The CUET is a very important exam for admission to India’s educational ecosystem. One of the several topics covered in section 2 is the History domain subject. The study of the past and its documentation is called history. Events that took place before writing systems were developed are referred to as prehistoric. The term “history” refers to the memory, discovery, collection, organization, presentation, and interpretation of past events. From the link provided below, download the PDF of the CUET history syllabus.
CUET UG History Syllabus 2025
The CUET history exam syllabus is broken up into 15 units. These 15 units are further divided into subsections. To fully understand and apply in the exam, the student needs to study them. Each topic in the history Syllabus of the CUET exam should receive the same amount of time and attention from the candidate.
Units of CUET History Exam Syllabus
There are 15 units in the history paper from where questions are asked in the exam. This makes the CUET syllabus vast and confusing. Candidates preparing for the exam must go through the individual units to avoid confusion during the preparation.
- The Story of the First Cities Harappan Archaeology
- Social Histories using the Mahabharata
- Religious Histories: The Bhakti-Sufi Tradition
- Political and Economic History: How Inscriptions tell a story
- Medieval society through Travellers’ Accounts
- New Architecture: Hampi
- A History of Buddhism: Sanchi Stupa
- The Mughal Court: Reconstructing Histories through Chronicles
- Agrarian Relations: The Ain-i-Akbari
- Colonialism and Indian Towns: Town Plans and Municipal Reports
- Representations of 1857
- Colonialism and Rural Society: Evidence from Official Reports
- Partition through Oral Sources
- Mahatma Gandhi Through Contemporary Eyes
- The Making of the Constitution
CUET History Syllabus PDF
From the official website cuet.samarth.ac.in, download the PDF version of the History CUET syllabus in Hindi and English. Instead, use the direct link below to download the syllabus quickly and easily.
Unit-Wise CUET History Syllabus
Candidates should thoroughly study and prepare the CUET history syllabus for better comprehension and exam results. The table below provides details of the history syllabus for the exam.
| Unit | Topic |
| The Story of the First Cities Harappan Archaeology | Broad overview: Early urban centers. Story of discovery: Harappan civilization. Excerpt: Archaeological report on a major site. Discussion: how it has been utilized by archaeologists/ historians? |
| Political and Economic History: How Inscriptions tell a story | Broad overview: Political and economic history from the Mauryan to the Gupta period. Story of discovery: Inscriptions and the decipherment of the script. Shifts in the understanding of political and economic history. Excerpt: Asokan inscription and Gupta period land grant. Discussion: Interpretation of inscriptions by historians. |
| Social Histories using the Mahabharata | Broad overview: Issues in social history, including caste, class, kinship, and gender. Story of discovery: Transmission and publications of the Mahabharata. Excerpt: From the Mahabharata, illustrating how it has been used by historians. |
| A History of Buddhism: Sanchi Stupa | Broad overview: (a) A brief review of religious histories of Vedic religion, Jainism, Vaisnavism, and Saivism. (b) Focus on Buddhism. Story of discovery: Sanchi stupa. Excerpt: Reproduction of sculptures from Sanchi. Discussion: Ways in which sculpture has been interpreted by historians, and other sources for reconstructing the history of Buddhism. |
| Medieval society through Travellers’ Accounts | Broad Overview: Outline of social and cultural life as they appear in travellers’ accounts. Story of their writings: A discussion of where they travelled, why they travelled, what they wrote, and whom they wrote. Excerpts: from Alberuni, Ibn Battuta, Bernier. Discussion: What these travel accounts can tell us and how have they been interpreted by historians? |
| Religious Histories: The Bhakti-Sufi Tradition | Broad Overview: (a) Outline of religious developments during this period. (b) Ideas and practices of the Bhakti-Sufi saints. Story of Transmission: How Bhakti-Sufi compositions have been preserved. Excerpt: Extracts from selected Bhakti Sufi works. Discussion: Ways in which these have been interpreted by historians |
| New Architecture: Hampi | Broad Overview: (a)Outline of new buildings during the Vijayanagar period — temples, forts, irrigation facilities. (b)Relationship between architecture and the political system. Story of Discovery: Account of how Hampi was found. Excerpt: Visuals of buildings at Hampi. Discussion: Ways in which historians have analyzed and interpreted these structures. |
| Agrarian Relations: The Ain-i-Akbari | Broad overview: (a) Structure of agrarian relations in the 16th and 17th centuries. (b) Patterns of change over the period. Story of Discovery: Account of the compilation and translation of Ain-i-Akbari. Excerpt: From the Ain-i-Akbari Discussion: Ways in which historians have used the text to reconstruct the history |
| The Mughal Court: Reconstructing Histories through Chronicles | Broad Overview: (a) Outline of political history c. 15th-17th centuries. (b) Discussion of the Mughal court and politics. Story of Discovery: Account of the production of court chronicles, and their subsequent translation and transmission. Excerpts: From the Akbarnama and Padshahnama. Discussion: Ways in which historians have used the texts to reconstruct political histories. |
| Colonialism and Rural Society: Evidence from Official Reports | Broad overview: (a) Life of zamindars, peasants, and artisans in the late 18th century. (b) East India Company, revenue settlements, and surveys. (c) Changes over the nineteenth century. Story of official records: An account of why official investigations into rural societies were undertaken and the types of records and reports produced. Excerpts: From Firminger’s Fifth Report, Accounts of Francis Buchanan-Hamilton, and Deccan Riots Report. Discussion: What do the official records tell and do not tell, and how they have been used by historians? |
| Representations of 1857 | Broad Overview: (a) The events of 1857-58. (b) How these events were recorded and narrated. Focus: Lucknow. Excerpts: Pictures of 1857. Extracts from contemporary accounts. Discussion: How the pictures of 1857 shaped British opinion of what had happened |
| Colonialism and Indian Towns: Town Plans and Municipal Reports | Broad Overview: The growth of Mumbai, Chennai, hill stations, and cantonments in the 18th and 19th centuries. Excerpts: Photographs and paintings. Plans of cities. Extract from town plan reports. Focus on Kolkata town planning. Discussion: How the above sources can be used to reconstruct the history of towns? What these sources do not reveal. |
| Mahatma Gandhi Through Contemporary Eyes | Broad Overview: (a) The nationalist movement 1918-48, (b) The nature of Gandhian politics and leadership. Focus: Mahatma Gandhi in 1931. Excerpts: Reports from English and Indian language newspapers and other contemporary writings. Discussion: How newspapers can be a source of history. |
| Partition through Oral Sources | Broad overview: Early urban centres. Story of discovery: Harappan civilization. Excerpt: Archaeological report on a major site. Discussion: how it has been utilized by archaeologists/ historians? |
| The Making of the Constitution | Broad Overview: (a) Independence and the new nation-state. (b) The making of the Constitution. Focus: The Constitutional Assembly debates. Excerpts: From the debates. Discussion: What do such debates reveal and how they can be analyzed? |
CUET UG Exam Pattern
The CUET domains subject section 2 carries 50 questions. Students need to attempt 40 questions. You will get 45 minutes to attempt the whole paper. If you attempt more than 40 questions only the first 40 will be counted and the remaining will not be considered for evaluation. Check the complete structure of the CUET exam pattern.
| Particulars | Details |
| Number of questions | 40 out of 50 questions to be attempted |
| Type of questions | Multiple Choice Questions |
| Marking Scheme | +5 for each correct answer -1 for each incorrect answer |
| Medium of Exam | 13 languages – English, Hindi, Urdu, Assamese, Bengali, Odia, Punjabi, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam |
| History Courses | B.A Hons. In History, Four Year Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) B.A. B.Ed., B.A. (Hons.) Public Administration, B.A. (Hons.) Psychology, B.A. (Hons.) Geography and B.A. (Hons.) Political Science |
Tips To Prepare CUET UG History Syllabus
To pass the exam, candidates must adhere to the preparation advice for the history syllabus. Following are the four essential exam preparation strategies that every student, regardless of CUET domain subject, should employ to achieve good scores and perform well.
- Analyze the exam syllabus correctly and comprehensively before you start. Candidates for the entrance exam must be conversant with the whole syllabus.
- Also, you must create and adhere to a preparation strategy. Before starting your exam preparation, make a study plan. Applicants must set aside enough time for each subject and make a plan in advance. To make the preparation manageable, they must set realistic targets.
- Please put in as much practice as you can, but do it correctly. Practice is crucial for getting a high score on the exam. Applicants must finish as many CUET History question papers, mock exams, and sample papers from previous years.
- Moreover, revision is the secret to success over the long term. Extensive revision is required for exam preparation. Applicants must diligently revise.
Best Books for History CUET Syllabus
Books are essential for covering the history syllabus and passing the CUET exam. In addition to the following trustworthy and helpful CUET history books, students are urged to prepare curated notebooks by writing, learning, and updating their book learnings. The following list contains the top study tools for the history syllabus.
| Best Books for CUET History Syllabus | |
| Themes in Indian History – 1 | NCERT |
| Themes in Indian History – 2 | NCERT |
| Themes in Indian History – 3 | NCERT |
| History, Art & Culture NCERT PLUS Objective MCQs | Disha Experts |
| Class XII History Textbook | NCERT |
Also Check,
CUET UG History Syllabus FAQs
The history syllabus for CUET is broken up into 15 sections. There are several subsections in these 15 sections, practically all of which are equally important from the exam point of view. The components are all connected in some manner. You must carefully finish all of the courses to fully understand the subject.
Candidates can download the CUET history syllabus PDF by clicking on the link provided above or you can access the syllabus PDF from the official website.
No! The official CUET history exam syllabus has not been altered in many years. If changes are made anytime soon, the National Testing Agency, which administers the exam, will notify the candidates beforehand. You can also visit this page for future updates.
Some of the Top CUET history books for the history exam are Themes in Indian History Part-I of NCERT, Themes in Indian History Part-II of NCERT, Themes in Indian History Part-III of NCERT, History, Art & Culture NCERT Plus objective MCQs of Disha Experts, Class XII History Textbook of NCERT are some of Best CUET books for history.
Applicants must familiarize themselves with the latest syllabus and pattern for the exam. Make a perfect study plan for the exam and practice the CUET previous year’s question papers and mock tests to analyze the performance.