Table of Contents
The National Testing Agency has issued the official syllabus for the CUET PG Zoology exam 2025. The CUET PG 2025 syllabus is out on the official website- https://exams.nta.ac.in/CUET-PG/syllabus.html. The NTA has already started the CUET PG Zoology exam registration process from January 02, 2025. Candidates are allowed to submit their application form by February 01 and pay their application fees by February 02, 2025.
CUET PG 2025 Zoology Syllabus
The CUET PG Zoology syllabus 2025 is similar to the undergraduate curriculum of the BSc (Hons) Zoology course taught in universities like DU and BHU. The official syllabus of the CUET PG Zoology entrance exam is divided into 14 units. The CUET PG Zoology syllabus 2025 is extensive and includes topics such as animal diversity, comparative anatomy, developmental biology, physiology, biochemistry, and more.
CUET PG Zoology Syllabus 2025 Highlights
Candidates gearing up for the CUET PG MSc degree program should initiate their studies based on the Zoology syllabus outlined below. The NTA does not provide the detailed syllabus, it only provides the official topics/units. To help students save time and effort, we have provided the detailed CUET PG Zoology syllabus 2025 based on the previous exam papers’ analysis and undergraduate zoology curriculum of top universities.
Candidates can consult the comprehensive syllabus of BSc Zoology from esteemed institutions in the country for preparation. The CUET PG Zoology test paper code is SCQP28. Check the syllabus topics/units mentioned in the official syllabus below.
- Cell Biology
- Bio Chemistry
- Molecular Biology
- Ecology
- Genetics
- Evolution
- Vertebrates and Invertebrates
- Biodiversity & Environment Conservation
- Recombinant DNA technology
- Bio Techniques
- Animal Physiology
- Immunology
- Developmental Biology
- Biostatistics
NTA CUET PG Zoology Syllabus in Detail
The CUET PG Zoology curriculum is very extensive, making it essential to begin preparation in advance. Below, candidates can find the comprehensive syllabus for the MSc Zoology examination. As the NTA has not released the full details of the subjects listed in the CUET PG syllabus, the BSc Zoology syllabus from Delhi University (DU) has been used for reference.
| Unit Name | Detailed Syllabus Topics |
| Biochemistry | Carbohydrates: Structure and Biological importance: Monosaccharides, Disaccharides, Polysaccharides and Glycoconjugates Lipids: Structure and Significance: Physiologically important saturated and unsaturated fatty acids, Tri-acylglycerols, Phospholipids, Glycolipids, Steroids Proteins: Amino acids: Structure, Classification and General properties of α-amino acids; Physiological importance of essential and non-essential α-amino acids Proteins: Bonds stabilizing protein structure; Levels of organization in proteins; Denaturation; Introduction to simple and conjugate proteins Immunoglobulins: Basic Structure, Classes and Function, Antigenic Determinants Nucleic Acids: Structure: Purines and pyrimidines, Nucleosides, Nucleotides, Nucleic acids, Cot Curves: Base pairing, Denaturation and Renaturation of DNA, Types of DNA and RNA, Complementarity of DNA, Hpyo-Hyperchromaticity of DNA. Enzymes: Nomenclature and classification; Cofactors; Specificity of enzyme action; Isozymes; Mechanism of enzyme action; Enzyme kinetics; Factors affecting rate of enzyme-catalyzed reactions; Derivation of Michaelis-Menten equation, Concept of Km and Vmax, Lineweaver-Burk plot; Multi-substrate reactions; Enzyme inhibition; Allosteric enzymes and their kinetics; Regulation of enzyme action. |
| Ecology | Introduction to Ecology: History of ecology, Autecology and synecology, Levels of organization, Laws of limiting factors, Study of physical factors Population: Unitary and Modular populations, Unique and group attributes of population: Density, natality, mortality, life tables, fecundity tables, survivorship curves, age ratio, sex ratio, dispersal and dispersion, Exponential and logistic growth, equation and patterns, r and K strategies Population regulation – density-dependent and independent factors Population interactions, Gause’s Principle with laboratory and field examples, Lotka-Volterra equation for competition and Predation, functional and numerical responses. Community: Community characteristics: species richness, dominance, diversity, abundance, vertical stratification, Ecotone and edge effect; Ecological succession with one example Theories pertaining to climax community Ecosystem: Types of ecosystems with one example in detail, Food chain: Detritus and grazing food chains, Linear and Y-shaped food chains, Food web, Energy flow through the ecosystem, Ecological pyramids and Ecological efficiencies, Nutrient and biogeochemical cycle with one example of Nitrogen cycle, Human modified ecosystem Applied Ecology: Ecology in Wildlife Conservation and Management. |
| Animal Physiology | Tissues: Structure, location, classification and functions of epithelial tissue, connective tissue, muscular tissue and nervous tissue Bone and Cartilage: Structure and types of bones and cartilages, Ossification, bone growth and resorptionNervous System: Structure of neuron, resting membrane potential, Origin of action potential and its propagation across the myelinated and unmyelinated nerve fibers; Types of synapse, Synaptic transmission and, Neuromuscular junction; Reflex action and its types – reflex arc; Physiology of hearing and vision. Histology of different types of muscle; Ultra structure of skeletal muscle; Molecular and chemical basis of muscle contraction; Characteristics of muscle twitch; Motor unit, summation and tetanus. Reproductive System: Histology of testis and ovary; Physiology of male and female reproduction; Puberty, Methods of contraception in male and female Endocrine System: Histology of endocrine glands – pineal, pituitary, thyroid, parathyroid, pancreas, adrenal; hormones secreted by them and their mechanism of action; Classification of hormones; Regulation of their secretion; Mode of hormone action, Signal transduction pathways for steroidal and non-steroidal hormones; Hypothalamus (neuroendocrine gland) – principal nuclei involved in neuroendocrine control of anterior pituitary and endocrine system; Placental hormones. |
| Cell Biology | Overview of Cells: Prokaryotic and Eukaryotic cells, Viruses, Viroids, Mycoplasma, Prions Plasma Membrane: Various models of plasma membrane structure, Transport across membranes: Active and Passive transport, Facilitated transport, Cell junctions: Tight junctions, Desmosomes, Gap junctions, Endomembrane System. Cell Organelles: Endoplasmic Reticulum, Golgi Apparatus, Lysosomes, Mitochondria and Peroxisomes, Mitochondria: Structure, Semi-autonomous nature, Endosymbiotic hypothesis, Cytoskeleton: Structure and Functions: Microtubules, Microfilaments and Intermediate filaments Nucleus: Structure of Nucleus: Nuclear envelope, Nuclear pore complex, Nucleolus, Chromatin: Euchromatin and Hetrochromatin and packaging (nucleosome) Cell Division: Mitosis, Meiosis, Cell cycle and its regulation, Cell Signaling, GPCR and Role of second messenger (cAMP). |
| Genetics | Mendelian Genetics and its Extension: Principles of inheritance, Incomplete dominance and co-dominance, Multiple alleles, Lethal alleles, Epistasis, Pleiotropy, Sex-linked, sexinfluenced and sex-limited characters inheritance. Linkage, Crossing Over and Chromosomal Mapping: Linkage and crossing over, Cytological basis of crossing over, Molecular mechanisms of crossing over including models of recombination, Recombination frequency as a measure of linkage intensity, Two factor and three factor crosses, Interference and coincidence, Somatic cell hybridization. Mutations: Types of gene mutations (Classification), Types of chromosomal aberrations (Classification, figures and with one suitable example of each), Molecular basis of mutations in relation to UV light and chemical mutagens; Detection of mutations: CLB method, attached X method. Sex Determination: Chromosomal mechanisms of sex determination in Drosophila and Man Extra-chromosomal Inheritance: Criteria for extra-chromosomal inheritance, Antibiotic resistance in Chlamydomonas, Mitochondrial mutations in Saccharomyces, Infective heredity in Paramecium and Maternal effects, Polygenic Inheritance, Polygenic inheritance with suitable examples; simple numericals based on it. Recombination in Bacteria and Viruses: Conjugation, Transformation, Transduction, Complementation test in Bacteriophage,Transposable Genetic Elements: Transposons in bacteria, Ac-Ds elements in maize and P elements in Drosophila, Transposons in humans. |
| Molecular Biology | Nucleic Acids: Salient features of DNA and RNA, Watson and Crick model of DNA DNA Replication: DNA Replication in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, mechanism of DNA replication,Semi-conservative, bidirectional and semi-discontinuous replication, RNA priming, Replication of circular and linear ds-DNA, replication of telomeres Transcription: RNA polymerase and transcription Unit, mechanism of transcription in prokaryotes and eukaryotes, synthesis of rRNA and mRNA, transcription factors Translation: Genetic code, Degeneracy of the genetic code and Wobble Hypothesis; Process of protein synthesis in prokaryotes: Ribosome structure and assembly in prokaryotes, fidelity of protein synthesis, aminoacyl tRNA synthetases and charging of tRNA; Proteins involved in initiation, elongation and termination of polypeptide chain; Inhibitors of protein synthesis; Difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic translation Post Transcriptional Modifications and Processing of Eukaryotic RNA: Structure of globin mRNA; Split genes: concept of introns and exons, splicing mechanism, alternative splicing, exon shuffling, and RNA editing, Processing of tRNA Gene Regulation: Transcription regulation in prokaryotes: Principles of transcriptional regulation with examples from lac operon and trp operon; Transcription regulation in eukaryotes: Activators, repressors, enhancers, silencer elements; Gene silencing, Genetic imprinting. |
| Vertebrates and Invertebrates | Protista, Parazoa and Metazoa: General characteristics and Classification up to classes, Study of Euglena, Amoeba and Paramecium, Life cycle and pathogenicity of Plasmodium vivax and Entamoeba histolytica, Locomotion and Reproduction in Protista, Evolution of symmetry and segmentation of Metazoa Porifera: General characteristics and Classification up to classes Canal system in sponges Cnidaria: General characteristics and Classification up to classes, Metagenesis in Obelia, Polymorphism in Cnidaria, Corals and coral reefs Ctenophora: General characteristics and Evolutionary significance Platyhelminthes: General characteristics and Classification up to classes, Life cycle and pathogenicity of Fasciola hepatica and Taenia solium Nemathelminthes: General characteristics and Classification up to classes, Life cycle, and pathogenicity of Ascaris lumbricoides and Wuchereria bancrofti, Parasitic adaptations in helminthes.Introduction to Chordates: General characteristics and outline classification Protochordata: General characteristics of Hemichordata, Urochordata and Cephalochordata; Study of larval forms in protochordates; Retrogressive metamorphosis in Urochordata Origin of Chordata: Dipleurula concept and the Echinoderm theory of origin of chordates, Advanced features of vertebrates over Protochordata Agnatha: General characteristics and classification of cyclostomes up to class Pisces: General characteristics of Chondrichthyes and Osteichthyes, Classification up to order Migration, Osmoregulation and Parental care in fishesAmphibia:Origin of Tetrapoda (Evolution of terrestrial ectotherms); General characteristics and classification up to order; Parental care in Amphibians Reptilia: General characteristics and classification up to order; Affinities of Sphenodon; Poison apparatus and Biting mechanism in snakes Aves: General characteristics and classification up to order Archaeopteryx– a connecting link; Principles and aerodynamics of flight, Flight adaptations and Migration in birds Mammals: General characters and classification up to order; Affinities of Prototheria; Adaptive radiation with reference to locomotory appendages |
CUET PG Zoology Syllabus PDF Download
If you have completed your graduate degree in zoology or life sciences and intend to pursue a master’s degree, the CUET PG Zoology 2025 exam presents an excellent chance for you to participate. To excel in this exam, students need to have a proper understanding of all the topics included in the syllabus. Candidates can download the M.Sc Zoology Entrance Exam syllabus PDF for CUET PG exam below.
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