Introduction to Humanities and Social Sciences GATE:
Humanities and Social Sciences encompass a wide range of disciplines that study human society, culture, behavior, and interactions. These disciplines include sociology, anthropology, psychology, history, economics, political science, literature, linguistics, and more. The Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE) is an all-India examination conducted jointly by the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) on behalf of the National Coordination Board (NCB)-GATE, Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education (MoE), Government of India.
While GATE is primarily known for its engineering and science subjects, it also includes a paper for Humanities and Social Sciences (XH) to provide an opportunity for candidates interested in these fields. The Humanities and Social Sciences GATE examination assesses candidates’ knowledge, critical thinking, and analytical abilities in various disciplines of the humanities and social sciences.
Humanities and Social Sciences Subject Code: XH
Topic wise detailed syllabus for GATE 2023: Humanities and Social Sciences
Verbal Ability
Numerical Ability
English grammar; Sentence completion, Instructions; Verbal analogies, Word groups; Critical reasoning, Verbal deduction.
Numerical computation; Numerical reasoning; Numerical estimation; Data interpretation.
Sections
Topic Name
Section 1
Reading Comprehension
Section 2
Expression
Section 3
Analytical reasoning
Section 4
Logical reasoning
Sections
Topic Name
Section 1
Microeconomics
Section 2
Macroeconomics
Section 3
Statistics, Econometrics and Mathematical Economics
Section 4
International Economics
Section 5
Public Economics
Section 6
Development Economics
Section 7
Indian Economy
Section 1
Multi-genre literature in English—poetry, the novel and other forms of fiction including the short story, drama, creative nonfiction, and non-fiction prose—with emphasis on the long 19th and 20th centuries
Section 2
Especially in a comparative context, anglophone and in English translation, literature from India and, extending to some degree, the larger Indian subcontinent
Section 3
Literary criticism and theory; critical and cultural intellectual-traditions and approaches widely referred to and used in the discipline of English
Section 4
History of English literature and English literary studies
Section 5
Research approaches and methodologies, including interpretive techniques responsive to literary forms, devices, concepts, and genres
Sections
Topic Name
Section 1
Language and Linguistics
Section 2
Phonetics and Phonology, Morphology, Syntax, Semantics and Pragmatics
Section 3
Historical Linguistics
Section 4
Sociolinguistics
Section 5
Areal Typology, Universals, Cross-linguistic Features
Section 6
Methods of analysis
Section 7
Applied Linguistics
Sections
Topic Name
Section 1
Classical Indian Philosophy – Orthodox Systems: Sānkhya, Heterodox Systems: Cārvāka, Upaniṣads, Bhagavadgītā, and Dharmaśāstras, Kāṣmira Śaivism, Śaivasiddhānta, Vīra Śaivism, Śāktism and Vaiṣṇavism
Section 2
Contemporary Indian Philosophy – Vivekananda
Section 3
Classical and Modern Western Philosophy – Metaphysics, Epistemology, Ethics, Social and Political Philosophy, Logic
Section 4
Contemporary Western Philosophy
Sections
Topic Name
Section 1
Research Methods and Statistics
Section 2
Psychometrics: Foundations of Psychological measurement; Basic components
Section 3
Biological and evolutionary basis of behaviour
Section 4
Perception, Learning, Memory and Forgetting
Section 5
Cognition: Thinking, Intelligence and Language
Section 6
Personality: Theories of personality
Section 7
Motivation, Emotion and Stress and Coping
Section 8
Social psychology, Development across the life span, Applications of Psychology
Sections
Topic Name
Section 1
Sociological Theory
Section 2
Research Methodology and Methods
Section 3
Sociological Concepts
Section 4
Agrarian Sociology and Rural Transformation
Section 5
Family, Marriage and Kinship
Section 6
Indian Society / Sociology of India
Section 7
Social Movements
Section 8
Sociology of Development
GATE Humanities and Social Sciences Cut-off By Year
Paper Code
General
OBC- (NCL)/ EWS
SC/ ST/ PwD
XH: Humanities and Social Sciences (C1- Economics)
55.5
49.9
37
XH: Humanities and Social Sciences (C2- English)
51.9
46.7
34.5
XH: Humanities and Social Sciences (C3- Linguistics)
53.1
47.7
35.4
XH: Humanities and Social Sciences (C4- Philosophy)
50.7
45.6
33.8
XH: Humanities and Social Sciences (C5- Psychology)
62.1
55.8
41.4
XH: Humanities and Social Sciences (C6- Sociology)
59.7
53.7
39.8
Number of students appearing for GATE Humanities and Social Sciences Exam
Year
Registered candidates
Candidates appeared
Qualified candidates
2022
6325
3795
984
Previous Year Question Papers
Download previous year question papers from the official GATE website click here.
