Top Executive MBA entrance exams and admission process

Top Executive MBA entrance exams and admission process

Edited By Sreetama Datta | Updated on Feb 14, 2020 11:46 AM IST | #MBA

After taking the decision to pursue Executive MBA the working professionals have to walk down the tough and competitive path of the admission process conducted by the B-schools. Unlike the two year regular MBA admission, the multiple stages of the admission process of the top Executive MBA programmes are designed to check how much value they can add to the programme through their merit and quality of experience they possess. Although work experience is the primary eligibility criteria for the candidates, entrance exams act as the bridge between the working executives and the application to the coveted programmes. Entrance exam is the primary step for the Executive MBA application after which the other admission criteria such as SOP, Essay, GD or Interview are considered. If you are planning to apply to one of the top B-schools in India offering Executive MBA programmes or management programmes meant for working executives, the primary task for you is to zero down on the B-schools you want to apply for and take the entrance exam whose scores are accepted by them. In this article from the Executive MBA series, Careers360 brings you the top Executive MBA entrance exams and the other selection processes and criteria followed by the top B-schools offering Executive MBA programmes.

The following table brings to you the top B-schools offering Executive MBA programmes and the entrance exam and the admission process.

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Top Executive MBA Programmes and Admission Process

B-School

Programme

Mode

Entrance Exam

Final Selection Process & Criteria

IIM Ahmedabad

PGPX

Full Time

GMAT

Personal Interview

Essay Writing (2)

IIM Bangalore

EPGP

Full Time

GMAT or GRE

Statement of Purpose (SOP)

Two Reference letter

Written Ability Test and Interview


IIM Calcutta

PGPEX

Full Time

GMAT

Statement of Purpose

Letters of Recommendation from 2 senior managers

Personal Interview

IIM Lucknow

IPMX

Full Time

GMAT

Statement of Purpose

2 Letters of Recommendation

Personal Interview


WMP

Part Time

Written Test conducted by IIM Lucknow

Group Discussion

Personal Interview

IIM Indore

EPGP

Full time

GMAT or CAT

Personal Interview

IIM Kozhikode

EPGP

Part Time

CAT or GMAT or EMAT (conducted by IIM Kozhikode)

Personal Interview

IIM Shillong

PGPEx

Full Time

CAT or GMAT

NA

IIM Trichy

PGPBM

Full Time

CAT or GMAT or Written Test

Personal Interview

IIM Ranchi

PGEXP

Part Time

Written Test

Personal Interview

IIM Rohtak

ePGP

Part Time

IIM R-MAT or CAT or GMAT or GRE

Personal Interview

IIM Raipur

PGPWE

Part Time

CAT or GMAT or BAT

Personal Interview, Academic Qualification and Relevant Working Experience

IIM Udaipur

PGPX

Part Time

TOEFL or IELTS or PTE and GMAT

Personal Interview

ISB

PGP

Full Time

GMAT and TOEFL or IELTS or PTE

Video application

Personal Interview

Essay Writing

Case Discussion

Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai

PGPM

Full Time

CAT or XAT or GMAT

Essay Writing

Group Discussion

Personal Interview

MDI Gurgaon

NMP

PGPEM

Full Time

CAT or MDI entrance test

Personal Interview

IMT Ghaziabad

PGDM (Executive)

Full Time

CAT or XAT or GMAT

Personal Academic Discussion

FMS Delhi

MBA Executive

MBA Executive (Health Care Administration)

Part Time

NA

Writing Ability Test

Personal Interview

NMIMS Mumbai

Executive MBA

Full Time

Written Test

Personal Interview

SPJIMR Mumbai

PGEMP

Part Time

NA

Group Discussion

Personal Interview

IQ and Psychometric Test


XLRI Jamshedpur

PGDM – GM

PGDM – BM

Full Time

Part Time

GMAT or XAT

Group Discussion

Personal Interview

Note: The B-schools are arranged in random order

Executive MBA Entrance Exams

Taking admission to most of the executive MBA programmes in India is based on MBA entrance exam scores. Check the below table which consists the name of top executive MBA entrance exams.

As you can observe in the table above, GMAT is the most commonly accepted exams for the B-schools, especially IIMs. That does not mean the Executive MBA entrance exams do not include any other test. The validity of CAT scores range from 3 to 5 years for B-schools like IIM Kozhikode, IIM Shillong, IIM Rohtak etc.


Some of the B-schools conduct their own entrance exam such as IIM Lucknow (for WMP), IIM Kozhikode, IIM Ranchi, IIM Rohtak, IIM Raipur, IIM Trichy and MDI Gurgaon. Apart from IIM Ranchi, these institutes also accept the scores of other entrance exams like GMAT or CAT. For instance, IIM Trichy mentions in its admission process that candidates who have valid scores of either CAT or GMAT will be exempted from taking the entrance exam conducted by the institute.

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Language Test

The entrance exams or the admission criteria also reflect the programme design or curriculum. As many as 3 programmes mentioned in the above table accept scores of language aptitude tests like GRE or IELTS or PTE. IIM Bangalore’s EPGP, IIM Udaipur’s PGPX and ISB’s flagship programme PGP curriculum includes international immersion.

In IIM Bangalore’s EPGP third term, students are given opportunity to visit emerging economies like China, Russia, Brazil and South Africa or a developed one in the Asian region like Singapore or South Korea. “The module provides insights into the country’s economic, social, political and cultural life,” mentions IIM Bangalore. The international immersion programme carries 3 credits.


IIM Udaipur’s PGPX is a Dual Degree programme in Supply Chain Management in association with Purdue University, USA. According to the institute, the students spend the Fall module of the programme in Purdue University.


Indian School of Business or ISB’s flagship programme, PGP offers inbound and outbound exchange programmes. The institute has partnered with 42 B-schools across countries like the USA, France, South Africa, Israel, Germany, China, Pakistan, South Korea, Singapore and the U.K, Canada, Italy, Australia, Spain, Switzerland, Chile, Netherlands, Germany and Taiwan.


Although there are other Executive MBA programmes which offer international exposure such as IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Calcutta, IIM Shillong and IMT Ghaziabad, the admission criteria do not include language tests like GRE or IELTS or PLT.

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Factors taken into consideration apart from entrance test scores


Taking admission to the Executive MBA programmes is not a cakewalk. The candidates not only have to come up with the requisite cutoff scores or percentiles of the above stated entrance exams but also need to focus on their profile to stand out from the crowd and convince the admission panel why they deserve a seat in the coveted programme. IIM Bangalore EPGP admission panel states, “The selection process is highly personalized, as the committee seeks to learn about each applicant’s goals and potential for success in management.”

Work Experience and candidate profile – The primary eligibility criteria for the Executive MBA aspirants is the work experience. The admission committee not only checks the number of years of work experience but the quality of the experience as well, in terms of the contributions made towards the company and its people at large. Nishant Goyal, PGPM 2017 student of Great Lakes Institute of Management says, “Work experience and your nature of work, accolades or recognitions, external certifications and references are considered at the time of admission.”


Statement of Purpose - To start with, let us talk about Statement of Purpose, commonly known as SOP. Along with the application, the candidates have to submit the SOP to state their goals and objective behind pursuing the programme. Prakula Uniyal, ISB PGP student of 2017 batch shares her experience on preparing for the application process at the B-School, “ISB application was an important milestone for me not just professionally, but also personally, as it helped me introspect and understand myself and my life goals better.”


Letters of Reference/Recommendation - B-schools like IIM Bangalore, Calcutta and Lucknow asks for at least 2 Letters of Recommendation from the previous employers. This enables the admission committee to know about the applicants’ contribution to the company and how much value they can add to the programme. Saranya, a student of IIM Calcutta PGPEX programme shares, “Candidates have to submit a statement of purpose and recommendations from two referees holding senior managerial positions. These are also taken into consideration in the final selection.”


Writing Ability Test or Essay Writing – This is another important criterion for the selection of the Executive MBA students. Along with the SOP, the applicants have to submit essays on the given topics. IIM Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Great Lakes Institute of Management, ISB and FMS Delhi are some of the institutes where Essay or Writing Ability Test (WAT) form an integral part of the application and admission process. While talking about the important of essays, Sanchay Maity, ISB student pursuing PGP 2016-17 says, “The essays carry a lot of weight for that matter because that is where the school gets to know a lot more about the candidates, their experiences so far, their ambition and the value they bring to the table.”


Personal Interview – The final round of the selection procedure followed at the B-schools is the Personal Interview round. This is one of the most crucial rounds and the admission panel looks for the distinct personality traits of the candidates and decide whether he/she would add value to the programme or not. Nishant Goyal mentions, “The interview is a rigorous process. They probe you to understand whether you will fit into this one year program. Also, Great Lakes Institute of Management looks at the personality traits and attitude of the candidates apart from their credentials.”


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Questions related to MBA

Have a question related to MBA ?

For an MBA specially in IT,you can consider SCIT (Symbiosis Centre for Information Technology) which is generally considered the better choice compared to SICSR (Symbiosis Institute of Computer Studies and Research) as it has a stronger reputation specifically focused on IT business management and offers a more specialized curriculum in the field and has good placement record, making it a more relevant option for aspiring IT professionals seeking an MBA.

The curriculum is good and niche in the field in this college you need to be among top 20 performer in order to get quick and good placement through the college.

https://www.careers360.com/colleges/symbiosis-centre-for-information-technology-pune

https://www.careers360.com/colleges/symbiosis-institute-of-computer-studies-and-research-pune

No, it is not possible to pursue an MBA after your 3rd year of a BA LLB integrated course from a Mumbai University college as you need to complete your full BA LLB degree to be eligible for an MBA program.Since a BA LLB is a 5-year integrated course, completing only your 3rd year does not fulfill the requirement for an MBA.

Not only in this university but you cannot take admission to any master course before completing your b.a llb integrated course however you can take admission to bachelor's degree on the basis of your 12th marks.

I suggest you to continue with your course after completing apply to MBA anywhere in india.if you have time prepare for CAT exam which is accepted by iims and Mumbai University. Remember When choosing an MBA program, you can consider specializations relevant to your legal background, such as "Business Law" or "Intellectual Property Law" to leverage your existing knowledge.

To know about admission in mumbai university refer link

https://www.careers360.com/university/university-of-mumbai-mumbai

Hello

Yes ,  you are eligible .

Completing a 2 years Agriculture Diploma course makes you eligible for an MBA in Agriculture Business Management , as many programs accept students with backgrounds in agriculture or related fields . You likely need to meet additional requirements like entrance exams like such as CAT , MAT or other . specific institution or universities may have their own eligibility criteria .

For more details check link given below :

https://www.careers360.com/courses/mba-in-agri-business-management

Thank you

Hello,

If you are currently in your final year and have not yet completed your bachelor’s degree, then selecting “appeared for bachelor’s” is the correct option. This option typically indicates that you have not yet graduated but are in the process of completing your degree.

The “bachelor degree” option would be appropriate only if you had already completed and been awarded your degree. Since you are still pursuing your final year, your initial selection of “appeared for bachelor’s” is accurate for your situation.

To get more information related to SNAP exam, visit : https://bschool.careers360.com/articles/snap-2024

Hope it helps !

Hello aspirant,

MBA 1st year subjects are as follows:

  • Organizational Behaviour
  • Quantitative Methods
  • Managerial Economics
  • Financial Accounting
  • Marketing Management
  • Human Resource Management
  • Business Communication
  • Information Technology Management
  • Organization Effectiveness and Change
  • Management Science
  • Economic Environment of Business
  • Financial Management
  • Management Accounting
  • Production and Operation Management

Thank you

Hope it helps you

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