GATE 2025 Syllabus for Humanities & Social Sciences (XH) - Download Syllabus with Weightage PDF

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IIT Roorkee has released the official syllabus of GATE 2025 Humanities & Social Sciences (XH) on iitr.ac.in/gate/. GATE Humanities & Social Sciences (Paper Code- XH) consists of three sections – General Aptitude, A compulsory Paper and a third section with 5 optional subjects. The Weightage for the General Aptitude paper is 15%, B1 (Reading & Comprehension) 25% and 60% for the core subject.

The expected date of the GATE examination is from February 1- February 9, 2025. The Gate 2025 registrations will begin in August 2024. Candidates will get enough time to cover the complete syllabus of the GATE exam. Candidates can refer to the following articles to learn further details on the GATE 2025 Exam Pattern, Previous Year's Question Papers, etc from the article below.

GATE XH Syllabus

GATE Syllabus for Humanities & Social Sciences

Click on the link below to check the detailed syllabus for all the subjects in humanities and social sciences paper:

Subject Syllabus PDF
Gate Humanities & Social Sciences syllabus PDF Download PDF
General Aptitude Syllabus Download PDF
GATE XH Exam Pattern

GATE 2025: Exam Pattern for Humanities & Social Sciences

GATE 2025 humanities and social sciences paper will be online Computer Based Test (CBT). GATE 2025 exam pattern for humanities and social sciences will be of a total 100 marks. The General Aptitude paper will be of 15 marks and the rest of the papers will cover 85 marks. Check the detailed GATE 2025 exam pattern:

Sections Marks Weightage Total Marks
Reading Comprehension 25% 25
General Aptitude 15% 15
Optional Gate Subjects 60% 60

GATE XH Highlights

GATE Humanities in a Nutshell

Humanities & Social Sciences Paper Code XH
Exam Mode Online
Total Marks 100
Number of questions 65
Types of Questions MCQs, MSQ and NAT
Number of Sections 3General Aptitude (B1), Reading & Comprehension and Optional Subject
Weightage by section General Aptitude paper is 15%, (B1) Reading & Comprehension – 25% and Optional Subject 60%
Total Time 3 hours (180 minutes)

GATE XH Important Sections

GATE 2025: Important Sections to Note

Sections Paper Code Topics
d>Reasoning & Comprehension (Compulsory) XH-B1 -
General Aptitude GA
  • English grammar
  • Sentence completion
  • Instructions
  • Verbal analogies
  • Word groups
  • Critical reasoning
  • Verbal deduction
  • Numerical computation
  • Numerical reasoning
  • Numerical estimation
  • Data interpretation
Optional Gate Subjects in Humanities and Social Sciences
Economics XH- C1
  • Microeconomics
  • Macroeconomics
  • Statistics, Econometrics
  • International Economics
  • Public Economics
  • Indian Economics
English XH – C2
  • Multi-genre literature in English
  • Literature from India and the Larger Subcontinent
  • Literary Criticism, Theory, and Traditions
  • History of English Literature
  • Research Approaches and Methodologies
Linguistics XH – C3
  • Levels of grammar and grammatical analysis
  • Phonetics and phonology
  • Morphology
  • Syntax
  • Semantics and pragmatics
  • Historical linguistics
  • Sociolinguistics
  • Areal typology, universals, and cross-linguistic features
  • Methods of analysis
  • Applied linguistics
Philosophy XH – C4
  • Classical Indian Philosophy
  • Philosophy of the Upaniá¹£ads
  • Vivekananda and C. Bhattacharyya’s Contemporary Indian Philosophy
  • Classical and Modern Western Philosophy
  • Contemporary Western Philosophy
Psychology XH – C5
  • Research Methods and Statistics
  • Approaches to research
  • Designing research
  • Nature of quantitative and qualitative research
  • Ethics in conducting and reporting research
  • Statistics in Psychology
  • Correlation Analysis
  • Psychometrics
Sociology XH – C6
  • Sociological Theory
  • Sociology of Development
  • Family, Marriage, Indian Society, Sociological Concepts
  • Sociology of Development
  • Research Methodology and Methods

GATE XH Previous Year Question Papers

Previous Year Question Papers for GATE Humanities and Social Sciences 2025

Aspirants can refer to the GATE 2024 Humanities and Social Sciences question papers for the following subjects for a better understanding of the exam. Click on the links given below in the table to view the question papers:

Session Question Paper PDF
2024 Check Here
2023 Check Here
2022 Check Here
2021 Check Here

GATE XH Books

Books to Refer for GATE 2025 Humanities and Social Sciences

Here are the best books listed that candidates can refer to for their GATE 2025 exam preparation:

Subjects Books Author
GATE Economics Microeconomics Robert Pindyck and Daniel Rubinfeld
Macroeconomics H.L Ahuja
GATE English Literary Theory: Introduction Pearson: From Structuralism to Ecocriticism Nayar
History of English Literature Edward Albert
GATE Linguistics The Phonetics and Phonology of Contrast: The Case of the Romanian Vowel System Margaret E. L. Renwick
Sociolinguistics R. A. Hudson
GATE Philosophy Classical Indian Philosophy: A History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps Peter Adamson and Jonardon Ganeri.
Classical Modern Philosophy: A Contemporary Introduction Jeffrey Tlumak
GATE Psychology Psychology for UGC-NET-SLET Paper-2 Paperback NET Industry Experts
Cognitive Psychology: In and Out of the Laboratory Kathleen M Galotti
GATE General Aptitude GATE 2021 – Guide – General Aptitude GKP
GATE-2021 General Aptitude (Verbal & Numerical Ability) Previous Years GATE Questions with Solutions, Subject wise & Chapter wise (2010-2020) Subject Experts of the ACE Engineering Academy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Ques. When will the GATE Humanities and Social Sciences syllabus 2025 be available?

Ans. The Official Gate XH 2025 syllabus has been released on gate.iitr.ac.in.

Ques. What subjects are there in the GATE Humanities and Social Sciences syllabus 2025?

Ans. GATE Humanities and Social Sciences syllabus 2025 consists of subjects like – Economics, English, Linguistics, Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology.

Ques. What is the section-wise weightage in GATE Humanities and Social Sciences 2025?

Ans. The Weightage for the three sections are-

  • General Aptitude paper is 15%
  • B1 (Reading & Comprehension) 25%
  • 60% weightage in the core subject

Ques. What are the compulsory papers in GATE Humanities and Social Sciences 2025?

Ans. The compulsory papers in GATE Humanities and Social Sciences 2025 are:

  • Reading and Comprehension
  • General Aptitude

Ques. Does the GATE questions remain the same every year?

Ans. The syllabus for the GATE examination remains the same almost every year. However, the questions may not be the same every year. Candidates might find some common questions but the majority of the questions will vary every year.


*The article might have information for the previous academic years, which will be updated soon subject to the notification issued by the University/College.

GATE 2025 : 5 Answered Questions

Ques. What are the cut off marks in gate for iit indore?

IIT Indore GATE Cutoss 2023 has not been released officially IIT Kanpur will release the GATE 2023 cutoff for IIT Indore Students having valid GATE scores from 2023, 2022, or 2021 will be eligible for admission to MTech courses. Considering the IIT Indore GATE cutoff for 2021, The overall cutoff for GATE is 615 - 740 marks. Here is the branch-wise cutoff M.Tech Material Science and Engineering 615 M.Tech Communication and Signal Processing 657 M.Tech VLSI Design and Nanoelectronics 670 M.Tech Production & Industrial Engineering 740 Please note that the above cutoff is only for the general category....Read More
Answer By Jyoti Chopra 17 Jun 23
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Ques. Is it possible to get into IIT Tirupati just by the GATE qualifying marks?

Yes, it may be possible. Here are the reasons why- IIT Tirupati is a very new IIT, established in 2015. It is not well known currently, especially in North India.  It releases its applications quite early. Its MS and Phd. batches started only a few years ago, so those with better scores will prefer NITs over IIT Tirupati. The cutoff for MS is also low in IIT Madras because very few students are interested in pursuing the course. Ultimately, the number of applicants and the interview round will decide your fate. ...Read More
Answer By Divya Saraf 11 Jan 24
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Ques. Can Longterm students apply gitam gate exam?

Verify your eligibility for your desired course on the GITAM website or get in touch with the admissions office directly if you are a "longterm student"—that is, if you finished your qualifying exam several years ago. Unless otherwise noted, most programmes do not specifically exclude long-term students. Student Type Eligible for GITAM GAT? Notes/Clarification Appearing in the current year Yes For example, 12th in 2025 or graduation in 2025 Passed in the previous year Usually Yes No explicit gap year limit for most courses Long-term gap (many years) Check course-wise criteria No strict age/gap limit, but confirm for each program Yes, long-term students can generally apply for the GITAM GAT (GITAM Admission Test) exam, provided they meet the eligibility criteria for the specific course they are interested in....Read More
Answer By Vinima Bhola 23 Jun 25
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Ques. My son has scored 42.33 marks in GATE (CSE). Could you please suggest which IITs, NITs, or IIITs he might be eligible for an M.Tech in Computer Science?

With a GATE 2025 score of 42.33 marks in Computer Science, your son has comfortably crossed the General category qualifying cut-off mark of 29.2 marks and can be eligible for admission into a number of top institutes in India. Here is a quick analysis of where he stands and the options that actually confront him: Admission Possibilities Institute Type Chance for Admission in CSE Top IITs (Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur, etc.) Unlikely, as cutoffs are usually 55–65+ marks Newer IITs (Jodhpur, Patna, Dhanbad, etc.) Possible in later rounds or for allied CSE branches Top NITs (Trichy, Warangal, Surathkal) Competitive, but admission more likely in later rounds or for specializations like information security and data science. Mid/Lower NITs Good chance for direct admission in CSE Top IIITs (Allahabad, Gwalior, Jabalpur) Competitive; possible depending on the round and specialization Other IIITs Good chances for CSE or related programs Recommendations: Apply through COAP (for IITs) and CCMT (for NITs/IIITs). Keep looking for related fields like Data Science, Cybersecurity, or Information Technology, which may have slightly lower cutoffs. And take all rounds of counseling, including spot rounds, as cutoff trends fluctuate every year. Also visit state universities and centrally funded colleges that accept GATE scores. Your son is rightly positioned for M.Tech admissions in all NITs, IIITs, and new IITs. CSE and this score will not make the top 5 IITs feasible, but there are plenty of good colleges where he can build a strong academic and professional life. Wishing your son best of luck for future admissions....Read More
Answer By Muskan Agrahari 24 Jun 25
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Ques. I have completed my M.Tech with 73% marks but have not qualified for GATE. Am I eligible to apply for full-time Ph.D. admission at IIT Bhubaneswar?

Eligibility for Full-time Ph.D. at IIT Bhubaneswar (Engineering/Science) Criteria Requirement M.Tech. Percentage Minimum 60% marks (you have 73%, so you meet this criterion) GATE Qualification Required for Institute PhD Scholar (regular full-time, with assistantship) GATE Waiver Only for sponsored projects or special categories With 73% in M.Tech, you are academically eligible, but for regular full-time Ph.D. admission (institute-sponsored) in IIT Bhubaneswar, a valid GATE score is required. But you can still apply under sponsored, project, or special categories, where GATE is not required, but other requirements (such as work experience or organizational sponsorship) are there....Read More
Answer By Muskan Agrahari 24 Jun 25
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Fees Structure

Structure based on different categories

CategoriesState
General1800
Women900
sc900
pwd900

Note: GATE 2024 Application Fee needs to be paid online through net banking or debit card or credit card facilities. Additional charges will be applicable as per the rule of the bank from where the money is being transferred. This charge will be specified on the payment portal.

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