Checked 25 September 2026. From the HED Common Prospectus for P.G. admission 2026-27, the SSB 2026 schedule, the 2026 provisional and final answer keys, and the 2025 test booklets. The 2027 prospectus is not out.
The Common P.G. Entrance Test (CPET) is Odisha's single entrance for master's programmes at the State's public universities and the colleges on the SAMS portal — 135 institutions and 32,571 seats in 2026-27. Two bodies share the job: the State Selection Board (SSB), Odisha sets and holds the exam, and the Higher Education Department runs applications and admission through SAMS. The pattern is short to state and widely mis-stated online. This guide takes it from the prospectus and the actual papers.
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Where other pages get this wrong
Each Odisha CPET paper has 100 questions, carries −0.25 for a wrong answer and ran for 100 minutes in 2026.
Commonly published instead: "70 MCQs (40 core + 30 elective), 90 minutes, no negative marking."
The 2026-27 Common Prospectus: 100 multiple-choice questions, one mark each, "−0.25" for each wrong answer, and "Each paper will be of 100-minute duration" — which matches the SSB sittings of 10:00–11:40 and 3:00–4:40. The 2025 booklets say "Time Allowed: 80 Minutes". There are no sections.
HED Common Prospectus 2026-27; SSB schedules; CPET-2025 booklets.
The pattern
| Item | What the documents say |
|---|---|
| Mode | Offline — "The answers will have to be marked on OMR sheets" |
| Questions | 100 multiple-choice questions, options (A) to (D); full marks 100 |
| Marking | +1 for a right answer, −0.25 for a wrong one; marking more than one option counts as wrong |
| Duration | 100 minutes in 2026; 80 minutes in 2025 |
| Sections | None — one paper per entrance subject |
| Syllabus | "As per the CBCS UG model syllabus 2019"; multidisciplinary subjects draw on the relevant UG curricula by relative importance |
| Subjects per candidate | Up to 3 entrance subjects and up to 5 P.G. subjects on the application; later, at choice locking, 1 to 10 subject-and-institution options |
| PwD | 20 minutes extra per hour (about 33 minutes on a 100-minute paper); a scribe one step below the candidate's qualification, arranged by the candidate (SSB notice, 2026) |
| Calculators | Not allowed, including scientific calculators |
| Keep after the exam | The used test booklet and the candidate copy of the OMR |
Common Prospectus 2026-27 §7.1.3; SSB schedule and PwD notice 2026; CPET-2025 test-booklet instructions.
Should you guess? With four options and a quarter-mark penalty, a blind guess is worth +0.0625 marks on average (a one-in-four chance of +1 against three-in-four of −0.25), and a guess after ruling out one option is worth about +0.17. So the penalty mainly punishes confident wrong answers; if you can eliminate even one option, answering pays. What does not pay is marking two options — that is scored as wrong.
The 2026 timetable
| Date (2026) | 1st sitting (10:00–11:40) | 2nd sitting (3:00–4:40) |
|---|---|---|
| Tue 5 May | Commerce; Biotechnology; Sociology | Environmental Science; Education; Anthropology (Arts) |
| Wed 6 May | Geology; Wildlife & Biodiversity Conservation; English | Physics |
| Thu 7 May | Public Health; Marine Science–Oceanography; Odia | Geography; Botany; Material Science |
| Fri 8 May | Home Science; Law; Computer Science | Food Science & Technology; History; Mathematics |
| Sat 9 May | Public Administration | Political Science; Microbiology |
| Mon 11 May | Chemistry; Sanskrit; Economics | Business Administration; Hindi; Atmospheric Science; Marine Biology |
| Tue 12 May | Journalism; Electronic Science; Anthropology (Science); Linguistics; Population Studies; Santali; Urdu | Zoology |
| Wed 13 May | PMIR/IRPM; Philosophy | Psychology |
| Thu 14 May | Statistics; Women Studies | Library & Information Science |
| Fri 15 May – Sat 16 May | Social Work; Rural Development | Tourism and Travel Studies; Yoga & Naturopathy |
SSB notice SSB(EX)03/2026/384/SSB of 06.04.2026. The prospectus does not say what happens if two of a candidate's three subjects fall in the same sitting, so check before choosing.
What the 2026 answer keys showed
SSB published provisional keys for all 50 subjects on 19 May 2026, took objections at ₹200 a question from 20 May (11 a.m.) to 22 May, and issued final keys on 19 June. Comparing the two, 67 answers changed in 23 subjects; the final key accepts two or three options on several questions, and four questions (Law Q61, Mathematics Q44, Chemistry Q44 and Q75) carry full marks for everyone "irrespective of attempted or unattempted".
Our comparison of SSB's provisional (19.05.2026) and final (19.06.2026) answer keys.
The lesson: check the provisional key for your subject and object where you are sure — at ₹200 a question, non-refundable. In 2026 an average subject had more than one answer changed.
What the answer-key rules mean for your mark
Three rules in the 2026 final key change how a mark is counted. Where the final key lists two or three correct options for a question (Mathematics Q5 accepts A, B and D; Biotechnology Q18 A and B, Q68 B and C), any one of them earns the mark. Where a question is starred, "full marks will be awarded to all candidates, irrespective of attempted or unattempted" — four such questions in 2026. And a response with two options marked is scored as wrong, attracting the 0.25 deduction. So after the provisional key, check every question you left blank or double-marked as well as the ones you answered.
Centres and previous papers
The prospectus speaks of 30 entrance examination centres and asks each applicant to pick an examination zone; SSB's 2026 PwD notice says the test was held "in all the District Headquarters of the State". The SAMS portal carries previous papers for every year since 2020-21. They are scanned booklets, not searchable text, but they show the style of question for each subject better than any summary.
| Year | Papers on SAMS |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 48 (47 downloadable; the Gender Studies link returned an error) |
| 2024 | 48 |
| 2023 | 43 |
| 2020-21 to 2022-23 | Listed on the same page |
SAMS P.G. previous-year question papers page, read 25 Sep 2026.
The syllabus is the UG syllabus
There is no separate CPET syllabus. Questions follow the CBCS UG model syllabus 2019 for the subject, and the prospectus tells candidates to go through the previous papers on the SAMS portal, which carries papers from 2020-21 to 2025-26 (48 for 2025). Each entrance subject feeds one or more P.G. courses: Commerce leads to M.Com and its variants and MFC; Botany to Botany and Life Science; Biotechnology to Biochemistry, Bioinformatics and Biotechnology. The prospectus does not state the language of the papers; the 2025 Physics and Commerce booklets we read were in English.
| Change 2025 → 2026 | Detail |
|---|---|
| Duration | 80 minutes → 100 minutes, for the same 100 questions |
| Sittings | Three a day (1 h 20 m each) → two a day |
| Subjects | 49 → 50; Material Science added; "Food Science & Nutrition" listed as "Food Science & Technology" |
| Merit | CPET marks only in both years (the 80:20 career-marks rule was dropped from 2025-26) |
SSB schedules 2025 and 2026; CPET-2025 booklets; Common Prospectus 2026-27.
Practise it, don't just read it
Twenty extra minutes in 2026 bought time to think, not to guess. Timed topic quizzes at a minute a question are the right rehearsal.
The ProSyllabus Odisha CPET library has topic quizzes for English, Political Science, Economics, Botany and Commerce — the first one is free.
What is the Odisha CPET exam pattern?
One offline OMR paper per entrance subject: 100 multiple-choice questions, +1 right and −0.25 wrong, 100 minutes in 2026.
Is there negative marking in Odisha CPET?
Yes, 0.25 marks for each wrong answer; marking two options counts as wrong.
How long is the Odisha CPET paper?
100 minutes in 2026; it was 80 minutes in 2025.
Is Odisha CPET online or offline?
Offline, on OMR sheets, at district-headquarters centres.
Who conducts Odisha CPET?
The State Selection Board, Odisha, since 2023-24; the Higher Education Department runs application and admission through SAMS. OSHEC ran it from 2020-21 to 2022-23.
What is the Odisha CPET syllabus?
The CBCS UG model syllabus 2019 for the subject; there is no separate CPET syllabus.
How many subjects can I take in CPET?
Up to three entrance subjects and five P.G. subjects on the application; at choice locking you then list 1 to 10 subject-and-institution options.
Are Odisha CPET previous papers available?
Yes, on the SAMS P.G. portal, for 2020-21 to 2025-26.
How much does a CPET answer-key objection cost?
₹200 per question, online and non-refundable.
Is there a qualifying mark in Odisha CPET?
None is stated. Published SAMS cut-offs have even gone below zero — for example Berhampur University's LL.M. ST seat closed at −0.75 in the first round of 2026.
What if the answer key accepts two answers?
In the 2026 final key some questions accept two or three options; marking any accepted option earns the mark.
How many questions should I attempt in Odisha CPET?
No rule sets a number. With −0.25 for a wrong answer, answering pays on average once you can rule out at least one option; double-marking always counts as wrong.
Can I take the used question booklet home after CPET?
Yes. The booklet instructions let candidates keep the used test booklet and the candidate copy of the OMR sheet.
Is there extra time for PwD candidates in CPET?
Yes, 20 minutes per hour, and a scribe one step below the candidate's qualification, arranged by the candidate.
What language is the Odisha CPET paper in?
The prospectus does not say; the 2025 Physics and Commerce booklets we read were in English.
Where is the Odisha CPET exam centre?
You choose an examination zone on the application; the prospectus speaks of 30 centres and SSB's 2026 notice of district headquarters, so check your admit card.
Does Odisha CPET have sections?
No. Each paper is a single 100-question section on one subject.
More in this series
Sources
- official — HED Odisha — Common Prospectus for P.G. admission 2026-27 (linked from the SAMS portal)
- official — SSB Odisha — CPET-2026 examination schedule (06.04.2026)
- official — SSB Odisha — scribes and extra time for PwD, CPET-2026
- official — SSB Odisha — provisional answer keys, CPET-2026
- official — SSB Odisha — final answer keys, CPET-2026 (19.06.2026)
- official — HED — revised CPET-2026 timeline (26.03.2026)
- official — SAMS P.G. — e-Admission statistics 2026-27
- official — SAMS P.G. — cut-off marks by institution, subject and round
- official — SSB Odisha — CPET-2025 examination schedule (09.04.2025)
- official — SAMS P.G. — previous year question papers
- official — SAMS P.G. — entrance subjects and their P.G. courses
- reported — Collegedunia — Odisha CPET (reported; see corrections)
- reported — CollegeDekho — Odisha CPET exam pattern (reported; see corrections)
- reported — Careers360 — CPET (reported; see corrections)
official = a document published by the conducting body. reported = a news or coaching site we could not check against an original. Where sources disagree this page says so rather than picking one.
