Syllabus

How the UPSC syllabus is organised, from the CSE 2026 notice: two prelims papers, nine mains papers and one optional subject, with a short summary of each paper and a link to its own guide.

General Studies Paper I of the prelims in UPSC's own words, what each line covers, and what the CSE 2026 notice says about marks, timing, negative marking and the qualifying CSAT paper.

• CSAT (Paper II)

What the CSE 2026 notice says the mains is meant to test, the nine papers and their marks, the level set for optional papers, the rules on language and medium, and a link to each paper's guide.

• GS 1
• GS 2
• GS 3
• GS 4: Ethics
• Essay
• Language papers

Every optional subject in the CSE 2026 notice, how the 48 choices are counted, the level the papers are set at, the rules for literature optionals, and links to the syllabus guides.

• Anthropology
• PSIR
• Sociology
• Geography
• History
• Public Administration
• Philosophy
• Economics
• Hindi Literature
• Law
• Commerce and Accountancy
• Mathematics
• Medical Science
• Choosing an optional

Every line of the official syllabus for one subject, gathered from all the papers.

• Polity
• History
• Geography
• Economy
• Environment
• Science and Technology
• Art and Culture
• International Relations
• Internal Security
• Society