Most MBA courses from top B-Schools are 2 year full time courses, making it difficult for working professionals to pursue them. The best options left to working professionals are part time courses that can last up to three years or one-year courses aimed that are tailor made for candidates with work experience. Correspondence is also an option but it’s only to be considered when there are commitments that cannot be compromised on as a professional.
Part Time Courses
These programmes are meant for working professionals who cannot pursue their higher education full time and have to balance their education and work. Most institutes who offer these kind of part time programmes are very stringent in the selection procedure and require candidates to have at least 2 years of work experience. All admissions are conducted through the same management aptitude tests that are applicable for 2 year courses. Most of these courses span up to 3 years.
One Year Full Time Courses
One year courses (may extend up to 15 months in some cases) are aimed at working professionals who want to grasp managerial skills and further their careers. The coursework is exactly the same as 2 year courses. Only candidates who have work experience and have excelled in their fields are considered for admission. These courses are also known as Executive MBA courses and the fee charged tend to be on the higher side of 2 year courses as candidates who graduate with an Executive MBA save 1 year of their professional lives.
Correspondence Courses
While a correspondence course may not be as valuable as a full time 2 year course, it is a great solution for working professionals who simply cannot commit time or resources into Executive or Part Time MBA courses. However, professionals do miss out on the value of classroom learning and everything is dependent on their ability to grasp the coursework by themselves. The theoretical aspects of the courses remain the same but candidates have to forego leadership training and other management development programmes that are a part of full time or executive courses.
Indian School of Business, Hyderabad
Course: Post Graduate Programme in Management for Senior ExecutivesQualifying Examination: IELTS/TOEFL
Course Fee: 33.7 Lakh INR
Placements: 18.15 Lakh INR
Overview: ISB is considered to be the top management school for working professionals. The steep fees is offset by the fact that candidates get to save a year of their professional lives and gain a boost in their career with ISB’s stellar placements.
IIM, Ahmedabad
Course: Post Graduate Program for ExecutivesQualifying Examination: GMAT
Course Fee: 24.0 Lakh INR
Placements: 17.0 Lakh INR
Overview: IIM Ahmedabad is known to the very best in India when it comes to management education. The highest packages in the placement drives have gone up to 1.1 Cr. INR for international placements and up to 56 Lakh INR for domestic placements.
IIM, Bangalore
Course: Post Graduate Program for ExecutivesQualifying Examination: GMAT, GRE
Course Fee: 23.0 Lakh INR
Placements: 22.2 Lakh INR
Overview: IIM Bangalore’s PGP-EX course is known to achieve stellar placements with domestic packages going up to 53.28 Lakh INR in 2014.
IIM, Calcutta
Course: Executive Post Graduate Program in ManagementQualifying Examination: GMAT
Course Fee: 18.0 Lakh INR
Placements: 22.7 Lakh INR
Overview: The country’s oldest IIM is known for its courses for working professionals and the PGP-EX program at IIMC has been consistent in terms of placements. The fees at IIM-C is also known to be considerably lower among the famous IIM-A-B-C trinity.
Guest article by Paresh