UPHESC Assistant Professor Political Science Syllabus 2026

UPHESC Assistant Professor Political Science Syllabus

The written exam has two parts: General Knowledge (30 questions, the same for all subjects) and Political Science (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: Political Science (subject code 44) – 90 questions, 270 marks

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

Unit 1: Political Theory

Concepts: Democracy, Rights, Liberty, Equality, Justice, Nationalism, Behaviouralism and Post- Behaviouralism, Multiculturalism, Cosmopolitanism, Neo – Liberalism, Post-Modernism, Feminism

Unit 2: Political Thinkers (Indian and Western)

Ancient Indian Political Thought : Manu, Kautilya and Shanti Parva (Mahabharata),
The Indian Renaissance
Greek Political Thought: Plato and Aristotle.
Western Political Thought–I : Machiavelli, Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau.
Western Political Thought – II: Bentham, J. S. Mill, Hegel, Marx, Green and Mao
Contemporary Political Thought – I: Gramsci, Althusser, Hannah Arendt
Contemporary Political Thought – II: Rawls and Nozic.
Modern Indian Thought: Tilak, Jay Prakash Narayan, Gandhi, Ambedkar and Pt. Deendayal Upadhyaya.

Unit 3: Comparative Politics and Political Analysis

Evolution of Comparative Politics as a discipline: Nature and Scope.
Approaches to the study of Comparative Politics: Traditional, Structural – Functional, Systems, Neo – Institutionalism, Marxist, and Political economy approach.
Constitution & Constitutionalism
Forms of Government: Unitary – Federal, Parliamentary – Presidential.
Organs of Government: Executive, Legislature, Judiciary, Executive – Legislative-Judicial relationship in Comparative perspective, Decline of Legislature
Models of State : Capitalist, Socialist, Developmental & Welfare State.
Party System and Pressure Group
Representation and Electoral Systems.
Political Development & Political Decay
Political Modernization, Political Culture and Political Socialization.
Revolution: Theories and Types.
Dependency theory: Development and Under Development.

Unit 4: Political Institutions in India

Ideological Bases of the Indian Constitution: Constituent Assembly Debates, Preamble, Philosophy of the Indian Constitution
Fundamental Rights and Duties
Directive Principles of the State Policy
Constitutional Amendment: Procedure, Major Constitutional Amendments
Structure and Process – I: President, Prime Minister, Cabinet, Council of Ministers, Working of the Parliamentary System.
Structure and Process –II: Governor, Chief Minister, Council of Ministers, State Legislature.
Judiciary: Supreme Court, High Courts, Judicial Review, Public Interest Litigation Judicial Activism, Judicial Reforms.

Unit 5: Political Processes in India

Panchayati Raj Institutions: Urban, Local self governments- their organization and functions, PESA (Panhayat Extension in Scheduled Area)
Federalism: Theory and Practice in India, Demand of New States, Demands of Autonomy and Separatist Movements;
Emerging trends in Centre – State Relations.
Political Parties, Pressure Groups, Public Opinion, Mass Media
Election: Election Commission, Electoral Behaviour and Electoral Reforms.
Politics of Identity and Democratic upsurge: Caste, Gender & Ethnicity.
Emerging Trends in Indian Politics

Unit 6: Theories of Public Administration

Nature, Scope and significance of Public Administration
Evolution of Public Administration as a Discipline with a special focus on New Public Administration and New Public Management
Classical Theory – Fayol, Luther Gullick, Marry Parker Follet
Scientific Management Theory- F.W. Taylor
Theory of Bureaucracy - Max Weber and its critics
Ecological Theory- F.W. Riggs

Unit 7: Public Administration in India

Development and Welfare Administration.
Planning, Impact of liberalization on planning, NITI Ayog.
Personnel Administration: Recruitment, Training & Promotion, Role of UPSC and State PSC.
Bureaucracy –Characteristics, Civil servant – Minister Relationship. Committed Bureaucracy.
Financial Administration: Budget, Audit, Parliamentary Control over Public Finance.

Unit 8: International Relations: Theories, Concepts & Issues

Theories

Great Debate in IR Theory
Realism, Neo-Realism
Liberalism, Neo-Liberalism
Social Constructivism, Critical Theory, World System Theory
Feminism, Environmentalism

Concepts

State, Power, National Interests, Ideology
Globalization
Disarmament, Arms Control, Arms Race, Nuclear Disarmament, Nuclear Nonproliferation Regime, Deterrence and Nuclear Deterrence
Geopolitics: Heartland Theory, Rimland Theory, Sea Power Theory

Conflict Resolution & Peace

Conflict: Definition, Types, Theories of Conflict
Peace: Positive Peace & Negative Peace.

Global Governance

International Organizations, Inter Governmental Organizations, Regional Organisations Institutions of Global Governance
UN, Organs, Functions, Role in Peace Keeping, Maintenance & Enforcement; Reform of the UN
Economic Governance: Bretton Woods Institutions IMF & World Bank, GATT & WTO, BRICS, G-7 & G-20
Humanitarian Intervention: R2P, ICC, ICJ
Regional Organizations: European Union, ASEAN, SAARC, RCEP

Contemporary Issues

Global Warming & Climate Change
Civil Wars, Global Terrorism
Nuclear Proliferation, Weapons of Mass Destruction.
North-South Dialogue, Global South
Cold war, Post-Cold War & Contemporary Global Order

Unit 9: Indian Foreign Policy

Determinants of Indian Foreign Policy
History of India's relations with its neighbors during Mauryan Empire, Mughal Empire and British Empire
India's foreign policy since independence: Non-alignment.
Wars in South Asia
India's and its Neighbours: Pakistan, China, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bhutan
Rise of China, and India in International Relation
BRICS, RIC, Shanghai. Cooperation Organization (SCO)
India's Security Concerns: Cross Border Terrorism, Chinese Assertion in Himalayan region and Indian Ocean

Unit 10: Public Policy in India

Good Governance; Governance, Good Governance and Democratic Governance
Problems of Administrative Corruption: Transparency and Accountability; Right to Information.
Grievance Redressal Institutions: Ombudsman, Lokpal and Lokayukta.
Institutional mechanisms for good governance: Right to Information, Consumer Protection Act, Citizen Charter;
Grassroots Governance: Panchayati Raj Institutions and their functioning
Monitoring and evaluation of public policy;
Mechanisms of making governance process accountable: jansunwai, social audit.
Major flagship programmes of the Government: MANREGA, NRHM, Ayushman Bharat, Ujjawala Yojana
E-governance in India: National e-governance programme, Digital India Programme, Kisan Call Centres.

How to prepare

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