UPSC Optional Subjects List For Mains 2025 - Syllabus & Preparation Tips

UPSC Optional Subjects List

The UPSC Optional Subjects for the UPSC Main Exam are mentioned below. Click on the links of the UPSC Optional Subjects to get detailed information about the syllabus, preparation strategy and booklist for that optional subject.

Literature of the following languages is also a part of the choice of UPSC Optional Subjects for the UPSC Main Exam.

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#1 Overlapping Syllabus

Some of the optional subjects like History, Political Science & International Relations, Sociology, Geography, Economics, Public Administration, etc have syllabuses that overlap with the General Studies syllabus in both Prelims and Mains. Hence, choosing these might save you some preparation time.

#2 Length of the Syllabus

Since you already have four General Studies papers and an essay paper that are merit-oriented, choosing an optional subject with a lengthy syllabus would mean that you’ll have to dedicate more time for its preparation. Hence, choose a subject whose syllabus you can comfortably cover in the stipulated time.

#3 Competition Level

Some candidates feel a good UPSC optional subject is the one that has a high success ratio in terms of the number of candidates appearing to the recommended candidates.

However, this is only partially true. Your copy is evaluated based on your answer’s comprehensibility. Hence, choose a subject that you are comfortable with, over everything else.

#4 Availability of Resources

There are 47 optional subjects available, but resources like educators, study materials, and relevant books are limited. Although, with the rise of online education, more resources are accessible from the comfort of your home. Still, you must evaluate the choice of optional subject based on available resources.

#5 Familiarity with the Subject

Another essential factor to consider while choosing the best UPSC Optional Subject is familiarity. If you have studied a particular subject previously in your graduation or post graduation, choose that. Otherwise, opt for one that you can consistently study without losing interest.

Other than these, factors such as relevance to the civil services job role, a consistent choice of subject among high rankers, scoring potential, and comfortability with the subject may also be considered by candidates while evaluating the optional subjects.

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Best Optional Subject For UPSC

Some subjects are more scoring than others. However, IAS toppers have scored 320+ marks in both technical and non-technical subjects. Some subjects are perceived as low scoring because candidates do not put in the requisite effort or have selected an optional subject that isn’t right for them.

Technical subjects (such as Mathematics) can fetch you high marks as the answers are absolute. Unlike humanities subjects, the examiner’s biases or preferences have less of a role to play. However, non-technical subjects, especially those that have some overlap with the GS syllabus, give more preparation time and reading material overall, thus increasing the overall Main score if studied well.

There are many factors to decide which is the best optional subject in UPSC. Before deciding, a candidate must ask themselves the following six questions.

• How vast is the syllabus of the optional?
• How much preparation time do you have?
• Do you have prior knowledge of the subject at the graduate/PG level?
• How much syllabus overlap is there between your optional choice and GS part in Prelims/Mains?
• Are the study material and coaching readily available?
• Do you have the requisite drive/interest to study the subject for the UPSC exam?

Depending on the answers to the above six questions, a candidate should make an informed decision as to the best UPSC Optional Subject for them.

However, for most aspirants, the top ten UPSC optional subjects include:

• Sociology
• Law
• Psychology
• Medical Science
• Agriculture
• Literature
• Anthropology
• Public Administration
• Geography
• History

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UPSC Optional Subjects With Most Overlap with General Studies Syllabus

The following UPSC Optional subjects are popular among UPSC aspirants from both technical and non-technical because of the high overlap with GS or other parts of the UPSC exam:

• Public Administration – Highly relevant, compact syllabus. Paper II (Indian Administration) has a lot of overlap with the Polity and Governance part in GS II.
• Sociology – The study of society. Lots of material which can be used in GS I, Essay, and even in Ethics paper.
• History- relevant for prelims as well as GS I.
• Geography- relevant for prelims as well as GS I.
• Political Science– relevant for prelims as well as GS II.
• Law- relevant for prelims as well as GS II.

UPSC Optional Subjects like Economics, Philosophy, and Agriculture are also good choices.

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UPSC Optional Subjects- Success Rate of Candidates

The following is the Subject-Wise Success Rate of Candidates from 2021 as per the latest UPSC Report.

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Literature UPSC Optional Success Rate- 2021

The following is the Subject- Wise Success Rate of Literature subjects of Candidates from 2021 as per the latest UPSC Report.

This was a brief overview of the UPSC Optional Subjects available for the UPSC Main Examination. Check out the detailed exam syllabus of UPSC here.

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