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Are you stuck with a job that is limiting your potential and going nowhere? It’s about time you fix that. And the best thing you can do at this point to boost your career is pursue an Executive MBA program.

So, what is an executive MBA program in India mean? Quite simply, it is an MBA designed for executives, such as yourself. This higher education program is intended specifically to train executives or professionals with significant work experience. It helps working professionals increase their knowledge base and improve their managerial skills for a higher paying and a higher-level job. An executive MBA might just be what separates a manager from a managing director.

But how is an executive MBA different from a regular MBA in India, you ask? And what is the eligibility criteria for an executive MBA? Sure, there is no age limit to go to business schools, so why bother with an executive MBA? We’ll tell you why.

Have you heard of Horlicks? It is a famous Indian drink mix that is also a health supplement. But there exist different types of Horlicks, there is the regular one for common usage and a Horlicks junior especially formulated for younger children. Sure, Horlicks junior can be taken by elders too, but it won’t provide them the same benefits. It simply isn’t tailored for their age group and doesn’t work the same way for them. If you follow this analogy, a regular MBA is junior Horlicks, an executive MBA is Horlicks, and the age is the number of years of experience. To elaborate, these are the parameters that distinguish Executive MBA from regular MBA:

Experience: At the fundamental level, the difference between a regular MBA and an Executive MBA is the amount of work experience. The typical MBA is designed for mid-level professionals who are looking for a career shift or an opportunity to boost their career. The work experience doesn’t usually matter, and you could have absolutely no experience, 2 years or 3 years for a regular MBA.

An executive MBA program is specifically for senior-level executives who are interested in broadening their current knowledge along with developing managerial and leadership skills. Work experience is the most important eligibility criteria for executive MBA and these programs require students to have 5 or more years of experience. For this reason, the selection process is competitive, and the acceptance rate is low. It’s relatively easier to get into an MBA program than in an EMBA.

Curriculum: The curriculum of an EMBA is usually part-time. Classes take place on the weekends, online or during evenings, depending on the program chosen. The classes are more intense and focused due to limited time availability. But one thing that is similar in both are the core subjects—both have the same core subjects and only differ in their electives. A regular MBA offers more electives and flexibility.

Duration: The duration of an MBA is usually full time for 1 or 2 years. An Executive MBA is quite different as most of these programs are part-time and can be as long as 3 years.

Skills: A normal MBA develops a student’s overall personality through case studies, internships, competitions, seminars, along with networking skills. If you want to do an EMBA over a regular MBA, you should be a master in your field. You must have a thirst for knowledge and be willing to learn irrespective of age. You also need to have enough knowledge about your industry and the industry you want to go into. An EMBA is a great chance to network with other high-profile individuals which might put you at an advantage later.

Salary: Well, one point to note is that, on an average, a person with an Executive MBA gets a 25% higher salary than the one without the degree. Some of the biggest MNCs come to top B schools in India for executive MBA placements. However, many students pursuing this program are funded by the companies that they work in. An EMBA is not just an asset for personal growth, but also for the company. The general idea is that the company offers you a funded opportunity to pursue an executive education, and you come back to work for them with a higher level of skills. Some of the top recruiters are IBM, Accenture, Infosys, TCS, HCL, Reliance, KPMG and Apple.

Does Executive MBA in India have placements?

Have you taken the GMAT before?

 
Now that we’ve got the ‘what’ out of the way. Let’s talk a bit about why you should pursue an executive MBA program in India. And, how to get in?

1. Affordability:

Studying in India is more affordable than countries in the west. The tuition fees of an executive MBA program in India lies between just INR 50,000 and a maximum of 40 Lakhs. Compared to the average fees of an Executive MBA abroad, which comes out to nearly INR 50 Lakhs, this is significantly affordable.

2. Keep your job:

The point of an executive MBA is to grab a ladder to the top of your existing career. Doing an Executive MBA program in India allows you to continue doing your regular day job. You have job security and job growth, both at one place.

3. Top universities:

India has some of the biggest names in the EMBA space worldwide, some which even made the QS world rankings list like the IIM-B, Great Lakes and ISB. We’ll talk about the top B schools in India in detail so keep reading.

So how can you get into a top executive MBA program, and do you need to take GMAT for executive MBA?

Executives are many but the seats are limited. To get into a top B-school in India, there is a rigorous selection process that depends more on your work experience than on your grades or test scores. It usually has multiple rounds, and you must prove yourself in each of them.

1. Good Credentials:

You need to meet the university requirements – many universities require a bachelor’s degree with a minimum of 50% aggregate, significant work experience, along with standardized test scores. Most universities accept GMAT scores, some even accept GRE score and CAT scores. A GMAT score above 750 is optimal if you want to do an executive MBA from IIMs or from other top business schools. Some universities require language test scores as well.

2. Group Evaluation:

Group discussions are usually the first round. They test your communication skills, your energy, enthusiasm, and current affairs knowledge in a group setting.

3. Essay:

This is one of the most crucial parts of the admission process because this is where you exhibit yourself as a valuable candidate for the institution. It allows the university to know you at an individual level – your goals, aspirations and interests. The essay helps the admission committee determine whether you are a good fit for the university or not.

4. Interview:

The final selection round – the interview, is what decides if you’re in or out. This is the most crucial round, and your entire personality is judged, starting from your clothes, body language, your communication, and your profile. This is where you must show the admissions team that you can add value to yourself and the university.

Today there are over 25 reputed Indian B-schools that offer stellar executive MBA programs. Here are 10 of the best Executive MBA programs in India, in decreasing order of required work experience.

1. Indian School of Business, PGPMAX

This is considered the top executive MBA college in India. This program has a modular format, students reside in the ISB campus for classes for about 62 days.

Minimum work experience: 10 years

Cost: INR 40,00,000

Duration: 15 months

2. Great Lakes, PGXPM

One of the best executive MBA programs in India. It has a future oriented curriculum and global faculty. It is consistently ranked among the most innovative B-schools in the country.

Minimum work experience: 8 years

Cost: INR 9,95,000

Duration: 20 months, 7 terms over 2 years

3. FMS, EMBA

Classes for this program are held during the evenings or during the weekends. Being a government institution, FMS has an extremely reasonable Executive MBA fee.

Minimum work experience: 5 years

Cost: INR 48,000/year

Duration: 2 years, 4 semesters

4. SP Jain School of Global Management, EMBA

SPJ offers specializations in Marketing, Finance, Operations and General Management. It has its own Aptitude test that must be taken, which is followed by a personal interview on qualification.

Minimum work experience: 5 years

Cost: INR 11,47,380

Duration: 18 months

5. Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, PGPX

IIM-A is ranked the overall #1 business school out of 284 by India Today. It allows both the CAT and the GMAT for admission into its PGPX program. It is a 1 year executive MBA which puts it at a distinct advantage over others.

Minimum work experience: 4 years

Cost: INR 30,00,000

Duration: 1 year

6. Delhi Technological University, EMBA

The EMBA is a weekend program that focuses on leadership and managerial skills. The students have a dual specialization and can choose one functional and one technical specialization.

Minimum work experience: 3 years/4-year bachelor degree, 4 years/3-year bachelor degree

Cost: INR 2,91,000

Duration: 2 years, 4 semesters

7. IIM Kozhikode, EPGP

This course is offered on an interactive learning platform. Its recent batch had 369 students from all across the country. And its famous EPGP program is accredited by the association of MBAs.

Minimum work experience: 3 years

Cost: INR 10,00,000

Duration: 2 years

8. Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, MBA(WX)

At NMIMS you can choose between dual and core specializations. The degree includes a certificate from Harvard Business publishing, and a capstone business simulation project.

Minimum work experience: 3 years for graduates, 2 years for postgraduates

Cost: INR 4,70,000

Duration: 15 months, 5 terms

9. IIT Delhi, Technology Management

This course focuses on technology management and is perfect if your experience, as well as your interest lies in the technology sector.

Minimum work experience: 2 years

Cost: INR 10,80,000

Duration: 3 years

10. Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development Pune, EMBA

The course takes place on the weekends from 9 am to 5 pm. Students have an opportunity to earn a dual specialization in the form of a major and minor. The last date of registration is 7th Aug 2020.

Minimum work experience: 2 years

Cost: INR 3,15,000

Duration: 30 months, 5 semesters

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