UPSC Exam: Why Many Choose Cross-Domain Subjects As Optional

Apart from being highly competitive, it is the syllabus and comprehensiveness of subjects that make cracking the exam tough. Hence, candidates often choose their optional subject intelligently, from the 48 subjects on offer.

Rajeev Choudhary, an acclaimed instructor who trains aspirants to appear for the exam, says aspirants choose subjects with great diligence, as their choices also reflect upon their ability to take informed decisions as a civil servant. 

“We guide students in selecting optional subjects for the main exam even before they qualify in the prelims. Mostly, we give them an option of a set of subjects based on the success rates of candidates in previous years, and ask them to identify one according to their liking,” said Choudhary.

Trends In Optional Subject Selection

Durgesh Nandan, who runs his own coaching centre in New Delhi, is an engineer. When he took the civil services exam, Nandan told The Secretariat, he opted for Geography as his optional subject for the Mains.

He said, “Political Science and International Relations (PSIR) remains the most preferred among optional subjects among candidates, followed by Anthropology and Sociology.”

He added: “As far as academic backgrounds of successful candidates are concerned, 60.4 per cent were from Engineering, followed by 25.1 per cent, 8.6 per cent and 5.9 per cent from the Humanities, Sciences and Medical Sciences, respectively.”

Nandan, however, said that over 80 per cent of optional subjects among successful candidates were from the Humanities (including Literature), followed by 12.2 per cent, 3.7 per cent and 3.3 per cent from the Sciences, Engineering and Medical Sciences, respectively. 

He further said, “The data shows most of the candidates have made a cross-domain shift from their academic stream, particularly in cases of Engineering and Medical Science students, to the Humanities.”

Rise Of Geography

According to Choudhary, most aspirants from the Sciences take Geography as their optional for the mains, as they find a lot of simple physics, chemistry and mathematics in the subject. In the past three years, over 3,000 successful candidates have opted for it.

A senior professor in the Geography department of University of Delhi, preferring to remain anonymous, told The Secretariat that what further helps students decide is the syllabus and the availability of study material. 

Nandan says engineers have limited choices in optional subjects from their stream, which leaves them with no option but to opt for subjects from the Humanities and Social Sciences. 

There are three list of optional subjects for Engineering — Chemical, Electrical and Mechanical Engineering — according to the latest UPSC annual report.

Many believe that exposure to Humanities is important for aspiring administrative officers, as subjects like Political Science, Public Administration, History and Philosophy give aspirants a sense of the art of administration and an understanding of the human mind, which plays a pivotal role in the administrative process. 

Choudhary said, “Several of the Engineering and Medicine students come to me for guidance, after selecting Public Administration as their optional. They chose it as the content relating to it carries 400 marks in the General Studies paper, and forms the bedrock of their training modules at the academy, after qualification.”

With an increasing number of candidates shifting from technical backgrounds to the Humanities and Social Sciences, this pattern underscores the evolving nature of civil service exam preparation.