What is PGDM and Difference Between PGDM and MBA

PGDM is a 2-year duration Post Graduate Level Programmme in the area of management offered by autonomous higher education institutes in India. Most of the top-level autonomous business schools prefer to offer the prestigious PGDM either in full time or part time mode. Students can choose the specialization in PGDM, as per their interests and skills. The popular specialization in PGDM includes Financial Management, Marketing Management, Human Resources Management, Operations Management, Business Analytics and so on. PGDM equips the students with an optimal mix of management learnings with an aim to develop practical skills/proficiency, that may help them to kick start/enhance their career prospects in management domain. PGDM find great acceptance in corporate sector globally due to the practical and applied orientation of the course.

Who Should Do a PGDM?

Career oriented graduate students with or without work experience who wish to kickstart an illustrious career at management position with reputed Indian companies, Multinational Companies, Public Sector Undertakings or reputed Global NGOs should opt for PGDM Programme. Eligibility condition to apply for PGDM is bachelor’s degree with minimum 50% marks in aggregate of all the subjects from any of the Universities recognized by thy AIU UGC or AICTE.

Types of PGDM Course

Different reputed business schools in India offer PGDM either in full time, Distance mode or Part time executive mode depending on the requirement of students.

Full-Time PGDM

Full time PGDM programme is mostly recommended for fresh graduates who wish to start their career as management trainee and wish to leverage the power of their PGDM to get job offer in reputed organization.

Distance PGDM

PGDM in distance mode is most preferred due to the flexibility that it offers to its students and mostly preferred by working professionals with 1-3 Years of work experience or freshers who lives in remote location and do not have access and means to pursue full time PGDM. Female students mostly housewife or women on career break due to any reason prefer to pursue PGDM through distance mode of learning.

Executive PGDM

PGDM Executive programme is most suitable and preferred by working managers, government/ public sector officials, Ex-Defence Personnels. Mostly seasoned professionals who hold substantial work experience in their respective fields and wish to leverage the benefit of PGDM Executive to propel their career and to get benefit of promotion/ career advancement or enrichment of profile.

How to Decide the Right PGDM Specialization?

Choice of specialization in PGDM program is purely a matter of the aptitude and individual interest of the student. Before opting for specialisation, it is always better for the students to introspect, analyse and understand their strengths and limitations and accordingly make suitable choice. It is always a better option to seek the counselling and guidance of professional educational counsellor or any senior industry mentor. Most of the reputed business schools provide counselling to PGDM students in the second year of their PGDM programme to help them choose their area of specialization.

Difference Between PGDM and MBA

Though there is not much difference between MBA and PGDM in terms of the course outcome and placement prospects. However, there are still some differences. One of the underlying differences while comparing MBA and PGDM is that MBA or Master of Business Administration is a degree course that can only be offered by the colleges affiliated to universities, whereas PGDM or Post Graduate Diploma in Management is a post graduate diploma course offered by autonomous institutes.

For example, The Faculty of Management Studies (FMS), Delhi, is affiliated to Delhi University and hence offers an MBA degree. While AICTE approved autonomous institutes of higher education like Institute of Management Technology (IMT), Ghaziabad or MDI, Gurgaon or IMI, New Delhi etc. are autonomous in nature and hence offer PGDM courses.

Many students hold this perception that PGDM course does not hold the same value as the MBA course but that is not true. Many Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs) and other top B-Schools offer PGP or PGDM courses. Most of these institutes are autonomous bodies (not affiliated to any University). There is only the difference of nomenclature but not of professional value. Both MBA and PGDM are highly valued in the job market as they are same in terms of course accreditation, curriculum, and pedagogy. However, the top business schools offering PGDM enjoys the autonomy of molding their curriculum, pedagogy and evaluation as per the industry requirements. Therefore, it would be wise to say that PGDM is more skill and application based and fits better for corporate job seekers and entrepreneurs. MBA on the other hand due to its theoretical orientation better meets the requirement of students who wish to make their career in academics and research. The bottom line of comparison on this never-ending debate comes to a reasonable conclusion with majority of top 100 business schools in India offering PGDM, with less than 20% offering MBA. The vary reason that top business schools offer PGDM is due to the autonomy, flexibility and the industry recognition of PGDM programme.

How To Get Admission In PGDM?

Admission in full time PGDM programme is through various entrance examinations such as CAT, MAT, SNAP, GMAT, XAT.

Admission in part time PGDM programme is mostly on the basis of institution’s own criterions and quality parameters.

How Many Semesters are there in PGDM?

Most of the institutions follow semester system where the total programme is equally divided into semesters, 2 year PGDM programmes are generally divided into 4 semesters of 6 months duration each.

How are Exams Conducted In Distance Education PGDM?

Distance Education PGDM examinations can be offline centre based or online remote proctored depending on institution’s rules and offerings. The evaluation mostly consists of internal (30%) and end term (70%).

Career Opportunities After PGDM

Multiple career opportunities exist for PGDM candidates that depend on their choice of specialization, interest, aptitude and personality. The PGDM candidates can find job in MNCs, Top Indian Companies, Government Jobs, Banks and PSUs, NGO’s, etc. Some of them are equipped and trained enough to launch their own entrepreneurial venture/ start-up.

Few top career options are illustrated below: