dMAT Syllabus 2026: What's Actually Tested in Each Section

There's no fixed subject-by-subject syllabus to memorize for the dMAT. What's often searched for as the "dMAT syllabus" is really the exam's fixed pattern of question types, covered below — the same content the exam pattern and timing page summarizes at a structural level. This page goes into what each section actually tests.

Every question across both modules is single-choice — you're shown a set of options and select the one correct answer. Across every subtest, note-taking is explicitly not allowed during the exam, so all reasoning has to happen on-screen, in your head, with no calculator either.

Core Module syllabus (three subtests)

The Core Module measures general cognitive skills rather than anything from your specific degree — it's the same core-module design g.a.s.t. uses in its established TestAS Core Test:

• Figure Sequences — a series of 4×4 matrices where a figure shifts position, rotates, or changes colour from one matrix to the next according to a fixed rule; you work out the rule and pick the two matrices that continue the series. Movement can be vertical, horizontal or diagonal (a figure can't switch from a diagonal move to another movement type), a figure's step count, rotation or colour change can itself increase by one each time (1 step, then 2, then 3, and so on), and at a boundary a figure either bounces back or continues along the edge — but figures never overlap or disappear. This measures abstract pattern recognition and spatial reasoning. Practice Figure Sequences.
• Mathematical Equations — small systems of equations using letter variables (A, B, C, D, E) rather than numbers, solved with basic arithmetic; every letter is a unique whole number between 1 and 20, with exactly one solution. This measures working memory and numeric/logical deduction rather than advanced math. Practice Mathematical Equations.
• Latin Squares — a 5×5 grid where each of five letters must appear exactly once in every row and column; you fill in missing cells. This measures deductive, constraint-based reasoning. Practice Latin Squares.

All answers are entered digitally — by clicking the correct option, or via an on-screen number keypad for Mathematical Equations.

General Academic Module syllabus

For APS purposes in India, every affected applicant sits the General Academic Module, regardless of undergraduate field — this differs from the wider dMAT ecosystem, where some German universities use subject-specific dMAT modules directly for admission, separate from the APS India process.

Each task presents a short academic passage — drawn from a topic in mathematics, computational sciences, natural sciences, engineering, business administration, economics, social sciences or humanities, and sometimes including figures, tables or formulas — followed by a set of four-option single-choice questions on that passage. It's testing whether you can read and apply unfamiliar material, not recall facts from your own degree. Practice General Academic questions.

What's not on the syllabus

Two things worth ruling out explicitly, since they're common assumptions: there's nothing here from your specific undergraduate coursework to review, and there's no vocabulary or language-proficiency component — the dMAT tests reasoning, not subject knowledge or English fluency.

Once you know what's tested, how scoring works explains what your results actually mean, and preparation covers the official study material available before test day. Want to see what each subtest actually feels like? Try free practice questions for every question type, with instant explanations.

Is there a fixed dMAT syllabus to study?

No — there's no subject-by-subject content list to memorize. What's searched for as the "dMAT syllabus" is really the exam's fixed pattern of question types: three reasoning subtests in the Core Module, and applied-reasoning passages in the General Academic Module. Re-reading your undergraduate textbooks isn't the useful prep here.

What topics does the dMAT General Academic Module cover?

Short academic passages drawn from mathematics, computational sciences, natural sciences, engineering, business administration, economics, social sciences or humanities — sometimes with figures, tables or formulas — each followed by four-option single-choice questions testing whether you can apply the passage, not recall outside facts.

Can I use a calculator or notes during the dMAT?

No. Official instructions state explicitly, for every Core Module subtest and the General Academic Module alike, that note-taking isn't allowed during the exam, and there's no provision for a calculator either.