CUET UG 2027 / Mass Media syllabus

CUET UG 2027 · Paper 318

CUET Mass Media Syllabus 2027: Units, Chapters and Books

The official CUET UG Mass Media / Mass Communication syllabus (paper 318), unit by unit, with the book chapter each unit comes from, what changed from 2025 to 2026, and where to practise.

Practise CUET Mass Media in the Study OS Official NTA syllabus PDF

2027 status: NTA has not released the CUET UG 2027 syllabus. This page shows the official CUET UG 2026 Mass Media syllabus, the latest available, and will be updated when NTA publishes the 2027 version.

CUET Mass Media at a glance

Paper code: 318 (Mass Media / Mass Communication)
Questions: 50 multiple-choice questions, all compulsory
Time: 60 minutes
Marking: +5 for a correct answer, minus 1 for a wrong answer; 250 maximum
Syllabus: 8 units, 14 chapters in our chapter map

How the CUET Mass Media paper is structured

CUET Mass Media (paper 318) has eight units: communication, journalism, advertising and public relations, TV production, radio, cinema, social media and new media.

NCERT and CBSE do not publish a textbook for it. NIOS Senior Secondary Mass Communication (course 335) covers most units; a few topics, such as parts of cinema and social media, need other reading.

CUET Mass Media syllabus, unit by unit

Unit titles and topics as printed in NTA’s CUET UG 2026 syllabus PDF.

Unit 1

Communication

(i) Understanding Communication: Levels of communication, models of communication
(ii) Culture and Communication: What is culture? Relationship between culture and mass media; communication in the cultural context; media as a vehicle of cultural transmission; representation and stereotyping in Mass Media.
(iii) Communication and Social Change: Social change: meaning; media as a catalyst for social change (with examples of various social movements).
(iv) Evolution of the Media: History of Newspapers, Radio & Television in India and New Media

Unit 2

Journalism

(i) Understanding news: Definition, news values, components of news
(ii) Qualities of a good Journalist: a nose for news, inquisitiveness, language skills, trustworthiness and empathy
(iv) Reporting and Editing techniques: Inverted Pyramid, 5W's & 1H, Headlines, Copy editing
(v) Photo Journalism: Importance of photos, captions, visual depiction, photo essays
(vi) Media Laws & Ethical Issues in Journalism: sensationalism, fake news, paid news, plagiarism, advertorials, partisan reporting, and sting operations, defamation, freedom of speech and expression, law and the media

Unit 3

Advertising and Public Relations

A(i) Advertising concepts & process
A(ii) Functions of Advertising
A(iii) Types of Advertising (Cross promotions, Merchandise, Covert Advertising)
A(iv) Forms of Advertising
A(v) Advertising campaigns
B(i) Understanding PR and media management
B(ii) Building Brand Image
B(iii) Tools and Steps in PR; PR campaigns
B(iv) Crisis Management
B(v) Responsibility of a PRO

Unit 4

TV Production Process and Programmes

(i) Pre-production, Production, Post-production Stage.
(ii) Programs, Formats, Audiences

Unit 5

Radio

(i) Writing for Radio: Characteristics of a Radio Script: conversational language, active voice, simple sentences, avoidance of technical jargons, and capability of creating imageries
(ii) Radio Recording: radio studio and transmission equipment: types of microphones; amplifier, sound mixer, speakers; audio recording.

Unit 6

Cinema

(i) History of Cinema: early experiments by Lumiere Brothers, John Grierson, Robert Flaharty and Dada Saheb Phalke.
(ii) Production process and Cinema Genres: production process and stages in films and documentary making; genre theory; genres: action, westerns, comedy, crime, drama, fantasy/sci-fi, historical, animation, romance and musical.
(iii) Cinema and Social Change: Parallel Cinema movement in India: issues depicted and low budget production process (e.g. Shyam Benegal's Manthan).

Unit 7

Social Media

a. Definition of social media.
b. Types of social media platforms: social networking, blogging, photo and video sharing
c. Role of social media in a democracy: creating collective identities through sharing of information; cyber activism (with suitable examples)
d. Cyber Crime: online bullying; stalking; trolling; online frauds.
e. Netiquettes: meaning and importance; identification of oneself; respect for others' privacy, use of appropriate language and imagery; do not spam.

Unit 8

New Media

a. Internet as the meeting point of all the mass media.
b. Broadcasting
c. Mass communication model of a few transmitting to a vast number of receivers.
d. Gigantic organization.
e. Huge technical infra-structure
f. Large scale revenue
g. The changed paradigm due to the Internet.
h. Empowering an individual to post data on the Internet
i. Information, message in one medium triggering off activity in the others
j. Many sources of the same information.
k. Distribution of the information between individuals on an unprecedented global scale.
l. Rapidity of opinion generation on a local, national and global scale
m. The socio-political implications of the new information order.
n. The Strengthening of democracy.
o. Emerging trends in Mass Communication
p. Media convergence

Chapter map

Each row is one chapter of study, with the book it comes from. Where a syllabus topic is missing from that book, the row says so.

Understanding Communication: Levels and ModelsNIOS Mass Communication (335) - Lesson 1: Introduction to Communication
Culture, Communication and Social ChangeNIOS Mass Communication (335) - Lesson 3: Role and Impact of Mass MediaNot covered in this source: Representation and stereotyping in mass media; Media as catalyst in named social movements
Evolution of Media in India: Newspapers, Radio, TV, New MediaNIOS Mass Communication (335) - Lesson 5: Introduction to Print Media
What is News? Qualities of a Good JournalistNIOS Mass Communication (335) - Lesson 6: What is News?Not covered in this source: 'Nose for news' and journalist qualities as a named list
Reporting and Editing TechniquesNIOS Mass Communication (335) - Lesson 7: Reporting and Editing
PhotojournalismNIOS Mass Communication (335) - Lesson 7: Reporting and Editing (photos and captions only)Not covered in this source: Photo essays; Visual depiction in news photography
Media Laws and Ethical Issues in JournalismCBSE Mass Media Studies (835) curriculum 2026-27 (outline only)Not covered in this source: sensationalism; fake news; paid news; plagiarism; advertorials; partisan reporting; sting operations; freedom of speech and expression / Article 19(1)(a); law and the media
Advertising: Concepts, Types, Forms and CampaignsNIOS Mass Communication (335) - Lesson 17: Advertising - An IntroductionNot covered in this source: Cross promotions, merchandise and covert advertising as named types
Public Relations, Brand Image and Crisis ManagementNIOS Mass Communication (335) - Lesson 19: Public Relations - An IntroductionNot covered in this source: Building brand image; Crisis management; PR campaigns
TV Production Process, Programmes and FormatsNIOS Mass Communication (335) - Lesson 16: Television Program Production
Radio: Writing and RecordingNIOS Mass Communication (335) - Lesson 12: Radio Programme Production
Cinema: History, Production, Genres and Parallel CinemaCBSE Mass Media Studies (835) curriculum 2026-27 (outline only)Not covered in this source: Lumiere Brothers, John Grierson, Robert Flaherty, Dadasaheb Phalke; Film and documentary production stages; Genre theory and the 10 named genres; Parallel Cinema, Shyam Benegal's Manthan
Social Media, Cyber Crime and NetiquettesNIOS Mass Communication (335) - Lesson 21: Characteristics of New MediaNot covered in this source: Definition and types of social media; Cyber activism; Online bullying, stalking, trolling, frauds; Netiquettes
New Media and Media ConvergenceNIOS Mass Communication (335) - Lesson 21: Characteristics of New Media

What changed from 2025 to 2026

7 units -> 8 units: TV moved out of 'Advertising and Television Production' into its own unit 4 'TV Production Process and Programmes' (adds Programs, Formats, Audiences).
Unit 3 is now 'Advertising and Public Relations': adds 'Advertising campaigns' and a whole PR block (PR and media management, brand image, tools and steps, PR campaigns, crisis management, responsibility of a PRO).
Communication adds '(i) Understanding Communication: levels and models'; 'Evolution of the Media' replaces 'History of Newspapers, Radio and Television in India and History of New Media'.
Journalism adds 'Understanding news (definition, news values, components)', 'Reporting and Editing techniques (Inverted Pyramid, 5W&1H, Headlines, Copy editing)' and 'Photo Journalism'; ethics renamed 'Media Laws & Ethical Issues' and adds 'law and the media'.
Cinema (ii) adds 'Production process and stages in films and documentary making'.
Social media 'Types' now names social networking, blogging, photo and video sharing (2025: 'Self-explanatory').
New Media adds 'p. Media convergence'.

Compared against NTA’s CUET UG 2025 syllabus PDF. When the 2027 syllabus is out, this section will compare 2027 with 2026.

Books to study from

NIOS Senior Secondary Mass Communication (course 335)
CBSE Mass Media Studies curriculum (outline only)
NCERT Social Change and Development in India, chapter on mass media and communications

NCERT books are on ncert.nic.in; NIOS course material is on nios.ac.in.

Practise CUET Mass Media chapter by chapter

The Study OS CUET track follows the chapter map above. Choose Mass Media as one of your papers, revise a chapter, then test it with exam-style questions and read the explanation after every answer.

Practise CUET Mass Media

Frequently asked questions

What is the exam pattern of the CUET Mass Media paper?

CUET UG Mass Media (paper code 318) has 50 compulsory multiple-choice questions to be answered in 60 minutes. A correct answer earns 5 marks and a wrong answer costs 1 mark, so the paper is out of 250. This is the CUET UG 2026 pattern; NTA has not announced any change for 2027.

Has NTA released the CUET Mass Media syllabus for 2027?

Not yet. The syllabus on this page is the official CUET UG 2026 Mass Media syllabus, which is the latest one NTA has published. This page will be updated when the 2027 syllabus is released.

Which books should I study for CUET Mass Media?

Study from: NIOS Senior Secondary Mass Communication (course 335); CBSE Mass Media Studies curriculum (outline only); NCERT Social Change and Development in India, chapter on mass media and communications.

What changed in the CUET Mass Media syllabus?

2026 split TV into its own unit, added a public relations block and photo journalism, and expanded journalism. This compares the 2025 and 2026 syllabi; the 2027 syllabus is not out yet.

Is there a textbook for CUET Mass Media?

There is no NCERT or CBSE textbook. NIOS Mass Communication (course 335) is the closest structured material.

How many units are in CUET Mass Media?

Eight in 2026. TV production became a separate unit; in 2025 there were seven.