In this article, you will read about the UPSC CSE optional subject list and a few pointers on how to decide on an optional subject in UPSC for the IAS mains exam.
The Prestigious Civil Services examination conducted by the UPSC has three stages. The aspirants who have just begun their preparations have various questions such as “How many subjects in IAS Exam”, “How many optionals in UPSC?” etc. This article attempts to clear the air and familiarise the students with the IAS Exam subjects. The UPSC mains (written) examination comprises nine papers. This includes two qualifying papers and seven papers which will be calculated for ranking. Read on to know what the optional subjects in IAS are.
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How many optional subjects for IAS?
According to the new IAS exam pattern, the number of optional subjects for UPSC exam to be chosen by the candidate for the Mains exam has decreased to one. The civil services mains exam General Studies papers account for 1000 marks and the two Optional Papers account for 250 marks each. Therefore, it is very important for an aspirant to consider various pros and cons before choosing an optional subject for IAS Mains.
Here, we give the complete list of optional subjects for UPSC IAS Mains Examination. Aspirants can check the linked article to learn more about the UPSC Syllabus and IAS Exam.
To know in detail about the UPSC Online Application process, visit the linked article.
General Studies Paper I to IV for IAS Mains Exam
The Four General Studies Papers are:
| General Studies | Topics covered | Total marks |
| General Studies Paper-I | Indian Heritage and Culture, History and Geography of the World and Society | 250 |
| General Studies Paper-II | Governance, Constitution, Polity, Social Justice and International Relations | 250 |
| General Studies Paper-III | Technology, Economic Development, Bio-diversity, Environment, Security and Disaster Management | 250 |
| General Studies Paper IV | Ethics, Integrity and Aptitude | 250 |
To practise UPSC Mains Answer Writing for 2024, submit your answers in the linked article. You will get questions from different topics of GS 1-4, tailored as per UPSC needs.
What is the Optional Subject in IAS exam?
For the civil services examination, UPSC provides a list of optional subjects. Candidates have to choose one optional for the mains exam. The optional subject has two papers and each paper accounts for 250 marks.  Candidates can choose from the list of optional subjects that also includes literature subjects (English and Indian languages).
The papers for the examination will be descriptive in nature. Each paper for UPSC mains exam will be of three hours duration. The question papers, other than the literature of language papers will be set in Hindi and English only. Â The optional paper plays an important role in the UPSC mains exam.
How many optional subjects in UPSC exam?/How many optional subjects in UPSC? The table below lists how many optional subjects to choose for IAS exam.
UPSC Civil Services Optional Subjects/Optional List for UPSC:
| S. No | List of Optional Subjects in UPSC | Syllabus of Optional Subject in UPSC |
| 1 | Agriculture | Syllabus |
| 2 | Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science | Syllabus |
| 3 | Anthropology | Syllabus |
| 4 | Botany | Syllabus |
| 5 | Chemistry | Syllabus |
| 6 | Civil Engineering | Syllabus |
| 7 | Commerce & Accountancy | Syllabus |
| 8 | Economics | Syllabus |
| 9 | Electrical Engineering | Syllabus |
| 10 | Geography | Syllabus |
| 11 | Geology | Syllabus |
| 12 | History | Syllabus |
| 13 | Law | Syllabus |
| 14 | Management | Syllabus |
| 15 | Mathematics | Syllabus |
| 16 | Mechanical Engineering | Syllabus |
| 17 | Medical Science | Syllabus |
| 18 | Philosophy | Syllabus |
| 19 | Physics | Syllabus |
| 20 | Political Science & International Relations | Syllabus |
| 21 | Psychology | Syllabus |
| 22 | Public Administration | Syllabus |
| 23 | Sociology | Syllabus |
| 24 | Statistics | Syllabus |
| 25 | Zoology |
List of literature optional subjects in UPSC
Aspirants can opt for a literature subject as their optional for UPSC Mains even if they had not taken that language as their graduation subject. There will be two papers. Each paper is of 250 marks. The languages prescribed here are from the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
| S.No | List of Literature Optional Subjects | Syllabus of Literature Optional Subject in UPSC |
| 1 | Assamese | Syllabus |
| 2 | Bengali | Syllabus |
| 3 | Bodo | Syllabus |
| 4 | Dogri | Syllabus |
| 5 | Gujarati | Syllabus |
| 6 | Hindi | Syllabus |
| 7 | Kannada | Syllabus |
| 8 | Kashmiri | Syllabus |
| 9 | Konkani | Syllabus |
| 10 | Maithili | Syllabus |
| 11 | Malayalam | Syllabus |
| 12 | Manipuri | Syllabus |
| 13 | Marathi | Syllabus |
| 14 | Nepali | Syllabus |
| 15 | Oriya | Syllabus |
| 16 | Punjabi | Syllabus |
| 17 | Sanskrit | Syllabus |
| 18 | Santhali | Syllabus |
| 19 | Sindhi | Syllabus |
| 20 | Tamil | Syllabus |
| 21 | Telugu | Syllabus |
| 22 | Urdu | Syllabus |
| 23 | English | Syllabus |
How to choose the right optional subject for the UPSC IAS Mains exam?
Aspirants have a lot of confusion regarding the right optional subject and often tend to focus on some criteria for choosing an optional subject for IAS exam. Some common criteria that students consider while choosing the optional are:
- A scoring subject
- Most popular one
- An easy-to-understand subject or that they find interesting
- The subject for which notes and study materials are easily available
- Optional for which best coaching is available
- The subject they have a background in graduation or post-graduation
- The optional subject with which most candidates have cracked the IAS mains exam
However, aspirants must choose optional subjects that are:
- Interesting to study or that holds your interest
- Have easily accessible study materials
- Helps you understand the topic to the core or that lets you think from another perspective
FAQ about UPSC Mains Optional Subjects
What is the success rate of optional subjects in the UPSC exam?
Which subject is best for IAS Mains optional?
Is Psychology a good optional for IAS?
Is Agriculture a good optional for IAS
Is Geography a good optional for IAS?
Now that you have a clear picture of how many optional subjects are chosen for IAS, you can choose the right optional and start preparing for your IAS exam.
can we take economics and management as optional paper 1 and optional paper 2 together? or there is any limitations?
hi, you can choose only one optional subject for which there will be 2 papers in the UPSC Mains.
It means if I opt geography as a optional then there will be two papers of geography. Or I have to take another subject?
Hi,
Earlier aspirants had to choose two optional subjects but in the current pattern, there is one optional subject for which there will be two papers. So, if Geography is your optional, there will be two papers of Geography. You can find more information on Geography optional for UPSC at the linked article.
Is it compulsory to take a literature optional?
No, you can choose one optional subject of your choice out of the 48 available choices.
And also will you share on which website there is new notification
Hi Karan
Please check UPSC Notification 2020 in the linked article.
I have 2 questions
1. Is computer engineering is available as an optional subject or any other IT subject is available?
2. Do I have to choose 2 different optionals for 2 different papers?
Hi,
1. No IT subjects (Comp Engg) are there in the optional list. Among engg subjects, there is civil, mech and electrical.
2. You have to choose 1 optional subject for which there will be 2 papers
Usually, in such cases, aspirants resort to choosing subjects like Socio, Anthro, Pol Sci, Pub Ad which have some overlap with GS papers.
Can you please tell me which optional subjects is the best and why?
Hi Joma
The priority should be given to your interests in a particular subject. But to answer your question, you can check our page Success Rate for Optional Subjects in UPSC.
Sir, I have done my graduation in Arabic honours and there were two optional subjects: English and History and three compulsory subjects Bengali, English and Environmental science.
Sir, I have dream of being IAS.
Sir, my question is , can I take Bengali subject for language and Sociology or psychology for optional subjects, even though I have not taken these subjects in my graduation?
Hi Ruhul
Yes, you can take the Bengali language for Paper A and also sociology or any other subject for the optional.
hi sir,
in upsc we have to select 2 optional subjects which means any 2 subjects we interested or one language paper & a subject paper (eg. 1. agriculture & 2. malayalam) .Is there any condition to select the optional papers.
Hi Linu
There are two optional papers in UPSC Mains but you have to choose only one subject for these. You can choose anyone from the list of 48 optional subjects given by UPSC. You can refer to the article – Success Rate of Optional Subjects in UPSC
can we take two subjects (eg:agriculture & psychology) as optional or is it mandatory to take one subject and another one as literature as optional(eg:agriculture & thamil)
Hi Neera
As per the UPSC exam pattern, you have to choose any one subject from the list of 48 subjects (including 23 language subjects.)The two optional papers will be based on the subject which you choose. You can read about the Success Rate of Optional Subjects in UPSC in the linked article.
how many subjects we have to choose one or two?
Hi Pranathi
You have to choose one optional subject for UPSC Mains.
I’m from science background
Which optional is best for me
Hi Akshaya
You can choose any from the list of 48 optional subjects’ list provided by the UPSC. For your reference, you can check Success Rate of Optional Subjects in UPSC.
one Optional subject we will choose and two optional paper will be conducted. Am I right?
Yes
Option I and Option II, whether this two paper based on one subject which we choose
You have to choose one subject for which you have two papers.
Totally how many subjects are there for UPSC exam .
You can refer to the UPSC syllabus to know what all subjects are asked. There are 48 optional subjects (including 23 language subjects) from which you have to choose any one.
Sir,Can I take only English subject as a Literature Optional Subject for two papers? Or do I need to choose English and other 1 more language subject? Is it compulsory the other languages subject for Northeast region?
As you have to choose only one optional subject, you can go for any.
I’m civil engineering student , can I take different optional subj’s not related to civil engg?
Hi Shankar
Yes, you can take any optional subject from the list of 48 subjects. For your reference, you can check the Success Rate of Optional Subjects in UPSC in the linked article.
Isn’t there international relationship as optional.But I heard of it
Hi Priya
That will be Political Science & International Relations Optional.
Namaste sir
Me ECONOMY rakhna chahata hu,
To mujhe bhi 2 paper ka tayyari karni hogi,
Or mujhe total kitne Book parhna hoga,
Book Name comments me likh de plz
You can choose from the Economy optional books mentioned in the linked article.
what is the difference between Paper A and Paper B?
Is Indian language paper compulsory?
Paper A is Indian Regional Language (Official Languages) paper while Paper B is the English Language paper. Indian language paper is compulsory for everyone except for the candidates hailing from the north-eastern states of Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram and Nagaland
Which book ll b bst for basic polity nd how i can improve eng
If someone is new to the Indian Polity subject, he/she could read Class 9-12 NCERTs. Then, one can follow up with M.Laximkanths’ Indian Polity book. To improve English, you can follow tips as mentioned here.
Is Veterinary Science and Animal Husbandry a good optional for the exam?
I’ve seen the success rate but I’m a bit confused about the availability of proper guides and mentors in this subject and also the availability of good test series for this subject!
So, can you please help me out here!
The preferred optional is the one where study material is easily available as UPSC has a vast syllabus. So, unless a candidate has a strategy and sources to cover the subject where his/her interest lies; it is advisable to go for the smart option. Having said that, if you have an interest in Veterinary Science subject, first research about sources to cover the examination. If you find one good source, pls stick to it.
can english medium candidate in upsc mains exam choose hindi as optional subject in upsc
Yes, a candidate can choose any optional subject from the list of 48 subjects. You can also check the success rate of optional in UPSC Mains at the linked article.
Hi Sir/Mam
Whether I have to choose 1 optional subject and also 1 literature subject?
Or 1 optional subject is enough?
Hi,
You only need to choose 1 optional subject out of 48 available choices. You can read more about it here
Hello Sir,
I have done my graduation in Dental Surgery and have a Masters in Public Health. Which optional subject (other than Medical Science) would be suitable for me given my educational background? And also can have some overlap with the General Studies syllabus.
Hi,
Subjects having overlap with GS include – Pub Ad, Sociology, Anthropology, Economics, Geography, History and PSIR.
You can find all the UPSC Optional Subjects and Syllabus at the linked article.
How many papers in prelims and mains???
Hi,
The Prelims has two papers, while Mains has nine papers. Go through both these stages in detail using the links given below:
1. UPSC Prelims
2. https://byjus.com/free-ias-prep/upsc-mains/
Is mathematics a good optional to choose if i m from science background?
Is there any disadvantage choosing mathematics?
Dear aspirant,
It is always the right decision to study the pros and cons of any subject that you choose as an optional. You have an example of Utsav Kaushal who secured AIR 14 in the 2016 examination with Mathematics as an optional subject. Therefore, we suggest if you have a strong command of that subject, and a deep interest to practise the concepts without any doubts, you can proceed with the same.
To understand the success rate of optional, click here.