The Common University Entrance Test (CUET) is a standardised test in India conducted by the National Testing Agency at various levels for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Universities and other participating institutes. It is also the means through which students are admitted to certain Deemed universities across India.
History CUCET was first conducted to admission for seven central universities for 1,500 seats in 41 undergraduate, postgraduate and integrated courses from 2010. The application form was filled up through CUCET-2010 which held on 19 and 20 June 2010 in about 30 examination centers spread across the country. From its inception in 2010 until 2020, the CUCET was conducted by the Central University of Rajasthan for 12 Central Universities. The National Testing Agency took over the conduct of these exams in 2021. In 2024, as a part of National Education Policy 2020, CUET is introduced as revamped version of CUCET making it compulsory for all 45 central universities and other universities to adopt and accept.
Exam pattern and structure All question papers are Multiple Choice Question-based organized into different parts.
For undergraduate programmes Starting 2024, the CUET exam pattern has three sections, which are Section IA – 13 Languages, Section IB – 20 Languages, Section II – 27 Domain-Specific Subjects, and Section III – General Test.
The CUET-UG consists of the Language Test, Domain-Specific papers, and the General Test. Candidates can opt for a combination of at most two languages and six domain-specific subjects or three languages and five domain-specific tests. CUET entrance test 2024 will now be conducted in two slots. The duration of the first slot is 45 to 195 minutes, and the duration of the second slot is 45 to 225 minutes. CUET-UG 2023 was conducted in three slots of three hours each.
The marking scheme includes five marks for each correct answer, and one mark will be deducted for each wrong response.
Criticism of exam pattern In August 2022, Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit, the Vice-Chancellor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) raised questions regarding the inadequacy and inappropriateness of the multiple-choice-question (MCQ)-based CUET for postgraduate programmes. In an interview with The Indian Express, she blamed bureaucrats for failing to understand that academic merit implies analytical, language, and writing skills and cannot be equated with mere rote memorization, which, in her view, is the principal feature of MCQ-based tests. However, as her proposals were not well received by various groups, including the JNU Teachers’ Forum, and as the pattern of the CUET itself became a battleground in broader debates over nationalism, she later described the test as beneficial because it draws students from diverse sections of society, while refraining from commenting on its value as a measure of academic merit.
In the year 2026, a parliamentary committee requested the Central Government to reassess the examination pattern for social sciences and humanities. However, the report of the committee faced severe criticism from NITI Aayog. One of its members, Gobardhan Das, termed the debate over the pattern of the test as a battleground between English-educated elites and vernacular rural communities and argued that intelligence is something much more than elegance in speaking and writing alone. Furthermore, he connected the qualitative aspects of a test with rote learning and described the MCQ pattern of the test as more suitable for assessing intelligence, as it places less emphasis on rote memorization. +Subjects, Pattern of CUET - UGSection 1A - 13 languagesSection 2 - 27 Domain-specific SubjectsSection 3 - General Aptitude TestSubjects English Telugu Tamil Kannada Malayalam Marathi Bhojpuri Bengali Assamese Punjabi Hindi UrduSTEM:
Agriculture Sciences Biology/Biological Studies/Biotechnology/Biochemistry Chemistry Computer Science/Informatics Practices/Information Technology Environmental Studies/sciences Mathematics / Applied Mathematics Physics
Commerce/Business:
Accountancy/Book Keeping Business Studies Economics/Business Economics Humanities and Social Sciences: Anthropology Geography/Geology History Home Science Knowledge Tradition-Practices India Mass Media, Journalism & Communication Political Science Psychology Sanskrit Sociology Arts, Sports & Others: Fine Arts/Visual Arts Art Education & Sculpture /Painting & Commercial Art Performing Arts Teaching Aptitude Physical Education/National Cadet Corps (NCC)/Yoga General Aptitude TestSyllabus Reading Comprehension based on different types of passages–Factual, Literary and Narrative - Tested on understanding of a passage and its central theme, meanings of words used therein, etc. Literary Aptitude and Vocabulary - Tested on Questions on synonyms & antonyms Grammar from all topics - Tested on correcting grammatically incorrect sentences, filling blanks in sentences with appropriate words, Rearranging the parts, etc. Verbal Ability Vocabulary, WritingsBased On Latest Syllabus Prescribed As Per NCERT. General Knowledge & Current Affairs General Mental Ability Numerical Ability Aptitude Quantitative Reasoning (application of basic mathematical concepts arithmetic, algebra geometry, mensuration, statistics & Probability) Logical & Analytical ReasoningPattern & Duration50 MCQs to be answered in 50 Minutes (per subject)50 MCQs to be answered in 60 Minutes (per subject)50 MCQs to be answered in 60 minutes as per 2025 circular
For postgraduate programmes The CUET-PG has an additional 72 test papers for various courses. The complete mapping of test paper code versus course and university is provided by NTA in the information brochure. +CUET PG SubjectsLanguages & LinguisticsSciences & MathematicsEngineering & TechnologyEducationArtsCommerce & ManagementHumanities & Social SciencesIndology, Religion & PhilosophyOthersLinguistics:
Linguistics, Applied Linguistics, Linguistics and Language Technology, Linguistics & Tribal Languages, Computational Linguistics (LAQP04) English, Comparative Literature, English & Cultural Studies, English, Modern European etc. (LAQP01) Hindi, Hindi translation, Hindi and Comparative Literature, Hindi and Modern Indian Languages etc. (LAQP02)
Indian Languages:
Assamese (LAQP06) Bhutia (LAQP08) Bengali (LAQP07) Gujarati (LAQP13) Hindi (LAQP02) Kannada (LAQP16) Kashmiri (LAQP17) Khasi (LAQP18) Kokborok (LAQP19) Lepcha (LAQP21) Malayalam (LAQP23) Manipuri (LAQP24) Marathi (LAQP25) Nepali (LAQP26) Odia (LAQP27) Pali (LAQP28) Punjabi (LAQP33) Sanskrit (LAQP03) Santali (LAQP40) Tamil (LAQP35) Telugu (LAQP36) Urdu (LAQP37)
Foreign Languages:
Arabic (LAQP05) Chinese (LAQP09) French (LAQP10) German (LAQP12) Italian (LAQP41) Japanese (LAQP15) Korean (LAQP20) Persian (LAQP30) Russian (LAQP34) Spanish (LAQP31) Agricultural Science etc. (SCQP01) Agro-forestry etc. (SCQP02) Animal Science & Poultry (SCQP30) Applied Microbiology & Microbiology etc. (SCQP03) Architecture etc. (SCQP04) Biochemistry (SCQP05) Bioinformatics (SCQP06) Botany (SCQP07) Chemistry etc. (SCQP08) Computer Applications and Information Technology etc. (SCQP09) Environmental Sciences etc. (SCQP11) Food Science and Technology etc. (SCQP12) Forensic Science (SCQP13) Geology, Earth Sciences etc. (SCQP14) Geophysics (SCQP15) Horticulture etc. (SCQP16) Life Science etc. (SCQP17) Material Science and Technology etc. (SCQP18) Mathematics etc. (SCQP19) Medical Laboratory Technology etc. (SCQP20) MPT/MRT etc. (SCQP21) Nanoscience etc. (SCQP22) Pharmacy etc. (SCQP23) Physics etc. (SCQP24) Plant Biotechnology etc. (SCQP25) Soil Science - Soil & Water Conservation etc. (SCQP26) Statistics etc. (SCQP27) Zoology etc. (SCQP28) Atmospheric Science (SCQP29) Public Health (COQP19) Architecture etc. (SCQP04) Chemical Thermal & Polymer Engineering (MTQP01) Civil, Structural & Transport Engineering (MTQP02) Dairy Technology (MTQP03) Data Science, Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security & Computer Science (MTQP04) Electrical, Power and Energy Engineering (MTQP10) Electronics, Communication and Information Engineering (MTQP05) Food Engineering and Technology (MTQP06) Mechanical Engineering (MTQP07) Nanoelectronics & Material Sciences (MTQP09) Nano Science & Nano Technology etc. (MTQP08) Textile Engineering (MTQP12) Water Engineering and Management etc. (MTQP11) B.Ed. (COQP03) B.Ed. Humanities and Social Sciences (COQP04) B.Ed. Languages (COQP05) B.Ed. Mathematics (COQP07) B.Ed. Science (COQP06) M.A. Education (COQP16) M.Ed. (COQP15) Applied Arts (HUQP03) Art and Aesthetics (HUQP04) Fine Arts etc. (HUQP07) Dance (HUQP05) Music - Karnatak (HUQP12) Music - Percussion (HUQP25) Music – Hindustani (HUQP14) Painting (HUQP15) Pottery & Ceramics (HUQP19) Plastic Arts (HUQP17) Theatre (HUQP24) Agri-Business Management etc. (COQP01) Commerce, Business Finance, Accounting & Taxation, Economic Administration and Financial Management etc. (COQP08) Economics, Financial Economics, Business Economics, Rural Economics etc. (COQP10) General MBA, Marketing & Finance Management, Tourism, Travel & Hotel Management, Business Analytics, Sales & Marketing etc. (COQP12) Healthcare & Hospital Management (COQP22) Ancient Indian History, Culture & Arch, Archaeology Heritage Management, Conservation Preservation and Heritage Management etc. (HUQP01) Anthropology (HUQP02) Disaster Studies (COQP09) Development and Labour Studies (HUQP06) Geography (HUQP08) History and Archaeology, Ancient Indian History, Culture etc. (HUQP09) History of Art, Archaeology Heritage Management etc. (HUQP10) Home Science-Food & Nutrition, Nutrition and Health, Human Development & Childhood Studies, Fabric & Apparel Science, Resource Management & Design Application, Development Communication & Extension etc. (HUQP11) Museology (HUQP13) Philosophy (HUQP16) Political Science, Public Administration, Human Rights, Politics and International Relations etc. (HUQP18) Psychology, Applied Psychology, Health Psychology etc. (HUQP20) Social Work, Urban & Rural Community Development etc. (HUQP21) Sociology, Peace and Conflict Studies and Management (HUQP22) Rabindra Sangit (HUQP26) Commerce etc. (COQP08) Criminology (SCQP10) Shiksha Shastri B.Ed. (ACQP01) Shiksha Acharya M.Ed. (ACQP02) Agama (ACQP03) Baudha Darshan & Buddhist Studies (Trilingual - Hindi, Sanskrit & English) (ACQP04) Dharma Shastra, Vastu, Paurohitya and Veda (ACQP05) Dharma Vijnan (ACQP06) Dharmashastra (BHU) (ACQP07) Hindu Studies (Bilingual - Sanskrit, English) (ACQP08) Indian Knowledge System (ACQP09) Jain Darshan (BHU) (ACQP10) Jyotish - Falit (BHU) (ACQP11) Jyotish - Ganit (BHU) (ACQP12) Krishna Yajurveda (BHU) (ACQP13) Nyaya Vaisheshika (ACQP14) Phalita and Siddantha Jyotisha (ACQP15) Puranetihas (ACQP16) Rigveda (ACQP17) Sahitya (BHU) (ACQP18) Sahitya (Alankara and Kavya Varga) (ACQP19) Samveda (ACQP20) Shukla Yajurveda (BHU) (ACQP21) Veda etc. (ACQP22) Vedanta (BHU) (ACQP23) Vedanta, Sarvadarshan, Mimansa, Nyaya etc. (ACQP24) Vyakaran (BHU) (ACQP25) Vyakarana & Sabdabodha Systems (ACQP26) Yoga (COQP21) General, L.L.B., Bachelor of Library & Information Science, Defence and Strategic Studies, Jammu & Kashmir Studies, Hindu Studies, Women Studies, Anthropology, Digital Society, Finance & Taxation, Physical Education, Textile Design, Hospitality and Tourism Management, Gender Studies etc. (COQP11)
Library and Information Science:
Library & Information Science (COQP13) L.L.M. (COQP14)
Mass Communication and Journalism:
Mass Communication and Journalism (COQP17)
Physical Education, Yoga and Sports:
Physical Education (COQP18) Sports - Physiology, Biochemistry, Nutrition, Biomechanics etc. (COQP20) Yoga (COQP21)
Negative marking