List of optional subjects in UPSC CSE

The civil services examination conducted by the UPSC in India is one of the most famous exams in the country. There are three stages to the paper that the students need to understand. The UPSC aspirants who have already started their preparation or are thinking of preparing for the exams have various questions in their minds. We are here to resolve all search questions that you might have in mind.

Here we will talk about the optional subjects in UPSC CSE and discuss other points of the main IAS exam.

How Many Optional Subjects to Select for UPSC?

According to the latest IAS exam pattern, the number of UPSC optional subjects that the student has to choose has decreased to one. The general studies paper for the Civil Services has an account of a thousand marks, and there are two optional papers, for a total of 250 marks. You need to consider certain advantages and disadvantages before you choose an optional subject for your main IAS exam.

Before we move on to discussing the optional subjects, you need to first understand the details of the general paper.

General Studies Paper (I to IV) for the UPSC Mains Exam

The four general papers and the topics that you will cover in the papers are:

General Studies	Topics Included	Total Marks
General Studies Paper – I	History and Geography of the Society and World, Indian Culture and Heritage	250
General Studies Paper – II	Constitution, Governance, Social Justice, Polity, and International Relations	250
General Studies Paper – III	Economic Development, Technology, Environment, Bio-diversity, Disaster Management and Security	250
General Studies Paper – IV	Integrity, Aptitude, and Ethics	250

Also Read: Best Books to Prepare for UPSC Civil Services Exam

Details of the Optional Subjects in the UPSC CSE Exam?

For the list of optional subjects in the UPSC CSE exam, you need to check the details regarding the civil services exams. All the students have to choose only one optional subject for the main exam. The optional subject will have two papers, and each paper will have an account of 250 marks.

The optional papers for the exam will be descriptive. All the papers for your UPSC exam will have a duration of 3 hours. All the question papers except the language papers will be set in English and Hindi only. Your optional paper has a very essential role in your entire UPSC exam, as it helps you increase your overall marks. Many candidates secure a high rank due to their optional subjects.

List of the UPSC CSE Optional Subjects

The details of the list of optional subjects for your UPSC CSE paper are:

1. Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry
2. Agriculture
3. Botany
4. Chemistry
5. Anthropology
6. Civil Engineering
7. Accountancy and Commerce
8. Electrical Engineering
9. Economics
10. Geology
11. Geography
12. Law
13. History
14. Management
15. Mechanical Engineering
16. Mathematics
17. Medical Science
18. Physics
19. Philosophy
20. International Relations and Political Science
21. Public Administration
22. Psychology
23. Statistics
24. Sociology
25. Zoology

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List of the Literature Optional Subjects for the UPSC CSE Test

All the students can also opt for a literature-optional subject for the UPSC main exam, even if they have not taken that language in the graduation subject. The literature optional paper will also have 250 marks for the two papers. The languages that are prescribed here are from the eighth schedule of the Indian Constitution, so the choices for you are:

1. Assamese
2. Bengali
3. Bodo
4. Dogri
5. English
6. Gujarati
7. Hindi
8. Kannada
9. Kashmiri
10. Konkani
11. Maithili
12. Malayalam
13. Manipuri
14. Marathi
15. Nepali
16. Oriya
17. Punjabi
18. Sanskrit
19. Santhali
20. Sindhi
21. Tamil
22. Telugu
23. Urdu

Process of Choosing the Perfect UPSC IAS Optional Subject

We understand that you can have a great deal of confusion regarding the choice of the perfect optional subject for you. We will make the process very easy for you and guide you in choosing the perfect optional subject. You need to focus on some criteria while choosing these optional subjects for your main IAS exam. Details of some important criteria that all the students need to consider while choosing their options are:

A Scoring Subject

The optional paper is the one that will help you increase your overall rank most efficiently. The other papers might be very difficult for you to clear, but the optional subject is in your hands, and you can make your choice yourself. You need to consider the option of a subject that will be perfectly scored for you, in that case, you can get a decent 75 to 80% mark easily. Choose the type of subject that you were great at in your plus 2.

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Choose a Popular Subject

Select what is popular rather than an uncommon subject, like botany. You must select a common subject so that the process of checking is easy and you also have some general knowledge regarding the paper. Scoring in uncommon optional subjects becomes very difficult because the checking process happens in a very efficient way.

Easy to Understand for You

Choose an optional subject that is very easy for you to understand. Subjects like history and political science are some of the most common choices for many students, as they are very easy to understand. Selecting a difficult optional subject won’t be of any benefit to you, so select what you have an interest in and find easy to study.

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Have a range of study materials

You need to select an optional subject for UPSC CSE that has proper study materials available. You need to gather notes and materials for your preparation, and if the subject is unfamiliar, then getting this information will be difficult. Check the subject list and understand the information that is easily available to you, and then make your choice accordingly.

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That has the best coaching available

Studying at a UPSC coaching institute is important for your optional subjects as well. You must select the optional subject that is available at the top UPSC coaching institute in India, for which you need to consult the institute and select your subject.

These are the few criteria that you must follow that will help you select the UPSC optional subjects. Consult with the students who have already cracked the IAS exam and ask them about the optional subject that they had. Selecting the optional subject might be a very difficult choice for you, so you need to keep your calm and make your choice accordingly. If you have already joined a UPSC coaching institute before selecting your optional subject, then consult with them and make your choice accordingly. The subjects that you have already studied in your 10th, 12th, graduation, and post-graduation years will be the most comfortable choices for you. You need to have prior knowledge regarding your optional subject to clear the exam with the best marks.

Conclusion on List of optional subjects in UPSC CSE

We hope that you have understood all the details about your UPSC CSE optional subject. You get an option from a total of 48 optional subjects, combining general subjects and literature subjects. You have to choose one subject for your paper. The optional will have two papers with 250 marks each, so selecting the paper will be very important for you to score a good rank. Follow all the necessary steps that we have mentioned that will help you easily select your optional subjects. Connect with the top UPSC coaching institute in India, which will help you select your optional subjects. Gather all the study material and prepare for the optional subjects in the most effective way possible to score well in your IAS exam. Follow the latest IAS exam pattern and have a smart preparation technique for the paper.

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