North Eastern Hill University (NEHU)

Overview

North Eastern Hill University (NEHU) is a prominent Central University with multiple locations in Meghalaya. Established in 1973, it functioned as a notable higher education hub for multiple colleges in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, and Mizoram. With 53 colleges affiliated to the University, it has grown rapidly in the 50+ years since its establishment to become one of the biggest Universities in the North East.

NEHU has an active Career and Counseling Cell, which coordinates with students and Faculty members of all Departments to ensure strong placements. The results are impressive: for example, in the most recent completed placement season, the highest CTC offered was INR 10.8 LPA, and blue chip recruiters such as Dalmia Cement Bharat, Intellipaat, Santacruz Telemarketing Services, LearnHill Technologies, and Corizo Edutech participated in the internship and full time job hiring process. The Career and Counseling Cell also carries out an extensive training program to equip students with all the tools needed to perform well in the group discussion and personal interview process.

With campus locations both in the capital city of Shillong and Tura, NEHU provides its students with world class sports, academic, and cultural facilities. There are multiple categories of events organized by the students and staff of the University, including information sessions with international University speakers, international conferences, Yoga Day celebrations, sports meets, cultural performances, and talks organized by the Entrepreneurship Development Center. Every event reflects the unique cultural background of the North East, and students from all parts of India come together for academic and research excellence.

North Eastern Hill University Highlights

North Eastern Hill University Fees

The academic fees for students of North Eastern Hill University have multiple components e.g. tuition fees, examination charges, registration fees, and caution deposits. The largest components are tuition fees and development charges, which vary widely across Departments and programs. Some values are:

• MBA: INR 30,000 (development fee; sponsored) one time + INR 30,000 (tuition fee) per semester.
• MTech: INR 9,600 (one time development fee) + INR 6,000 (tuition fee per semester).
• BTech and BArch: INR 7,200 (one time development fee) + INR 18,000 (tuition fee per semester).
• BA + LLB: INR 7,200 (one time development fee) + INR 3,600 (tuition fee per semester).
• MCA: INR 3,600 (one time development fee) + INR 7,200 (tuition fee per semester).

There are 10+ other components of the academic fee, including the examination fee (INR 800 per paper), medical fee (INR 180 per year), admission fee (INR 180; one time), and Students’ Aid Fund (INR 180 per year).

The living costs for students who stay on the NEHU campus have two major components: hostel rent and mess fees:

• Hostel fees: INR 300 per month.
• Hostel caution deposit: INR 1,500. This is a one time fee, and is refundable when the student leaves the hostel provided that no harm is caused to hostel property.
• Mess deposit: INR 2,000. This is adjusted every semester based on the actual mess bills incurred.
• Miscellaneous fees (electricity and water charges): INR 600 per year.

North Eastern Hill University Admissions

The eligibility criteria for admission to North Eastern Hill University, are as follows:

• PG programs:
  • Applicants must have a Bachelor’s degree of minimum 3 years’ duration in a discipline that is related to that of the program to which the student is applying. The list of allowed programs is given in the NEHU PG prospectus.
  • Students in the final year of their UG degree are also allowed to apply, but they must submit the final degree certificate and academic transcripts before joining the program at NEHU.
  • If the UG degree is directly related to the PG program, the cut-off is 50% across all semesters of undergraduate study, and this is relaxed to 45% for reserved category candidates. However, if the UG degree is indirectly related, the cut-off is higher. For example, applicants to the MA Education program who hold a BEd degree must have a UG aggregate above 55%.
• UG programs:
  • Students must hold a valid Standard XII Examination Pass Certificate from any recognized Board of Higher Secondary Education in India or abroad. Students in the final year of their 10+2 studies are also allowed to apply.
  • (For BA + LLB) The cut-off in the best 4 subjects in the Board Examination must exceed 50%, or 45% for reserved category candidates.
  • (For BTech and BArch) The cut-off in the best 4 subjects in the Board Examination (compulsorily including Physics and Mathematics) must exceed 45%, or 40% for reserved category candidates.
  • Applicants must appear for different entrance examinations depending on the program. BA + LLB aspirants must submit CUET UG scores. BTech aspirants require JEE Main scores. BArch applicants must submit NATA scores.
  • BTech (Lateral Entry) applicants must have an aggregate of 60% in their diploma or BSc program.

Students who wish to apply to North Eastern Hill University must follow these steps:

• Creating an account on the application portal of NEHU (based on the Samarth CUET website).
• Submitting personal, academic, and contact information. The student must take care to enter accurate data; any error can lead to cancellation of the application.
• Uploading soft copies of documents required to substantiate the information entered, including identity documents, caste certificates (if required), academic certificates, degree transcripts, CUET/JEE/NATA test scores, and details of extracurricular achievements (if needed for entry via the sports quota).
• Participating in additional steps required for selection. This varies from program to program. For example, MBA aspirants are selected based on the CUET or MAT score (80% weightage), Group Discussion (10%) and Personal Interview performance (10%).
• The final merit list for each program is released based on the score after all criteria are taken into account.
• Students must accept their admit offer by paying the first installment of the semester fees and completing the academic registration process.

North Eastern Hill University Placements

As one of the top Universities in India, the placement highlights of North Eastern Hill University are as follows: 

• The highest CTC offered during the most recent placement season was by GLA University to a graduate of the BTech in IT program: INR 10.8 LPA (INR 90,000 per month).
• Prominent recruiters included Dalmia Cement Bharat, Intellipaat, Santacruz Telemarketing Services, LearnHill Technologies, Regional Resource Center for the North East, and Corizo Edutech.
• Interviews for full time job positions typically happen late in the placement season, between April and August every year.
• The Career and Counseling Cell has multiple functions: inviting prominent companies to hire students for full time roles, coordinating with the same companies for live projects and internships, and training students in soft skills and core knowledge to perform well in the aptitude tests and interviews.
• The ECE and IT departments have the most lucrative placements, on average, for their BTech students.
• The Career and Counseling Cell also maintains an online portal with details of all the jobs floated and their due application dates. This allows students to read the job descriptions and understand the eligibility and selection criteria before applying.

North Eastern Hill University Cut-Offs

North Eastern Hill University does not decide CUET UG or PG cut-offs before the seat allocation procedure begins every year. The cut-off is only computed at the end of the counseling process, after each seat is accepted by a qualified candidate after multiple rounds of. However, there are cut-offs based on the percentage in the qualifying examination. Most UG degree aspirants will need 50% in their Standard XII Board Examination, with BTech and BArch programs mandating 45% or higher. Similarly, most Master’s degree applicants need a UG aggregate of 50%, but some programs (e.g. MA in Education) require at least 55% across all UG semesters. All qualifying examination cut-offs are relaxed by 5% for reserved category applicants.

North Eastern Hill University Faculty & Alumni

North Eastern Hill University is home to 269 full time Faculty members. Of these, 90 (33%) are Assistant Professors, 50 (19%) are Associate Professors, and the remaining 129 (48%) are full Professors. Most Faculty members (253 out of 269, or 94%) hold PhD degrees, with the others holding highly specialized degrees in their field of study (e.g. Master in Design). The Professors of the University are highly experienced, with two Faculty members having more than 35 years of experience in industry and academia combined.

The Alumni Association of North Eastern Hill University allows graduates of NEHU to find other graduates of the University living in their geographic area. It maintains an online directory of all alumni so that batchmates can connect with each other, it gives access to an alumni database sorted by interests and professional skills, and it allows creation of alumni profiles. It also provides current students of the University with multiple value-adding services, including alumni mentors, career opportunities, and alumni donations to the Students’ Aid Fund.

North Eastern Hill University Scholarships

As in other top Universities in India, there are multiple financial aid options available to students of North Eastern Hill University. The main scholarship schemes are:

1. Central Government Scholarships: The National Scholarship Portal allows students of NEHU to apply directly to various Central Government financial aid schemes. This can be done primarily online, and each student is given a unique scholarship ID based on his/her Aadhaar number, to apply to multiple funding opportunities with one validated profile.

2. Indus Towers Scholarship Program: This is a prominent CSR initiative launched in 2016 to expand access to higher education for underprivileged students in North East India. Selected students living with various disabilities will be offered 100% tuition fee scholarships paid directly to NEHU. Academically gifted and financially needy students within this cohort may receive additional aid to cover the cost of study materials and textbooks.

3. National Fellowship for Higher Education of ST students: The Ministry of Tribal Affairs of the Indian Government offers this scholarship to 750 deserving MPhil and PhD students in Central Universities. The deadline is on 31 August every year, and successful candidates are awarded a tuition fee waiver and a living stipend.

4. Students’ Aid Fund: This corpus, which is contributed to by all students of the University, aims to provide financial aid to needy students. Its amount can vary to cover tuition fees, examination charges, textbook fees, and living expenses. Each case is evaluated by a Special Committee, which can decide the amount and type of financial aid (one time scholarship or interest free loan).

A total of 2,892 students receive 100% tuition fee waivers from various Central and State Government scholarship schemes. 

North Eastern Hill University Preparation & FAQs

Even though some programs (e.g. BTech) allow students with JEE Main scores to apply, the vast majority of courses offered by North Eastern Hill University require CUET scores. Students who wish to apply to NEHU for PG programs must familiarize themselves with the CUET PG Test pattern, and UG applicants must go through the NEHU UG entrance test pattern in detail. After this, they should work out at least 5 mock tests and sample papers in their papers of interest, and make sure that the score is well above the indicative cut-offs released informally for previous years. Attending online classes to improve exam-taking skills in weak areas is also recommended.

North Eastern Hill University Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Q. Which is the top University in India?

North Eastern Hill University is one of the best Universities in India. It is ranked #18 among the best Central Universities in India, according to the IIRF 2024 ranking list.

Q. What are the application fees to North Eastern Hill University?

The application fees to North Eastern Hill University vary according to the level of the program to which the student is applying (undergraduate, postgraduate, or PhD). The majority of students apply via CUET PG (INR 1,200 for two subjects) or CUET UG (INR 1,000 application fee). However, students can also apply for certain courses (e.g. BTech) with JEE Main scores, which have different application fees.

Q. What is the cut-off for PhD programs offered by North Eastern Hill University?

PhD applicants to NEHU must have an aggregate of 55% or higher in the relevant Master’s degree. This is relaxed to 50% for SC and ST candidates. Applicants who have a valid GATE or NET score will have an advantage during the selection process, but there is no cut-off defined before the process begins.

Q. What are the expected dates of CUET 2025?

CUET UG 2025 is expected to be held over the third and fourth weeks of May 2025. CUET PG 2025 is expected to be held over the second, third and fourth weeks of March 2025.

Q. Are foreign nationals allowed to join North Eastern Hill University?

Foreign nationals can apply to NEHU under two categories: direct admission requires them to fulfill the same minimum eligibility criteria as other students, subject to submission of a Certificate of Equivalence. They can also apply via a Cultural Exchange Fellowship program. Applications under either quota must be submitted before 15 May every year.