Overview: Plan your preparation backwards for the CUET exam by choosing the course and college you wish to study and then understanding the CUET exam pattern 2025. Why are we saying so? Read further to find the answer to this.

CUET Exam Pattern 2025 will give you insights into the sections, subjects, duration, number of questions and exam marking scheme. 

• You can choose a maximum of 6 subjects from all three Sections from the total number of subjects/languages.
• Depending on the number of test takers and subject choices, the examination will be conducted over multiple days in three shifts.

Download Free Study Material for CUET 2025 by SuperGrads

NOTE: The information curated in the article is based on the previous year's data since the CUET 2025 notification is yet to be released. 

Latest CUET Exam Pattern 2025 Highlights

Did you know that NTA has introduced new changes to the exam pattern for the CUET entrance exam? 

The table below will provide helpful information about how NTA will design the CUET previous year's question paper.

• Language Paper (1A and 1B): You will be asked questions based on 13 Indian languages in Section 1A and 20 Languages in Section 1B (a mixed bag of regional Indian languages and foreign languages). 
• NTA will test your knowledge of the subjects studied in Class XI and Class XII in the Domain-specific Test. There are 29 such subjects included in this section. Pick and choose from the list as per your stream. 
• The General Test is a replica of the most heard Aptitude Test but with a level simpler to the ones you have seen or heard in IPMAT, NPAT or JEE Main B.Arch.

Criteria	Language Test	Domain Test	General Test
Mode	Online/Offline	Online/Offline	Offline
Medium	Language Chosen	English/Language Chosen in Section I	English/Language Chosen in Section I
Duration	45 minutes	45/60 minutes	60 minutes
Type of Questions	Objective	Objective	Objective
Number of Questions (to be attempted)	40 questions are to be attempted out of 50	40 questions to be attempted out of 50	50 Questions to be attempted out of 60
CUET Exam Total Marks	200	200	250
Marking Scheme	Correct Answer: +5	Correct Answer: +5	Correct Answer: +5
	Incorrect Answer: -1	Incorrect Answer: -1	Incorrect Answer: -1
	Unattempted Answer: 0	Unattempted Answer: 0	Unattempted Answer: 0

This exam is divided into 3 sections: Language Paper (1A and 1B), Domain Paper, and General Test. Go through the section-wise CUET exam analysis to set your target scores. 

Click to get sample papers with solutions for CUET

4 Details That You Must Know About CUET Exam Pattern 2025

CUET 2025 will be conducted in 3-4 slots per day. NTA will disclose details related to the slots later. 

The test will be pen & paper and computer-based based on the number of applications received. But the tweak is that you don’t have to appear for all languages or all domain tests to qualify for admission to your desired college.

1. You can take a maximum of 6 subjects/ exams. 
2. What combinations can you create to finalise your 6 exams? You can probably write 1 language paper, 3-4 domain papers and 1 general test, or 2 language tests, 3 domain tests and 1 general test.
3. Considering students' diversity (in streams and boards), NTA has decided to provide choices in all question papers as per the CUET UG exam pattern. However, the total number of questions to be attempted by any candidate remains the same.
4. When choosing the languages, domain test, or general test, you are mandated to refer to the requirements of your intended university. Your choices must match the requirements of your desired university from the CUET universities list 2025. 

CUET Exam Pattern 2025: Mode of Examination

CUET UG 2025 exam will be held in hybrid mode. The exam will be held in pen and paper mode for 15 subjects and in CBT mode for 48 subjects: 

Mode of Exam	Subject Paper
Pen and Paper Mode	Chemistry, English, Biology, General Test, Mathematics, Geography, Economics, Hindi, Physics, Accountancy, History, Political Science, Physical Education, Business Studies and Sociology
Computer-Based Mode	Arabic, Chinese, French, Kannada, Odia, Punjabi, Telugu, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Sindhi, Tibetan, Agriculture, Fine Arts, Nepali, Russian, Santhali, Sanskrit, Psychology, Fashion Studies, Computer Science/ Informatic Practices, Sanskrit, Entrepreneurship, Legal Studies, Assamese, Gujarati, Malayalam, Home Science, Teaching Aptitude, Anthropology, Tamil, Urdu, Bodo, German, Manipuri, KTPI, Spanish, Environmental Studies, Mass Media, Dogri, Persian, Performing Arts, Bengali, Marathi, Japanese, Italian, Engineering Graphics, Tourism

The official website also describes the CUET exam pattern & syllabus in Hindi. This exam will be conducted on multiple days depending on the date allocated to you in your CUET Admit Card. There are 3-4 slots in a day for this exam.

Unlock CUET sample papers with solutions by SuperGrads

CUET Exam Pattern 2025 Guidelines

If you are willing to appear for CUET UG, you must check the important guidelines about the examination.

• The medium of the exam will be in English, Hindi, Assamese, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Gujarati, Marathi, Odia, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu, and Urdu. 
• You can select the language while filling out the application form. You can choose a maximum of 2 languages from Section IA & 1B together and a maximum of 6 subjects overall. 
• You can apply to many Universities depending on their eligibility conditions. 

Note: NTA has yet to announce the exam slots, marks, and duration for the academic year 2025.

CUET Exam Pattern for Language Test (Sections 1A and 1B)

TThe language test is for assessing your proficiency/ skills in the Language opted, and the CUET previous year's question papers in respect of the same will be available to you in the medium opted by you. 

There are 13 languages in Section 1A and 20 languages in Section 1B to choose from.

• Your proficiency will be tested through Reading Comprehension based on different types of passages–Factual, Literary and Narrative, [Literary Aptitude and Vocabulary] MCQ Based Questions. 
• The Question Paper of the Language Test will not be bi-lingual. 
• For whichever language paper you choose, you have to attempt 40 questions in each of the 50 questions given in the paper.
• The duration of each language paper is expected to be 45 minutes, meaning if you choose to appear for 3 language papers, then the maximum duration of the exam shall be 2 hours and 25 minutes. However, NTA has not confirmed the duration of the exam yet.

Unlock CUET Exam Mocks 2025 to score 100% 

CUET Exam Pattern 2025 for Domain Test (Section II)

There are 29 domain subjects to choose from; however, you can appear for 3-4 domain subjects in the exam. The CUET syllabus for each subject is different. 

The number of domain subjects varies as per your choice of language test. These subjects will have questions based on the CUET UG exam pattern and syllabus given by NTA in MCQ format. 

• You must be well aware of the course and university you are applying to make the choice of your domain subjects.
• In total, 40 Questions are to be attempted out of 50.
• The exam duration for domain subjects would be 45 minutes. However, for subjects such as accountancy, Economics, Physics, Computer Science / Informatics Practices, Chemistry, and Mathematics /Applied Mathematics, the test will last 60 minutes.

CUET Exam Pattern 2025 for General Test (Section III)

CUET General Test is an optional exam depending on the university and course requirements that you choose. 

Questions based on General Knowledge, Current Affairs, General Mental Ability, Numerical Ability, Quantitative Reasoning (Simple application of basic mathematical concepts arithmetic/algebra geometry/mensuration /stat taught till Grade 8), and Logical and Analytical Reasoning are asked in this section.

• 50 of the 60 displayed questions must be answered for this section.
• The total duration to attempt the questions in this section will be 60 minutes.
• The questions will be in MCQ format in English, and the language is chosen in Section I.
• The total mark that you can score in this section is 250.

Expert Guidance for CUET 2025 awaits you!

CUET Exam Pattern with Total Marks

You may ask, “For how many marks is CUET conducted?”, Just to clarify, the total marks for this exam will vary depending on the number of language papers & domain subjects given. So, it will be different for every student. However, if you opt for all 6 subjects, including the general test, it would be 1250. 

Assuming you appear for all 6 tests, here’s the CUET Exam Pattern and structure. 

The CUET total marks will be calculated as follows: 

Section	Total Questions to be Attempted	Marks Allocated for Correct Answer	Total Marks
Language Paper (pick any one amongst the 13 Indian languages)	40 out of 50	5	200
Domain Subjects	40 out of 50	5	200
General Test	50 out of 60	5	250

What is the CUET Exam Pattern 2025 for DU?

Out of all the CUET courses list 2025, the exam pattern for Delhi University courses depends on the subject requirements for each course. The overall pattern remains the same, and only the test paper changes. 

Know best CUET DU subject combinations 2025 HERE!

CUET 2025 Marking Scheme

The CUET Exam Pattern follows a dedicated marking scheme as released by the NTA. The CUET 2025 Marking Scheme is as follows:

For Multiple Choice Questions, choose one option corresponding to the correct or most appropriate answer.

However, if any anomaly or discrepancy is found after the process of challenges of the key verification, it shall be addressed in the following manner: 

• Correct answer or the most appropriate answer: Five marks (+5).
• Any incorrect option marked will be given minus one mark (-1).
• Unanswered/Marked for Review will be given no mark (0).
• If more than one option is found to be correct, then Five marks (+5) will be awarded to only those who have marked any of the correct options.
• If all options are correct, then Five marks (+5) will be awarded to all those who have attempted the question.
• If none of the options is found correct, a question is found to be wrong, or a question is dropped, all candidates who have attempted the dropped question will be given five marks(+5).

Boost your CUET 2025 preparation with PYPs

CUET Exam Pattern for Morning Shift

The morning shift starts at 9 am in the morning on exam day. The conclusion time for the exam will depend on the subjects you choose and will be mentioned on the admit card.

• You can appear for a language test in the morning shift, which will last 45 minutes.
• In the morning slot, a maximum of 2 CUET domain subjects can be taken, and the time limit is 90 minutes (45 minutes per subject) as mentioned on the hall ticket. 
• The general test is part of the first-day shift and will last 60 minutes.

CUET Exam Pattern for Afternoon Shift

• In this slot, you will appear in either 1 language or 2 languages (as per your choice). This slot shall include your chosen Section 1A or 1B language paper.
• The second exam in this slot is the domain-specific test, which this time will have questions based on a maximum of four subjects.

Key Takeaways

• No matter the course or the university, the shortcut to success in this exam is thoroughly preparing your domain subjects during the boards to reduce the burden of preparing for CUET.
• Understanding the CUET exam pattern is important for effective preparation. For language, reading the newspaper is suggested since it will build the foundation for GK in the GT and strengthen Section I, too!
• The other subjects in the General Test would require memorising important formulae practised during class 8.
• To recall and revise all topics and solve questions, attempt the CUET Mock Test Series to analyse your scores and know where you stand with your preparations.