More than 70% of the people dream of becoming an IAS officer at some point in their life. I am sure you must have too! Being an IAS is the most prestigious career which will give you respect, power and money. Also, the Indian Administrative Service Examination (IAS) is known to be one of the toughest exams to crack, with pass percentage below 20%. It is estimated that if around 12 Lakh students apply for the exam, only 6 Lakh appear and only 13,000 students are selected for the mains. So, it is but natural to prepare with the best strategy. In this article, we will explore the strategies to help you choose the right optional subject for UPSC Examination :
How to Choose the optional subject for IAS Examination or UPSC?
Lakhs of candidates appear for the prelims and only thousands of candidates move forward to the Mains. At this stage, you are required to choose your optional subject with 2 papers (500 marks, 250 each).
Let’s first explore all the options which are available :
- Agriculture
- 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
- International Relations
- Psychology
- Public Administration
- Sociology
- Statistics
- Zoology
- The literature of any language (Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu & English)
Which are the most popular choices for an Optional Subject for UPSC Examination?
There is a flexibility to choose any optional subjective irrespective of the student’s educational background. If we look at the statistics, the most sought after subjects are the ones which overlap with the General Studies and essay. Political Science, Public Administration, Geography, Sociology and History are considered to be the most scoring subjects. Even Psychology has emerged as one of the popular choices. On the other hand, if we look at the least chosen subjects, Medicine and Engineering will top the list. It is extremely difficult to master Engineering, Medicine or any new language. Although, I would like to make it clear that the popularity of the optional subjects for UPSC will not guarantee clearance of the exam.
Tips to help you choose an optional subject for UPSC
- Your interest in the subject is extremely important. Choose a subject which will make you read more.
- Try choosing an optional subject which is overlapping with the general studies, but you can avoid it if you feel it is not interesting enough.
- Avoid taking a subject which is totally new to you, especially if it requires extensive preparation.
- Choose a subject whose books are easily available.
- As the popularity of the subject will not guarantee success, don’t get allured by what previous year’s toppers have taken. There were toppers in the past who have cleared the UPSC exam with Urdu Literature, English Literature, etc.
- Take a subject in which you have a piece of prior knowledge.
Conclusion
Choosing a subject is a combination of mainly of interest and your prior knowledge base in the subject. In case if you have no prior knowledge, choose a subject which will overlap with the general paper. With a doubt, choosing the optional subject for UPSC is a challenging task and should be given enough thought.
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If you have any other suggestion, do mention in the comment section.