BCA (Bachelor of Computer Applications) Course, Eligibility, Admission, Syllabus, Scope & Career Growth

What is BCA?

BCA is a three year undergraduate programme in the field of computer science and information technology. It is one of the most popular career options for the students who want to make their career in areas related to computer science. The programme makes students competent and technically skilled to showcase their technical expertise and work in the IT industry. Students from both science and non-science backgrounds can take admission in the BCA programme. With the rapid growth in the IT industry, there is a great demand of IT professionals throughout the world. During the course of the programme, students study topics such as fundamentals of computer, programming languages, database management, networking, web designing, operating systems, etc. There are a lot of job options for BCA graduates who can find jobs in both the private and public sector. Some institutes offer admission to BCA programmes based on the past academic record, while some conduct an entrance examination. The entrance examination is sometimes followed by an interview test depending upon the admission process of the institutes. Careers360 presents to you the necessary details which the BCA aspirants must know like eligibility criteria, syllabus, BCA scope, career opportunities, job profiles, etc.

What is BCA full form?

BCA full form is of Bachelor of Computer Applications. It is a 3-year computer applications based post graduate programme. Candidates who want to become a developer, programmer can pick the BCA programme.

BCA Course Highlights

Advantages of BCA

1. Duration- Unlike a B.Tech in computer science, BCA is a three-year programme. Therefore, students who do not wish to study for that long can choose BCA over B.Tech.

2. In-depth knowledge- Since BCA as a course has its syllabus entirely designed around computers and its application. Students get to acquire detailed knowledge about computer applications in this field.

3. Demand- A student with the knowledge of computer languages is preferred in an IT company over a B.Tech graduate.

Types of BCA

BCA is a three year undergraduate programme in the field of computer applications.

BCA Eligibility

• Candidates who wish to take admission in Bachelor of Computer Applications programme must have completed 10+2 in any stream from any recognized board.

• The minimum age limit of the candidate should be 17 years.

• The BCA eligibility varies depending upon various colleges and universities.

Browse List of BCA Colleges in States

Browse List of BCA Colleges in Cities

BCA Admissions

The admissions in BCA programme are done with the help of both entrance test and merit. For admission in BCA programme through merit, the marks scored by the candidates in senior secondary examinations are considered. Based on these marks and vacant seats, the admissions are done for the BCA programme. There are many entrance examinations for admission in BCA courses such as IPU CET, BUMAT, AIMA UGAT and SUAT. These entrance examinations are followed by personal interview or group discussion in some colleges and institutes.

BCA Specializations

BCA is an undergraduate programme providing specialization in following fields.

• Animation

• Accounting Applications

• Internet Technologies

• Computer Graphics

• Database Management

• Music and Video Processing

• Programming Languages

• Personal Information Management

• Word Processing

• Systems Analysis
  BCA Courses

The three-year programme is divided into six semesters. During the course of the programme various classroom lessons, practicals, lab sessions, project work, assignments, presentations and group discussions are done to enrich students with theoretical knowledge and practical skills. The BCA course is basically designed for those students who possess aptitude skills and wish to make learn various prospects of computer applications such as networking, application development, database management, system security, etc.

Top BCA Exams

IPU CET - Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University is a university level entrance test for admission in affiliated colleges of IP University. The online examination consists of 150 questions. The total marks of the examination is 400. For every correct answer, candidates will be awarded with one mark. One mark is deducted for every incorrect response.

AIMA UGAT - Under Graduate Aptitude Test is a paper based test conducted for admission to Bachelor of Computer Applications and other bachelor's programmes. UGAT is usually conducted once in a year. It is an objective type test which is designed to measure general aptitude and technical skills of candidates. There is no negative marking for wrong answers. The question paper consists of questions from English Language, Numerical and Data Analysis, General Knowledge, Reasoning and General Intelligence, Service Aptitude and Scientific Aptitude. The total number of questions is 180.

SUAT - Sharda University Aptitude Test is conducted by Sharda University for admission in BCA and other programmes offered by the university. The test pattern comprises 100 objective type questions each carrying one mark. The question paper analyzes the problem-solving skills, analytical skills and language proficiency of the candidates. Those candidates who qualify the entrance test are invited for the personal interview based on which the final admissions are done.

BUMAT - Bharati Vidyapeeth Undergraduate Management Aptitude Test is a national level entrance test conducted by Bharati Vidyapeeth Deemed University. The aptitude test consists of 200 objective type questions carrying one mark each. Negative marking is not applicable for incorrect answers. The question paper consists of questions from four sections. i.e, Logical Reasoning, Reading Comprehension, Quantitative Aptitude and Verbal Ability.

GSAT - The entrance test is conducted by the GITAM Institute of Science, GITAM University. The entrance test is conducted for admission to BCA programmes offered by three campuses - Visakhapatnam, Hyderabad, and Bengaluru. The exam consists of 60 objective type questions each carrying one mark. The test is conducted once in a year. The pen and paper based examination is conducted in 30 cities across the country.

SRMHCAT - SRM University Haryana Common Aptitude Test is conducted by SRM University for admission in BCA programmes. The question paper consists of questions from logical reasoning, General Awareness, Management and English. The maximum marks of the question paper is 300. The paper consists of 100 questions and the correct answer for each question carries 03 marks. The medium of examination is English. There is no negative marking for incorrect responses.

BCA Syllabus

The syllabus of BCA covers both subjects included in classroom teaching and laboratory classes. These BCA course subjects and topics are to be studied during the course of three years.

Syllabus for semesters 1 and 2

Syllabus for semesters 3 and 4

Syllabus for semesters 5 and 6

Popular Engineering Colleges in India

Salary after BCA Programme

The Information Technology sector is one of the highest BCA salary package offering fields. There are a plethora of job opportunities in both the private and government sector for the BCA graduates. A fresher can expect a salary of Rs. 2.5 lakh per annum working in a subordinate position. There are various multinational corporations such as Facebook, Oracle, Twitter and SAP Labs which pay very handsome packages to the students. With technical expertise and work experience, one can get a quick rise in their BCA salary. The government institutes and agencies also offer very decent job profiles and good salary packages to the BCA graduates.

Job Profiles and Salary after completing BCA

Scope of BCA

BCA is considered as a job oriented course, there are plenty of job offers which aspirants can get after completing their undergraduate course. After completing a graduation degree in computer applications, students can also opt for higher studies by pursuing Masters in Computer Applications or pursue a MBA programme. A postgraduate programme or postgraduate diploma programme in computer applications provides specialization in different fields such as ethical hacking, system security, cloud computing and software application. There are many job opportunities for Bachelor of Computer Applications graduates in the sectors like IT, web designing, digital marketing, banking, logistics, data communications, desktop publishing, E-Commerce, consultancies, system maintenance, cloud networking.

There are many certification programmes offered by various institutions. One can pursue a Cisco Certified Network Professional (CCNP) certificate programme for Network administrators and Network Operations Specialists. BCA graduates can start freelancing or build up their own startup.

Careers Opportunities after BCA

There are plenty of career options after completing BCA programmes in both government and private sectors. Computers and mobiles are used almost everywhere in the world. This omnipresence has called for an ample number of job opportunities for BCA graduates. After completing the programme, one can start working in MNCs and IT firms where they can work in an entry level position. The knowledge of various software tools and programming languages gives an upper edge to the BCA graduates in getting a good job. One must learn the trending and most widely used programming languages in order to increase their chances of securing a good job and good hike. There are many e-commerce companies which require a lot of BCA graduates to work in different job profiles. If you are someone who wishes to learn more about the computer applications and develop domain expertise, you can pursue a postgraduate degree or a postgraduate diploma programme. Apart from private sector and higher studies, students can also work in government agencies such as banks, railways and defence. However, one must clear the competitive examinations to work in any of these government agencies.

Top Recruiters for BCA