UPSC Optional Subjects for Mains: Subjects and Language Rules

Choosing an optional subject for UPSC Mains can be difficult when you have 26 options, ranging from History and Sociology to Mathematics, Engineering and Literature. You also need to understand the syllabus, the paper format and the marks assigned to your chosen subject before planning your preparation.

PW offers online coaching for UPSC optional subjects, including Anthropology, Geography, History, Mathematics, Political Science and International Relations (PSIR), Public Administration, Sociology and Hindi Literature. Explore the available online batches to find your chosen optional subject and understand the preparation support available for the UPSC Mains examination.

UPSC Optional Subject List

Candidates appearing for the UPSC Civil Services Mains Examination must choose one optional subject from the list prescribed by the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). The optional subject consists of two separate papers, Paper VI and Paper VII, carrying 250 marks each. The total marks for the optional subject are 500, which count towards the final merit ranking.

UPSC offers 26 optional subject categories, including 25 academic subjects and Literature of any one of 23 specified languages. Therefore, candidates have 48 subject or literature choices in total.

List of Optional Subjects for UPSC Mains

The following 26 options are available for the Main Examination:

1. Agriculture

2. Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science

3. Anthropology

4. Botany

5. Chemistry

6. Civil Engineering

7. Commerce and Accountancy

8. Economics

9. Electrical Engineering

10. Geography

11. Geology

12. History

13. Law

14. Management

15. Mathematics

16. Mechanical Engineering

17. Medical Science

18. Philosophy

19. Physics

20. Political Science and International Relations

21. Psychology

22. Public Administration

23. Sociology

24. Statistics

25. Zoology

26. Literature of one of the specified languages

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Literature Optional Subjects

Candidates who choose a literature optional can select the literature of any one of the following 23 languages:

• Assamese

• Bengali

• Bodo

• Dogri

• Gujarati

• Hindi

• Kannada

• Kashmiri

• Konkani

• Maithili

• Malayalam

• Manipuri

• Marathi

• Nepali

• Odia

• Punjabi

• Sanskrit

• Santhali

• Sindhi

• Tamil

• Telugu

• Urdu

• English

Both optional papers are descriptive in nature. Candidates should review the official syllabus, previous years' question papers, their subject knowledge and available preparation resources before selecting an optional subject.

Language Rules for UPSC Optional Papers

The UPSC Civil Services Main Examination allows you to write your papers in English or a language included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution of India, subject to the applicable examination rules.

When deciding which language to use for your answers, keep the following points in mind:

• The English and Indian language papers are qualifying papers and follow separate language requirements. For the merit papers, including Essay, General Studies and Optional Subjects, candidates may use English or a permitted language listed in the Eighth Schedule, subject to the applicable UPSC examination rules.

• You may choose English for your optional papers, subject to the examination rules.

• If you write in a permitted scheduled language, you may provide English translations in brackets for technical terms, where applicable, as allowed by the rules.

• Misusing this provision for technical terms may lead to a deduction of marks or, in extreme cases, non-evaluation of your answer script.

• Question papers, except those for literature subjects, are set in Hindi and English only.

If you choose a literature optional subject, make sure you understand the applicable language and script requirements.

Scripts for Literature Languages

The prescribed scripts for the language and literature options include the following:

For Santhali, the question paper is printed in Devanagari, but you may answer in Devanagari or Olchiki. For Manipuri, the question paper is printed in Bengali script, but you may answer in Bengali or Meitei Mayek.

PW offers UPSC preparation courses for optional subjects such as Anthropology, Geography, History, Mathematics, Political Science and International Relations, Public Administration, Sociology and Hindi Literature. Review the syllabus and practise the topics prescribed for your chosen subject to strengthen your preparation for both optional papers. Before finalising your study plan, check the latest official UPSC notification and the detailed syllabus for your selected optional subject.