Bachelor of Public Health Four Year Degree, BPH Course

Public Health refers to the collaborative practice to improve and protect the hygiene of the people and the communities as a whole. It consists of multiple practices and policies that are used to maintain and promote the overall health of the entire community.

BPH course, full form Bachelor of Public Health is an undergraduate course, designed to address the public hygiene demand and challenges.

Moreover, public health is a crucial part of the nation’s fitness care system. BPH course considers this and prepares its students as per the requirement.

overview

Public health is one such sector that is often overlooked by the population. Naturally, BPH course has the same situation. But, the program is extremely important for the nation as it plays a vital role in determining the well-being of individuals and also communities from the root level.

BPH course prepares aspiring pupils to become capable public health officers. It has its role in strengthening the well-being of the country’s population.

BPH Course in Nepal

If we look at the health index, the overall system of Nepal is improving. Many of the organizations or institutions are trying their best to improve it. One of the fundamental elements to improve it is education.

A BPH course was introduced in Nepal to address that. It provides awareness to the public through different campaigns and programs.

A bachelor of Public health degree is extremely important in Nepal considering that many places are yet to evolve in this sector.

BPH is one such education in Nepal that can improve the physical fitness of individuals and communities even in rural areas.

General Information about Bachelor of Public Health Course

We discussed how important the Bachelor of Public Health is in the context of Nepal. Now let us look into the education related to it.

Bachelor of Public Health is a semester-wise undergraduate degree. The course lasts four years in total. Because of its importance, 7 universities or institutions actively teach it.

More than 30 colleges provide the BPH course to individuals who are willing to study it. A total of 840 seats are allocated for this degree. Even foreigners are welcome to review this program in Nepal.

Talking about the BPH course syllabus or curriculum, every university has designed its course. The subject matter is similar to all these curricula. The minimum credit hour of the course is 140.

Universities providing BPH course in Nepal are:

• Tribhuvan University (TU)
• Madhesh Institute of Health Sciences (MIHS)
• Purbanchal University (KU)
• Madan Bhandari Academy of Health Sciences (MBAHS)
• Pokhara University (PoU)
• Karnali Academy of Health Sciences (KAHS)
• Rajarshi Janak University (RJU)

The table below provides the details about the number of colleges a university has under it and the seats allocated for the course by the respective university.

Objectives of Bachelors of public health

The primary objective of the BPH course is to provide comprehensive knowledge and expertise in the field of community fitness.

It focuses on producing community health workers needed for the nation. They are responsible for responding to the hygiene requirements of the public.

There are other objectives of the course besides this.  Let us look at them in detail:

• To enhance the communication skills required in the field of public wellbeing. It is needed to convey information and education to the people of any age group.
• To examine health systems in terms of their effectiveness, efficiency, equity, and justice from a public sanitation perspective.
• To show leadership in organizing and mobilizing the community to solve hygiene issues.
• To manage health systems, programs, and services through proper planning.

eligibilty of bachelors of public health

To be eligible to study the BPH course in Nepal one has to meet the following criteria:

• They should have completed 12 years of schooling.
• They should have completed their 10+2 or any equivalent level with 50% 0r with 2.4 CGPA in the science stream (taking physics, chemistry, and biology).
• They should clear the entrance examination conducted by the university or an institution with a score good enough to qualify for the seat.

Admission Requirement

The applicants of the BPH course must clear the entrance examination with the threshold score to qualify to study the program. In most of the universities, the minimum percentile required to pass the exam is 50.

Here are a few of the important details that might be useful to the applicants:

• Some universities might have a negative marking system. It means that a certain percentage will be deducted for every wrong answer.
• The marks that applicants obtain in the entrance exam is valuable. It is considered while preparing the merit list for the scholarship.

If you clear your entrance examination and are selected to study the BPH course, the university might require a few documents for the admission procedure which are:

• Marksheet, character certificate, and certificate of SEE or SLC.
• Transcript of 10+2 or any equivalent course
• Migration certificate of 10+2 or any equivalent course
• Mark sheet of 10+2 level or any equivalent course
• Copy of citizenship or passport

Fee structure of bachelors of public health

Fee Structure

NPR 7,50,000 is the fee for BPH courses determined by the Medical Education Commission (MEC).

However, the fee structure of the course varies depending on the nature of the college. The private colleges providing the degree have higher fees as compared to government-funded colleges.

Scholarships

Out of more than 800 seats are allocated for the public, in which 212 are provided as scholarships. There are two types of expertise: general and quota.

55% of the total scholarship (116 seats) is general while the remaining  45% (96 seats) is listed as quota.

career and scope of bachelors of public health

BPH course is one such discipline of medicine that has a wide range of scope across the globe. The graduates are sought-after from the community to the national level.

Let us look at a few of the scope of the BPH course in detail:

• Public Health Officer:
  BPH degree holders are aware of the importance of community cleanliness programs and campaigns. Campaigns like promoting breastfeeding, awareness about HIV/AIDS and other diseases, and many more are some of such programs.
  
  The graduates can work as public health officers and help design and implement these kinds of campaigns.
   
• Health Educator:
  A certified individual who teaches about hygiene programs at the community level are health educators. They use this program to educate people about the lifestyle and different ways to achieve fitness.
  
  After graduating from the BPH course an individual can pursue his or her career in this field.
   
• NGO/INGO:
  There are many NGOs/INGOs actively working in the field of public health. They provide campaigns, and education and organize camps. The graduates can work for these nonprofit organizations.
   
• Researcher:
  Any person with the BPH course can be a good researcher. They can conduct the research at the root level and collect important data that can be analyzed for initiating public sanitation programs.
  
  After analyzing the data collected through research can be used to develop health policies. These strategies help to contribute to the well-being of the population at the community level. 
   
• Epidemiologist:
  Epidemiologists are public health workers or investigators who investigate the pattern and the causes of different diseases.
  They contribute to different sectors of public health like policy making, planning, and implementation. BPH graduates can work as epidemiologists.
   
• Academic Career:
  The BPH graduates can spread their knowledge about public health. They can work as teachers and lecturers. Furthermore, they can even choose to pursue their higher education in MPH or elsewhere.