1. The examination will include the following subjects and each subject will carry the marks shown against it.
2. There will be two papers of 100 marks each of the subjects which carry 200 marks. In other subjects there will be one paper. Each paper will be of 3 hours duration.
3. The candidates should expect some objective type questions (MCQs) in compulsory and optional papers except in the papers of essay, applied mathematics and pure mathematics.
4. A Guideline of the syllabus of the subjects in alphabetical order is given in Annex B of CSS Competitive Examination Rules, 2019.
5. The three papers of general knowledge (GK-I, GK-II and GK-III) are to be passed collectively by scoring 120 marks out of 300.
6. Any exam carrying 100 marks has one paper. Similarly, exams with 200 marks are split into two papers

Compulsory Subjects in CSS Syllabus (600 Marks)

Subject	Marks
English (Precis and Composition)	100
English Essay	100
General Science and Ability	100
Current Affairs	100
Pakistan Affairs	100
Islamic Studies Or Alternative Subject for Non-Muslims	100
Total Marks	600

Optional Subjects in CSS Syllabus (600 Marks)

Note: The optional subjects in CSS Syllabus have been categorised into seven different groups for uniform distribution of marks

Group 1: Here you have to select one subject only

Subject	Marks
Accountancy & Auditing	200
Economics	200
Computer Science	200
Political Science	200
International Relations	200

Group 2: Here you can select one or more than one subjects carrying equivalent to 200 marks

Subject	Marks
Chemistry	200
Pure Mathematics	100
Applied Mathematics	100
Physics	200
Geology	100
Statistics	100

Group 3: Here you have to select one subject only

Subject	Marks
Public Administration	100
Business Administration	100
Government & Public Policies	100
Town Planning & Urban Management	100

Group 4: Here you have to select one subject only

Subject	Marks
Islamic History and Culture	100
History of Pakistan and India	100
British History	100
European History	100
History of USA	100

Group 5: Here you have to select one subject only

Subject	Marks
Gender Studies	100
Agriculture and Forestry	100
Environmental Sciences	100
Zoology	100
Botany	100
English Literature	100
Urdu Literature	100

Group 6: Here you have to select one subject only

Subject	Marks
Law	100
International Law	100
Constitutional Law	100
Criminology	100
Mercantile Law	100
Philosophy	100
Muslim Law and Jurisprudence	100

Group 7: Here you have to select one subject only

Subject	Marks
Journalism and Mass Communication	100
Psychology	100
Geography	100
Anthropology	100
Sociology	100
Punjabi	100
Pashto	100
Balochi	100
Sindhi	100
Arabic	100
Persian	100