colleges will admit students to PG courses only through CUET-PG scores from the coming academic session. The move is aimed at bringing uniformity in admissions, removing multiple entrance tests, and offering students a single, standardised pathway to postgraduate education.

Under the new system, aspirants seeking admission to MA, MSc, MCom and other PG programmes will be required to appear for CUET-PG conducted by the National Testing Agency. Universities will prepare merit lists based on CUET scores and follow a common counselling process, while continuing to apply existing reservation norms and eligibility criteria.

Officials said the decision will help students by cutting down application costs and travel linked to multiple exams, while also ensuring greater transparency in seat allocation. Universities, on their part, are expected to focus more on academic delivery rather than conducting separate entrance tests.

The state already follows CUET for undergraduate admissions in several institutions. Extending the same framework to postgraduate courses is seen as the next step towards aligning state universities with the national admissions structure laid down under the Common University Entrance Test Postgraduate.

The higher education department has asked universities to update their admission guidelines and inform students well in advance, so that aspirants planning to apply for PG courses are clear about the revised requirement before the next admission cycle begins.