Bachelor of Ayurveda, Medicine and Surgery

Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery (BAMS), also known in Indian regulatory nomenclature as Ayurvedacharya, is an undergraduate professional degree in Ayurveda. In India, the programme forms part of the regulated system of education in the Indian systems of medicine and is governed by the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM) under the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Act, 2020.

The NCISM describes the BAMS programme as combining the study of Ashtanga Ayurveda and the classical foundations of Ayurveda with contemporary developments in the field, relevant scientific and technological knowledge, and extensive practical and clinical training.

India

Regulation and recognition

Undergraduate Ayurveda education in India is regulated by the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine. The NCISM was constituted under the National Commission for Indian System of Medicine Act, 2020; the regulatory provisions of the earlier Indian Medicine Central Council framework were replaced as the new commission and its autonomous boards became operational in 2021.

The commission prescribes minimum standards for undergraduate Ayurveda education, assesses Ayurveda medical colleges and teaching hospitals, recognises medical qualifications and maintains the regulatory framework for registration of practitioners of the Indian systems of medicine.

Recognised qualifications are commonly styled Ayurvedacharya (Bachelor of Ayurvedic Medicine and Surgery) (BAMS).

Admission

Admission to BAMS programmes in India is based on the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) and the counselling process prescribed by the competent authorities. The Ayush Admissions Central Counseling Committee (AACCC) conducts counselling for All India Quota seats in government and government-aided institutions and for seats under participating central universities, national institutes and deemed universities. State and union-territory counselling authorities conduct counselling for the seats falling within their respective jurisdictions.

For the 2026–27 academic session, AACCC continued to allot BAMS seats on the basis of merit in NEET-UG.

Duration and structure

The BAMS programme is of five and a half years' duration. It consists of four and a half years of academic education and clinical training followed by a one-year compulsory rotatory internship. Under the curriculum prescribed for students admitted from the 2021–22 batch onwards, the academic component is divided into three professional phases of eighteen months each.

The curriculum is organised around the classical disciplines of Ayurveda together with anatomy, physiology, pathology, diagnostic methods, public health, research methodology, medical statistics and other scientific and clinical subjects relevant to medical education.

Curriculum

The first professional phase includes subjects such as Samskritam evam Ayurved Itihas (Sanskrit and history of Ayurveda), Padartha Vigyan (fundamental principles), Kriya Sharira (physiology), Rachana Sharira (anatomy) and the study of classical Ayurvedic texts.

The second professional phase includes Dravyaguna Vigyan (materia medica and pharmacology), Rasashastra evam Bhaishajya Kalpana (Ayurvedic pharmaceutics), Roga Nidana evam Vikriti Vigyan (diagnosis and pathology), Agada Tantra evam Vidhi Vaidyaka (toxicology and medical jurisprudence), Swasthavritta evam Yoga (public health, lifestyle and yoga), and further study of Ayurvedic classical texts.

The third professional phase is predominantly clinical. Its subjects include Kayachikitsa (internal medicine), Panchakarma, Shalya Tantra (surgery), Shalakya Tantra (ophthalmology, ear-nose-throat and oro-dentistry), Prasuti Tantra evam Stree Roga (obstetrics and gynaecology), Kaumarabhritya (paediatrics), classical-text studies, research methodology and medical statistics, and emergency medicine.

Students also undertake electives, practical work, bedside and clinical teaching, laboratory training and hospital-based learning as prescribed by the NCISM curriculum.

Compulsory rotatory internship

Completion of a one-year compulsory rotatory internship is required as part of the BAMS programme. The internship provides supervised clinical experience after completion of the academic professional examinations.

Under the NCISM framework, internship postings include clinical departments of an Ayurveda teaching hospital. The regulations also provide for training, according to the prescribed internship option, in primary or community health centres, rural or district hospitals, other government hospitals, or eligible accredited Ayurveda hospitals.

Registration and professional practice

Graduates holding recognised Ayurveda qualifications become eligible for professional registration in accordance with the NCISM Act and the applicable registration regulations. The Board of Ethics and Registration for Indian System of Medicine maintains the National Register in coordination with State medical councils and registration authorities.

The NCISM's Ethics and Registration Regulations define a registered practitioner as a medical practitioner of Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha or Sowa-Rigpa whose name is entered in the State Register or National Register.

The precise scope of professional practice is governed by national regulations together with applicable State and union-territory laws. Registered practitioners of the Indian systems of medicine are subject to professional conduct, ethics and registration requirements prescribed under the NCISM framework.

Postgraduate education

BAMS graduates may pursue postgraduate education in Ayurveda. The NCISM's postgraduate regulations provide for the degrees Ayurveda Vachaspati (MD Ayurveda) and Ayurveda Dhanvantari (MS Ayurveda) in recognised specialities.

Postgraduate specialities include subjects such as Kayachikitsa, Panchakarma, Shalya Tantra, Shalakya Tantra, Prasuti Tantra evam Stree Roga, Kaumarabhritya, Dravyaguna, Rasashastra and Bhaishajya Kalpana, Roga Nidana, Samhita and Siddhanta and other branches recognised by the commission.

Graduates may work in clinical practice, hospitals, public health programmes, teaching, research, pharmaceutical and medicinal-plant sectors, or health administration, subject to the qualifications and registration required for the particular position.

Nepal

BAMS is also offered in Nepal. The Ayurveda Campus of the Institute of Medicine at Tribhuvan University, offers a five-and-a-half-year BAMS programme comprising three professional phases followed by a one-year internship.

The Nepal Ayurveda Medical Council conducts licensing examinations for BAMS graduates seeking professional registration in Nepal.

See also

• Ayurveda
• [[List of ayurveda colleges]
• Ministry of Ayush
• National Commission for Indian System of Medicine
• Ayurveda Day

External links

• National Commission for Indian System of Medicine
• Ayush Admissions Central Counseling Committee