CBSE Class 12 Arts & Humanities - Subjects, Syllabus, Grade system
Nov 23, 2025, 19:54 IST
Streams CBSE Class 12 Arts and Humanities remains one of the most versatile and academically rich areas of study in 2025. This stream is known to foster creativity, analytical thinking, and excellent communication skills, which is a good foundation for a career in law, journalism, teaching, psychology, public administration, design, and civil services. A more comprehensive, up-to-date, and single guide of the subjects, syllabus highlights, and the formal CBSE grading system is provided below.
Overview of the Humanities/Arts Stream
The Humanities stream enables the students to study society, culture, the way people behave, politics, and economics. It allows learners to customise their subjects to match their academic and career objectives by offering a variety of subjects. Since the curriculum is frequently revised by CBSE to ensure its applicability to current trends, this stream will be the right choice for students who will take CUET, UPSC, SSC, state government exams, and other tests in the area of social sciences.
CBSE Class 12 Arts & Humanities: List of Major Subjects
They usually choose five major subjects, one of which is a mandatory language and another optional subject according to the provision of their school.
Core Subjects
- English Elective / English Core
- Hindi Core / Hindi Elective
- History
- Geography
- Political Science
- Economics
- Sociology
- Psychology
- Philosophy
- Home Science
Popular Elective Subjects
- Fine Arts (Painting, Sculpture, Applied Arts, Graphics)
- Physical Education
- Information Practices
- Mathematics / Applied Mathematics.
- Fashion Studies
- Mass Media Studies
- Legal Studies
- Entrepreneurship
CBSE Class 12 Humanities Syllabus: Key Focus Areas (2025)
History
- Modern Indian History (1757–2000)
- Themes of nationalism, colonialism, and post-independence.
- Map work and source-based learning.
Political Science
- Modern World Politics.
- Indian Constitution at work
- Political beliefs and international leaders.
- Public administration
Geography
- Renal population studies and human geography.
- Environment, resources, and development.
- Field survey and map analysis.
Economics
- Macroeconomics
- Economic Development in India.
- Employment, poverty, and economic reforms.
- Statistical instruments and interpretation of data.
Psychology
- Learning, intelligence, personality.
- Psychological disorders
- Social influence
- Therapeutic approaches
Sociology
- Structure of Indian society
- Change, social institutions, and inequality.
- Social movements and development.
English Core
- Reading comprehension
- Literature of Flamingo and Vistas.
- Report writing, letter writing, and article writing.
Each of them consists of theory classes, internal tests, or project activities.
CBSE Class 12 Arts & Humanities: Grading System (2025)
CBSE adheres to the 9-point grading scale, which is based on performance levels.
Marks Range Grade Grade Point
91–100 A1 10
81–90 A2 9
71–80 B1 8
61–70 B2 7
51–60 C1 6
41–50 C2 5
33–40 D 4
21–32 E1 -
0–20 E2 -
Internal Assessment
- Class tests
- Projects
- Assignments
- Pragmatic tests (Psychology, Geography, Fine Arts, Home Science, etc.)
Theory Examination
- Taking place once a year (February-March).
- Depending on the subject, the theory marks range between 70 and 80.
Why Choose the Humanities Stream?
- Extensive career fields in law, civil services, psychology, journalism, design, and education.
- Improves research, communication, and analytical skills.
- Course combinations are flexible to various interests.
- Of great use in CUET and the entrance examination at the national level.
CBSE Class 12 Arts and Humanities, 2025 is the course that provides a combination of academic, creativity, and real-world applicability. Its professionally designed curriculum and open-ended grading mechanism qualify it as a good option among students who want to pursue worthy and future offices in the social sciences and creative industries.