General Aptitude Test
Subject code 501 · general paper
Each of those rules names General Aptitude Test outright — no combination of the other papers reaches them. That is the whole case for spending one of five slots on it.
The paper at a glance
The General Aptitude Test carries the code 501. The syllabus described here is the one published for 2026-27.
It is the shortest syllabus NTA publishes for CUET (UG). After the cover page there is one page, one introductory sentence and five bullet points. The cover calls the paper "General Test"; the bulletin's subject list calls it the General Aptitude Test. They are the same paper under code 501.
How the syllabus is organised
The document lists five topic areas — General Knowledge and Current Affairs; General Mental Ability and Numerical Ability; Reasoning; Logical and Analytical Reasoning; General Science and Environment Literacy. There are no units, no sub-topics under four of the five headings, and no indication of how the five areas share the paper.
The syllabus is a list of topics only. It does not print question counts, marks, negative marking or timing. Read it alongside the exam pattern.
The five topic areas
The only place the document goes below the heading level is the third area, where a parenthesis spells out the kind of mathematics meant.
| Area | What the document says under it |
|---|---|
| General Knowledge, Current Affairs | Heading only; no sub-topics listed |
| General Mental Ability, Numerical Ability | Heading only; no sub-topics listed |
| Reasoning | Simple application of basic mathematical concepts: quantitative arithmetic / algebra, geometry / mensuration / statistics |
| Logical and Analytical Reasoning | Heading only; no sub-topics listed |
| General Science and Environment Literacy | Heading only; no sub-topics listed |
Two of the headings overlap: "Reasoning" and "Logical and Analytical Reasoning" are separate bullets, but the first is defined by its parenthesis as mathematical application, so in practice the split is between quantitative reasoning and verbal or logical reasoning.
What this syllabus does not tell you
Almost everything. From this document you cannot learn:
- how many questions come from each of the five areas, or the marks, negative marking and duration — those are on the exam pattern;
- what "General Knowledge" and "Current Affairs" cover, or how recent "current" means;
- the level of the mathematics beyond the words "simple application of basic mathematical concepts", or which school class it corresponds to;
- what "Environment Literacy" includes;
- which books to use; the syllabus names no textbook;
- how much weight a university gives this paper once you qualify — the programmes that accept it are listed below, but the marks or ranking rule each one applies sits in its own admission bulletin.
Because the syllabus is so thin, the NTA information bulletin and the exam pattern carry more of the useful detail for this paper than the syllabus does. Go to them for attempt rules and question numbers rather than to this list.
Where this paper can take you
Programmes whose rule can use General Aptitude Test, from the 28 universities whose documents we have read. 315 of them cannot be reached any other way.
B Sc (IT) [2+2 with international credit transfer option] · B. Arch. · B.A. (Fine Arts) · and 89 more
B.A. (Spanish) (Honours/Honours with Research) · Bachelor of Arts (Acting) · Bachelor of Arts (Acting) (Honours/Honours with Research) · and 60 more
Ceramic & Glass Design [Palli Samgathana Vibhaga] (Major) · Comparative Religion (Major) · French (Major) · and 27 more
Bachelor of Arts (Honours) — Economics · Bachelor of Arts (Honours) — English · Bachelor of Arts (Honours) — Literary and Cultural Studies · and 21 more
B.A. (Hons.) Japanese · B.A. (Hons.) Spanish · B.A. (Hons.) French · and 21 more
B.A. (Hons.) Economics · B.A. (Hons.) English · B.A. (Hons.) Journalism and Mass Communication · and 17 more
5-Year Integrated B.A.–LL.B. · 5-Year Integrated B.Com.–LL.B. · B.A. (Honours) Anthropology · and 15 more
B.A. (Hons.) French & Francophone Studies (B60) · B.A. (Hons.) Korean Language (B58) · B.A. (Hons.) Spanish & Latin American Studies (B61) · and 15 more
Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) · B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) · Five Year Integrated Programme in Management (BBA & MBA) · and 15 more
5-Year Integrated B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) · 5-Year Integrated M.B.A. (e-Commerce) · 5-Year Integrated M.B.A. (Foreign Trade) · and 14 more
Bachelor of Business Administration in Financial Investment Analysis (BBA-FIA) · Bachelor of Management Studies (BMS) · B.A. (Hons.) Business Economics (BBE) · and 14 more
B.A. – Liberal Arts · Bachelor of Arts – LL.B. · Bachelor of Arts (Economics) · and 13 more
B.A. (Hons./Research) Arabic · B.A. (Hons./Research) Chinese · B.A. (Hons./Research) Digital Communication · and 11 more
B.A. (Hons.) Chinese · B.A. (Hons.) Education · B.A. (Hons.) Hindi · and 9 more
B.A. (Hons.) Islamic Studies · B.A. International Studies and Global Politics · B.Com. · and 5 more
B.A. (Hons./Research) — dual major · B.A. Journalism (Hons./Research) — dual major · B.Com. (Hons./Research) — dual major · and 5 more
5 Year Integrated M.A. (Anthropology) · 5 Year Integrated M.A. (Economics) · 5 Year Integrated M.A. (History) · and 5 more
B.Com. (Honours) / B.Com. (Honours) Financial Market Management · B.A. (Honours) — Economics, History, Political Science, Sociology, Psychology, Geography, Arabic, Bengali, Hindi, Persian, Pali, Sanskrit, Urdu, English, Japanese, Chinese, German, French, AIHC & Archaeology, History of Art, Philosophy, Linguistics, Home Science, Music, Painting, Education, Dance · B.A. (Honours) LL.B. · and 4 more
Bachelor of Vocation (Accounting and Finance) · Bachelor of Vocation (Early Childhood Centre Management & Entrepreneurship) · Bachelor of Vocation (Retail Management) · and 2 more
5-Year Integrated M.A. Social & Economic Administration and Law (SEAL) · B.A. (Hons.) French - Translation & Interpretation · B.A. (Hons.) Philosophy · and 2 more
B.Com. LL.B. (Hons.) · Bachelor of Business Administration · Bachelor of Commerce · and 1 more
4-year Bachelor of Commerce (Honours) · 4-year BBA and allied programmes / 5-year integrated BBA–MBA · B.A. (Journalism and Mass Communication) · and 1 more
Bachelor of Arts (Journalism and Mass Communication) · Bachelor of Business Administration · Bachelor of Computer Applications
B.A. (Hons.) Chinese · Integrated B.A. in Linguistics and Language Technology · Integrated M.A. in English
B.Tech. (Lateral Entry) — thirteen engineering and chemical-technology branches · Bachelor of Business Administration
Five Year Integrated Post Graduate Programme in Bodo