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Sociology Optional Syllabus for UPSC Mains

Both Sociology optional papers from the CSE 2026 notice, word for word, with how the topics are arranged and pointers to help you decide whether the subject suits you.

Updated 12 Oct 2026 8 min read 4 official sources

Sociology optional at a glance

Papers in the mains: VI and VII
Marks: 500250 per paper, counted for your rank
Time: 3 hoursper paper
Level: Honours degreeabove a bachelor's, below a master's

From the CSE 2026 notice.

On this page3 sections

How the syllabus is organised
The official syllabus
Who this optional suits

Sociology is one of the optional subjects for the UPSC Civil Services Main Examination. You write your optional as Paper VI and Paper VII of the mains, 250 marks each, and both papers count towards your final rank along with the Essay and the four General Studies papers.

The CSE 2026 notice describes the level of the optional syllabi as "broadly of the honours degree level", between a bachelor's and a master's degree. This page sets out both Sociology papers as the notice prints them, explains how they are structured, and gives you some points to weigh before you choose.

How the syllabus is organised

Paper I covers the fundamentals of the discipline; Paper II is about Indian society. Each topic is broken into short sub-points.

Paper I: Fundamentals of Sociology. Ten topics. The first three cover sociology as a discipline, sociology as a science, and research methods and analysis. The fourth, on sociological thinkers, names six: Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, Talcott Parsons, Robert K. Merton and Mead. The other six cover stratification and mobility, work and economic life, politics and society, religion and society, systems of kinship, and social change in modern society.
Paper II: Indian Society: Structure and Change. Three parts. Part A, Introducing Indian Society, covers the perspectives used to study India (Indology, structural functionalism and Marxist sociology, each linked to a named sociologist) and the impact of colonial rule. Part B, Social Structure, covers rural and agrarian social structure, caste, tribal communities, social classes, kinship and religion. Part C, Social Changes in India, covers visions of social change, rural and agrarian transformation, industrialisation and urbanisation, politics and society, social movements, population dynamics, and the challenges of social transformation, from displacement and poverty to violence against women and communalism.

The official syllabus

Here are both papers as the CSE 2026 notice prints them.

Sociology: Paper I · 250 marks

Wording as printed in the CSE 2026 notice

FUNDAMENTALS OF SOCIOLOGY
1. Sociology - The Discipline:
(a) Modernity and social changes in Europe and emergence of Sociology.
(b) Scope of the subject and comparison with other social sciences.
(c) Sociology and common sense.
2. Sociology as Science:
(a) Science, scientific method and critique.
(b) Major theoretical strands of research methodology.
(c) Positivism and its critique.
(d) Fact value and objectivity.
( e) Non-positivist methodologies.
3. Research Methods and Analysis:
(a) Qualitative and quantitative methods.
(b) Techniques of data collection.
(c ) Variables, sampling, hypothesis, reliability and validity.
4. Sociological Thinkers:
(a) Karl Marx - Historical materialism, mode of production, alienation, class struggle.
(b) Emile Durkhteim [sic] - Division of labour, social fact, suicide, religion and society.
(c) Max Weber - Social action, ideal types, authority, bureaucracy, protestant ethic and the spirit of capitalism.
(d) Talcolt Parsons [sic] - Social system, pattern variables.
(e) Robert K. Merton - Latent and manifest functions, conformity and deviance, reference groups.
(f) Mead - Self and identity.
5. Stratification and Mobility :
(a) Concepts - equality, inequality, hierarchy, exclusion, poverty and deprivation.
(b) Theories of social stratification - Structural func tionalist theory, Marxist theory, Weberian theory.
(c) Dimensions - Social stratification of class, status groups, gender, ethnicity and race.
(d) Social mobility - open and closed systems, types of mobility, sources and causes of mobility.
6. Works and Economic Life :
(a) Social organization of work in different types of society - slave society, feudal society, industrial capitalist society.
(b) Formal and informal organization of work.
(c) Labour and society.
7. Politics and Society:
(a) Sociological theories of power.
(b) Power elite, bureaucracy, pressure groups and political parties.
(c) Nation, state, citizenship, democracy, civil society, ideology.
(d) Protest, agitation, social movements, collective action, revolution.
8. Religion and Society :
(a) Sociological theories of religion.
(b) Types of religious practices: animism, monism, pluralism, sects, cults.
(c) Religion in modern society: religion and science, secularization, religious revivalism, fundamen talism.
9. Systems of Kinship:
(a) Family, household, marriage.
(b) Types and forms of family.
(c) Lineage and descent.
(d) Patriarchy and sexual division of labour.
(e) Contem porary trends.
10. Social Change in Modern Society :
(a) Sociological theories of social change.
(b) Development and dependency.
(c) Agents of social change.
(d) Education and social change.
(e) Science, technology and social change.

Sociology: Paper II · 250 marks

Wording as printed in the CSE 2026 notice

INDIAN SOCIETY : STRUCTURE AND CHANGE
A. Introducing Indian Society :
(i) Perspectives on the Study of Indian Society :
(a) Indology (G.S. Ghure [sic]).
(b) Structural functionalism (M. N. Srinivas).
(c) Marxist sociology (A. R. Desai).
(ii) Impact of colonial rule on Indian society :
(a) Social background of Indian nationalism.
(b) Modernization of Indian tradition.
(c) Protests and movements during the colonial period.
(d) Social reforms.
B. Social Structure:
(i) Rural and Agrarian Social Structure:
(a) The idea of Indian village and village studies.
(b) Agrarian social structure— evolution of land tenure system, land reforms.
(ii) Caste System:
(a) Perspectives on the study of caste systems: G. S. Ghurye, M. N. Srinivas, Louis Dumont, Andre Beteille.
(b) Features of caste system.
(c) Untouchability-forms and perspectives
(iii) Tribal Communities in India:
(a) Definitional problems.
(b) Geographical spread.
(c) Colonial policies and tribes.
(d) Issues of integration and autonomy.
(iv) Social Classes in India:
(a) Agrarian class structure.
(b) Industrial class structure.
(c) Middle classes in India.
(v) Systems of Kinship in India:
(a) Lineage and descent in India.
(b) Types of kinship systems.
(c) Family and marriage in India.
(d) Household dimensions of the family.
(e) Patriarchy, entitlements and sexual division oflabour.
(vi) Religion and Society :
(a) Religious communities in India.
(b) Problems of religious minorities.
C. Social Changes in India:
(i) Visions of Social Change in India:
(a) Idea of development planning and mixed economy.
(b) Constitution, law and social change.
(c) Education and social change.
(ii) Rural and Agrarian Transformation in India:
(a) Programmes of rural development, Community Development Programme, cooperatives, poverty alleviation schemes.
(b) Green revolution and social change.
(c) Changing modes of production in Indian agriculture.
(d) Problems of rural labour, bondage, migration.
(iii) Industrialization and Urbanisation in India:
(a) Evolution of modern industry in India.
(b) Growth of urban settlements in India.
(c) Working class: structure, growth, class mobilization.
(d) Informal sector, child labour.
(e) Slums and deprivation in urban areas.
(iv) Politics and Society :
(a) Nation, democracy and citizenship.
(b) Political parties, pressure groups, social and political elite.
(c) Regionalism and decentralization of power.
(d) Secularization.
(v) Social Movements in Modern India :
(a) Peasants and farmers movements.
(b) Women’s movement.
(c) Backward classes & Dalit movements.
(d) Environmental movements.
(e) Ethnicity and Identity movements.
(vi) Population Dynamics :
(a) Population size, growth, composition and distribution.
(b) Components of population growth: birth, death, migration.
(c) Population Policy and family planning.
(d) Emerging issues: ageing, sex ratios, child and infant mortality, reproductive health.
(vii) Challenges of Social Transformation :
(a) Crisis of development : displacement, environmental problems and sustainability.
(b) Poverty, deprivation and inequalities.
(c) Violence against women.
(d) Caste conflicts.
(e) Ethnic conflicts, communalism, religious revivalism.
(f) Illiteracy and disparities in education.

Source: UPSC: Civil Services Examination 2026 notice, Appendix I Section III (Syllabi). The words are UPSC's. We reflowed the PDF's lines and marked its headings; for the exact layout, see the notice.

Here are both papers of every year from UPSC's own website. Read them alongside the syllabus above.

Sociology question papers, 2016 to 2026

Each link opens the PDF on upsc.gov.in

UPSC Civil Services (Main) Examination question papers in Sociology, by year
Exam year	Papers
CSE 2026	Paper I Paper II
CSE 2025	Paper I Paper II
CSE 2024	Paper I Paper II
CSE 2023	Paper I Paper II
CSE 2022	Paper I Paper II
CSE 2021	Paper I Paper II
CSE 2020	Paper I Paper II
CSE 2019	Paper I Paper II
CSE 2018	Paper I Paper II
CSE 2017	Paper I Paper II
CSE 2016	Paper I Paper II

Links checked on 13 October 2026. Source: UPSC: Previous Question Papers (current page and archives).

Who this optional suits

Only you can weigh your interests, your background and the time you have. These pointers may help you think it through.

Your degree. If you studied sociology, or a neighbouring social science such as anthropology or political science, many of Paper I's concepts and thinkers will be familiar.
Theory and examples together. Paper I is about concepts and thinkers; Paper II covers caste, class, kinship, villages, cities and social movements in India. If you like connecting ideas to examples from Indian life, this pairing may suit you.
Named thinkers and perspectives. Because the syllabus names its thinkers and perspectives, you can make a short note on each one early and keep adding examples to it.
Links with General Studies. The GS Paper I syllabus names several themes that Sociology Paper II also covers, including population, poverty, urbanisation, women, communalism and regionalism. Examples you collect for one paper can serve the other.
Test it before you commit. Read the full syllabus above, then try answering a question or two from previous year papers. Choose on your own interest and background rather than on what others pick.

To compare Sociology with every other subject you could choose, see the full list of UPSC optional subjects and our note on how to choose an optional. For where the optional sits among the nine papers, see the UPSC Mains syllabus; for the related General Studies topics, see the GS Paper 1 syllabus and the guide to the Indian society and social justice syllabus.

This page follows the CSE 2026 notice. UPSC's calendar lists the CSE 2027 notification for 13 January 2027 (see the UPSC calendar). When it is out, check its syllabus against this page before you plan your year.

Frequently asked questions

How many marks is the Sociology optional?

500. Your optional is written as two papers, Paper VI and Paper VII of the mains, of 250 marks each, and each paper is three hours long. Both count towards the 1,750 written marks that, with the 275-mark interview, decide your final rank.

Which thinkers does the Sociology syllabus name?

Paper I names six: Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, Max Weber, Talcott Parsons, Robert K. Merton and Mead. Paper II links its perspectives on Indian society to G. S. Ghurye (Indology), M. N. Srinivas (structural functionalism) and A. R. Desai (Marxist sociology), and lists Ghurye, Srinivas, Louis Dumont and André Béteille for the study of caste.

Can I write the Sociology optional in Hindi?

Yes. The CSE 2026 notice lets you answer every mains paper except the two qualifying language papers in English or in any one language of the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution, and Hindi is one of the media it lists. Question papers other than literature papers are set in Hindi and English. If you answer in Hindi, you may add the English version of technical terms in brackets. You can also write the Essay and GS papers in Hindi and your optional in English. See medium of the exam.

Is there a minimum mark in the optional papers?

The notice lets UPSC fix qualifying marks in any or all of the papers. For CSE 2025, UPSC's cut-off notice says the mains cut-off was subject to 10% marks in each of the seven papers that count, and those include Optional-I and Optional-II. See UPSC cut-offs.

Sources

Every figure on this page comes from these official documents. If you spot a difference, the official document is right; tell us and we'll fix the page.

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