Optional subject coaching for UPSC
Choosing the right optional subject is the single most crucial decision you have to make.
Optional subjects at Rau's IAS
OPTIONAL BATCHES FOR CIVIL SERVICES,
IAS/UPSC EXAM 2025-26
Online
Batches Offline
Batches
@ New Delhi Offline
Batches
@ Bengaluru
FEATURES OF OPTIONAL COACHING AT RAU'S
Available in
- English Medium
- Offline Classes
- Live-Online classes
Duration
5-6 months
Class Timings
1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Mon -Fri/Sat
Expert Faculty
Best in class optional
teachers who focus on
individual attention and
mentoring.
Basics to Advanced
Everything will be covered
from scratch.
Comprehensive
Full coverage of the Optional
Subject’s syllabus – Papers I &
II – is delivered through
lectures.
What’s included
Foundation + QIP (Test Series, Test Discussions & Revision before exam)
How to select Optional subject in UPSC Mains
In the Civil Services Main Examination, candidates have to select one optional subject which carries 500 marks and is spread over 2 papers of 250 marks each, Paper A and Paper B, adding up to 25% of the marks making the merit list. With the rest of the UPSC syllabus being compulsory and common for all candidates, selection of the right optional subject can make that crucial difference between selection and rejection in the exam.
The optional subject must be carefully picked basis the following aspects only:
- Interest
- Availability of proper guidance
- Optional subject’s contribution in General
Studies
FAQ'S
How many optional subject in UPSC CSE?
- 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 and International Relations
- Psychology
- Public Administration
- Sociology
- Statistics
- Zoology
- Literature of any one of the following languages:
- Assamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Santhali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu and English.
There are 48 subjects from which an aspirant can choose an optional subject for the civil services exam. These include:
What are the Optional Subjects available in Rau's IAS?
Rau’s IAS offers following optional subjects Anthropology, Economics, Hindi Literature, History, Geography, Political Science, Public Administration and Sociology.
What will be the optional class duration in Rau’s IAS?
The optional classes will be conducted 2 hours, Monday to Friday/Saturday for a duration of about 5-6 months (varies from optional to optional).
When to choose an optional subject for upsc?
It is advised that a student should choose optional subject when one starts studying for the UPSC Civil Services Exam. What is expected is that student should finish the optional subject 4-5 months prior to the prelims exam. For the remaining of time, the focus should be on revision.
What optional subject to choose with PCM, PCB, Commerce?
Choose the subject which you like. If you can choose the subject from your graduation subject(s) then give preference to that subject. If you have to choose a new subject from humanities, you may go through the NCERTs of class XI and XII (Humanities subjects). You will learn about Economics, Geography, History, Political Science, Society, etc. You may like one or two subjects. Check from the Optional syllabus to understand what topics you have studied and then take a look at the UPSC previous years’ questions on those topics that you have studied from NCERTs of that subject(s). Whichever subject inspires the most confidence can be a good choice for you.
Which optional subject is best for engineering students?
Choose the subject which you like. If you can choose the subject from your graduation subject(s) then give preference to that subject. If in case you have to choose a new subject from humanities, you may go through the NCERTs of class XI and XII (Humanities subjects). You will learn about Economic, Geography, History, Economics, Political Science and Psychology. You may like one or two subjects. Check from the syllabus to understand what topics you have studied and then take a look at the previous years’ questions on those topic that you have studied from NCERTs of that subject(s). Whichever subject inspires most confidence can be a good choice for you.
Which optional subject is best for upsc in hindi medium?
Choose the subject which you like. If you can choose the subject from your graduation subject(s) then give preference to that subject. This formula does not change for any medium. If in case you have to choose a new subject from humanities, you may go through the NCERTs of class XI and XII (Humanities subjects). You will learn about Economic, Geography, History, Economics, Political Science and Psychology. You may like one or two subjects. Check from the syllabus to understand what topics you have studied and then take a look at the previous years’ questions on those topic that you have studied from NCERTs of that subject(s). Whichever subject inspires most confidence can be a good choice for you.
Which optional subject is high scoring in upsc?
The subject that you like is the best subject for you in terms of high scoring. That is the reason we see toppers come from different subjects every single year.
Which optional subject overlap with GS?
The subjects that overlap with general studies are mentioned in the syllabus itself. These are History, Geography, Polity, Economy, Sociology, Political Science, Psychology, Philosophy etc. But it needs to be highlighted that optional subject should be chosen as the one that you like/enjoy the most.
Is Self-Study Sufficient for optional?
Self study is important. If you have clarity of goal, you are dedicated, you have the right set of resources and you have the complete plan & ability to execute that then of-course self study is sufficient to clear the exam.
