BA in English and Dzongkha
Strengthen communication through English and Dzongkha, exploring literature, culture, and language in Bhutan.
The primary aim of this programme is to provide students with a strong foundation of knowledge and advanced proficiency in both English and Dzongkha. By fostering fluency and literacy in these two languages, the programme will enable students to actively engage in contemporary academic discourse, research, and critical inquiry in both linguistic contexts. Through a structured and comprehensive curriculum, students will develop essential cognitive skills, including analytical reasoning, critical thinking, and the ability to interpret and evaluate diverse perspectives across cultures and disciplines.
In addition to promoting academic excellence, the programme is designed to prepare graduates for a wide range of professional fields, including but not limited to education, media and communication, hospitality and tourism, journalism, public service, and private sector employment. The bilingual nature of the programme equips students with transferable skills such as effective communication, problem-solving, collaboration, and adaptability—skills that are highly valued in today’s dynamic and competitive job market.
Moreover, the programme is committed to nurturing well-rounded individuals who are not only knowledgeable and skilled but also ethical, responsible, and socially conscious. Graduates are expected to contribute meaningfully and competently in their chosen careers and to play constructive roles in society, whether in local, national, or global contexts.
| Year | Semester | Module 1 | Module 2 | Module 3 | Module 4 | Module 5 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | I | RIG101 ཕྲད་རྣམ་དབྱེ། | RIG102 དག་ཡིག། | LAN101 English Language and Grammar | LIT102 The Study of Non-Fiction Prose | ACS101 Academic Skills |
| II | RIG103 བདག་གཞན་དུས་གསུམ། | RIG104 རྫོང་ཁ་བརྡ་སྦྱོར། | LIT105 Understanding Folk Literature | LAN102 English Phonetics and Syntax | APC101 IT Skills | |
| 2 | I | RIG205 རྫོང་ཁ་འབི་རྩལ། | LAM201 ལེགས་བཤད། | RIG206 མངོན་བརྫོད། | LIT207 Contemporary Bhutanese Writings in English | LAN203 English Phonology |
| II | ZHU201 སྤྱོད་འཇུག་དང་པ། | LAM202 ཆོས་འབྱུང་། | RIG207 ཚིག་རྒྱན་དང་པ། | LAN204 The Art of Creative Writing | TRP201 Introduction to Translation | |
| 3 | I | ZHU302 སྤྱོད་འཇུག་གཉིས་པ། | RIG308 ཚིག་རྒྱན་གཉིས་པ། | ZHT301 ཞིབ་འཚོལ་ཐབས་ལམ། | LIT318 Contemporary Literature | LAN405 Journalistic Writing |
| II | ZHU303 སྤྱོད་འཇུག་གསུམ་པ། | RIG309 ཚིག་རྒྱན་གསུམ་པ། | LIT321 Literature by Women | LAN404 The Power of Ideas | ETH101 Introduction to Ethics |
Upon successful completion of the programme, students will be able to demonstrate the following outcomes:
Cognitive
- Ability to understand and effectively apply the linguistic systems of both English and Dzongkha.
- Acquire a comprehensive knowledge of classical and traditional literature in both languages.
- Gain an informed understanding of history, tradition, and culture.
- Able to critically comprehend and analyse significant texts in English and Dzongkha.
Affective
- Develop value and attitude-based skills that enable them to contribute meaningfully in various societal roles.
- Produce independent interpretations and engage imaginatively and creatively with literary texts.
Behavioural
- Develop bilingual competence and be able to work in various positions in both the public and private sectors.
- Able to use English and Dzongkha vocabulary and pronunciation accurately and appropriately in both spoken and written contexts.
- Able to engage in the composition of different literary genres in English and Dzongkha.
- Develop the ability to conduct research at par with international standards.
- Acquire effective communication skills to participate in various relevant contexts.
- Produce clear, coherent, and well-organised pieces of academic writing.
- Adapt and perform literary pieces based on creativity and teamwork.
- Draft and edit their writing and critique the work of others.
There is a diverse range of employment opportunities for graduates of this programme, reflecting its interdisciplinary and skill-oriented nature. However, based on graduate destination analysis, the public sector remains the most prominent employment field, where graduates are often absorbed into national and local government agencies. Many graduates can also contribute to governance and public service through positions in ministries and other civil service departments. They can also be absorbed into roles such as translators, interpreters, and moderators.
Another key area of employment is in non-governmental organisations (NGOs), where graduates apply their communication, cultural sensitivity, and analytical skills in development work, advocacy, and community engagement. Further, the private sector also presents viable career opportunities, particularly in consultancy services, hospitality, and media and communication roles, where the demand for strong interpersonal and intercultural communication skills is growing.
In addition, graduates can pursue careers in research and academia, particularly in fields such as language studies, ethics, and translation. The programme also opens pathways to international organisations and knowledge-based industries, where graduates may take on leadership roles or serve as cultural and language experts. This wide array of career options demonstrates the strong market relevance and employability of the programme, making it a valuable choice for students seeking both local and global career prospects.
The delivery of the programme will be rooted in a student-centred approach, which places active learning at the core of the teaching process. Rather than relying solely on traditional lecture methods, module tutors will act as facilitators who encourage students to critically engage with course content by testing their ideas, experiences, and assumptions against established theories and practices. This approach not only will deepen understanding but also foster independent thought and reflective learning.
To support this methodology, a wide variety of teaching and learning strategies will be employed. These include interactive lectures, class discussions, group presentations, collaborative activities, class tests, seminars, debates, fieldwork exercises, and workshops. These varied formats are designed to cater to diverse learning styles and to provide students with multiple avenues to explore and internalise course material.
Each English module is structured to include 60 contact hours and an additional 60 hours of independent study. The contact hours are designed to be dynamic and participatory, focusing on discussion, engagement, and skill-building activities led by tutors. The independent study component, on the other hand, encourages students to take ownership of their learning by engaging in reading, research, written assignments, and preparation for assessments. This balanced structure ensures that students benefit from both guided instruction and autonomous exploration.
In addition to in-person learning, the programme makes extensive use of the Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) to enhance and complement face-to-face teaching. The VLE will serve as a digital platform where tutors and students can communicate, exchange ideas, give and receive feedback, and access academic resources. It will also allow for efficient grading of assessments, real-time progress tracking, and transparent sharing of evaluation criteria. The VLE is accessible via smartphones and other smart devices, making it convenient and user-friendly for both tutors and students, especially in remote or flexible learning situations.
The programme’s assessment strategy is designed to align closely with the nature and learning outcomes of each module. Although assessment methods vary across modules, a combination of Continuous Assessment (CA) and Semester-End Examinations (SE) is used to provide a balanced evaluation of student learning. This approach assesses not only knowledge acquisition but also students’ ability to apply concepts, think critically, and demonstrate academic and professional skills.
In line with the programme’s student-centred approach, assessments also serve a formative purpose by supporting deeper learning and personal development. They are designed to foster key workplace competencies such as critical thinking, problemsolving, teamwork, communication, creativity, and adaptability.
Continuous assessment comprises a range of activities tailored to individual modules, including VLE discussions, presentations, individual and group assignments, portfolios, creative and academic writing, project and fieldwork reports, class tests, digital storytelling, reflective journals, essays, debates, seminars, workshops, panel discussions, multimedia presentations, and mid-semester exams. Group assessments are included where appropriate to assess collaboration and leadership.
To ensure fairness and academic rigour, assessments are evenly distributed across the semester to avoid student overload, and timely, constructive feedback is provided to support continuous improvement. For modules taught by multiple tutors, crossgrading will be used to ensure consistency and fairness in marking.