🇮🇳 India · Exam

UPSC CMSE Syllabus

UPSC Combined Medical Services Examination. The complete UPSC CMSE outline — 5 subjects, 15 chapters and 90 topics — laid out so you can see exactly what has to be covered and tick each item off as you go.

5Subjects
15Chapters
90Topics
0Sub-topics
280Flashcards
~70hEst. first pass

UPSC CMSE subjects

Each subject below has its own page with the full chapter → topic → sub-topic tree and a set of real exam-style flashcards.

UPSC CMSE flashcard decks

280 question-and-answer cards across 5 decks, written against this syllabus. Preview any deck free.

How to work through the UPSC CMSE syllabus

The outline on this page is arranged the way the syllabus itself is: subject, then chapter, then topic, then sub-topic. That last level is what most study plans skip, and it is where coverage actually goes wrong — a chapter marked "done" often has three sub-topics inside it that were never touched.

Weight your plan accordingly: General Medicine carries 18 topics while Preventive and Social Medicine carries 18. Giving both the same number of weeks is the most common planning mistake for UPSC CMSE.

The ~70 hour estimate above is a first pass only: roughly 45 minutes per topic plus 12 minutes per sub-topic. Revision cycles, past papers and mocks sit on top of that number.

UPSC CMSE syllabus FAQ

What subjects are in the UPSC CMSE syllabus?

UPSC CMSE covers 5 subjects: General Medicine, Surgery, Pediatrics, Gynecology and Obstetrics and Preventive and Social Medicine. Together they contain 15 chapters and 90 named topics.

How many topics does the UPSC CMSE syllabus contain?

The full UPSC CMSE outline breaks down into 15 chapters, 90 topics and 0 sub-topics. General Medicine is the largest single subject with 18 topics across 3 chapters.

How long does it take to cover the whole UPSC CMSE syllabus?

Roughly 70 hours for one full pass. That estimate allows about 45 minutes per topic plus 12 minutes per sub-topic, so it is first-pass coverage — revision, past papers and mock tests sit on top of it. At 3 hours a day that is about 3 weeks.

Are there UPSC CMSE flashcards?

Yes — 280 question-and-answer flashcards across 5 decks, one per subject, written against this syllabus. A sample of every deck is readable on this site for free, and the complete decks are in the Examius app.

Is this UPSC CMSE syllabus free to use?

Yes. Every page here is free to read, and importing the UPSC CMSE syllabus into the Examius app to tick off topics as you finish them is free too, in India and everywhere else. No account is needed to start.