The Civil Services Mains Exam General Studies papers account for 1000 marks and the two Optional Papers constitute 250 marks each to it. Thus, the Optional subject has a crucial role in realizing your dream of IAS. So, an aspirant has to choose one with utmost care. It’s totally up to the aspirant when it comes to choosing an optional subject. The optional that you choose must be interesting to you. You must be able to grasp the concepts, learn and understand. It is unwise to select the optional based on the result patterns if you are not familiar with that subject.
Importance of optional subject for UPSC
This is the marks obtained by Mrs. Lakshmi madam of 2018 batch and secured 45th rank. Her optional was anthropology. She was successful in scoring highest marks in the anthropology of 363 out of 500. this shows the role played by optional subject in deciding the interview call.
Things to keep in mind before choosing optional
Keep in mind that, optional subject will be a inseparable part of your preparation until you become an officer
Choose that subject which interests and makes you feel good when studied
Optional subject needs to be studied for at least 2 hours every day.Make sure you don’t select an optional which will make you exhausted. Instead, go for a one you are familiar with or interested in.
In case you do not find any of these optional as your cup of tea, try selecting a subject which has some overlapping with general studies subjects.
List of optional subjects
This is the complete list of UPSC Optional subjects for the UPSC civil service examination. You have to opt for any one subject.
Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science
Anthropology
Botany
Chemistry
Civil Engineering
Commerce and Accountancy
Economics
Electrical Engineering
Geography
Geology
History
Law
Management
Mathematics
Mechanical Engineering
Medical Science
Philosophy
Physics
Political Science and International Relations
Psychology
Public Administration
Sociology
Statistics
Zoology
Literature of anyone the following language: Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, English.
Agriculture
At Believers IAS Academy, we provide the Best UPSC optional subject guidance in the following Optional subjects:
