Nepal: Higher Education

Higher Education

Overview

Information on key aspects of a country’s education system, including governance, instructional language, and other structural features defined by national or regional regulations.

Ministry Responsible

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MOEST)

Language of Instruction

English, Nepali

Academic Calendar

2 semesters

Quality Assurance and Accreditation

The principal quality assurance and accreditation bodies.

No.	Quality Assurance and Accreditation Body	Institution Type
1	University Grants Commission (UGC)	Universities Constituent campuses/colleges Affiliated (community and private) campuses/colleges
2	Quality Assurance and Accreditation Council (QAAC), UGC	All higher education institutions in Nepal
3	Internal Quality Assurance Cells (IQACs)	Individual institutions as internal quality units

Admissions

No.	Institution Type	Entrance Examination	Administering Body
1	Undergraduate engineering programs at Tribhuvan University (e.g., Bachelor of Engineering, Bachelor of Architecture)	Institute of Engineering (IOE) Entrance Exam	Institute of Engineering (IOE), Tribhuvan University
2	Medical and health sciences colleges (e.g., MBBS, BDS, nursing, pharmacy)	Medical Education Common Entrance Examination (MECEE) – Undergraduate	Medical Education Commission (MEC)
3	Medical and health sciences postgraduate programs (e.g., MD, MS, MCh)	Medical Education Common Entrance Examination – Postgraduate (MECEE-PG)	Medical Education Commission (MEC)
4	Universities (various undergraduate and postgraduate programs)	University-specific entrance tests	Individual universities

Institutions

Types and number of officially recognized institutions providing secondary education.

No.	Institution Type	Number of Institutions	Qualifications Offered	Quality Assurance and Accreditation
1	Central Universities	12 (2023/24)	Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree Doctoral degree	Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) University Grants Commission (UGC)
2	Provincial Universities	4 (2023/24)	Bachelor’s degree	Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) University Grants Commission (UGC)
3	Medical Academies (autonomous)	7 (2023/24)	Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree Doctoral degree	Ministry of Health and Population Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST)
4	Yogmaya Ayurveda University (autonomous university established by parliamentary act)	1 (2023/24)	Certificate (in Ayurvedic medicine) Bachelor’s degree (in Ayurvedic medicine) Master’s degree (in Ayurvedic medicine)	Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) University Grants Commission (UGC) Nepal Ayurvedic Medical Council (NAMC)
5	Constituent campuses	164 (2023/24)	Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree Doctoral degree	Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) University Grants Commission (UGC) [managed directly by concerned university]
6	Affiliated community (public) campuses	545 (2023/24)	Bachelor’s degree (under affiliating university) Master’s degree (under affiliating university)	Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) University Grants Commission (UGC) [academic programs are affiliated to a university]
7	Affiliated private campuses	723 (2023/24)	Bachelor’s degree (under affiliating university) Master’s degree (under affiliating university)	Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) University Grants Commission (UGC) [academic programs are affiliated to a university]
8	Overseas university affiliated campuses	59 (2023/24)	Higher National Diploma Bachelor’s degree Master’s degree	[academic programs are affiliated to an overseas university]
9	Technical Institutes Polytechnics (CTEVT)	124 (2024)	Post-secondary vocational diploma Certificate Bachelor’s degree (selected streams)	Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MoEST) Council for Technical Education and Vocational Training (CTEVT)

Source: Education Management Information System (EMIS) Report (2023/24), UGC

Academic Qualifications

Not all awards or study patterns are included.

No.	Degree Name	Admissions Requirements	Length of Program	Graduation Requirements	Post-graduation Pathways
1	Bachelor’s degree	National Examination Board (NEB) Examination Certificate, or equivalent	3 to 4 years	Coursework Examinations Thesis or project (in some programs)	Access to: postgraduate diploma master’s degree
2	Postgraduate diploma	Bachelor’s degree in a related field	1 year	Coursework Practical training or project (in some programs)	Access to: master’s degree
3	Master’s degree	Bachelor’s degree in a related field Entrance examination in many universities	2 years	60 to 72 credits Examinations Thesis or research project (in some programs)	Access to: doctoral degree
4	Doctoral degree	Master’s degree in a related field Entrance examination and/or research proposal interview	3 to 5 years	Advanced coursework (in some programs) Original research Dissertation and oral defense	Access to: academic careers (teaching, research) senior professional and policy roles

Technical Qualifications

Not all awards or study patterns are included.

No.	Degree Name	Admissions Requirements	Length of Program	Graduation Requirements	Post-graduation Pathways
1	Post-Diploma Advanced Diploma	Diploma in a relevant technical discipline	1 to 2 years	Advanced applied coursework Project work Industrial attachment	Access to: bachelor’s degree senior employment in technical fields

Grading System

Examples of the most commonly used grading scales.

No.	Percent Range	Degree Classification
1	75 to 100%	Distinction
2	60 to 74%	First Division
3	45 to 59%	Second Division
4	35 to 44%	Pass Division
5	0 to 34%	Fail

Enrollment

Total Enrollment

Total enrollment in a specific level of education, regardless of age.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics

Gross Enrollment Ratio

Total enrollment in a specific level of education, regardless of age, expressed as a percentage of the eligible official school-age population corresponding to the same level of education in a given school year.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics