The Post Graduate Diploma in Healthcare Management (PGDHCM) at National Open College (NOC), Sanepa, Lalitpur, is a one-year postgraduate diploma affiliated with Pokhara University. The program is organized into two semesters and accepts applicants with any bachelor's degree.
PGDHCM concentrates on healthcare administration through subjects covering healthcare management, economics, epidemiology, health policy, healthcare law, health information systems, human resource management, hospital administration and planning, marketing and insurance, and support services. Practicum is included in the academic structure. By July 2025, the program had recorded more than 300 graduates and had reached its 33rd batch.
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Course | Post Graduate Diploma in Healthcare Management (PGDHCM) |
| College | National Open College, Sanepa, Lalitpur |
| Affiliation | Pokhara University |
| Level | Postgraduate Diploma |
| Duration | 1 year |
| Academic structure | 2 semesters |
| Eligibility | Any bachelor's degree |
| Admission | College entrance test and document submission |
| Seats | 30 |
| Practical component | Practicum |
| Graduates | 300+ as of July 2025 |
| Batch | 33rd batch as of July 2025 |
PGDHCM is a postgraduate diploma for graduates who want academic preparation in the administrative and managerial side of healthcare. It does not focus on clinical treatment. Instead, the program examines how hospitals, health services, programs, personnel, finances, information, policies, and support systems are managed.
The course combines management subjects with healthcare-specific study. This allows students to examine organizational issues through the context of hospitals and other health-sector settings rather than through general business management alone.
The program may be relevant to graduates seeking healthcare management study after a bachelor's degree and to professionals already working in healthcare who want formal academic exposure to administration, hospital operations, policy, finance, information systems, and management.
Eligibility: Any bachelor's degree.
The admission requirement is broader than a health-science-only pathway. Applicants from different bachelor's-level academic backgrounds can apply for PGDHCM.
This also distinguishes the program from the MHCM admission pathway at NOC, where specified health science, BHCM, or PGDHCM qualifications form part of the eligibility structure.
PGDHCM can therefore serve as a postgraduate healthcare management route for bachelor's graduates who meet the college's admission process, including those whose previous degree was not specifically in healthcare management.
Eligible applicants are required to:
Apply to National Open College
Pass the college entrance test
Submit the required documents
Complete the applicable admission formalities
The admission process specifically identifies a bachelor's degree as the academic entry requirement for PGDHCM and includes the college entrance test before enrollment.
The stated intake is 30 seats.
Duration: 1 year
Structure: 2 semesters
The program is divided into PGDHCM I and PGDHCM II. The first part establishes foundations in healthcare management, economics, public-health-related analysis, policy, law, and information systems. The second part moves further into hospital administration, human resources, planning, marketing, insurance, support services, and practicum.
The first part of the program includes:
Healthcare Management
Managerial Financial and Economics
Epidemiology and Bio-Statistics
Healthcare System and Policy
Health Care Law
Health Information System
These subjects bring together management and health-system knowledge. Students encounter organizational management alongside epidemiology, policy, legislation, financial issues, and the use of information within healthcare settings.
The second part includes:
Marketing and Insurance
Human Resource Management in Healthcare
Health and Hospital Administration
Hospital Planning
Support and Utility Management
Practicum
This stage gives greater attention to the operation of healthcare organizations. Human resources, hospital planning, administration, insurance, marketing, utility services, and practical exposure become central parts of the academic work.
The PGDHCM curriculum covers several areas that intersect in healthcare administration.
Healthcare Management introduces management principles in the context of health services and organizations. It establishes an administrative base for later subjects involving hospitals, personnel, finance, planning, and service operations.
Health-system and policy study helps students understand the broader setting in which healthcare organizations operate. This part of the curriculum connects organizational management with the structures and policies affecting health services.
Managerial financial and economics study brings financial and economic issues into the management curriculum. These areas are relevant when examining organizational resources, costs, planning, and managerial decisions.
Epidemiology and biostatistics give students an analytical component within the program. These subjects introduce ways of understanding health information and quantitative evidence in relation to healthcare and public health.
Healthcare law adds a legal dimension to healthcare administration. It places management study within the legal environment that affects health organizations and their operations.
Health Information System study deals with information as an organizational resource within healthcare. It complements management, administration, planning, and analytical subjects elsewhere in the program.
Human Resource Management in Healthcare focuses on managing people within healthcare organizations. It connects general human resource principles with the specific organizational setting of health services.
Health and Hospital Administration and Hospital Planning concentrate directly on the management and organization of hospital services. These subjects are central to the diploma's healthcare administration focus.
Marketing and Insurance introduces students to two additional components of health-service management. These areas broaden the curriculum beyond internal hospital administration to include service-related and financing considerations.
Support and Utility Management addresses non-clinical operational functions required within healthcare organizations. It adds an operational perspective to hospital management and planning.
Practicum forms part of PGDHCM II, giving the program a practical component alongside classroom subjects.
Additional learning activities associated with PGDHCM include:
Workshop on Hospital Operations Management
Short course on Safety & Disaster Management
Short course on Environment Health
Guest lectures
National seminars and conferences
Practicum at national hospitals
Practicum exposure at international hospitals
These activities complement subjects such as hospital administration, healthcare management, support services, planning, and health policy. They give students additional settings in which to examine organizational and operational issues discussed during formal study.
The academic structure supports the development of skills related to healthcare administration and organizational work. Depending on individual participation and performance, students can work on areas such as:
Healthcare and hospital administration
Administrative decision-making
Health-system and policy understanding
Hospital planning
Human resource management
Healthcare information management
Basic epidemiological and biostatistical analysis
Financial and economic understanding
Healthcare marketing and insurance
Support-service management
Communication and presentation
Analytical and critical thinking
The combination of management subjects and practicum also allows students to connect administrative concepts with healthcare organizational settings.
PGDHCM graduates may explore work connected with healthcare administration, hospital operations, projects, research, consulting, policy, and health-related organizations. The specific level of responsibility depends on previous education, professional experience, individual skills, employer requirements, and available positions.
Relevant work areas include:
Hospital administration and operations
Departmental and service coordination
Healthcare project management
Quality assurance
Healthcare consulting
NGO and INGO health projects
Research and project coordination
Healthcare information management
Health policy and analysis
Hospital planning
Health-related enterprises
Position titles associated with these areas include Healthcare Manager, Hospital Administrator, Health Project Manager, Health Services Manager, Healthcare Consultant, and Health Informatics Specialist. Senior administrative or executive positions generally depend on substantial professional experience in addition to academic qualifications.
PGDHCM provides a pathway into further study in healthcare management.
National Open College includes PGDHCM among the eligible academic backgrounds for its Master of Healthcare Management (MHCM) admission route. Applicants proceeding from PGDHCM to MHCM must also complete the applicable MHCM admission requirements, including the entrance process.
This creates a clear academic sequence for a bachelor's graduate who first undertakes postgraduate diploma study in healthcare management and later continues to master's-level healthcare management education.
National Open College provides an academic-performance scholarship for semester toppers across its programs, including PGDHCM.
A student who secures the top position in the respective semester is eligible for a scholarship covering 60% of the tuition fee for the following semester. The scholarship is linked to semester performance.
The Post Graduate Diploma in Healthcare Management runs for one year and follows a two-semester structure.
The PGDHCM program at National Open College is affiliated with Pokhara University.
Applicants with any bachelor's degree are eligible to apply.
No. The stated eligibility is any bachelor's degree.
Yes. Applicants must apply and pass the college entrance test as part of the admission process.
The stated intake is 30 seats.
The program includes healthcare management, managerial financial and economics, epidemiology and biostatistics, healthcare system and policy, healthcare law, health information systems, marketing and insurance, human resource management in healthcare, health and hospital administration, hospital planning, and support and utility management.
Yes. Practicum forms part of PGDHCM II. Additional activities include hospital operations workshops, short courses, seminars, guest lectures, and hospital-based practicum exposure.
Yes. PGDHCM is included among the stated academic backgrounds for admission to the Master of Healthcare Management at NOC, along with the applicable MHCM admission requirements.
Graduates may consider healthcare administration, hospital operations, project management, quality assurance, healthcare consulting, research, policy-related work, and health information management. Career level depends on qualifications, experience, skills, and employer requirements.
