BBA Curriculum of Pokhara University - A Review

Updated: Jan 10, 2020

I have completed my BBA degree in 2014 and after going through eight semesters studying a total of 38 subjects I deserve to write a review of the BBA program in general and its curriculum in particular. Additionally, I completed a two month long internship as well as a business research project. This review incorporates an update on my partial review, which I wrote just after completing three semesters of my study. Therefore, I hope this article will provide a holistic evaluation of the BBA curriculum of Pokhara University.

Frankly and honestly speaking, the curriculum of BBA of Pokhara University was one of the best in its composition of curriculum components (i.e., subjects or courses of study). In fact, some textbooks are such that they are the best in the world. Principles of Macroeconomics by N. Gregory Mankiw, Business Correspondence (Theory and Application) by Raymond V. Lesikar and John D. Pettit, Financial Accounting by Norton and Porter, and such have no close substitutes globally because of their pragmatic approach and easy and interesting illustrations.

However, the same program has some really unnecessary books included in the curriculum. Computer Applications & IT in the first semester is a subject which I believe as an unnecessary repetition. Those who really need help with their computer application knowledge could take some courses outside. The overwhelming majority who are already proficient in the use of computers wouldn't have to bother studying the same thing again and again. Usually, management students have studied computer courses within their high school (+2 level, now known as SLC level).

Similarly, the course curriculum was updated to remove the subject "Programming Language" in the second semester in a welcoming move. During my time I studied this subject even though it didn't make any sense to me whatsoever. What was disgusting even more was that the Programming Language was taught in C as if BBA students will become a programmer some day. Instead of teaching C, Visual Basic would have been a better alternative to teach us the basics of programming as well as the use of database. Learning a database structure would have been much useful because, learning the basics of database and how it works might save some hassle when we use database, all too often, in our professional life, in the future.

'Fundamentals of Logic' was quite a difficult subject taught to us during our time. However, it has been removed from the curriculum nowadays. While I personally loved the subject, it didn't look much helpful from the perspective of a business student. As a substitute subject, Critical Thinking would have been much more appreciable. However, Business & Society has been included as a replacement which is probably a good idea. Societal politics plays an important role in your professional life as well as entreprenuerial life. Therefore, this subject is justifiable.

Likewise, the subjects like Strategic Management, Corporate Finance, Statistics, Data Analysis and Modelling, and so on were highly useful subjects. I loved the way, businesses can formulate their strategies for competing in the market through Strategic Management. I learnt practical knowledge of investing in stock market through Corporate Finance, and learnt the use of different statistical tools for business analysis through Statistics and Data Analysis and Modelling. Likewise, there were other useful subjects which included Operations Management, Nepalese Business Environment, Business Law (now 'Legal Aspects of Business & Technology'), and International Business, all of which helped in expanding our horizon of thoughts and imagination.

Business research project involved carrying out a research project of our own and preparing a research report. This was equivalent to one subject (3 credit hours) and was quite challenging. Likewise, there was 2 months of internship again equivalent to one subject. Internship made time management challenging and thus taught us to manage time. Nevertheless, it also exposed us to a workplace where we got an opportunity to learn how work is carried out in a job and network with professionals. Also, it taught teamwork in the real scenario.

Overall, BBA curriculum was a package to deliver a wide variety of knowledge and skills to students. While it was hard to connect the learnings of different subject and the volume of textbooks was exceptionally huge, the program provided an opportunity to have a good exposure in different aspects of management. In conclusion, I feel honored to have studied the BBA program of Pokhara University; especially I appreciate the curriculum and textbook selection as the best aspect of this program.