CUET, or the Common University Entrance Test, is a standardized national-level entrance exam that is introduced by the Ministry of Education and conducted by the National Testing Agency, providing access to admission in 250+ universities across the country. Universities like Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia, Christ University, UPES-Dehradun, etc. have adopted CUET as the primary method for their admissions.
The exam structure for CUET UG is quite simple yet important to understand because it is totally different from the exam pattern of 12th boards.
The exam is divided into four different sections: the first two sections are language tests, the second section is domain-specific, and the third section is a general ability test.
- Section 1 (Language): This section contains of two sub-section; section 1A and section 1B
- Section IA (Language Test): In this section, candidates get to choose among 13 languages:
| 1. | English |
| 2. | Hindi |
| 3. | Bengali |
| 4. | Gujarati |
| 5. | Assamese |
| 6. | Tamil |
| 7. | Urdu |
| 8. | Kannada |
| 9. | Telugu |
| 10. | Marathi |
| 11. | Malayalam |
| 12. | Punjabi |
| 13. | Odia |
- Section IB (Language Test): In this section, candidates have to choose any additional language from 20 additional languages:
| 1. | Arabic |
| 2. | Bodo |
| 3. | Chinese |
| 4. | Dogri |
| 5. | French |
| 6. | German |
| 7. | Italian |
| 8. | Japanese |
| 9. | Kashmiri |
| 10. | Konkani |
| 11. | Maithili |
| 12. | Manipuri |
| 13. | Nepali |
| 14. | Persian |
| 15. | Russian |
| 16. | Santhali |
| 17. | Sindhi |
| 18. | Spanish |
| 19. | Tibetan |
| 20. | Sanskriti |
The questions in this section are based on comprehension, grammar, author, etc. Here, 40 out of 50 questions are to be attempted within the span of 45 minutes.
- Section II (Domain Subject): In this section, questions are asked on the basis of the selected domain subject that is based on the 12th-grade NCERT syllabus. The candidates are allowed to choose up to six subjects from a list of 27; according to their preference, these subjects are:
| 1. | Accountancy |
| 2. | Agriculture |
| 3. | Anthropology |
| 4. | Biology/Biotechnology/Biochemistry |
| 5. | Business studies |
| 6. | Chemistry |
| 7. | Computer Science/Informatics Practices |
| 8. | Economics/Business Economics |
| 9. | Engineering Graphics |
| 10. | Entrepreneurship |
| 11. | Environmental Studies |
| 12. | Fine Arts/Visual Arts |
| 13. | Geography/Geology |
| 14. | History |
| 15. | Home Science |
| 16. | Knowledge Tradition and Practices of India |
| 17. | Legal Studies |
| 18. | Mass Media/Mass communication |
| 19. | Mathematics |
| 20. | Performing Arts |
| 21. | Physical Education/NCC/Yoga |
| 22. | Physics |
| 23. | Political Science |
| 24. | Psychology |
| 25. | Sanskrit |
| 26. | Sociology |
| 27. | Teaching Aptitude |
Candidates are supposed to attempt 40 out of 50 questions in the span of 45 minutes.
- Section III (General Ability Test): This section consists of questions related to current affairs, logical reasoning, numerical ability, analytical reasoning, etc., and candidates are supposed to attempt 50 questions within the span of 60 minutes.
The questions in this section are based on comprehension, grammar, author, etc. Here, 40 out of 50 questions are to be attempted within the span of 45 minutes.
