Relational database design
Deliverable: A normalised schema for a real problem — inventory, admissions or payroll — with constraints, sample data and a set of queries answering questions the schema was designed for.
Course
PGDCA (Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications)
The graduate-level computer diploma — programming logic, databases, office automation and a substantial final project, for people who already hold a degree and need computing on top of it.
- Duration: 12 months
- Classroom · Online live
- Level: beginner to advanced
What you will be able to do
- Write, structure and debug programs of several hundred lines
- Design a normalised relational database and query it efficiently in SQL
- Build a working data-driven application end to end
- Produce professional documents, spreadsheets and presentations to office standard
- Explain how networks, operating systems and the internet actually work
- Present and defend a substantial final project
Who this course is for
- Graduates in any discipline
- Final-year students expecting to graduate before the course ends
- Working professionals adding computing to a non-technical degree
- No prior programming experience is assumed
Syllabus
8 modules · 12 months
Module 1. Computer fundamentals and operating systems
- Architecture, memory and storage
- Operating system concepts and file systems
- Networks, protocols and how the internet works
- Security basics and safe practice
Module 2. Programming logic and C
- Variables, types and control flow
- Functions, arrays and strings
- Pointers and memory, taught geometrically rather than as syntax
- Structures, files and a program you can read six weeks later
Module 3. Programming in Python
- Syntax, collections and iteration
- Functions, modules and error handling
- Working with files and external data
- Object-oriented programming and when it earns its keep
Module 4. Database management systems
- The relational model and why normalisation matters
- SQL queries, joins and aggregations
- Keys, constraints and referential integrity
- Indexes, and reading a query plan
Module 5. Web technologies
- HTML structure and semantics
- CSS layout and responsive design
- JavaScript fundamentals and the DOM
- Connecting a page to stored data
Module 6. Office automation
- Long-document production with styles and references
- Spreadsheet modelling, lookups and PivotTables
- Presentation design for a technical audience
- Report writing conventions
Module 7. Software engineering practice
- Requirements, scope and what a specification is for
- Version control with Git
- Testing your own work before someone else does
- Documentation a stranger could follow
Module 8. Final project
- Choosing a problem with a defined deliverable
- Designing the data model before writing code
- Building, testing and iterating
- Writing it up and defending it
Tools and technologies you will use
- C and Python
- MySQL
- MS Office
- HTML, CSS and JavaScript
- Visual Studio Code
- Git
Projects you will build
Command-line application in Python
Deliverable: A working program of several hundred lines that reads external data, handles bad input without crashing, and produces a report you can hand to somebody else.
Data-driven web page
Deliverable: A responsive page built with HTML, CSS and JavaScript that reads from stored data and updates without a reload, published to a public URL.
Substantial final project
Deliverable: A complete application built to a written specification, documented, version-controlled in Git, and presented in a session where you answer questions about the choices you made.
Where this course can take you
- Junior Software Developer
- Database Assistant
- IT Executive
- MIS Executive
- Systems Assistant
Duration, modes and fees
- Duration
- 12 months
- Delivery modes
- Classroom · Online live
- Fees
- Share your details for the current fee
- Fees vary by batch and delivery mode. Ask about the instalment options available for the twelve-month diplomas.
Placement assistance
Every student gets placement assistance — that is what 100% placement assistance means. It is support for all, not a job for all. We do not promise a specific salary, a specific number of interviews, or placement at any named company, and you should be wary of anyone who does.
What is included
- A place in the monthly placement drive, held every third Saturday
- The readiness programme every second Saturday — mock interviews and preparation
- CV review against the specific roles you are targeting
- Portfolio review, so your project work is presented the way a reviewer will read it
- Access to the vacancy pool employers send directly to the Samyak network
- Guidance on which roles realistically fit your background and which do not
- A place in the next drive, with coaching, if you are not selected in this one
What is not included
- Any guarantee of a job, an interview, or a particular salary
- Placement at a named or partner company
- Applying to jobs on your behalf
- Support before you have completed the course and its project work
- Visa, relocation or overseas placement assistance
Built for a graduate who did not study computing
A degree in commerce or arts teaches you to structure an argument and finish something long. What it does not teach is how a program runs or how data should be stored, and that gap is what closes the door on a lot of otherwise capable applicants.
This diploma is built for exactly that person. It assumes no programming and it does not go slowly to be kind — it goes in order, because programming makes sense in order and almost never makes sense out of it.
The final project is the point
Twelve months produces a lot of exercises. Exercises do not get anyone hired.
The last module exists because a defended project is the difference between “I studied programming” and “I built this, here is why I structured it that way, and here is what I would change”. You choose a problem with a real deliverable, design the data model before you write code, build it, test it, document it, and then sit in a room and answer questions about it.
That last session is uncomfortable and it is the most useful hour of the course.
What it is, and what it is not
This is an institute diploma issued by Samyak. Several universities also run a programme called PGDCA as a formal postgraduate qualification, and those are different — different admission, different recognition, different fee.
We are not one of those, and the distinction matters if your employer or your next application specifically requires the university award. Bring the wording in and we will read it with you before you pay anything.
Two languages, on purpose
C first, then Python.
C because memory, pointers and manual control make the machine legible in a way a friendlier language hides, and because everything you learn afterwards is easier once you have seen it. Python second because it is what you will actually build in, and because by then the concepts are already yours and only the syntax is new.
Learning them the other way round works, but it takes longer and leaves gaps that surface later in interviews.
Questions
PGDCA (Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications) — frequently asked questions
What is the difference between PGDCA and DCA?
DCA is a foundation diploma open after Class 10 or 12, covering fundamentals, Office and Tally. PGDCA requires a degree and goes considerably deeper — programming in two languages, database design, web technologies and a defended final project. They are not the same course at different names.
Do I need a computer science degree to take PGDCA?
No. It is designed for graduates from any discipline, including commerce, arts and science backgrounds, and it assumes no prior programming. What it does assume is the study habits a degree builds, which is why the entry requirement exists at all.
Will PGDCA get me a developer job?
It gives you the foundations a junior developer role expects — programming, databases, version control and a project you can defend. Whether it converts depends on how strong your final project is and how you interview, which is what the placement drive and the readiness programme exist to work on. We do not promise a job and we will not.
Who issues the PGDCA certificate?
This is an institute diploma issued by Samyak and recognised across our network. Several universities also run a PGDCA under the same name as a formal postgraduate qualification; those are different programmes with different recognition. If you need the university version for a specific application, check the notification wording before enrolling here.
Can I take PGDCA while working full time?
Yes. Evening and weekend batches run for exactly this reason, and the online live mode covers the same syllabus with the same trainer. The final project is the part that needs real time, so plan for it rather than leaving it to the last month.
Enquire about PGDCA (Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications)
Three details is all we need. A course advisor will call you back.
Related courses
- DCA (Diploma in Computer Application)
The standard entry diploma for office and computer work — fundamentals, Office, accounting basics and the internet, taught as practical work rather than as a syllabus to memorise.
- Python Programming
Python taught as a working tool rather than a syntax tour — you finish able to read unfamiliar code, automate real tasks, call APIs and write tests that catch your own mistakes.
- SQL and Databases
SQL taught against a database big enough that a bad query is noticeably slow, because toy datasets hide performance entirely and performance is half of what the job tests.
- Web Development
The foundation everything else sits on — semantic HTML, CSS layout and JavaScript — taught until you can build and deploy a responsive, accessible site without reaching for a framework.
Next step
Talk to a course advisor
Tell us what you want to learn and we will help you pick the right course, batch and mode.