A correspondence Masters in Business Administration course is ideal for the modern professional: it’s flexible, low-cost and has a wide scope.
If you’re a time-strapped executive or self-employed professional, it’s a boon that allows you to keep building a career while learning something that can be applied to your work. So, to help you choose the best course for you, here’s a two-part guide to the best distance MBA programmes in India.
IGNOU
The Indira Gandhi [Images] National Open University is one of India’s premier institutes for distance education courses. It conducts two kinds of correspondence MBA courses: one general and one specially meant for the banking sector.
For the first course, a student is expected to study all 11 courses conducted in IGNOU’s Post Graduate Diploma in Management (which vary from Information Systems to Marketing to Accounting). Following this the student must complete five courses form one of the specialisation streams, which are: Human Resources Management, Financial Management, Operations Management and Marketing Management.
A student must do a course in Advance Strategic Management and Research Methodology for Management Decisions. One is also expected to do an elective course from one of five subjects. A project must be completed, which gains the same credits as two courses.
This course cost Rs 800 each, which includes examination fee. Admissions to the programme are done on the basis of the OPENMAT Entrance Exam, conducted twice a year.
Candidates are eligible if they have a Bachelor’s Degree with three years of work experience or a professional degree (Engineering/ Medicine etc) or a Professional Qualification in Accountancy/ Cost and Works Accountancy etc or a Masters Degree.
The Master of Business Administration (Banking and Finance) was launched following an MOU between IGNOU and the Indian Institute of Bankers, specifically for IIB members. In order to be eligible, a candidate must be a graduate of a recognised university, have passed the CAIIB examination of the Indian Institute of Bankers, Mumbai, have worked in the banking or financial services sector for a period of at least two years and be a member of the Indian Institute of Bankers, Mumbai. The fees are Rs 600 per subject.
Address: School of Management Studies, Indira Gandhi National Open University, Maidan Garhi, New Delhi [Images] 110068
Phone: (011) 29532073
Fax: (011) 29532078
Email: mba@ignou.ac.in
Website: http://www.ignou.ac.in/
Symbiosis
The Symbiosis Center for Distance Learning is Symbiosis’s attempt at creating a ‘World Campus’ where everyone is able to learn and achieve his or her dream. SCDL has its headquarters at Symbiosis’s Pune Campus and also has study centres in Nashik and Bangalore.
In order to sidestep government regulations, SCDL does not offer an MBA directly: it offers a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration. The first two semesters are common for all students, while the last two semesters require the student to specialise in one of five streams: Marketing, Human Resources, Finance, Operations or Customer Relationship Management.
The duration of the programme is two years. However, registration to the programme is valid for four years.
An interesting aspect of SCDL is its’ corporate programme. Under the C-PGDBA, one can receive a fast track PGDBA: the course lasts merely three semesters — or 18 months — unlike the normal course, which lasts four semesters (two years). Under this programme, SDCL and your company agree to conduct courses at your corporate premises themselves. There are faculty lectures every week and batches must have a minimum of 10 and a maximum of 40 students.
This course is not available to individual students, so if you’re interested you’ll have to contact you HR/ Training Coordinator. One person from HR or Training will act as a point contact between your company and SDCL. Some of the companies that have registered for this programme are Intel, HP, IBM Dhaksh, Xansa and Aztec — besides many others. C-PGDBA also offers specialisation in Information Technology in addition to al those available under the normal PGDBA.
A person is eligible for the programme if they are graduates from a recognised university or if they hold a diploma from a recognised polytechnic institute, with five years of supervised work experience.
Address: Symbiosis Bhavan, 1065-B Gokhale Cross Road, Model Colony, Pune-16.
Phone: (020) 66211000-6
Fax: (020) 66211040/41
Website: www.scdl.net
ICFAI
The ICFAI University conducts one of India’s premier MBA courses. To be eligible, one must be a graduate of any discipline with 45 per cent. Students with certain prior qualifications are entitled to waivers from certain subjects eg students with an MA in Economics needn’t do Business Economics.
The degree is divided in three stages: subjects are common for all students during stages 1 and 2. Half of stage 3 consists of elective subjects (there are 10 in total and students are expected to do four of them).
The ICFAI has tied up with Cygnus and offers internships to distance students to allow them to gain the experience that usually comes only with full-time MBA programmes. Students may approach Cygnus after their second stage — the internships will be in Hyderabad and fees must be paid separately. The ICFAI has also tied up with Alchemist HR Services to provide placements to students.
Training classes are conducted four times a year, usually during the weekends or evenings. The fees for the programme are Rs 30,000, without training classes. With training classes, fees rise to Rs 45,000.
Address: The ICFAI University, C-1/103, Indiranagar, Dehradun 248006, Uttarakhand [Images]
Website: http://www.icfaiuniversity.org
