The under-graduate soon after their graduation often get confused about their choice of post-graduation degree they want to pursue. There are several options available today offered by prestigious institutions but when it comes to management aspirants the crucial decision is about choosing between PGDM and MBA. The degrees are very much useful for the students who would like to go in for a career in management. The aspirants must really understand the difference between these courses before they rush to make decision or before filling the application form for top B-schools.
Both the MBA and PGDM are business-oriented courses which mould the aspirants to professional business managers. Even though both are suitable for a management graduate and offer good job prospects there are quiet few differences. In this article we discuss in detail about the key difference between the courses.
- MBA Degree and PGDM Diploma: The main difference between these two courses are – PGDM is a diploma degree while MBA is a degree course. There is a prejudiced notion in the society that MBA programs has got more market value when compared with PGDM course. But it is not true a significant difference between the two are that MBA is a degree program offered by universities and colleges affiliated to these universities and PGDM programs are provided by autonomous institutions recognized by AICTE approved by the Ministry of HRD and Government of India. the Government passed the IIM Act which grants permission to offer Degree instead of diplomas today most of the reputed institutes like IIMs offer PGDM programs as they are autonomous.
- MBA and PGDM Syllabus: The MBA programs are offered by the institutes and the syllabus is tailored by the universities. The core syllabus is similar between all the institute affiliated under the same universities. But if we consider PGDM the syllabus is determined by the institute itself which give them advantage of flexibility as they alter the syllabus in accordance with the volatile trend in management field. MBA program at Marian College Kuttikkanam is designed by the college itself as it is an autonomous college which is far better than university affiliated colleges.
But the universities often lag to follow this pattern they are hesitant to change their curriculum often.
MBA Admission Started for the Best MBA College in Kerala
- Course Focus: It is definite that both the programs are business-oriented, and they have common core subjects. But it is suggested by the experts that MBA programs are focused on theoretical and technical aspects of management instead of developing more practical knowledge. While PGDM courses emphasizes on providing industrial and practical knowledge. The course curriculum and syllabus equip the aspirant’s skills and knowledge based on market requirement.
- Expenses for the Programs: The cost incurred is one of the crucial factors in the deciding the programs. It can be observed that the MBA courses are much less when compared with PGDM courses. The main reason with their difference is that MBA offering courses are recognised by the Government, so the institutions are eligible to avail financial support which will make students to pursue the degree more economically. In the case of PGDM, since there is no financial aid from the Government the student is required to bear all the expenses themselves. But one can find a lot of top institutions who support their students with affordable PGDM programs and institute with high tuition fee for MBA degree.
At MIM, the two-year MBA program is provided with very affordable tuition fee less than 5 lakhs with very good infrastructure, experienced faculties, and placements to top companies.
- Teaching Methods: The MBA at Marian College Kuttikkanam Autonomous mainly focuses on more practical approach where students are assigned with activities like cases, presentation, and simulations as their teaching tools. When it comes PGDM the activities mostly revolve around the syllabus, but the students are also exposed to real-life or practical knowledge about the business world.
At MIM, the students experience the best exposure to the management field they organise a lot of activities like management fest, seminars, club activities which equip students with first-hand experience.
- Entrance examination: The entrance examination for the PGDM and MBA programs include CAT/MAT/XAT etc. There is also state-level examination which is considered by some universities. The admission process for both the programs are similar. The candidate has to appear for the entrance examination, once they pass through the entrance exam they have to go through the group discussion and personal interview. 90% of the top 100 institute offer PGDM courses in India yet the demand for MBA degree never fades away.
MBA vs PGDM- What to Choose
The major difference between the MBA and PGDM are discussed above in detail which will help to make the decision easier or to choose between the two courses. One of the main factors to see while choosing between the two are fee structure and curriculum. The PGDM curriculum is all about practical knowledge giving the student first-hand information about the business management while MBA program focuses on theoretical concepts of management.
Even if it is MBA or PGDM the aspirant need to score good percentile to get into top institutes like IIMs or NITs. The entrance exams like CAT, MAT is the primary step in the admission process.
MBA Admission Started for the Best MBA College in Kerala with good placements
