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MCA Syllabus and Subject Overview
Master of Computer Applications, also known as MCA, is a postgraduate degree program. It is a two-year programme that students pursue after graduating from a related discipline such as BCA or Bachelor of Computer Applications. Application development, mathematics, data mining, and programming languages are among the IT-related topics covered in the course. The MCA program gives students hands-on instructions so they can develop programs with practical applications. Students who don't want to study engineering but yet want to work in IT can choose an MCA program.
The MCA syllabus offers students the possibility to create cutting-edge software with the aid of advanced tools and methods. The MCA Syllabus is spread out across six semesters, with the first year teaching students how to enhance their computer skills, the second year teaching them a conceptual study framework, and the third year providing specialties and the essential project work. A lot of universities across the nation that offer Master of Computer Application degrees develop qualified individuals in the information technology sector.
The MCA syllabus covers a wide range of topics, including programming, networking, computer graphics, and much more. It also includes practical training. The MCA syllabus can be studied by candidates in six semesters. The MCA Syllabus covers advanced classroom instruction and lab exercises. Along with this, the MCA syllabus requires that students participate in group discussions, seminars, project work, summer training, and report writing.
MCA students receive hands-on training in the most recent programming languages and tools, including C programming, Python programming, JAVA programming, SQL, and many more, as well as in disciplines like discrete mathematics, computer networks, operating systems, etc.
Important Facts For MCA
- Duration was Reduced from Three Years to Two years
The MCA program lasts for two years. The MCA program's two years are broken up into four semesters. The All India Board of Computer Science, Engineering/Tech and Applications decided to revamp the curriculum and shorten the term to two years in 2020. Previously, MCA was a three-year program.
- Updated Curriculum based on CBCS
To enhance marking procedures, the updated curriculum was developed in accordance with the Choice-Based Credit System (CBCS). There are 102 credits in the MCA program in total. Each of the first three semesters has 26 credits, with the last semester carrying 24 credits.
- Exam Pattern
Internal and external assessments are combined in the examination format. About 30% of the final assessment's marks are determined by internal evaluations, with the remaining 70% determined by external evaluations.
MCA Year Wise Syllabus
MCA Syllabus and Subject First Semester
| Core/Elective | Subject title | Subject Details |
| Core | Programming in C | Program design and analysis using the C programming language, basic data types and their operators, control structures, arrays, string, structs and unions, dynamic memory allocation, pointers and pointer arithmetic, and files. |
| Computer Fundamentals | Logic gates, Boolean algebra, K-map, Map simplification, Combinational circuit Design, Sequential Circuit Design, Logic Design, Processor Control Logic Design, Digital Integrated circuits | |
| Data Structures | Classification of Data Structures, Tree and tree operations, Shortest path algorithm, Fundamentals of the Analysis of Algorithm Efficiency, Recursion | |
Discrete Mathematics | Sets, Functions, Relations, Logic operators, normal forms, truth tables, Propositional and predicate calculus, Euclidean algorithms, Boolean Algebra, Fibonacci numbers | |
Computer Architecture | Data representation – two’s complement, number system, Arithmetic operations using 2’s and 1’s complements, floating-point representation and arithmetic operations; Input output organisation –I/O verses memory bus, Isolated versus memory mapped I/O, Priority interrupts, DMA, I/O processors; Memory Organisation–RAM, ROM, Associative memory, Cache memory | |
| Numerical Methods | Data representation – Fixed-point numbers, Finite data representation;Floating-point numbers,Propagation of error, Root finding’ Newton’s methods,Gaussian numerical integration, Solution of systems of linear equations – matrix equation, method of triangular matrics, Gaussian elimination with pivoting, Jacobson and Gauss Seidel; Ordinary Differential equations – Euler method, Multi-step method, Runga-Kutta methods, System of differential equations. |
MCA Syllabus and Subject Second Semester
| MCA Syllabus Core/Elective | Subject title | Subject Details |
| Core | Database Management Systems | Database Architecture, Database Analysis, Database Design, Normalisation, Lossless Join Decomposition and Relational Algebra, Tuple and Domain Relational Calculus, Concurrency Control and Recovery Techniques, Advances in Database Systems and Technologies |
| Computer Networks | Overview of Computer Network, Data Communication, , Nyquist theorem, Shannon’s formula, modulations, encoding schemes, ALOHA systems, Local Area Networks, Token Ring, Token Bus, FDDI, Routing, congestion control, Application Protocols – FTP, Email. | |
| Design and Analysis of Algorithms | Some efficient algorithms; Algorithm analysis: a Problem-solvingworst case and average case analysis, Recurrences and asymptotics; Algorithm design, Efficient data structures, amortized analysis, NP completeness | |
| Object Oriented Programming | The Key Attributes of Object-Oriented Programming, The Java Class Libraries, The Java Development Kit. Java’s Primitive Types, The Scope and Lifetime of Variables, Literals, Shorthand Assignments, operators, Type conversion in Assignments, Using Cast. Control Statements, Recursion, Inheritance Basics, Member Access and Inheritance | |
| Artificial Intelligence | Overview of AI, Problem solving, various search strategies,Introduction to logic programming, Knowledge representation, Conceptual dependency, Uncertain knowledge and reasoning, Hill Climbing, Simulated Annealing, Best First Search. | |
| Operating Systems | Overview, Operating System Structures, Computer System Structures, Process and Process Scheduling, CPU scheduling, Process Synchronisation, Paging, Segmentation, Virtual Memory, File System Allocation methods, Secondary Storage Scheduling and Management, Protection, Security |
MCA Syllabus and Subject Third SemesterNP-completeness
| MCA Syllabus Core/Elective | Subject title | Subject Details |
| Core | Software Engineering |
|
| Elective | Theoretical Computer Science | Mathematical reasoning; logic; methods of proof; sets, relations, function, Kleen’s theorem, Moore and Mealy models; Turing machine; Pushdown automata; Recursive and recursively enumerable sets models, recursive functions. |
| Microprocessors | Basic Microprocessor architecture, memory systems for microprocessor, bus structure and memory maps, hardware and software interrupts, I/O systems Introduction to Intel family of microprocessor, 8085/8086 microprocessor - architecture, Instruction set, programming. | |
| Computer Graphics and Multimedia | Graphics devices – random scan and Raster-scan; Bresenahm’s circle drawing algorithm, generation of ellipses, 2-D graphics: polar coordinates, parametric functions, vectors, matrices operations; 3-D graphics:transformation- right handed coordinate system with vertical y-axis, matrices for translation, scalingrotation around axis | |
| Probability and Statistics | Probability – Conditional probability, Axioms, Bayes Theorem, Discrete RV – Binomial, random variables, geometric Poisson, Continuous RV, Hypothesis testing, Curve fitting, Methods of least Squares, Curvilinear, Multiple regression. | |
| Machine Learning |
|
MCA Syllabus and Subjects Fourth Semester
| MCA Syllabus Core/Elective | Subject title | Subject Details |
| Core | Project | Students have to complete a project by designing a computer application using the knowledge gained during the previous three semesters. |
Specializations Offered In MCA
An MCA degree is the basic foundation for a career in the IT industry. A specialization can be chosen by students in addition to their standard MCA syllabus. Studying a specialization enables students to gain in-depth knowledge about a field of study that interests them. The following are a few of the MCA's specializations:
| MCA Specialization | MCA Specialization Subjects |
| Data Mining | Data Processing Mining Frequent Patterns And Advanced Pattern Mining Classification Techniques Clustering Techniques Outlier Detection and Application |
| Internet of Things | IoT Introduction IoT Programming IoT Applications Network of Wireless Sensor Nodes MAC, Routing, and Transport Control in WSN |
| Artificial Intelligence | Introduction to Artificial Intelligence Local Search Algorithms Knowledge Representation Game Playing Natural Language Processing |
| Wireless And Mobile Networks | Wireless Telecommunications Systems and Networks Common Cellular System Components Wireless Network Architecture and Operation GSM and TDMA Technology CDMA Technology, CDPD and Edge Data Networks Wireless LAN/ PAN |
| Data Science | Data, Relations and preprocessing Correlation and Regression Association Rule Mining and Classification Clustering and Time Series Analysis Visualisation and Applications |
| Digital Marketing | Going Digital - The Evolution Of Marketing The Search For Success Search Engine Optimization Email Marketing And Social Media Marketing Web Analytics |
MCA Core and Elective Subjects
Typical Core MCA Subjects
| MCA Subject title |
Mathematical Foundations of Computer Science |
| Database Management System |
| Object Oriented Programming |
| Operating Systems |
| Software Engineering |
| Java Programming |
| Data Structures and Algorithms |
| Web Technologies |
| Data Analytics |
| Machine Learning |
| Computer Networks |
Typical Elective MCA Subjects
| MCA Subject Title |
| Microprocessors |
| Advanced Data Structure and Algorithms |
| Advanced Computer Architecture |
| Web Based Programming |
| Cloud Computing and IoT |
| Compiler Design |
| Wireless Networks |
| Parallel and Distributed Systems |
MCA Distance Program Syllabus and Subjects
While a standard MCA curriculum is often a two-year program, a distance MCA program is typically a three-year course that students can complete in six years. The conventional MCA syllabus applies to the distant MCA as well. In a distance MCA program, students can choose specializations to study their preferred subjects or to advance their professional profiles. The online MCA program offers flexibility in the areas of courses offered, course materials, and assessment formats. In contrast to a traditional course, the qualifying standards for admission to distance MCA programs are more flexible. Given below is the list of Distance MCA Program-
| MCA Syllabus Semester I | MCA Syllabus Semester II |
| Computer Organisation & Architecture | Data Communication & Computer Networks |
| Business Systems and Applications | Information Systems Analysis & Design |
| Computer Programming with C | Data Structures with C |
| Discrete Mathematical Structure | Database Management System I |
| Business English and Communication | Object-Oriented Programming With C++ |
| Micro Programming & Architecture Lab | Data structure lab |
| Programming lab | Database lab |
| Business presentation and language lab | Object-Oriented Programming lab (C++) |
| MCA Syllabus Semester III | MCA Syllabus Semester IV |
| Operating Systems and Systems Software | Software Engineering & TQM |
| Unix and Shell Programming | Graphics & Multimedia |
| Intelligent Systems | Database Management System II |
| Statistics and Numerical Techniques | Operation Research & Optimisation Techniques |
| Business Management | Environment and Ecology |
| Management Accounting | Software Project Management lab |
| Unix lab | Graphics & Multimedia Lab |
| Statistics and Numerical Analysis lab | Advanced Database lab |
| Accounting Systems lab | - |
| MCA Syllabus Semester V | MCA Syllabus Semester VI |
| Elective 1: Distributed database management, Image Processing, Parallel Programming | Project Work |
| Elective 2: System Administration and Linux, Windows Programming With VB, | Seminar |
MCA Entrance Exams Syllabus
MCA Major Entrance Exams
There are numerous MCA entrance exams that are conducted to provide admission to MCA courses in different colleges across the country. A few of those MCA entrance exams are - NIT MCA Common Entrance Test (NIMCET), Banaras Hindu University Post Graduate Entrance Exam (BHU PET MCA), Joint Entrance for Masters of Computer Applications (JECA), Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU MCA), Maharashtra Masters of Computer Applications Common Entrance Test (MAH MCA CET), BITSAT etc.
Candidates should go through the MCA entrance exam syllabus before taking the exam. We have provided the common syllabus below for better preparation:
| MCA Syllabus Topics | MCA Syllabus |
| Mathematics |
|
| Analytical Ability and Logical Reasoning |
|
| Computer Awareness |
|
| General English |
|
Important Books for MCA Syllabus
Books for the MCA syllabus include reference books to help students gain a broader understanding of important topics as well as coursebooks that the college has prescribed. Books from international publishers like Pearson and TMH are among them. A list of books to study for the MCA course is provided below:
| MCA Subject | Book Title | Authors |
| Computational Mathematics | Discrete Mathematics with Applications Fundamental Approach to Discrete Mathematics | Thomas Koshy D.P. Acharjya, Sreekumar |
| Object Oriented Programming | The Complete Reference C++ Object Oriented Programming in C++ | Herbert Schildt Robert Lafore |
| Operating Systems | Operating Systems Concepts An Introduction to Operating Systems | A Silberschatz, Peter B. Galvin and Greg Gagne H. M. Deitel |
| Software Engineering | Software Engineering Software Engineering Concepts Software Project Management in Practice | Ian Sommerville Richard Fairley Pankaj Jalote |
| Java Programming | Java The Complete Reference Core Java: Volume I - Fundamentals | Herbert Schildt Cay S. Horstmann |
| Database Management System | Database System Concepts Database Management System | Abraham Silberschatz, Henry Korth, S. Sudarshan Raghu Ramakrishnan, Johannes Gehrke |
| Data Structures and Algorithms | Data Structures - A Pseudocode Approach with C Design and Analysis of Algorithms | Richard F. Gilberg and Behrouz A. Forouzan S. Sridhar |
| Web Technologies | Fundamentals of Web Development PHP and MySQL Web Development | Randy Connolly, Ricardo Hoar Luke Welling, Laura Thomson |
| Computer Networks | TCP/IP Protocol Suite Computer Networks | Behrouz A. Forouzan Tannenbaum, A.S. |
| Internet of Things | Internet of Things – A hands-on approach Architecting the Internet of Things | Arshdeep Bahga, Vijay Madisetti Dieter Uckelmann, Mark Harrison, Michahelles, Florian |
| Machine Learning | Introduction to Machine Learning Machine Learning: A Probabilistic Perspective Pattern Recognition and Machine Learning | Ethem Alpaydin Kevin P. Murphy Christopher M. Bishop |
MCA Course Structure
The MCA 2 year course components are designed to equip students with not only an in-depth understanding of computer application potential, but also to acquire soft skills that will allow them to be an asset to the industry in the future.
The MCA program also includes seminars and industry projects in addition to lectures and lab practice.
A student's exposure to a workshop or seminar experience puts them closer to the realities of the computer application industry. The whole final semester of the MCA course syllabus is devoted to developing the candidate's pragmatic understanding through projects and seminars. The MCA course structure is provided below:
| Particulars | MCA Syllabus and Subject Details |
| Semesters | 6 semesters |
| Duration | 2 Years or 3 Years |
| Subjects | Core subjects Elective subjects |
| Lab | Practical work/ Lab training |
| Projects | Individual Project Group Project |
| Others | Seminars Workshops |
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MCA Colleges in States
| MCA Colleges in Tamil Nadu | |
| MCA Colleges in Andhra Pradesh | |
| MCA Colleges in Maharashtra | |
| MCA Colleges in Uttar Pradesh | |
| MCA Colleges in Karnataka |
MCA Colleges in Cities
| MCA Colleges in Hyderabad | |
| MCA Colleges in Bangalore | |
| MCA Colleges in Mumbai | |
| MCA Colleges in Chennai | |
| MCA Colleges in Kolkata |
