MBA programs are known by different names in India. While Indian Universities grant an MBA degree, AICTE recognized private MBA institutes offer Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM). Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other top MBA institutes provide MBA programs which are named as PGDM, Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management (PGDBM) and Post Graduate Program in Management (PGPM). While the full-time two-year MBA is the most popular MBA program, one-year MBA offered by leading MBA institutes like ISB or Great Lakes, too, has found many takers.
Some leading MBA institutes like the Mudra Institute of Communication Ahmedabad (MICA), Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) and Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) offer specialized MBA programs. Also, in the last few years, there has been a massive growth in sectoral MBA programs like MBA-Insurance or MBA-Retail.
So how does an MBA aspirant make the right choice? In this article, we at MBAUniverse.com try and help you find how to choose the right option.
Two-year MBA program
The two-year full-time MBA program is still the most popular program offered by top MBA institutes in India like the IIMs, Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) Delhi, Management Development Institute (MDI) Gurgaon, Xavier Labour Relation Institute (XLRI) Jamshedpur and S.P Jain Institute of Management & Research Mumbai.
According to a management expert, in the Indian context, the two-year MBA program which had been adopted from the western model of management expression is working well. He said, “The Indian industry prefers recruiting students of the two-year MBA program.”
In the two-year MBA program, the first-year is mainly spent on learning the basics of management. Dr. Anwar Ali, Director, IMT Ghaziabad said, “The first-year is all about developing a strong grounding in basics of management. This gives a very good foundation to the MBAs when they rise in an organization.” The second-year offers a choice of specialization subjects like Marketing, Human Resource or Finance. Students are also exposed to the real world market in the form of their summer trainings and workshops. “The second-year of elective paper provides them with a good depth of areas they are interested in. It provides them with good exposure to the practical field also as they have to do a lot of project work and case studies,” Dr. Ali added.
One-year MBA program
After the success of the one-year MBA program pioneered by Indian School of Business (ISB) Hyderabad, the program took off in India. Talking about the one-year MBA program offered by ISB Hyderabad, Admissions Director Ms Hima Bindu said, “Our one-year MBA program is specially designed to provide a comprehensive curriculum to the students within a short span of time.”
The one-year MBA program is very intense and fast paced, so whoever plans for it should ensure full commitment for the time period. “The students have to be really determined otherwise it will be very difficult for them to cope up with the huge pressure of completing the whole course within a year,” Ms Bindu said. Candidates should check the eligibility requirements as well as the course structure and content before applying for any particular MBA program, as this will ensure that they make an informed choice.
Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai offers one-year Post Graduate Program in Management too. “This MBA program is designed to equip a student to respond to the complex business requirements that arise in a changing global business environment. This program is a fast-track program divided into eight terms,” a spokesperson from Great Lakes Institute of Management said.
But for the one-year MBA program work experience is an important criterion. ISB Hyderabad said, “We look for profiles with at least two years of post-qualification full-time work experience.”
Great Lakes told MBAUniverse.com that their MBA institute too prefers applicants with a minimum full-time work experience of two years. “However, special profiles with less than two years of experience are also considered. We evaluate such candidates on several other criteria. Internship or part-time work experience is not considered,” Great Lakes said.
Given the boom that many sectors like Healthcare, Retail, Banking, Insurance, Media & Entertainment enjoyed in the past five years, many MBA institutes are also offering sector specific MBA programs such as MBA in Insurance and Risk Management and Retail Management among others. These MBA programs are industry specific and designed to prepare professionals.