The CUET syllabus for undergraduate admission is published by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on cuet.nta.nic.in. As per the CUET UG 2026 information bulletin, there are 37 subjects in all: 13 languages, 23 domain-specific subjects and one General Aptitude Test. You can choose up to five of them, and each test paper has 50 compulsory questions to be answered in 60 minutes.
The domain subjects follow the NCERT Class 12 syllabus, so if you have studied your board subjects well, most of the CUET exam syllabus is already familiar. The real work is choosing the right five subjects and practising objective questions under time pressure.
The three parts of the CUET syllabus
| Section | What it tests | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Languages (13) | Reading comprehension of factual, literary and narrative passages, literary aptitude and vocabulary | Language skills, not a textbook |
| Domain subjects (23) | Subject knowledge, such as Physics, History or Accountancy | NCERT Class 12 syllabus |
| General Aptitude Test | General knowledge, current affairs, mental ability, numerical ability, quantitative reasoning and logical reasoning | General awareness and basic maths |
Language tests
The 13 languages in the 2026 list are Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. Each language test checks how well you read and use the language. Expect passages followed by questions, plus questions on vocabulary, grammar usage and literary terms.
The CUET English syllabus is the one most students need, because many courses ask for English as one of the five tests. It is not based on the English literature textbooks you read in school. Practise unseen passages, synonyms and antonyms, sentence correction and figures of speech instead of memorising chapter summaries.
Domain subjects
These are the 23 domain subjects in the 2026 bulletin:
- Accountancy or Book Keeping; Business Studies; Economics or Business Economics
- Physics; Chemistry; Mathematics or Applied Mathematics; Biology, Biological Science, Biotechnology or Biochemistry
- Computer Science or Informatics Practices; Environmental Science; Agriculture
- History; Geography or Geology; Political Science; Sociology; Psychology; Anthropology
- Home Science; Knowledge Tradition and Practices in India; Mass Media or Mass Communication
- Fine Arts, Visual Arts or Commercial Arts; Performing Arts (Dance, Drama, Music); Physical Education (Yoga, Sports)
- Sanskrit
Each domain paper follows the NCERT Class 12 syllabus for that subject. The detailed unit list for every paper is on the syllabus page of the CUET website. Download the PDF for each subject you pick and tick off units as you revise.
CUET syllabus for science students
Most science courses ask for the core subjects of the stream. A typical choice looks like this, but always confirm with the university:
- Physical sciences and engineering-type BSc: Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics, plus English.
- Life sciences: Physics, Chemistry, Biology, plus English.
- Fifth slot: the General Aptitude Test if the course needs it, or Mathematics or Biology as a second option.
Since the papers follow NCERT Class 12, your board preparation, the NCERT exemplar questions and past CUET papers cover most ground. Unlike the board exam, you will not be asked long answers, so speed and accuracy matter more than writing.
General Aptitude Test
The General Aptitude Test is used by many universities for general programmes and some professional courses. The bulletin lists its areas as general knowledge, current affairs, general mental ability, numerical ability, quantitative reasoning (simple use of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, mensuration and statistics) and logical and analytical reasoning. The maths stays at a basic level, but the current affairs part means you should follow the news for several months before the exam.
How to choose your five subjects
- List 5 to 10 courses at the universities you would like to join.
- Open each university's CUET admission page and note the subjects it asks for.
- Pick the subjects that appear most often in your list. The bulletin lets you choose irrespective of your Class 12 subjects, but the university decides what it accepts.
- Include a language, usually English, unless none of your courses need one.
- Check that your choices are final before paying the fee, as the fee depends on the number of subjects.
A simple preparation plan
| Phase | What to do |
|---|---|
| Before Class 12 boards | Study board subjects from NCERT; they are the CUET domain syllabus too |
| Alongside boards | Practise one language passage set and a few aptitude questions every day |
| After boards | Switch to timed MCQ practice: 50 questions in 60 minutes per subject |
| Last two weeks | Full mock tests in the actual shift order you expect, then revise weak units |
Because every question is compulsory and wrong answers cost a mark, practise deciding quickly when to answer and when a guess is too risky. With 50 questions in 60 minutes, you have a little over a minute for each one.
Has the syllabus changed?
The 2025 cycle cut the number of subjects and removed optional questions, so all questions became compulsory. The 2026 bulletin kept the same structure. A new bulletin is issued each year, so check the CUET 2026 syllabus pages or their successor on the official website before you start, and plan from the version for your exam year.
Next steps
Once your subjects are fixed, read about the full exam on the CUET UG exam hub and keep the CUET UG admit card steps bookmarked for exam season. If you are in Class 12 with CBSE, the CBSE syllabus guide explains how CBSE organises its curriculum. Science students also preparing for medicine can compare with the NEET syllabus by NMC. All our syllabus pages are in the syllabus section.
HindiScope is not an official site; confirm on cuet.nta.nic.in.