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UGC NET Computer Science & Applications — Full Syllabus
Paper I is common for every UGC NET subject. Paper II is the core subject — Computer Science and Applications — which consists of 10 units.
Paper I — Teaching & Research Aptitude
Common to every UGC NET subject, not specific to Computer Science.
| Topic | What to focus on |
|---|---|
| Teaching Aptitude | Teaching methods, learner characteristics and classroom communication. |
| Research Aptitude | The research process, types of research, and basic research/thesis-writing ethics. |
| Reading Comprehension | Timed reading passages, testing speed and simple inference. |
| Communication | The communication process, barriers to communication, and verbal/non-verbal/mass communication types. |
| Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude | Number series, ratio-proportion, percentages, averages and coding-decoding (overlaps with Unit 1’s discrete math). |
| Logical Reasoning | Syllogisms, statement-assumption/conclusion questions, Venn diagrams, analogies, classification, and Indian logic (Pramanas). |
| Data Interpretation | Reading and interpreting tables and bar/line/pie charts. |
| ICT | Basic computer and internet terminology (overlaps with Paper II). |
| People, Development & Environment | Sustainable development, environmental pollution basics, and major development indicators. |
| Higher Education System | Structure of Indian higher education and the roles of bodies like UGC, NAAC and AICTE. |
Paper II · Unit 1 of 10 — Discrete Structures and Optimization
The mathematical backbone of CS — logic, sets, counting, graphs and classical optimization.
| Topic | What to focus on |
|---|---|
| Mathematical Logic & Propositional Calculus | Truth tables, logical connectives, tautologies/contradictions and normal forms (CNF/DNF). |
| Sets, Relations & Functions | Set operations, types of relations (reflexive, symmetric, transitive, equivalence, partial order) and function properties (injective, surjective, bijective). |
| Counting, Induction & Discrete Probability | Permutations/combinations, the pigeonhole principle, induction proofs and basic probability (conditional probability, Bayes’ theorem). |
| Group Theory | Group axioms, subgroups, cyclic groups and homomorphisms. |
| Graph Theory | Terminology, spanning trees, Euler/Hamiltonian paths, planarity (Kuratowski’s theorem) and chromatic number. |
| Boolean Algebra | Boolean laws, K-map simplification and logic-gate equivalences (overlaps with Unit 2’s digital logic). |
| Optimization (LP, Simplex, PERT/CPM) | LP formulations, the Simplex method, and PERT/CPM diagrams for critical path and slack. |
Paper II · Unit 2 of 10 — Computer System Architecture
How a computer is actually built — from logic gates up to pipelines and multiprocessors.
| Topic | What to focus on |
|---|---|
| Digital Logic & Data Representation | Number systems, 2’s-complement representation, combinational circuits (adders, multiplexers) and sequential circuits (flip-flops, counters). |
| Register Transfer & Micro-operations | RTL notation and arithmetic/logic micro-operations between registers. |
| Computer Organization & Design | The instruction cycle, addressing modes, and the control unit (hardwired vs microprogrammed). |
| CPU Organization & Pipelining | Pipeline stages and hazards (structural, data, control), with speed-up calculations. |
| Input-Output Organization | Programmed I/O, interrupt-driven I/O and DMA, and interrupt priority/servicing. |
| Memory Hierarchy (Cache, Virtual Memory) | Cache mapping techniques (direct, associative, set-associative), hit/miss ratio calculations, paging, segmentation and TLBs. |
| Multiprocessors & Parallel Architectures | Flynn’s classification (SISD/SIMD/MISD/MIMD), interconnection networks, and cache-coherence basics. |
Paper II · Unit 3 of 10 — Programming Languages and Computer Graphics
Language design, C/C++ and OOP, a light touch of web programming, and computer graphics.
| Topic | What to focus on |
|---|---|
| Programming Language Design & Data Types | Language paradigms, binding, scope and parameter-passing (call by value/reference). |
| Programming in C | Pointers, arrays, structures, recursion and storage classes. |
| OOP Concepts & C++ | Encapsulation, inheritance, polymorphism (overloading vs overriding) and virtual functions. |
| Web Programming (HTML, XML, Java) | HTML/XML structure and the Java web stack (servlets, applets, JSP). |
| Computer Graphics & 2D/3D Transformations | Scan-conversion algorithms (DDA, Bresenham), clipping, and transformation matrices (translation, rotation, scaling). |
Paper II · Unit 4 of 10 — Database Management Systems
Everything about storing and querying data — from ER diagrams to SQL to Big Data.
| Topic | What to focus on |
|---|---|
| Database Concepts & Architecture | The three-schema architecture, data independence, and DBMS-vs-file-system advantages. |
| ER Modeling | ER diagrams — entities, attributes, relationships, cardinality and participation constraints. |
| Relational Model, Algebra & SQL | Relational algebra operators and SQL (joins, group by, subqueries, keys). |
| Normalization & Functional Dependencies | Candidate keys and closures, and normal forms (1NF–BCNF) from functional dependencies. |
| Enhanced Data Models (EER) | Specialization/generalization and object-relational extensions. |
| Data Warehousing & Mining | OLAP vs OLTP, star/snowflake schema, and basic mining tasks (classification, clustering, association rules). |
| Big Data & NoSQL | The V’s of Big Data and the NoSQL categories (key-value, document, column, graph). |
Paper II · Unit 5 of 10 — System Software and Operating System
The software layer that runs the machine — operating systems, processes, memory and files.
| Topic | What to focus on |
|---|---|
| System Software (Assemblers, Loaders, Linkers) | Assemblers, loaders, linkers, and how compilers, interpreters and assemblers differ. |
| OS Fundamentals & Structures | OS types (batch, multiprogramming, time-sharing) and structures (monolithic, layered, microkernel). |
| Process & Thread Management | Process states, PCBs, threads vs processes, and multithreading models. |
| CPU Scheduling Algorithms | FCFS, SJF, Round Robin and Priority scheduling, with turnaround/waiting time calculations. |
| Deadlocks | The four necessary conditions, the Banker’s algorithm, and detection/recovery/avoidance. |
| Memory Management & Virtual Memory | Paging, segmentation, and page-replacement algorithms (FIFO, LRU, Optimal) with page-fault counting. |
| File Systems | File allocation methods (contiguous, linked, indexed) and directory structures. |
| Distributed Systems, VMs & OS Security | Distributed-OS concepts, virtualization basics, and authentication/access-control fundamentals. |
Paper II · Unit 6 of 10 — Software Engineering
How real software gets planned, designed, built and tested at scale.
| Topic | What to focus on |
|---|---|
| Software Process Models | Waterfall, Iterative, Spiral and Agile process models. |
| Requirements Engineering | Functional vs non-functional requirements and the structure of an SRS document. |
| Software Design Principles | Cohesion vs coupling, and structured vs object-oriented design approaches. |
| Software Quality & Reliability | Quality models (McCall’s, ISO 9126) and reliability metrics (MTBF, MTTR). |
| Project Planning & Cost Estimation | COCOMO effort/cost calculations and function-point counting. |
| Software Testing Strategies | White-box vs black-box testing, and unit/integration/system/acceptance levels. |
| Software Configuration Management | Version-control basics and change-control/baseline concepts. |
Paper II · Unit 7 of 10 — Data Structures and Algorithms
The toolbox every programmer needs — data structures, algorithms and their complexity.
| Topic | What to focus on |
|---|---|
| Core Data Structures | Operations and complexity of arrays, stacks, queues, linked lists, trees and graphs, plus classic transformations (e.g. infix-to-postfix). |
| Algorithm Analysis & Complexity | Big-O/Omega/Theta notation and time complexity of loops and recursions. |
| Algorithm Design Techniques | Divide-and-conquer, greedy, DP and backtracking (merge sort, Knapsack, Floyd–Warshall, N-Queens). |
| Graph Algorithms | BFS/DFS, shortest paths (Dijkstra, Bellman–Ford) and MSTs (Prim’s, Kruskal’s). |
| NP-Completeness & Complexity Theory | The classes P, NP, NP-Hard, NP-Complete and standard NP-Complete problems. |
Paper II · Unit 8 of 10 — Theory of Computation and Compiler Design
The formal side of computing — automata, formal languages and how compilers work.
| Topic | What to focus on |
|---|---|
| Formal Languages & Finite Automata | DFAs/NFAs, their conversion, and automata minimization. |
| Regular Languages & Expressions | Regular expressions and finite automata conversions, and the pumping lemma. |
| Context-Free Grammars & PDAs | CFG simplification, Chomsky/Greibach normal forms, and the CFG-to-PDA correspondence. |
| Turing Machines & Decidability | Turing machine design, and decidable, recursively enumerable and undecidable problems. |
| Compiler Phases | The compiler phases, tokenization, parsing (LL/LR basics) and intermediate code. |
Paper II · Unit 9 of 10 — Data Communication and Computer Networks
How machines talk to each other — from cables to protocols to the cloud.
| Topic | What to focus on |
|---|---|
| Data Communication Fundamentals | Transmission modes, multiplexing (FDM/TDM), and basic modulation concepts. |
| Network Models (OSI, TCP/IP) | OSI and TCP/IP layers, their functions, and analogous protocols. |
| Network, Transport & Application Layers | IP addressing/subnetting, TCP vs UDP, and application protocols (HTTP, FTP, DNS, SMTP). |
| Routing & Internet Protocols | Distance-vector vs link-state routing and routing-table examples. |
| The World Wide Web | HTTP request/response basics and how URLs, browsers and web servers interact. |
| Network Security Fundamentals | Symmetric vs asymmetric encryption, digital signatures, and firewalls. |
| Cloud Computing & IoT | Cloud service/deployment models (IaaS/PaaS/SaaS, public/private/hybrid) and basic IoT architecture. |
Paper II · Unit 10 of 10 — Artificial Intelligence
Search, knowledge, language and learning — the foundations of intelligent systems.
| Topic | What to focus on |
|---|---|
| Search Strategies | Uninformed search (BFS, DFS, uniform-cost) and informed/heuristic search (A*, hill-climbing). |
| Knowledge Representation | Representation schemes — semantic networks, frames, and propositional/predicate logic. |
| Planning | State-space planning and STRIPS-style planning. |
| Natural Language Processing | The NLP pipeline stages — tokenization, parsing, semantic analysis. |
| Multi-Agent Systems | Agent properties (autonomy, reactivity, cooperation) and single- vs multi-agent environments. |
| Fuzzy Logic & Genetic Algorithms | Fuzzy sets/membership functions and the GA cycle (selection, crossover, mutation). |
| Neural Networks | The perceptron model, activation functions, and backpropagation. |