CUET Exam Pattern
Welcome to our one-stop guide to the CUET(UG) Exam pattern! The CUET (UG), or the Common University Entrance Test (Undergraduate), is a crucial exam held every year by the National Testing Agency for students striving to get admission to different undergraduate courses in India’s top selected universities. CUET (UG) is a gateway to admission in various courses such as B.A., B.Sc., B.Com, B.Voc, etc.
Whether you are a science student or preparing for a general course, understanding the CUET exam pattern is essential for success in the CUET UG exam.
1.0CUET Exam Pattern
CUET UG might held in a computer-based format (CBT)(yet to confirm by NTA). CUET Exam Pattern consists of three sections: Section I with two subsections (IA and IB), Section II, and Section III, in the following configuration of questions and duration:
Key Points
- The questions are asked in MCQ (Multiple Choice Questions) format with 4 choices with a positive marking of +5 and a negative marking of –1.
- No marks will be deducted for unattempted questions.
- The exam will be held in three time slots or shifts in a day. That is:
- The exam will be held in 13 different languages, which include Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Gujarati, Odia, Bengali, Assamese, Punjabi, English, Hindi, and Urdu.
- The exam is conducted on a national level, with over 200 government and private central universities participating, including some prestigious universities in India.
- The total number of questions asked in each section is 50, of which only 40 need to be attempted.
- The maximum mark that can be obtained is 800 (2004).
- To ensure fairness across all shifts of the exam, NTA uses the process of normalisation of marks. The cutoff or merit list will be based on the normalized marks of the students.
CUET 2025 Section-Wise Exam Pattern
The below table contains the details based on last year. Will notify you after the official notification on the latest details.
2.0Changes in Exam Pattern 2025
The National Testing Agency, along with UGC, might consider some changes in the CUET Exam pattern for the year 2025. The changes are as follows:
- Decrease in Total Subjects: The total number of subjects from which the subjects for Sections I and II need to be chosen has decreased to 37 from 63, which includes 13 languages and 23 domain-specific subjects. The admission for these dropped subjects will now be based on section III of the CUET UG exam, the GAT (General aptitude test).
- Selection of Domain Subjects: A candidate can choose only 5 subjects, which was 6 in the previous year, from the pool of 37 total subjects.
- Subject selection: In CUET 2025, students can select any subject irrespective of their background in class 12th.
- CBT-only Scheme: In 2025, the exam will be conducted solely in a computer-based format, unlike in 2024, when it was held in hybrid mode.
- Exam Duration: Each section will be given 60 minutes to complete.
*Please Note: The above informations are based on the online talks. These are yet to be confirmed by the NTA.
3.0CUET UG Section-Wise Subjects
Key Points to Remember
- Candidates can choose up to three languages in Section I.
- Candidates can select only 5 domain-specific subjects from the list of subjects in Section II.
- The General Test is Compulsory for all the candidates regardless of their stream or selection of course.
- Every University/institution/Organisation may have its own set of eligible domain courses for a particular degree program; hence, it is advised to always visit the site of the specific university you are aiming for to select the languages and subjects according to their criteria.
4.0Checklist To Prepare For CUET UG
So, are you aiming to crack the CUET UG Exam 2025 but don’t know where to start? Don’t worry; here is a checklist to help you Prepare for the CUET UG examination effectively; you need to:
- Understand the pattern of the CUET Undergraduate exam.
- Go through the syllabus specific to your subject of interest.
- Make NCERT books your best friend. The Questions asked in domain-specific exams are asked directly from NCERT books. Hence much importance should be given to the syllabus of NCERT class 12th.
- Give online mock tests by allocating time like in the actual exam.
- Solve previous year's exam papers to get an idea of what type of questions are asked in the CUET exam.
- Revise the whole syllabus and Practice your weak areas of subjects.
- Last but not least, stay calm and confident.
Table of Contents
- 1.0CUET Exam Pattern
- 1.1CUET 2025 Section-Wise Exam Pattern
- 2.0Changes in Exam Pattern 2025
- 3.0CUET UG Section-Wise Subjects
- 4.0Checklist To Prepare For CUET UG
Frequently Asked Questions
For every correct answer, you will be awarded +5 marks and a –1 mark deduction for every incorrect answer. There will be no penalty of marks for unanswered questions.
In the CUET exam 2025 each section will consist of 50 questions from which you need to answer 40 questions each.
To prepare for the CUET exam you need to know the pattern and syllabus of the exam. This comprehensive guide for the CUET UG exam pattern will help with that. After knowing the syllabus and pattern you need to go through the 12th syllabus again and attempt a mock test.
Yes, according to the new rules set by the NTA and UGC, candidates can take an exam in any subject regardless of their 12th-grade background.
In the GAT of CUET UG, General Knowledge, Current Affairs, General Mental Ability, Numerical Ability, Quantitative Reasoning (Simple application of basic mathematical concepts Arithmetic / Algebra / Geometry / Mensuration / Statistics of grade 8), Logical and Analytical Reasoning will be asked.
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