Last Updated on July 8, 2026
MBAUniverse.com News Desk
The IIM Kozhikode Batch Profile 2026-28 has set a new benchmark for diversity across India's premier business schools. IIM Kozhikode has admitted its most gender-diverse flagship class ever, with women making up 66% of the Post Graduate Programme (PGP). IIM Kozhikode inducted 599 students across its three full-time MBA programmes and welcomed 99 doctoral scholars for the new academic session. For the first time, non-engineers now outnumber engineers in the flagship PGP, marking a decisive shift towards a more multidisciplinary MBA classroom. This MBAUniverse.com report breaks down the new IIM Kozhikode batch 2026-28 by programme, and compares it with the institute's recent cohorts.
IIM Kozhikode has recorded the highest-ever representation of women in the history of the IIM system, with women constituting 66% of its flagship PGP batch for the 2026-28 session. The IIM Kozhikode Batch Profile 2026-28 also shows non-engineers outnumbering engineers in the flagship programme for the first time. The induction welcomed students across the institute's three full-time MBA programmes: PGP, PGP in Finance (PGP-Fin) and PGP in Liberal Studies & Management (PGP-LSM), along with doctoral scholars.
Table below provides a snapshot of the new IIM Kozhikode batch.
| Metric | 2026-28 Batch |
|---|---|
| Flagship PGP batch size | 499 students |
| Women in flagship PGP | 66% |
| Non-engineers in flagship PGP | 57% |
| Total students across 3 full-time MBA programmes | 599 |
| Women across 3 MBA programmes | ~63% |
| Non-engineers across 3 MBA programmes | 59% |
| Doctoral scholars inducted | 99 |
| Women in regular doctoral (DPM) batch | 66% |
The flagship Post Graduate Programme inducted 499 students for the 2026-28 batch, making the Class of 2028 the 30th batch of IIM Kozhikode's flagship PGP. Of these 499 students, 329 are women and 170 are men, which pushes female representation to nearly 66%. This is the highest proportion ever recorded in a flagship MBA programme across the IIMs.
On the academic side, the flagship PGP admitted 284 non-engineers against 215 engineers. Non-engineers therefore form the majority of the flagship class, a first for the programme and a clear signal of IIM Kozhikode's push for a more diverse and inclusive classroom.
Batch size: 499 students (30th batch of the flagship PGP, Class of 2028)
Female students: 329 (66%)
Male students: 170
Engineers: 215
Non-engineers: 284 (57% non-engineers)
Women lead the IIM Kozhikode classroom this year like never before. The 66% figure in the flagship PGP may well be the highest female representation ever recorded across the entire IIM system. It caps a decade-long, deliberate effort by the institute to raise gender diversity in management education.
IIM Kozhikode became the first IIM to cross the 50% mark in 2013, when women made up 54% of the PGP-17 batch. It crossed 50% again in 2021, then rose to 59% in 2024, before reaching 66% with the 2026-28 intake. Across all three full-time MBA programmes taken together, women account for nearly 63% of the incoming class.
| Year / Batch | Women in Flagship PGP |
|---|---|
| 2013 (PGP-17) | 54% |
| 2021 | Above 50% |
| 2024 | 59% |
| 2026 | 66% |
For years, engineering graduates dominated MBA classrooms across India. The IIM Kozhikode Batch Profile 2026-28 breaks that pattern in the flagship programme, where 284 of the 499 admitted students (about 57%) come from non-engineering disciplines, outnumbering the 215 engineers in the batch.
The shift is even sharper across the full MBA intake. Taking all three full-time MBA programmes together, 59% of students come from non-engineering backgrounds. The institute continues to strengthen academic diversity by bringing together students from commerce, economics, sciences, humanities, law and other disciplines alongside engineers.
| Academic Background (Flagship PGP) | Students |
|---|---|
| Non-engineers | 284 |
| Engineers | 215 |
| Total | 499 |
The three full-time MBA programmes present very different diversity profiles this year. The flagship PGP admitted 499 students with 66% women and 57% non-engineers. The Post Graduate Programme in Liberal Studies & Management (PGP-LSM), now in its seventh batch, enrolled 51 students, of whom 82% are women and 96% come from non-engineering backgrounds. The Post Graduate Programme in Finance (PGP-Fin) admitted 49 students, with women accounting for 12% of the intake and men making up 87% of the batch.
Together, these three programmes account for 599 MBA students, with women forming nearly 63% of the combined class and non-engineers making up 59%.
| Programme | Students | Women | Non-Engineers |
|---|---|---|---|
| PGP (flagship) | 499 | 66% (329) | 57% (284) |
| PGP-LSM (7th batch) | 51 | 82% | 96% |
| PGP-Fin | 49 | 12% (87% men) | 45% |
| Total (3 MBA) | 599 | ~63% | 59% |
Alongside the MBA programmes, IIM Kozhikode inducted 99 doctoral scholars into its research ecosystem this year. Of these, 27 scholars joined the regular Doctoral Programme in Management (DPM), where women constitute 66% of the cohort — the highest-ever female representation in a regular PhD batch at the institute. Another 72 scholars joined the Executive Doctoral Programme.
This year's intake also includes the inaugural batch of the Doctoral Programme in Management (Teaching Track), IIM Kozhikode's newest doctoral programme, designed to prepare future management educators and researchers.
Total doctoral scholars inducted: 99
Regular Doctoral Programme in Management (DPM): 27 scholars, 66% women — highest-ever in a regular PhD batch
Executive Doctoral Programme: 72 scholars
Inaugural batch of the Doctoral Programme in Management (Teaching Track) launched this year
The IIM Kozhikode Batch Profile has changed over three successive cohorts. The flagship PGP has grown modestly in size, from 475 students in 2022-24 to 497 in 2024-26 and 499 in 2026-28, while its diversity profile has transformed. Women in the flagship rose from 46% (2022-24) to 59% (2024-26) and then to 66% (2026-28), and non-engineers moved from 46% to 57% over the same period.
The table below compares the three batches on key metrics.
| Metric | 2022-24 | 2024-26 | 2026-28 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flagship PGP size | 475 | 497 | 499 |
| Women (flagship PGP) | 46%* | 59% | 66% |
| Non-engineers (flagship PGP) | 46%* | 45% | 57% |
| PGP-LSM size | 39 | 53 | 51 |
| PGP-Fin size | 39 | 53 | 49 |
| Regular doctoral (DPM) | 25 | 28 | 27 |
| Total, 3 MBA programmes | 553 | 603 | 599 |
| International students | 6 | 15 | Not released |
*2022-24 women and non-engineer figures are the batch-level percentages as reported; a flagship-only split was not separately disclosed for that year.
Gender diversity at IIM Kozhikode has climbed steadily rather than in a single leap. The flagship PGP women share moved from 46% to 59% to 66% across the last three batches, and the institute's own historical markers show the trajectory stretching back more than a decade. At the 2024-26 induction, Director Prof. Debashis Chatterjee described the institute as a pioneer in promoting gender diversity among Indian B-schools, reflecting a mission the latest batch has carried further.
Academic and international diversity tell a similar story of widening. Non-engineers dipped slightly from 46% (2022-24) to 45% in the 2024-26 flagship before jumping to 57% in 2026-28. The international footprint grew from 6 students in 2022-24 to 15 in 2024-26, drawn from the USA, UK, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Qatar, Germany and Canada. For the 2024-26 batch, students came from 28 states and union territories, with 75% from non-metros, led by Maharashtra (79), Uttar Pradesh (43) and Kerala (41). Equivalent international and geographic details for the 2026-28 batch have not been released.
In summary, the IIM Kozhikode Batch Profile 2026-28 confirms the institute's position as a diversity leader among India's top B-schools. A record 66% women in the flagship PGP, non-engineers forming the majority for the first time, 599 students across three full-time MBA programmes and 99 doctoral scholars together define a classroom that is more balanced and multidisciplinary than any before it. As IIM Kozhikode's cohorts show, the profile of India's premier MBA classrooms is changing fast. For the latest updates on the IIM Kozhikode batch profile, CAT 2026, and admission trends at India's top B-schools, keep following MBAUniverse.com, India's No. 1 MBA Portal.
