UGC NET Sociology: Syllabus, Exam Pattern & Sample Questions

Are you searching for the syllabus of UGC NET Sociology? Here you will get the latest syllabus for the National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) exam. It will surely help you in the effective preparation of NET Sociology exam (Paper II, Paper III-A & Paper III-B). CBSE NET Sociology exam will be conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). The syllabus given below is based on the latest pattern of the University Grants Commission (UGC) - Sociology curriculum. We suggest you to check our free online mock tests for UGC NET examinations.

We have listed some of the frequently asked questions (FAQs), asked by the UGC NET (Sociology) candidates, so that they will get a basic idea of NET (Sociology) exam pattern.

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UGC NET Sociology Syllabus: Paper II

  1. Sociological Concepts
    1. Nature of Sociology
    2. Basic Concepts
    3. Social Structure
    4. Social Group Meaning
    5. Social Institutions
    6. Socialization
    7. Social Stratification
    8. Social Change
  2. Sociological Theory
    1. Structural
    2. Functional
    3. Interactionist
    4. Conflict
  3. Methodology
    1. Meaning and Nature of Social Research
    2. Quantitative Methods
    3. Qualitative Methods
    4. Statistics in Social Research

UGC NET Sociology Syllabus: Paper III (Part-A)

UGC NET Sociology Syllabus: Paper III (Core Group)
Unit Details
Unit - IPhenomenology and Ethnomethodology
Unit - IINeo - functionalism and Neo - Marxism
Unit - IIIStructuration and Post - Modernism
Unit - IVConceptualising Indian Society
Unit - VTheoretical Perspectives
Unit - VIContemporary Issues : Socio - cultural
Unit - VIIContemporary Issues : Developmental
Unit - VIIIIssues Pertaining to Deviance
Unit - IXCurrent Debates
Unit - XThe Challenges of Globalisation

UGC NET Sociology Syllabus: (Paper III - Part B)

UGC NET Sociology Syllabus: Paper III (Optional Paper)
Elective Paper Details
Elective - IRural Sociology
Elective - IIIndustry and Society
Elective - IIISociology of Development
Elective - IVPopulation and Society
Elective - VGender and Society

UGC NET Sociology Paper II: Detailed Syllabus

Given below is the list of unit wise syllabus for UGC NET (Sociology) paper-II.

A : Sociological Concepts

Nature of Sociology

  • Definition
  • Sociological Perspective

Basic Concepts

  • Community
  • Institution
  • Association
  • Culture
  • Norms and Values.

Social Structure

  • Status and role, their interrelationship.
  • Multiple roles, Role set. Status set, Status sequence.
  • Role conflict.

Social Group Meaning

  • Types : Primary - Secondary, Formal - Informal, Ingroup - Outgroup, Referencegroup.

Social Institutions

  • Marriage
  • Family
  • Education
  • Economy
  • Polity
  • Religion

Socialization

  • Socialization, Resocialization, Anticipatory socialization, Adult socialization
  • Agencies of socialization
  • Theories of socialization.

Social Stratification

  • Social differentiation, Hierarchy and Inequality
  • Forms of stratification : Caste, Class, Gender, Ethnic
  • Theories of social stratification
  • Social mobility.

Social Change

  • Concepts and Types : Evolution, Diffusion, Progress, Revolution, Transformation, Change in structure and Change of structure
  • Theories : Dialectical and Cyclical.

B : Sociological Theory

Structural

  • Nadel
  • Radclifife Brown
  • Levi - Strauss

Functional

  • Malinowski
  • Durkheim
  • Parsons
  • Merton

Interactionist

  • Social action : Max Weber, Pareto
  • Symbolic Interactionism : G. H. Mead, Blumer

Conflict

  • Karl Marx
  • Dahrendorf
  • Coser
  • Collins

Methodology

Meaning and Nature of Social Research

  • Nature of social phenomena
  • The scientific method
  • The problems in the study of social phenomena : Objectivity and subjectivity, fact and value.

Quantitative Methods

  • Survey
  • Research Design and its types
  • Hypothesis
  • Sampling
  • Techniques of data collection : Observation, Questionnaire, Schedule, Interview.

Qualitative Methods

  • Participant observation
  • Case study
  • Content analysis
  • Oral history
  • Life history

Statistics in Social Research

  • Measures of Central Tendency : Mean, Median, Mode
  • Measures of dispersion
  • Correlational analysis
  • Test of significance
  • Reliability and Validity

UGC NET Sociology (Paper III-A): Detailed Syllabus

Given below is the list of (Core) unit wise syllabus for paper III (Part A).

Unit - I : Phenomenology and Ethnomethodology

  • Alfred Shultz, Peter Berger and Luckmann
  • Garfinkel and Goffman

Unit - II : Neo - functionalism and Neo - Marxism

  • J. Alexander
  • Habermass, Althusser

Unit - III : Structuration and Post - Modernism

  • Giddens
  • Derrida
  • Foucault

Unit - IV : Conceptualising Indian Society

  • Peoples of India : Groups and Communities.
  • Unity in diversity.
  • Cultural diversity : Regional, linguistic, religious and tribal.

Unit - V : Theoretical Perspectives

  • Indological / Textual Perspective : G. S. Ghurye, Louis Dumont.
  • Structural - Functional Perspective : M. M.N. Srinivas, S. C. Dube.
  • Marxian Perspective : D. P. Mukherjee, A. R. Desai.
  • Civilisational Perspective : N. K. Bose, Surajit Sinha.
  • Subaltern Perspective : B. R. Ambedkar, David Hardiman.

Unit - VI : Contemporary Issues : Socio - cultural

  • Poverty
  • Inequality of caste and gender
  • Regional, ethnic and religious disharmonies.
  • Family disharmony : (a) Domestic violence (b) Dowry (c) Divorce (d) Intergenerational conflict.

Unit - VII : Contemporary Issues : Developmental

  • Population
  • Regional disparity
  • Slums
  • Displacement
  • Ecological degradation and environmental pollution
  • Health problems

Unit - VIII : Issues Pertaining to Deviance

  • Deviance and its forms
  • Crime and delinquency
  • White collar crime and corruption ,
  • Changing profile of crime and criminals
  • Drug addiction
  • Suicide

Unit - IX : Current Debates

  • Tradition and Modernity in India.
  • Problems of Nation Building : Secularism, Pluralism and Nation building.

Unit - X : The Challenges of Globalisation

  • Indianisation of Sociology
  • Privatisation of Education
  • Science and Technology Policy of India

UGC NET Sociology (Paper III-B): Detailed Syllabus

Given below is the list of (elective / Optional) unit wise syllabus for paper III (Part B).

Elective - I: Rural Sociology

Approaches to the study of Rural Society :
  • Rural - Urban differences
  • Rurbanism
  • Peasant studies
Agrarian Institutions :
  • Land ownership and its types.
  • Agrarian relations and Mode of production debate.
  • Jajmani system and Jajmani relations.
  • Agrarian class structure.
Panchayati Raj System :
  • Panchayat before and after 73rd Amendment.
  • Rural Leadership and Factionalism.
  • Empowerment of people.
Social Issues and Strategies for Rural Development :
  • Bonded and Migrant labourers.
  • Pauperization and Depeasantisation.
  • Agrarian unrest and Peasant movements.
Rural Development and Change :
  • Trends of changes in rural society.
  • Processes of change : Migration - Rural to Urban and Rural to Rural Mobility : Social / Economic.
  • Factors of change.

Elective - II : Industry and Society

Industrial Society in the Classical Sociological Tradition :
  • Division of labour
  • Bureaucracy
  • Rationality
  • Production relations
  • Surplus value
  • Alienation
Industry and Society :
  • Factory as a social system
  • Formal and informal organization
  • Impact of social structure on industry
  • Impact of industry on society
Industrial Relations :
  • Changing profile of labour.
  • Changing labour - management relations.
  • Conciliation, adjudication, arbitration.
  • Collective bargaining.
  • Trade unions.
  • Worker's participation in management ( Joint Management Councils ).
  • Quality circles.
Industrialisation and Social Change in India :
  • Impact of industrialization on family, education and stratification.
  • Class and class conflict in industrial society.
  • Obstacles to and limitations of industrialization.
Industrial Planning :
  • Industrial Policy
  • Labour legislation
  • Human relations in industry

Elective - III : Sociology of Development

Conceptual Perspectives on Development :
  • Economic growth
  • Human development
  • Social development
  • Sustainable development : Ecological and Social
Theories of Underdevelopment :
  • Liberal : Max Weber, Gunnar Myrdal.
  • Dependency : Centre - periphery ( Frank ), Uneven development ( Samir Amin ), World - system ( Wallerstein ).
Paths of Development :
  • Modernisation, Globalisation
  • Socialist
  • Mixed
  • Gandhian
Social Structure and Development :
  • Social structure as a facilitator / inhibitor.
  • Development and socio - economic disparities.
  • Gender and development.
Culture and Development :
  • Culture as an aid / impediment.
  • Development and displacement of tradition.
  • Development and upsurge of ethnic movements.

Elective - IV : Population and Society

Theories of Population Growth :
  • Malthusian.
  • Demographic transition.
Population Growth and Distribution in India :
  • Growth of Indian population since 1901.
  • Determinants of population.
Concepts of Fertility, Mortality, Morbidity and Migration :
  • Age and Sex composition and its consequences.
  • Determinants of fertility.
  • Determinants of mortality, infant, child and maternal mortality
  • Morbidity rates.
  • Determinants and consequences of migration.
Population and Development :
  • Population as a constraint on and a resource for development.
  • Socio - cultural factors affecting population growth.
Population Control :
  • Population policy : Problems and perspectives
  • Population education
  • Measures taken for population control

Elective - V : Gender and Society

Gender as a Social Construct :
  • Models of Gendered socialisation.
  • Cultural symbolism and general roles.
Social Structure and Gender Inequality :
  • Patriarchy and Matriarchy.
  • Division of Labour - Production and reproduction.
Theories of Gender Relations :
  • Liberalist
  • Radical
  • Socialist
  • Post - modernist
Gender and Development :
  • Effect of development policies on gender relations.
  • Perspectives on gender and development - Welfarist, developmentalist
  • Empowerment.
Women and Development in India :
  • Indicators of women's status : Demographic, social, economic and cultural.
  • Special schemes and strategies for women's development.
  • Voluntary sector and women's development.
  • Globalisation and women's development
  • Eco - feminism.

UGC NET Sociology: Exam Pattern (FAQs)

Is it mandatory to qualify UGC General Paper-1?
Yes, it is necessary for all UGC (Sociology) candidates to pass UGC General Paper-1: Teaching & Research Aptitude (TRA) exam
How many question papers are there in the UGC NET (Sociology) exam?
Two: Paper II and Paper III
How many questions will be their in NET Sociology (Paper II)?
Their will be a total of 50 questions in UGC Sociology Paper II
What type of questions are asked in UGC Sociology exam?
Paper-II contains questions of objective nature: MCQs; Matching type; Assertion-Reasoning; True / False. Paper-III (Part A): Essay type questions. Paper III (Part B): Essay type questions from each of the electives

UGC NET Sociology - Paper II: Sample Questions

(1) Which of the following criteria was not used by Durkheim for defining is social fact?

  1. Externality
  2. Values
  3. Constants
  4. Generality

(2) When the size of the population being studied is small and illiterate which of the following tools of data collection cannot be used?

  1. Interview schedule
  2. Questionnaire
  3. Observation
  4. Case study

(3) Match the following statements which the authors:

StatementAuthor
  1. Sociology provides a clear or more adequate understanding of a social situation
  2. Sociology attempts and interpretive understanding of social action
  3. Sociology is connected with the nature of groups
  4. Sociology is the study of social groups
  1. A. Johnson
  2. B Bierstadt
  3. Max Weber
  4. D. Giddens

UGC NET Sociology - Paper III (Part A): Sample Questions

  1. Explain Goffman's contribution to dramaturgical perspective.
  2. Discuss Louis Dumont's concept of purity and pollution.

UGC NET Sociology - Paper III (Part B): Sample Questions

  1. Discuss the recent changes that have taken place in caste system.
  2. What is social evolution? discuss Spencer's view on social evolution.

Note You can easily download UGC NET (Sociology) syllabus in PDF format form the official website of the University Grants Commission (UGC) by simply clicking on the subject (Sociology) link on the UGC syllabus page.