SPSC Combined Competitive Examination — Revised Syllabus

Who may sit the examination, what it costs, which documents are required, and the conduct rules that apply in the hall.

Six compulsory subjects, seven optional groups, and the eleven notes that decide who reaches the merit list.

One paper, one or more essays, a wide choice of topics — and marks for research-based knowledge as much as for style.

Seven components with the marks published for each — précis 20, comprehension 20, grammar 20, and four ten-mark exercises.

One of the two language options at code 03 — grammar, essay, poetry, proverbs and translation, examined in Sindhi.

The Urdu alternative at code 03 — grammar, four poets, eight prose writers, an essay and translation from English.

Sixty marks of general science across five fields, then forty marks of quantitative, logical and mental ability.

Current affairs in Part I — domestic, external and global — and twenty-eight headings of Pakistan Affairs in Part II.

Seven headings from the fundamentals of Deen to governance in Islam — with a whole section on public administration that reflects what this examination recruits for.

The alternative paper in lieu of Islamic Studies — Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, each treated the same way.

Two 100-mark papers — financial and cost accounting in Paper I; auditing, business taxation and finance in Paper II, with the marks published for each block.

Two 200-mark papers, each split into two 50-mark sections — programming, algorithms, software engineering and compilers in Paper I; architecture, networks, operating systems, databases, image processing and web engineering in Paper II.

General economic theory in Paper I; a whole second paper devoted to the economy of Pakistan, from the planning experience to the current major issues.

Theory, security and political economy in Paper I; the Cold War, the organisations, South Asia and weapons of mass destruction in Paper II.

Thought, concepts and institutions in Paper I; comparative political systems and the government and politics of Pakistan in Paper II — each paper split into weighted parts.

Six topics with the percentage weight of each published — numerical methods carry 30%, and differential equations another 40% between them.

Twenty headings covering physical, analytical, inorganic and organic chemistry, ending in biomolecules, metabolism and the chemical industries.

Physical geology, stratigraphy, mineralogy and structural geology in Part I; geophysics, petroleum, engineering and economic geology in Part II — with Pakistan's own deposits named throughout.

Eight headings from classical mechanics to nuclear physics, taking in fluid mechanics, optics, thermodynamics, electromagnetism, quantum and solid state physics.

Three sections with published marks — modern algebra (40), calculus and analytic geometry (40), complex variables (20).

Two parts of 50 marks — descriptive statistics, probability, regression and non-parametric methods, then sampling, inference, design of experiments and vital statistics.

Five fields in one paper — management, HR, financial management, operations and supply chain, and marketing.

Governance theory and indicators, the machinery of policy-making in Pakistan, accountability, bureaucracy, federalism — and good governance in Islam.

Twelve headings from the theory of the discipline to development administration — with the Civil Service of Pakistan given a section of its own.

Nine headings from the definition of town planning to urban information systems — with the planned towns of the Indus Valley treated as historical precedent.

Two parts of 50 marks — the French Revolution to the origins of the First World War, then the two wars, the Cold War and Europe to 2012.

Ten headings from the arrival of Muslim rule in 712 to the restoration of democracy — the Pakistan Movement, the separation of East Pakistan, and the military in politics.

Twenty-one headings from pre-Columbian America to the war on terror, taking in the constitution, the Civil War, the New Deal and the machinery of US government.

The pre-Islamic Near East to the Umayyads in Part I; the Abbasids, Muslim Spain, the Crusades, the Ottomans, Sufism and Islamic modernism in Part II.

Fifty marks of agriculture and fifty of forestry in a single paper — integrated agriculture and Pakistan's crop challenges, then forest, range and wildlife management.

Ten headings from algae and fungi through anatomy, taxonomy and physiology to genetics, evolution and molecular biology.

Six components with the marks published for each — and, unusually, the Commission names the exact set texts for essays, stories, poems, plays and novels.

From the history of environmental thought to Pakistan's own policy and legal framework, the multilateral agreements it has ratified, and the tools of environmental assessment.

Nine headings from the social construction of gender to gender-based violence — closing with three named Pakistani case studies.

The longest subject entry in the document — nine headings covering the antiquity of the language, folk literature, the periods of Sindhi letters, and named classical and modern poets, prose writers and researchers.

Five components with published marks — the study of Urdu literature, critical study of classical and modern poetry, critical study of prose, précis and essay.

Four headings — invertebrate diversity, chordate diversity, the principles of animal life, and animal form and function from the integument to social behaviour.

Comparative constitutional principles across eight countries, the constitutional history of Pakistan, and seventeen leading cases the Commission names by citation.

Four sections of 25 marks each — theory, juvenile justice, criminal investigation, and the contemporary problems from cybercrime to money-laundering.

Seventeen headings from the juridical basis of international law to neutrality, including humanitarian law, the use of force and the settlement of disputes.

The shortest syllabus in the document — the definition of crime and the provisions of seven statutes, with one recommended book against each.

Ten commercial statutes from the Contract Act 1872 to the Electronic Fund Transfer Act 2007 — and twenty-six named cases, from *Carlill* to *Salomon*.

The four sources of Islamic law, criminal and family law, contract, banking, international law and human rights — closing on two Pakistani statutes.

Method, epistemology, ontology and ethics, with a section on Muslim thinkers from Al-Farabi to Shah Wali Ullah and a closing survey of contemporary movements.

Social, urban and applied anthropology, socio-cultural change, ethnicity and race, the major theorists, and research methods.

Fifty marks of physical geography and fifty of human geography, ending in tourism, medical geography and the geopolitics of uneven development.

Communication models and theories, global communication, the Pakistani media system, development support communication, public relations, and media laws and ethics.

Fourteen headings covering the whole discipline — from the biological basis of behaviour to health, forensic and organisational psychology.

Twelve headings of general sociology — culture, society, social control, institutions, the social problems of Pakistan, theory and research methods.