UPSC Civil Services Exam; Engineering graduates still dominate final selections, detailed report

UPSC CSE trends reveal a major shift in selected candidates’ academic backgrounds over the last five years, with engineering dominance slightly declining. Humanities selections have surged by over 65%, reflecting increasing diversity in UPSC results.

UPSC Civil Services Exam: The latest information shared in the Lok Sabha shows that the background of candidates selected in the UPSC Civil Services Examination has changed noticeably over the last five years. Earlier, engineering students used to dominate the list of recommended candidates. However, from 2019 to 2023, their share has reduced slightly. At the same time, students from the humanities stream have shown a strong rise. Their numbers increased by more than 65%, going from 223 candidates in 2019 to 368 in 2023. The biggest growth was seen in 2022, when 296 humanities students made it to the final list. This clearly shows that UPSC is now seeing talent from more diverse academic areas.

Science and medical science students also showed interesting trends. The number of selected science students more than doubled, from 61 in 2019 to 137 in 2023, which is a huge 124% increase. Medical science candidates fluctuated over the years but still showed an overall growth of more than 30%, rising from 56 to 73 during the same period.

Engineering Graduates Lead UPSC Civil Services Exam: Detailed Report

Check the detailed highlights for UPSC Civil Services Exam in the tabular format below.

Category	What Happened?	Numbers/Change
Humanities	Big increase in selected students	223 → 368
Engineering	Small decrease in selections	582 → 554
Science	Strong rise in selections	61 → 137
Medical Science	Moderate rise	56 → 73
Important Year	Humanities saw a major jump	2022: 296 selected
Bachelor's Degree	Most selected candidates have a bachelor’s degree	672 → 848
Higher Degrees	Fall till 2021, then increase again	163 (2021) → 284 (2023)
Female Candidates	Number almost doubled	201 → 397
Male Candidates	Lowest in 2021 but increased again	547 → 735
Total Selections	Overall numbers increased	748 (2021) → 1132 (2023)

Candidates with only a bachelor’s degree remain the largest cohort, growing from 672 in 2019 to 848 in 2023, while those with postgraduate qualifications fell until 2021, then rebounded to 284 in 2023, exceeding 2019 levels. Female representation surged, nearly doubling from 201 in 2021 to 397 in 2023 (about a 75% rise), though male selections, after an earlier dip, later rose again. Together, these shifts indicate a gradually more diverse and inclusive UPSC selection landscape across educational backgrounds and gender.

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