UPHESC Assistant Professor Anthropology Syllabus 2026

UPHESC Assistant Professor Anthropology Syllabus

The written exam has two parts: General Knowledge (30 questions, the same for all subjects) and Anthropology (90 questions). Both syllabi below are the official ones of the Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission, Prayagraj.

Part 1: General Knowledge (30 questions, 90 marks)

Compulsory for all disciplines. Download PDF (0.3 MB)

Unit 1: Current Affairs

Major events and current affairs: national and international
Personalities in news
Sports news
Current research in the field of science

Unit 2: Teaching and Research Aptitude

Teaching: nature, objectives, need, methods, evaluation and factors affecting teaching
Research: meaning and methods
Data: source, collection and analysis
Role of UGC in qualitative development in higher education

Unit 3: Information and Communication Technology (ICT)

ICT: meaning, advantages and disadvantages
Basics of internet and e-mailing
General abbreviations and terminology

Unit 4: People and Environment

People and environment interaction
Environmental degradation: causes and solutions
National and international efforts for a better environment
Environmental control

Unit 5: Indian History and Geography

Salient features of Indian culture
Indian National Movement (1857–1950)
Origin of the universe and the solar system
Indian geography (general)

Unit 6: Indian Constitution and Economy

Preamble, Fundamental Rights and Directive Principles
Indian political system: legislature, executive and judiciary
Election Commission and Public Service Commission
Population, poverty, unemployment; planning and development; income tax
Agriculture, industry, trade; money, currency, banking and capital market

Part 2: Anthropology (subject code 40) – 90 questions, 270 marks

The Anthropology paper is at post-graduate (Master's) level. The complete official syllabus is below. Download Anthropology syllabus PDF (1.3 MB)

Unit 1: Introduction

Meaning; Scope; historical; development of anthropology & its relationship with other sciences; different branches of anthropology with their respective sub divisions.

Unit 2: Human Evolution

Theories of organic evolution, Lamarkism, Darwinism, Synthetic theory, Neutral theory.
Primate evolution including Aegyptopithecus, Propliopithecus, Dryopithecinae complex, Ramapithecus
Hominid evolution – Australopithecinae, Homo erectus, Neanderthal man, Home Sapien
Primate - Physical characters, classification & distribution of Prosimian & Anthropoidea including Lemuriformes, Lorisiformes, Tarsiformes, Ceboidea, Cercopithecoidea and Hominoidea
Comparative anatomy of Man & apes

Unit 3: Human Genetics

History & development of Human genetics, Concept of Eugenics, Branches of Human Genetics
Mendel's Laws of Genetics, its application in man, including autosomal & sex linked inheritance; linkage & crossing over, Multiallele & Polygenic inheritance, Codominance, Penetrance & Expressivity, Genetics of ABO, Rh, MNSs blood groups.
Hardy-Weinberg Law, Genetic polymorphism, Inbreeding, Genetic load

Unit 4: Human Variation

Concept of Race (Ethnic group), UNESCO statement of Race, Basis of Racial classification, Racial classification of world (Hooton's classification) and Indian population (with special reference to Guha, Risley & Sarkar classifications)
Methods of studying genetic principles –Twin studies, Family studies, Foster child study, Pedigree analysis, DNA Technology.
Human chromosomal aberrations – Numerical & Structural
Applications of human genetics – genetic screening, counseling and engineering.

Unit 5: Prehistoric Anthropology

Geological time scale, Pleistocene epoch chronology (in detail)
Dating methods – Absolute & Relative dating techniques
Tool types & technology – Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic
Palaeolethic cultures of Europe – Lower, Middle, Upper, Mesolithic & Neolithic
Palaeolithic cultures of India, Mesolithic, Neolithic, Iron age, Chalcolithic, Indus Valley civilization, Megalithic culture
Cave art & Home Art in Europe & India

Unit 6: Concepts of Social Anthropology

Culture : Concept & Definition of culture characteristics of culture, components of culture : Culture trait culture complex and culture pattern, Attributes, Holism, Universals, Aculturation, Enculturation, Transculturation, Culture change, Culture Shock, Culture relativism, civilization, cultural pluralism & World –view .
Society : Groups, Institution, Association, Community, Status & Role, Incest, Endogamy & exogamy, Rites of passage, Basic Concepts; Ethnicity, Diaspora, Civil-Societies, Social exclusion, caste and class
Theories in Social anthropology
Evolutionism – Tylor, Morgon, Frazer, Neo –Evolutionism –Leslie White, Julian Steward, Marshall Sahlins
Diffusionism – Austro – German, British, American Schools
Historical Particularism – Boas
Functionalism – Malinowski
Structural – functionalism – Radcliffe Brown, Firth, Fortes
Strcturalism – Levi-strauss
Culture & Personality /Psychological Anthropology – Mead, Ruth Benedict, DuBois, Linton, Kardiner, Whiting, Childe.
Basic & modal Personality, National Character (Margaret Mead)

Unit 7: Social Structure & Organisations

Family – Family of Orientation & Procreation, types – nuclear, extended, Joint; Family types as per residence
Marriage rules – Endogamy & exogamy,
Types – monogamy, polygamy
Marriage preference – Cross / parallel cousin, Levirate, Sororate
Dowry, bride wealth
Kinship terms and usages – classificatory & descriptive systems, Morgan's and Murdock's view
Behaviour & relationship – Avoidance & joking relationship, incest
Descent – Patriarchal, Matriarchal, unilineal Patrilineal, double
Group – Tribe, Clan, Phratry, Lineage, and Moiety.

Economic and Political : Religion and Magic

Economic Organisation: Subsistence Economy and Market Economy. Models of Exchange: reciprociating, redistribution & market.
Political Organisation: state and stateless band, strike chiefdom & kingdom. Crime and Punishment in Primitive Society. Religion and Magic: Primitive Religion: Animism, Totemism and Taboo, Shaman, Priest, Medicine Man.
Magic: Black, White, Preventive, Defensive, Destructive, Imitative, Sympathetic, Witchcraft, Sorcery, Homoeopathic and contagious magic.
Religion and Science.

Unit 8: Indian Anthropology : Basic Concepts and Issues

Basic Concepts : Indian Society and Culture, Indian Village. Caste as a group and system. Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe. Caste, Varna. Notified and Denotified tribe, PTG. Other Backward Classes and Castes, Sanskritisation, Westernisation, Modernisation. Sacred complex in India. Regionalism and Ethnicity.
Urbanization, Industrialization.
Little and Great tradition, Universalisation and Parochialisation, Dominant Caste, sacred complex, Folk-urban and tribe-caste continuum.
Basic Issues : New Panchayati Raj. Gram Sabha Women in new Panchayats. Constitutional safeguards for Scheduled Tribes. Tribal Movements. Tribal Rehabilitation; Democracy and Caste, Bonded Labour and Child Labour; Ashram Schools; Mandal Commission; Dhebar Commission. Role of NGO's in Anthropology.
Tribal problems and Welfare measures relating to : Forests, Shifting cultivation, Land, Alienation, Housing, Health and Sanitation/Nutrition, Indebtedness, Bonded Labour, Education, Gender Issues.
Indian Masters : G.S. Ghurye, N.K. Bose, D.N. Majumdar, Verrier Elwin, M.N. Srinivas, S.C. Dube, L.P. Vidhyarthi, P.C. Biswas, S.S. Sarkar, S.R.K. Chopra, B.S. Guha.

Unit 9: Applied Anthropology

Action Anthropology, Development Strategies (Plan/Sub-Plans): Special Programmes, Large-Scale Agricultural Multipurpose Societies (LAMPS), Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDP), Community Development Project (CDP), Integrated Rural Development Project (IRDP), Component Plan for SC
Anthropometry – Kinanthropometry, Anthropology of Sports. Human Karyotype, Microscopic examination of human cell.
Human Growth & Development – Basic concept – Postnatal growth, Factors affecting growth, Growth curves, Aging & Senescence, Secular trend, methods of studying growth, Percentile curve.
Nutrition – Nutritional requirements for normal growth from infancy to old age.
Somatotyping – concept, development (Kretschmer, Sheldon, Parnell Health & Carter methods)
Human adaptation – Allen's & Bergmann's rule; Adaptability to heat, cold, high altitude, Homeostasis & thermo regulation
Demography – Population structure & composition, Demographic process – Fertility, Mortability, Morbidity, fecundity, migration, Theories of demography.
Genetics of ABO, Rh, MNSs, HLA Systems & their role in paternity testing, DNA fingerprinting
Forensic anthropology Crime Scene investigation- its location, evaluation, protection of evidence, photography, Sketching. Establishing personal identity from skeleton – ethnicity, age, sex & stature. Biometrics
Dermatogyphics – Classification of fingerprint patterns, pattern intensity, Furuhata & Dankmeijen index.
Palmar & Sole deimatoghyphics.
Concept of Disaster management
Medical anthropology – concept of health, illness, sickness & disease, public & community health, ethnomedicine, medical pluralism, anthropotherapy
Medical Anthropology in India : Traditional medical systems in rural & tribal societies, AYUSH, Complimentary & Alternative medicine (CAM) in India.
Basic Concepts : Fashion Anthropology, Practicing Anthropology, Business Anthropology.

Unit 10: Research Methodology

Hypothesis, Research Design : Explorative, Experimental, Field work, Rapport establishment. Sample Technique, comparative methods, qualitative techniques, tools of data selection – Observation; Participant Observation, Interview, Interview schedule Questionaries, Case studies, geneology. PRA, RRA, Impact analysis, Appreciate inquiry.
Quantitative techniques; statistical – Mean, Standard Deviation, T-test, Chi-Square, Bivariate, multivariate analysis, discrimiment function analysis, Principal Component Analysis, correlation, Regression, Percentile curve, gene frequency estimation technique, genetic distance estimation.

How to prepare

Match the official Anthropology syllabus unit by unit with your Master's notes and mark weak units first.
Solve previous UPHESC/UPESSC Assistant Professor Anthropology papers (Advt 51 re-exam of April 2026 is the most recent).
Do not leave GK for the end: Teaching and Research Aptitude and ICT are scoring units of the GK paper.
Practise MCQs under time limits because of negative marking (-1 per wrong answer).

Syllabus PDFs of all 43 subjects are on UPHESC Assistant Professor.