BCA: Course, Colleges, Admission, Eligibility, Fees, Full Form

Overview

The BCA course, which stands for Bachelor of Computer Application, is an undergraduate degree that spans across three to four year, depending on the design of the university program. This degree mainly focuses on imparting knowledge and skills related to computer technologies, software design and development, and network technologies.

Just as the degree name suggests, computer application, it means that its main goal is to equip students with the knowledge of applications of computer. Computer means "computing devices" such as desktop, laptop and mobile devices that have processing power and storage. 

Computers have become a fundamental part of our lives, being utilized everywhere and at all times. From the moment we wake up to the moment we go back to sleep, we rely on various computer-based applications. For instance, we use e-commerce platforms for online transactions, Zoom for online education, multimedia software for watching movies, Pathao for reserving vehicles, Microsoft Office applications for daily official work, and Fonepay and Esewa for online payments, among others. 

Todays BCA has been one of the most demanding degree across the globe, including Nepal. Anyone who wants to learn techniques specifically related to software design and development, for all platforms, be it web and mobile based devices and make a career as software developers pick BCA course in their undergraduate degree pursuit.

Possibly, there might be a lot of questions that might have come across to your mind.

• Is BCA a 3 year or 4 Year degree in Nepal?
• What is the difference between 3 year or 4 year BCA course? 
• What are the eligibility criteria to join BCA?
• Who can study BCA?

BCA Course offered by universities in Nepal

In Nepal, BCA courses offered by national universities such as TU, PU spans across 4 years. However, BCA courses affiliated to foreign universities in Nepal are 3 years. A 3 year or 4 year degree varies in the total number of credit hours after completing the course of study. There should not be much difference in the number of year, however, some universities in US prefer 16 years of education as a prerequisites for enrolling in Masters program.

Universities offering BCA Course in Nepal

Here is a comparative study highlighting diferent factors related to BCA course offered by various Universities in Nepal. 

Factors/University	Tribhuvan	Purbanchal	Pokhara	Foreign
Duration	4 Years	4 years	4 years	3 years
Total Number of Colleges	130	5	9	2
Number of Seats	4500	200 approx	540 approx	N/A
Credit Hours	126	208	124	96

BCA course was first introduced in Nepal in the year 1999 by the Purbanchal University (PU), followed by Pokhara University providing affiliation to colleges for teaching BCA. It was very late until 2017, Tribhuvan University included BCA course in its program list. But as of now, TU leads the academic arena in terms number of affiliated colleges and graduates. On the other hand, at present, there is only foreign university from India, Indira Gandhi National Open University, offering this degree within Nepal.

As represented in the table, Nepal based universities offer four-year BCA course while foreign universities completes the same programs in 3 years duration. Standing at 130, TU is far ahead in terms of number of colleges, both constituent and private colleges, providing this program. There are approximately 130 colleges running BCA courses throughout the country out of which there are more than 100 colleges within Kathmandu Valley itself. Interms of number, Purbanchal and Pokhara universities have 4 colleges providing BCA course. There is only 2 foreign affiliated colleges providing BCA coures in Nepal. Annually, TU enroll approximately 4,500 students in BCA, making it the most widely pursued course in the country.

BCA Course Structure

How does a BCA course structure look like?

Almost every BCA degree offered by universities comprises of similar courses. However, different universities may have their own curriculum with slight variations in subjects and its credit hours. The majority of the courses in BCA is tilted towards software application development, thereby, including programming courses like Java,. .NET, PHP, machine learning, mobile development using android, scripting languages, etc. There may be subjects like Networking, computer graphics, IT and cyber security, and other IT courses. 

Objective of BCA

The BCA course main objective are listed below:-

• To develop programming skills in students leading to software development.
• To provide students knowledge on the software development techniques and practices.
• To provide theoretical concepts about programming and then exposing to real time software development.
• To develop problem solving skills related to programming.
• To expose student to software development in various platforms like mobile and web based.
• To provide sufficient knowledge so that they can advance their academic journey from undergraduate level to graduate degree programs like MCA, MIT, MBA, and related fields.

Eligibility for BCA

The minimum requirements to be fulfilled by the students in order to purse the BCA course are may differ based on different universities. The eligibility criteria for the  course under different universities is outlined in the table below:-

University Information

Particulars/University	Tribhuvan	Purbanchal	Pokhara
Minimum Requirements	Must have secured minimum grade D in every subject in 11 and 12, or equivalent with an overall CGPA of 1.8 or more.	Applicants are required to have successfully completed their +2, or equivalent securing a minimum grade of D+ in each subject, with an overall GPA of 2.0 or higher.	Applicants must achieve a minimum CGPA/GPA of 2.0 (on a 4.0 scale), with at least a Grade C (or Grade D for A-level) in Mathematics/Computer Science at intermediate level.

Scope of BCA

The scope of BCA in the field of programming is very diverse. Majority of students that enroll in BCA course wants to make a career in the field of computer application development. For this, the first thing he/she must focus in is to learn programming languages. It usually takes 6 months of intense dedication learning a particular programming language, such as Python, JavaScript, Java, or any other after which he/she may be able to develop software systems. People with programming skillsets is highly demanding across the globe. A programmer can create the following jobs for themselves, they are:-

• Web Application Programmer: BCA graduates can opt for web development in JavaScript, or python and can start creating web applications. He/she can make settle down in his career as a web developer.
• Mobile Application Developer: BCA graduates can learn flutter, React Native to create android or iPhone apps, or specifically Android to create android based mobile apps and continue their career in the field of Mobile application development.
• Web Designer: This is another prospective area BCA students can create a career in. To do so, a BCA student has to learn certain skillsets like photo editing using Photoshop or figma, html, css, and bootstrap framework to create static web design, and equip himself/herself with JavaScript knowledge to add some dynamism in the design. 
• Database developer: BCA students can even choose a career related to database such as database architecture designer, database administrator, or sql programmer. 
• AI Developer:

Very few of us wants to do programming forever. Moreover, the technology keeps updating while demanding programmer to upgrade their skillsets and knowledge related to specific technology. With age, it becomes difficult to learn new skillsets and switch career in new-born programming platforms. But no worries, it is not that you have to work in the same field for lifetime. After working several years and gaining expertise in the realm of programming, one can upgrade their career being in the same industry. 

• Software Project Manager: After doing coding for few years followed by leading the development team, one can upgrade their career as software project manager. The primary role of software project manager is execute and manage the software projects.
• System Analyst: After having years of experience in the field of software development, one can play the role of System Analyst in an IT industry. The primary role of system analyst is to identify changes, accomodate such changes by designing and developing new IT systems followed by training employee to use the newly developed system.
• Solution Experts
• IT Consultants

Programming may not be the subject of interest to all students enrolled in BCA course, neither the degree is specifically designed to equip with programming skill and knowledge only. BCA curriculum embeds various courses related to networking and IT security. These courses provide foundatation for students who wants to explore their career in networking and security related fields.

• Data and Information Security Specialist: 
• Ethical Hacker:
• Network Engineer: BCA graduates can make a career in the field of network engineer, and lead the design and implementation of company network architecture.
• Network Analyst: BCA students can work as network analyst whose primary job is to design, maintain and upgrade network in an organization.
• Network Technician: BCA graduates can join an organization implementing IT infrastructure to maintain regular network faults. Their job is to troubleshoot network issues, repair equipment, and fix on-site issues.

Besides Programming and Networking, BCA course is designed in such a way that students diverse knowledge in IT. Learning a bit of programming, database, and networking courses gives you a strong base specifically required to continue your career as: 

• Quality Assurance Analyst(QAA): BCA graduates with significant programming and database knowledge can learn quality assurance tools and techniques and become a QAA.
• Digital Marketing Specialist: Digital Marketing is a booming field and is getting broader day by day encompassing various dimensions such as AI. BCA is the perfect choice for students wishing to make a career in Digital marketing. It requires some knowledge of programming

Salary of BCA Graduates

Not for all, but for many, money is the top factor that always comes to mind when one decide about career. The questions arises:

• How much will be the BCA graduates salary?
• What is the highest salary of BCA?
• What is the average salary of BCA graduates?
• What is the average salary of BCA in Nepal?

Salary is determined by the number of factors ranging from the job roles, experience, skillsets, country, and so on. To give an insights, 

Programmers and Software Developer

BCA graduates opting a career as a programmer earn lucrative salaries. Programmer are always in the position to demand high salary depending on their skillsets, experience, and problem-solving ability. In Nepal, programmers with a BCA degree earn anywhere between Nrs. 40000 to Nrs. 200000 and above. BCA graduates working as programmers in countries like US get an average salary of $80,000 annually. 

Quality Assurance Analyst

In Nepal, BCA graduates working as QAA earn salary ranging from Nrs. 30000 to 1,00,000 monthly. On the other hand, QAA can earn an average salary of $60000 or above if they find a job in US.

Networking Jobs

The salaries in Networking jobs are no less than that in programming. In Nepal, people associated in Networking career makes salaries between Nrs. 40000 to 80000 depending upon years of experience. The same thing is different if he/she works for a US based company. A network administrator typically earn $50,000 to $90,000 annually. Likewise, a network engineer earns in between $70,000 to $100,000 per year. 

The job security and career of a programmer with good skills is very high. There are very less chances of lay-off in an IT industry, specifically in the programming field.

Fee Structure of BCA

The BCA course is widely recognized for its affordability compared to other computer programming and information technology courses.

The tuition fees vary among universities, and you can find the detailed cost breakdown in the table provided below, outlining the overall expenses for the BCA program in both the constituent and private colleges.

Particulars/ University	Tribhuvan	Purbanchal	Pokhara	Foreign
Cost(in NPR)	4,00,000 to  12,00,000	3,00,000 to  8,00,000	4,00,000 to  9,00,000	10,00,000 to  15,00,000

 

Scholarships

Students enrolled in the BCA course may also qualify for scholarships, which are awarded based on merit. To obtain detailed information about scholarship opportunities, applicants should get in touch with the specific college.