UPHESC Assistant Professor Physics Syllabus 2026

UPHESC Assistant Professor Physics Syllabus

The written exam has two parts: General Knowledge (30 questions, the same for all subjects) and Physics (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: Physics (subject code 76) – 90 questions, 270 marks

The Physics paper is at post-graduate (Master's) level. The complete official syllabus is below. Download Physics syllabus PDF (1.0 MB)

Unit I: Mathematical Physics and Numerical Techniques

Dimensional analysis. Vector algebra and vector calculus. Linear algebra, matrices, Cayley-Hamilton Theorem. eigenvalue problems; Linear differential equations; special functions (Hermite, Bessel, Laguerre and Legendre); Recurrence relations. Fourier series, Fourier and Laplace transforms; Elements of complex analysis: Laurent series-poles, residues and evaluation of integrals; Elementary ideas about tensors; Introductory group theory, SU(2), O(3); Elementary probability theory, random variables, binomial, Poisson and normal distributions. Numerical techniques: roots of functions, interpolation, extrapolation, integration by trapezoid and Simpson's rule, solution of first order differential equations using Runge-Kutta method; Finite difference methods.

Unit II: Classical Mechanics

Newton's laws; Phase space dynamics, stability analysis; Central-force motion; Two-body collisions, scattering in laboratory and center-of-mass frames; Rigid body dynamics, moment of inertia tensor, Non-inertial frames and pseudoforces; Variational principle, Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formalism and equations of motion; Poisson brackets and canonical transformations; Hamilton – Jacobi Theory, Symmetry, invariance and conservation laws, cyclic coordinates; Periodic motion, small oscillations and normal modes; Special theory of relativity, Lorentz transformations, relativistic kinematics and mass–energy equivalence. Twin Paradox.

Unit III: Electromagnetic Theory

Electrostatics: Gauss's law and its applications; Laplace and Poisson equations, boundary value problems; Magnetostatics: Biot-Savart law, Ampere's theorem, electromagnetic induction; Maxwell's equations in free space and linear isotropic media; boundary conditions on fields at interfaces; Scalar and vector potentials; Gauge invariance; Electromagnetic waves in free space, dielectrics, and conductors; Reflection and refraction, polarization, Fresnel's law, interference, coherence, and diffraction; Transmission lines and wave guides; Cavity Resonator, Plasma oscillation, Dispersion relations in plasma; Lorentz invariance of Maxwell's equations; Dynamics of charged particles in static and uniform electromagnetic fields; Radiation from moving charges, dipoles and retarded potentials.

Unit IV: Thermodynamic and Statistical Physics

Laws of thermodynamics and their consequences; Thermodynamic potentials, Maxwell relations; Chemical potential, phase equilibria; Phase space, macro- and microstates; Microcanonical, canonical and grand-canonical ensembles and partition functions; Free energy and connection with thermodynamic quantities; First- and second-order phase transition; Classical and quantum statistics, Ideal Fermi and Bose gases; Principle of detailed balance; Blackbody radiation and Planck's distribution law; Bose-Einstein condensation; Random walk and Brownian motion; concept of non equilibrium processes; Diffusion equation.

Unit V: Quantum Mechanics

Wave-particle duality; Wave function in coordinate and momentum representations; Commutators and Heisenberg's uncertainty principle; Matrix representation; Dirac's bra and ket notation; Schroedinger equation (time-dependent and time-independent); Eigenvalue problems such as particle-in-a-box, harmonic oscillator; Tunneling through a barrier; Motion in a central potential; Orbital angular momentum, Angular momentum algebra, spin; Addition of angular momenta; Hydrogen atom, spin-orbit coupling, fine structure; Time-independent and Time dependent perturbation theory, Fermi's Golden Rule; Selection rules; Semi-classical theory of radiation; Elementary theory of scattering, phase shifts, partial waves, Born approximation; Identical particles, Pauli's exclusion principle, spin-statistics connection; Relativistic quantum mechanics: Klein Gordon and Dirac equations.

Unit VI: Electronics

Semiconductor devices: diodes, junction transistors, field effect transistors, homo and heterojunctions; their structure, characteristics, frequency dependence and applications; Optoelectronic devices; solar cells, photodetectors and LEDs; Operational amplifiers and their applications; Digital techniques and applications (registers, counters, comparators and similar circuits); A/D and D/A converters; basics of Microprocessor and microcontroller. Oscillator, Amplifier, Modulation & demodulation, Switching time, High frequency devices including generators and detectors.

Unit VII: Experimental Techniques and data analysis

Data interpretation and analysis; Precision and accuracy, error analysis, propagation of errors, least squares fitting, linear and nonlinear curve fitting, chi-square test; Transducers (temperature, pressure/vacuum, magnetic field, vibration, optical, and particle detectors), measurement and control; Signal conditioning and recovery, impedance matching, amplification (Op-amp based instrumentation and feedback), filtering and noise reduction, shielding and grounding; Fourier transforms; lock-in detector, box-car integrator, modulation techniques.

Unit VIII: Atomic and Molecular Physics

Quantum states of an electron in an atom; Electron spin; Stern-Gerlach experiment; Spectrum of Hydrogen, helium and alkali atoms; Relativistic corrections for energy levels of hydrogen; Hyperfine structure and isotopic shift; width of spectral lines; LS & JJ couplings; Zeeman, Paschen Bach & Stark effect; X-ray spectroscopy; Electron spin resonance, Nuclear magnetic resonance, chemical shift; Rotational, vibrational and electronic spectra of diatomic molecules, Raman spectra of diatomic molecules; Frank -Condon principle and selection rules; Spontaneous and stimulated emission, Einstein A & B coefficients; Lasers, optical pumping, population inversion, rate equations; Modes of resonators and coherence length, U-V and infrared spectrometry.

Unit IX: Condensed Matter Physics

Bravais lattices; Reciprocal lattice, diffraction and the structure factor; Bondings in solids; Elastic properties, phonons, lattice specific heat; Free electron theory and electronic specific heat; Response and relaxation phenomena; Drude model of electrical and thermal conductivity; Hall effect and thermoelectric power; Quantum Hall effect; Diamagnetism, paramagnetism, and ferromagnetism; Electron motion in a periodic potential, band theory of solids, Defects and dislocations Ordered phases of matter, translational and orientational order, liquid crystals, Conducting polymers; Quasicrystals. Superconductivity: type-I and type-II superconductors. Josephson junctions.

Unit X: Nuclear and Particle Physics

Basic nuclear properties: size, shape and charge distribution, spin and parity; Binding energy, semi-empirical mass formula; Liquid drop model; Fission and fusion; Nature of nuclear forces, form of nucleon-nucleon potential; Charge-independence and charge-symmetry of nuclear forces; Isospin; Deuteron problem; Evidence of shell structure, single-particle shell model, its validity and limitations; Rotational spectra; Elementary ideas of alpha, beta and gamma decays and their selection rules; Nuclear reactions, reaction mechanisms, compound nuclei and direct reactions; Classification of fundamental forces; Elementary particles (quarks, baryons, mesons, leptons); Spin and parity assignments, isospin, strangeness; Gell-Mann- Nishijima formula; C,P, and T invariance and application of symmetry arguments to particle reactions, parity non-conservation in weak interaction; Relativistic kinematics.

How to prepare

• Match the official Physics syllabus unit by unit with your Master's notes and mark weak units first.
• Solve previous UPHESC/UPESSC Assistant Professor Physics 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.