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    GATE Humanities & Social Sciences Exam Pattern 2026 (Out): Marking Scheme, Total Marks, Exam Duration

    GATE Humanities & Social Sciences Exam Pattern 2026 (Out): Marking Scheme, Total Marks, Exam Duration

    Team Careers360Updated on 14 Jan 2026, 06:26 PM IST

    GATE 2026 Humanities & Social Sciences Exam Pattern: IIT Guwahati has released the GATE Humanities & Social Sciences exam pattern 2026 on the official website, gate2026.iitg.ac.in. The exam pattern consists of three sections in the GATE exam. These sections include General Aptitude, a compulsory paper, Reasoning and Comprehension (B1) and a third section in which candidates can choose from five optional subjects. The GATE 2026 exam will be conducted on February 7, 8, 14, and 15, 2026. The authority will conduct the GATE 2026 Humanities & Social Sciences exam on February 07, 2025. Candidates can check the GATE 2026 Humanities & Social Sciences exam pattern here in this article.

    This Story also Contains

    1. GATE Humanities & Social Sciences Exam Pattern 2026
    2. GATE Humanities & Social Sciences Marking Scheme 2026
    3. GATE Humanities & Social Sciences Syllabus 2026
    4. GATE 2026 Humanities & Social Sciences Best Books
    GATE Humanities & Social Sciences Exam Pattern 2026 (Out): Marking Scheme, Total Marks, Exam Duration
    GATE Humanities & Social Sciences Exam Pattern

    The GATE Exam Pattern for each subject, including GATE XH (Humanities and Social Sciences) is available online. The GATE XH question paper will be structured according to the GATE 2026 XH syllabus. It is crucial for aspirants to familiarize themselves with the GATE XH exam pattern to effectively begin their exam preparation.

    GATE Humanities & Social Sciences Exam Pattern 2026

    IIT Guwahati has published the exam pattern of GATE Humanities & Social Sciences 2026 online. Candidates can find the GATE 2026 syllabus link on the official website. Candidates willing to appear for the exam are advised to check the GATE Humanities & Social Sciences 2026 exam pattern so that they are aware of the paper pattern in advance and hence can perform well in the examination.

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    ParticularsDetails
    Mode of ExaminationComputer Based Test
    SectionsThere will be three sections—
    Section 1- General Aptitude
    Section 2—Reasoning and Comprehension (B1) (Compulsory)
    Section 3- 1 Optional from:
    • Economics (C1)
    • English (C2)
    • Linguistics (C3)
    • Philosophy (C4)
    • Psychology (C5)
    • Sociology (C6)
    Duration of Exam3 hours
    Type of QuestionsMultiple Choice Questions, MSQs, and NATs
    Total number of Questions65
    Total Marks100 marks
    Marking SchemeFor a wrong answer chosen in MCQs, there will be negative marking as follows:
    For 1-mark MCQ, 1/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer.
    For the 2-mark MCQ, the 2/3 mark will be deducted for a wrong answer.
    There will be no negative marking for MSQs & NATs.

    GATE Humanities & Social Sciences Marking Scheme 2026

    Before appearing for the exam, candidates must check the marking scheme of GATE Humanities & Social Sciences 2026 to avoid any sort of confusion during the exam. The GATE 2026 Humanities & Social Sciences exam pattern will consist of the marking scheme for all the papers. Knowing the detailed GATE Humanities & Social Sciences marking scheme 2026 helps candidates to analyse how many questions should be attempted, in how many questions should one take risk so that they do not miss the cutoff of GATE 2026.

    GATE Previous Year Question Paper's
    Download GATE previous year question papers to understand exam pattern and difficulty level. Practice with these papers to boost your preparation and improve your score.
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    SubjectTotal No. of QuestionsMarks Allotted
    General Aptitude1015
    Reasoning and Comprehension (B1)
    • 1 Optional subject
    5585 (25 + 60)
    Total65100

    GATE Humanities & Social Sciences Syllabus 2026

    The syllabus consists of given sections

    • General Aptitude
    • Reasoning and Comprehension (B1)
    • 1 optional subject from C1 - C6
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    Optional SubjectsPaper Code
    EconomicsC1
    EnglishC2
    Linguistics
    C3
    PhilosophyC4
    Psychology
    C5
    SociologyC6

    Candidates who wish to appear for the GATE Humanities & Social Sciences 2026 are advised to check the syllabus of GATE 2026. The GATE syllabus 2026 and exam pattern is available on the official website of GATE.

    GATE 2026 Humanities & Social Sciences Best Books

    Candidates can check the books listed below to prepare for the exam. Candidates should not follow the market trend; instead, they must buy the books that suit their needs at the moment.

    Book TitleAuthor Name
    Logical Reasoning Theory Book 2022 for GATE, ESE, MAT, SSC, BANK(PO), NDA, CDS, and other Competitive ExamsICE GATE Institute.
    Aptitude & Reasoning for GATE and ESE 2022 (Prelims) – Theory, Practices Questions and Previous Year Solved PapersOnlineVerdan and Hemant Jain
    GATE-2023 General AptitudeACE Engineering Publications
    Microeconomics | Eighth EditionRobert Pindyck and Daniel Rubinfeld.
    MacroeconomicsH. L. Ahuja.
    Classical Indian Philosophy: A History of Philosophy Without Any GapsPeter Adamson and Jonardon Ganeri
    Cognitive Psychology: In and Out of the Laboratory.Kathleen M Galotti
    Advanced Engineering MathematicsRK Jain, SRK Iyengar
    Literary Theory: Introduction Pearson: From Structuralism to EcocriticismNayar
    The Phonetics and Phonology of Contrast: The Case of the Romanian Vowel System (Phonology and Phonetics [PP] Book 19)Margaret E. L. Renwick.

    Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

    Q: How many sections will the GATE Humanities & Social Sciences question paper 2026 have?
    A:

    GATE 2026 question paper will consist of three sections - 

    • General Aptitude 

    • Reasoning and Comprehension (B1)

    • 5 optional subjects

    Q: What will be the total duration of the GATE Humanities & Social Sciences 2026 exam?
    A:

    The total time duration of GATE Humanities & Social Sciences 2026 will be for 3 hours.

    Q: Where can I check the syllabus for GATE Humanities & Social Sciences 2026?
    A:

    Candidates can check syllabus for GATE Humanities & Social Science 2026 on the official website.

    Q: What is the syllabus for the 2026 GATE Humanities & Social Sciences exam?
    A:

    The syllabus consists of given sections: 

    • General Aptitude (GA)

    • Reasoning and Comprehension (B1)

    • 1 optional subject from C1 - C6:

      • Economics (C1)

      • English (C2)

      • Linguistics (C3)

      • Philosophy (C4)

      • Psychology (C5)

      • Sociology (C6)

    Q: When is the GATE 2026 XH exam?
    A:

    The authority will conduct the GATE 2026 exam in online mode on February 7, 8, 14 and 15, 2026.

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    Questions related to GATE

    On Question asked by student community

    Have a question related to GATE ?

    Yes. You can. GATE eligibility specifies that students in their 3rd year and above can appear for the exam. Since the results are valid for 3 years, you can use the same for your admissions.

    If you score 500 marks in GATE2026, your chances of getting into good engineering colleges (especially NITs, IIITs and some older IITs) are strong for most disciplines, while top branches like CSE/EEE/ECE at older IITs may still require higher ranks. Your GATE AllIndia Rank (AIR) with 500 marks usually falls

    Hello….
    In GATE 2026 Computer Science, a score of around 32 marks in the SC category may roughly correspond to a rank between 3,000 and 6,000, based on trends from recent years. However, the exact rank depends on the paper’s difficulty, number of candidates, and normalization, so it can vary

    The cutoff marks for OBC category students are different for different paper codes. You can check the article on Gate cutoff for all the detailed information. Hope it helps.