The UPSC Main Examination consists of 2 Qualifying papers and 7 merit ranking papers listed below:
- Qualifying Papers
- English
- Any One Indian Language from the Eighth Schedule of The Constitution of India
- Merit Ranking Papers
- UPSC Essay
- General Studies Paper I
- General Studies Paper II
- General Studies Paper III
- General Studies Paper IV
- Optional Paper I
- Optional Paper II
In this article, we will discuss the subjects and syllabus for UPSC Optional Papers I and II.
The UPSC Optional Subject list consists of 48 subjects, out of which one can be selected by the candidate for both the papers. Each optional subject comprises of two papers (Paper I and Paper II) each of 250 marks, making it a total of 500 marks
The syllabus of the optional papers is at the honours degree level, which is higher than an undergraduate degree level but lower than a masters degree level. Candidates can also take literature subjects as an optional paper. Your choice of optionals can substantially influence your chances of success in UPSC 2023.
In this article, we have collated the detailed UPSC Syllabus for Civil Services Mains Optional Subjects that will help you decide on your Optional Subject for IAS exam. Given below is the list of optional subjects in UPSC and the links to UPSC Optional Subjects syllabus PDFs.
Optional Subjects Syllabus PDF and Strategy Links
The following is the list of Optional Subjects in UPSC 2023 along with link to download the optional subject syllabus PDF:
Choosing an Optional Subject for UPSC should be based on the following factors:
- Average success rate of UPSC optional papers, a higher success rate would be a good indicator of the availability of IAS study material for those subjects
- Candidates’ expertise in the optional subject, for example, a practicing doctor would have considerable expertise on Medical Science and should ideally choose this as the optional subject to reduce effort and time spent on IAS preparation.
- UPSC optional subjects chosen by IAS toppers in the past also indicate high scoring potential and availability of preparation material for IAS topper’s optional subjects.
To read more about UPSC preparation, please visit:
| Related Links: | |
| IAS Preparation | UPSC Books |
| IAS Coaching | UPSC Notification |
| How to Write Answers for Literature Optionals | Interesting Statistics About Optional Subjects |
| UPSC Apply Online | UPSC Notes PDF |
