Bachelor of Computer Application (BCA) | TU

Overview

The Bachelor of Computer Application offered by Tribhuvan University is a beautiful opportunity for many students. For the longest time, the formal continuation of education for humanities and arts students in the domain of information technology and software development was restricted. The IT-centered courses like BIT, BIM, BSc. CSIT, etc., were only available for students from science or management backgrounds from their high school years.

BCA at TU is the only formal course that gives students from arts and humanities streams an opportunity to capitalize on the fastest-growing industry in the world today—information technology and software development. Students have the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences over at Tribhuvan University to thank for this amazing opportunity. The university has been offering this program since 2074-75. Initially, BCA was only offered through six constituent colleges of TU, but later more institutions began signing up for affiliation.
 

Objectives of Bachelor of Computer Application (BCA)

The objectives of studying the Bachelor of Administration program of the TU Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences are

1. To provide practical skills and knowledge of computer applications with a comprehensive understanding of technical functions in a global-scale IT environment
2. To produce qualified, skilled programmers, software developers, and technicians in IT industry
3. To gain concepts of various tools and techniques of computing and IT fields like programming, designing, development, networking to address and solve technical issues upfront
4. To pave the path for studying further in master's-level computer applications, information technology pathways with specialization and industry-based focus.
    

Program Structure

Like most of the newer programs offered by Tribhuvan University, the BCA program is also a 4-year, eight-semester program. The BCA program is 126 credit hours, where most subjects are worth 3 credits, with the exception of 2 subjects in the first year of the program. Apart from the usual subjects to be studied, the students will also have to engage in projects starting from the second year. The first and second year projects are worth 2 credit hours each, whereas the final year project amounts to a whopping 6 credits.
 

Specializations

While there are no formal outlines for specializations within the BCA program. The students will still retain the ability to specialize, as the program is designed to integrate project work as well as elective subjects. Not just that, the students can also choose their mandatory internship program in a specialization pathway of their choosing.
Getting back to the elective subjects, the students have to take up 4 elective subjects to meet the credit requirement for this program. As for what subjects they choose, that is completely up to the students to decide. There is a list of electives issued by the university, and the students can pick and choose 4 subjects as they wish. If planned well, this can still amount to a specialization.
 

Admission Requirements

The BCA program at TU requires that all students pass the entrance exam before getting enrolled. However, there are a few eligibility criteria that you would have to meet before you can even register for the test. The criteria are listed below:

• Minimum D+ grade in each subject of grades 11 and 12 with a CGPA of 1.8 or more.
• A minimum score of second division marks in 10+2, PCL, or equivalent in any discipline.
• Students who have passed grade 11 and are waiting for grade 12 results can also apply.

If you meet these cut-offs, you can find the form to register for the program at the official TU website on the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences page. The student has to fill out the form, pay the entrance exam fee, and take their admit card.

The actual BCA entrance exam is a two-hour exam and is worth a total of 100 points, and like conventional exams, the passing mark is 35 points. Out of those 100 questions, the first 40 questions would be from the English segment, followed by another 50 math-based questions. The test concludes with an additional 10 questions in the general knowledge segment.

Should they pass the entrance exam, students can get admitted to a BCA college affiliated with TU.
 

Eligibility

Fee Structure

Career Prospects

As stated before, information technology and software development are industries that have been growing at unprecedented speeds since the dawn of the century. Judging by the way things are going even now, the growth does not seem to be slowing down any time soon. With the development of generative AI tools and software, the limits of what this technology can do are being stretched further and further.

Homing in on the BCA career prospects, let us first establish the skills acquired during the BCA program. The primary objective of this program is to create individuals who can excel in application development.

Hence the most likely career path for a graduate of TU’s BCA program is to become a software developer, either independently or while being associated with a certain company. In Nepal, companies like Nepasoft Solutions, E-Prabidhi, Info Developers, Verisk, Deerwalk, Mercantile Communications, Worldlink Communications, Fusemachines, and ebPearls are known for hiring app developers and providing exciting job prospects.

Besides that, the graduates can also find more diverse careers in positions like

• System Analysts
• System Managers
• Project Managers
• Database Administrators
• System Designers
• IT officers, and so on.

Should a student not be willing to take up a professional career right after college, they can still choose to pursue an academic career in the area of their choice. They can take up a dedicated information technology degree, perhaps a management degree, or whatever they think will add value to their skillset and add to their specialization.