MA - Master of Arts Degree syllabus & subjects 2025 span a wide range of disciplines, including English, Political Science, History, and Economics. The 2-year, 4-semester program includes core and optional subjects, research projects, dissertations, and practicals. Topics vary by specialisation, from English literature and linguistics to political ideologies and economic theories. Students also study communication, education, geography, and philosophy. Admissions are through CUET PG or merit-based. MA graduates pursue roles in teaching, research, journalism, administration, and social work. Fees range from INR 10K to 80K, with top colleges including Lady Shri Ram College, JNU, and Christ University.
Master of Arts Degree Syllabus & Subjects 2025 is designed by the experts to provide maximum exposure both theoretically and practically in the chosen discipline. The MA syllabus and subjects vary as per the specialisation, as many courses are offered to the students to pursue the MA degree program. The MA Degree Syllabus consists of core subjects, elective subjects, research projects, internships, wherever applicable, and dissertations, etc, to provide maximum coverage to the students. The syllabus and subjects for MA courses also vary slightly from college to college, and the specialisations offered. One can do an MA Degree course in a wide range of subjects such as History, Political Science, Geography, Economics, Social Work, English, Hindi, etc., depending on the specialisation.
The MA Degree course is a 2-year program that is spread over 4 semesters, and the MA syllabus is divided across all four semesters from basic to advanced level. Students must meet the basic MA Eligibility criteria to take admission in the MA Degree course. One must go through the MA Syllabus in detail if they are planning to appear for different entrance examinations, such as CUET PG, that grant admissions in different MA courses. MA admission is based on both entrance exams and academic merit. Specialisation will have different topics to cover under the MA Syllabus and subjects. Most MA syllabi include classroom instruction, lectures, group discussions, field trips, and a required dissertation submission. MA Course Syllabus and MA Subjects differ by specialisation and vary by course.
For your ease, the details of the MA syllabus have been outlined below.
Particulars | Details |
---|---|
Degree | Post Graduate |
Full form | Master of Arts |
Duration | 2 years |
Age | 20 years |
Minimum Eligibility | Must have finished graduation in the relevant subjects. |
Average Fees | INR 10k – 80k |
Average Salary | INR 3 - 15 LPA |
Employment Roles | Teacher, Professor, Social Worker, Banker, Psychologist, Historian, Archaeologist, etc. |
Employment Sectors | Schools, colleges/universities, Museums, Hospitals, Banks, etc. |
Top Recruiters | Lady Shri Ram College for Women, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, National Museum, Fortis Hospital, etc. |
The MA syllabus is an academically focused syllabus that includes assignments, internships, research projects, and theory and practical lessons. For each specialisation, there is a different MA course syllabus and curriculum. In the MA first year syllabus core subjects are taught. Students can select from a variety of elective course types in the MA second year syllabus. English, Bengali, History, Economics, Sociology, Political Science, Hindi, Philosophy, and others are some of the specialties offered in the MA course.
The tables below will go over each Master of Arts course's specific topics and curriculum semester wise.
MA English Syllabus
The table below lists semester wise MA English Syllabus taught in the majority of India's best MA colleges
MA English First Year Syllabus | |
---|---|
Semester I | |
Structure of Modern English | English Fiction |
Phonology | Jonathan Swift: Gulliver’s Travels |
Morphology | Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice |
Syntax | George Eliot: Middlemarch |
Communication | Henry Fielding: Joseph Andrews |
Semantics | Charles Dickens: David Copperfield |
Ben Jonson: Volpone | Background to Indian English Poetry |
Traditional English Drama | Indian Verses (Elective) |
William Congreve: The Way of the World | Arun Kolatkar – Jejuri |
Christopher Marlowe: Dr Faustus | Nissim Ezekiel |
Sheridan: The School for Scandal | The Old Playhouse and Other Poems – Kamla Das |
William Goldsmith: She Stoops to Conquer | - |
English Language and Literature Teaching (Elective) | Research Methodology (Elective) |
Methods and Approaches to Language Teaching | What is Research? |
Teaching of Grammar | Constructing Research Design |
Dimensions of Research in English Language and English Literature | Research Process |
Teaching of Language Skills | Dimensions of Research in English Language and English Literature |
Approaches to Teaching of Literature | Development, Hypothesis and Preparation of Research Proposal |
Teaching of Poetry, Drama, Fiction | Major Concerns in the Thesis |
- | Parts of the Dissertation, Presentation of Research |
Semester 2 | |
The Structure of Modern English | English Fiction |
Language and Society | Thomas Hardy: Jude the Obscure |
Distinctive Features of British, American and | Joseph Conrad: Lord Jim |
Indian English | D. H. Lawrence: Sons and Lovers |
Pragmatics | Graham Greene: The Power and the Glory |
English in India | EM Forster: A Passage to India |
Introduction to Stylistics | - |
Modern English Drama | Indian Prose Works (Elective) |
GB Shaw: Candida | Background to Indian Prose |
TS Eliot: Murder in the Cathedral | Kanthapura |
Samuel Beckett: Waiting for Godot | Lokmanya Tilak – Essays from Bal Gangadhar Tilak |
Harold Pinter: Home Coming | RK Narayan: An Astrologer’s Day |
John Osborne: Look Back in Anger | Rohinton Mistry: A Fine Balance |
The Structure of Modern English | - |
MA English Second Year Syllabus | |
Semester 3 | |
Literary Theory and Criticism | English Poetry |
Aristotle: The Poetics | John Milton: Paradise Lost Book 1 |
Dr Johnson: A Preface to Shakespeare | John Donne: The Sun Rising |
Philip Sidney: An Apology of Poetry | Alexander Pope: The Rape of The Lock |
William Wordsworth: A Preface to Lyrical Ballads | Andrew Marvell: To His Coy Mistress |
Matthew Arnold: The Study of Poetry | William Blake: From Songs of Innocence |
English Language and Literature Teaching (Elective) | |
Methods and Approaches to Language Teaching | Teaching of Grammar |
Relationship between Psychology and Teaching of Language | Approaches to the Teaching of Literature |
Teaching of Poetry, Drama and Fiction | Teaching of Language Skills |
Semester 4 | |
Literary Theory and Criticism | English Poetry |
T.S.Eliot: Tradition and the Individual Talent | Coleridge: The Rime of Ancient Mariner |
F.R.Leavis: Literature and Society | William Wordsworth Poetry |
Northrope Frye: The Archetypes of Literature | Tennyson Poetry |
Elaine Showalter: Feminist Criticism in the Wilderness | Robert Browning Poetry |
Ronald Barthes: The Death of the Author | W. B. Yeats Poetry |
Shakespeare | American Literature (Elective) |
Julius Caesar | Arthur Miller: The Death of a Salesman |
Tempest | Background Topics |
Macbeth | John Steinbeck: Of Mice and Men |
Measure for Measure | Edward Albee: Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf |
King Lear | Poetry |
MA Political Science Syllabus
The table below lists semester-wise MA Political Science syllabi taught in the majority of India's best MA colleges.
MA Political Science First Year Syllabus
The MA Political Science first-year syllabus has been listed in the following pointers.
Semester 1 | |
---|---|
Western Political Thought (From Plato to Hegel) | Contemporary Political Theory |
Political Development | Theories of International Relations |
Ancient Indian Political Thought | Practical Work/ Exercise |
Research Methodology | |
Semester 2 | |
Political Sociology | Texts of Philosophers |
Comparative Politics | Comparative Politics |
Indian Constitutional System | Practical Work/ Exercise |
Administrative Theory |
MA Political Science Second Year Syllabus
The MA Political Science second -year syllabus has been listed in the following pointers.
Semester 3 | |
---|---|
Public Administration | Political Sociology |
Politics in India | Interpreting Modern World |
International Politics | Electives |
Modern Indian Political Thought | |
Semester 4 | |
Concept and Issue in Political Science | Indian Administration |
Post-Cold War International Relations | Dissertation and Viva Voce |
State Politics with Special Reference to U.P. |
MA Economics Syllabus
Here is the detailed MA Economics Syllabus, as well as various optional subjects, listed below.
MA Economics First Year Syllabus
The MA Economics first-year syllabus has been listed in the following pointers.
Semester 1 | |
---|---|
Microeconomic Analysis | Monetary Economics |
Elementary Statistics | Optional Paper I |
International Trade | |
Semester 2 | |
Macroeconomic Analysis | Quantitative Methods |
Theory of Pricing and Distribution | Viva-Voce |
International Finance |
MA Economics Second Year Syllabus
The MA Economics second -year syllabus has been listed in the following pointers.
Semester 3 | |
---|---|
Economics of Growth | Optional Papers |
Public Economics | Quantitative Economics I & II |
Issues in the Indian Economy | Demography I & II |
Economics of Industry | Economics of Gender and Development I & II |
Optional Paper-II | Financial Institutions and Markets I & II |
Semester 4 | |
Indian Public Finance | Labour Economics I & II |
Economics of Agriculture | Econometrics I & II |
Growth Models in Economics | Economics of Infrastructure I & II |
Selected Problems of the Indian Economy | Economics of Insurance I & II |
Viva-Voce |
MA History Syllabus
The table below lists the MA History Syllabus taught in various Indian colleges.
MA History First Year Syllabus
The MA History first-year syllabus has been listed in the following pointers.
Semester 1 | |
---|---|
Principles of History | History of the Marathas (A.D. 1600 – A.D. 1707) or History of Republican China |
History of Ideas in Modern India | Research Methodology and Historical Investigation |
Twentieth Century world (up to the end of World War II) | History of Ideas in Modern India |
Semester 2 | |
Polity and Economics in Mediaeval India | History of Ideas in Mediaeval India |
Society, Culture and Religion in Mediaeval India | State in India |
MA History Second Year Syllabus
The MA History second-year syllabus has been listed in the following pointers.
Semester 3 | |
---|---|
Indian Nationalism upto 1905 | Indian National Movement (1905-1947) |
18th to 19th century world | History of a Particular State |
Semester 4 | |
Tribal History of India with Special Reference to a particular state | Status of women in Indian History |
Historical Application in Tourism | Dissertation |
MA in Philosophy Syllabus
The table below lists the MA in Philosophy Syllabus taught in various Indian colleges.
MA in Philosophy First Year Syllabus
The MA in Philosophy first-year syllabus has been listed in the following pointers.
Semester 1 | |
---|---|
Classical Indian Philosophy I | Greek Philosophy |
Formal Logic | Ethics |
Semester 2 | |
Classical Indian Philosophy II | Modern Western Philosophy |
Meta-Ethics | Critical Philosophical Traditions of India |
MA in Philosophy Second Year Syllabus
The MA in Philosophy second-year syllabus has been listed in the following pointers.
Semester 3 | |
---|---|
Analytic Philosophy | Continental Philosophy |
Western Social & Political Philosophy | Philosophy of the Western Mind |
Semester 4 | |
Philosophy of Language | Continental Philosophy |
Philosophy of Religion | Philosophy of Science |
MA Hindi Syllabus
The table below lists semester-wise MA Political Science syllabi taught in the majority of India's best MA colleges.
MA Hindi First Year Syllabus
The MA Hindi first-year syllabus has been listed in the following pointers.
Semester 1 | |
---|---|
History of Literature | General Linguistics |
Novel and Short Story | Translation -Theory and Practice |
Semester 2 | |
History of Literature | Ancient and Medieval Hindi poetry |
Prose 2-Drama and one-act plays | Origin and Development of Hindi Language and structure of Hindi |
MA Hindi Second Year Syllabus
The MA Hindi first-year syllabus has been listed in the following pointers.
Semester 3 | |
---|---|
Modern Hindi poetry including Chayavad | Theory of literature Indian and western |
Semester 4 | |
Post-Chayavad Hindi history | Indian Literature Trends |
Current Trends in Indian literature | Feminist Writing in Hindi |
Project Work |
Also Read: MA Education
All MA subjects are taught in various specialisation courses, which help students in understanding the knowledge and pursuing a better PhD degree for future job opportunities.
The MA syllabus for subjects such as Literature, History, Fine Arts, Psychology, Sociology, Economy, Politics, Ethics, Novels, and so on taught in the MA course curriculum are required for postgraduates to expand their knowledge in theoretical and research aspects, which will benefit them to get a better scope in jobs in India and abroad based on their skills. Furthermore, some MA subjects, such as Language, History, Education, Writing, Theory, and Philosophy, are related to the Arts and Humanities MA syllabus.
Here are some core subjects of an MA degree.
Subject | Description |
---|---|
Communications | Study of human and mass communication |
Media | Analysis of news, TV, and digital media |
Geography | Study of Earth’s landscapes and people |
Linguistics | Scientific study of language and sounds |
Management | Organising and leading organisations |
Languages | Learning and analysing different tongues |
Politics | Study of governments and political ideas |
Literature | Analysis of prose, poetry, and drama |
Education | Study of teaching and learning methods |
Each college/university has some optional or elective courses from which you can choose the ones which to study in your MA course. These MA subjects are given some credits and are usually allocated in the MA second year syllabus of the course.
List of Optional MA Subjects | |
---|---|
Classical Theories of Value and Distribution | International Monetary Systems |
General Equilibrium Analysis | Theory of Industrial Organisation |
Evolution of the Indian Economy | Game Theory with Applications to Economics |
Analysis of Indian Economy (with special reference to Sectoral Problems) | Law and Economics |
Analysis of Indian Economy (with special reference to Resource Mobilization) | Economics of Health |
Problems and Techniques of Planning | Financial Structures and Economic Development |
Advanced General Equilibrium | Database on Indian Economy |
Production Conditions in Indian Agriculture | Issues in the Contemporary International Economy |
Structure and Growth of Indian Industries | Experimental Methods in Economics |
Foreign Trade, Aid and Investment Policies | Auction Theory and its Application |
Econometric Methods I | Environmental Economics |
Econometric Methods II | Globalization and Development |
Banking and Monetary Institutions | Labour Economics |
Public Finance | Social Choice I |
MA programs are available in a variety of domains. Given below are some of the popular specialisations in MA course:
Also Read: Best Certificate Courses in India
Students must go through the MA Syllabus in detail if they are preparing to appear for any entrance examinations that grant admission to MA courses in different colleges and universities. Admissions to the MA Course are either direct or through entrance examinations. Some of the popular entrance examinations that allow students to be part of different universities are:
CUET PG: CUET PG entrance exam syllabus for the MA degree includes topics like language comprehension, verbal ability, reading comprehension, logical reasoning, and domain-specific subjects based on the chosen discipline.
There are many course books and study materials that your college will provide to score well on the semester-end exam. The MA course subject books help undergraduates expand their knowledge and vision about multiple topics covered in their classes. They will be different for each specialisation.
Following are a few of the books that you must go through to perform well in the examinations:
Name of the Book | Author |
---|---|
Elements of Real Analysis | MD Raisinghania |
Essentials of Educational Psychology | SK Mangal |
Research Methodology | Panneerselvam |
Basic Concepts of Environmental Studies | DD Mishra |
Historiography | ML Vare |
An Objective History of English Literature | BB Jain |
The MA syllabus and MA course subjects are structured into two categories, namely core and elective subjects. The course for the curriculum has been divided into many specialisations, which have subjects consisting of an introduction to arts and humanities (language, political science, writing, economics, philosophy, media, drama).
Some of the MA course details are:
The Master of Arts syllabus includes a variety of teaching methods and techniques that allow students in understanding the various topics covered in their classes. The following are some of the different teaching methodologies and techniques used in the Master of Arts degree course syllabus:
Master of Arts project topics are an excellent resource for researchers (Ph.D./MS) who want to finish innovative research and move forward with a doctorate programme, as well as students with backgrounds in the arts and humanities. Students can choose their Master of Arts project topics according to the subjects and syllabus of their specialisation, which will encourage them to learn more in order to finish the project. The following are some of the top Master of Arts project ideas:
The scope after pursuing an MA degree program from prestigious colleges and universities is enormous. MA subjects are very specific, and the MA syllabus contains all the elements that prepare students to be industry ready. MA Syllabus usually has detailed and practical analysis of all the topics and one becomes an expert in the respective specialization. One can choose from a wide range of career opportunities after pursuing an MA program and start doing jobs for different profiles such as Economists, Political Strategists, Social Welfare officers, translators, language experts, and many more. One can also pursue higher education and can do their PhD in the relevant discipline. Teaching at schools and universities is also a great career choice after completing a MA Degree course.