Sphoorthy Pamaraju

Are executive post graduate diploma candidates eligible for PHD in INDIA?

I have done my BTECH from BITS PILANI. I have done my Executive Full time MBA (1yr) from IIM Indore. I want to do my PHD now in Management sciences and I am from Hyderabad. 1) Am I eligible to do PHD from Hyderabad colleages (ISB, HCU, Osmania, JNTU) ? 2) Are Executive Post Graduate Diploma Candidates eligible for PHD's in INDIA ? (I want to do it in the area of Management Sciences.. in which I did my MBA). Please suggest & clarify.


by Sphoorthy Pamaraju
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2 answers

RE: Are executive post graduate diploma candidates eligible for PHD in INDIA?

Dr. Anand Wadadekar, PhD
Dr. Anand Wadadekar, PhD

Dear Sphoorty,


Nice to see a student like you thinking for further advanced education. I appreciate that you approached CareerGuide.com for seeking guidance and clarification.

Hope you are interested in teaching as a career by thinking for a PhD? Dear Sphoorthy, you need to understand that PhD rules are governed by UGC. IIMs does not come under the purview of UGC. Executive MBA or Executive Diplomas awarded by any Institute are not eligible for PhD in any University, since the norm for pursuing a PhD is compulsory a Two Year Masters degree programme or equivalent PGDBM, etc. which is AIU recognised and UGC recognised.

Since you have done a programme which is one year and a Diploma, I am afraid that you are not currently eligible to appear for PhD entrance exam.

For pursuing a PhD, you need to acquire a masters degree with min. 55% marks in aggregate.

There is a news in the media that IIMs will now be allowed to award degrees instead of PGP and Diplomas and also PhD degree instead of Fellow (FPM). So in your case, you are suggested to speak to IIM Indore and ask them if you can pursue PhD from IIM Indore when the legislation to award degrees comes into effect.

I am happy that you wish to come into the teacing profession inspite of being so highly and excellently qualified.

Best wishes.

Dr. Anand Wadadekar
Founder Director & CEO
Discovering Careers India

RE: Are executive post graduate diploma candidates eligible for PHD in INDIA?

Dr Aparna
Dr Aparna
Verified Career Expert
PhD Organizational Psychology
  • Hosur

Hello Spoorthy,

Glad you are considering to do a PhD in Management sciences. Reading up on your educational background, I would definitely say that you are eligible to apply for a PhD place at Indian School of Business, (ISB) Hyderabad. Their requirement is a bit simple but highly competitive. To be eligible to apply for a PhD at ISB, you need to have had a basic undergraduate/graduate degree and from your case your BTech from BIPTS Pilani is more than enough. However they have a further requirement with regarding competitive exams. You need to have cleared either GRE/ GMAT in the past five years for ISB PhD admission and this is mandatory with no compromise. And also please note that ISB doesn't require GATE/ CAT or any other national competitive exam scores and they are strict with only GRE/ GMAT. If you have obtained an outstanding score on either of these exams, preferably more than 94 percentile (I am talking about percentile not percentage here), then there are high chances of your application being considered by ISB. ISB doesn't only look for GRE/ GMAT scores, undergraduate percentage, they also give weightage to some academic publishing if you have done already. If you can prove to them that you are capable of being a research student, you can very much survive their interview process. If you get through ISB, you will have a world-class career. Their support for PhD candidates are extraordinary ranging from monthly stipend of 38000 INR and above to additional support for research and conferences attendance. Considering ISB is a leading business school in Asia, and has always found its place in world business school league tables, a career after a ISB PhD will be highly rewarding. So I would suggest you to give your best at ISB application.

Going on to IIT's. They should be very happy with your BTech degree and they don't really demand for a post graduation. Considering your IIM Indore qualification, it looks like an added plus on your application. IIT's require you to have qualified UGC NET exam compulsorily to be able to apply for a PhD position in Management with them. So with IIT's, UGC NET/ UGC JRF or even GATE/ CAT would help. They are a bit flexible with exam requirements but doing UGC NET/ JRF will be more than enough to apply for the IITs. Some IIT's like IIT Bombay for example, would require you to have a written research proposal in hand already. Though almost all IIT interviews these days still expect the students to think of what they want to research during their PhD years.

Now talking on IIM's, IIM's are often strict with two requirements: a basic degree plus a cracking CAT score. Some of the IIM's also demand a UGC NET/ UGC JRF score but note not all demand. However, having a BTech, CAT will ease application stage but you may be required to take NET for some. But do not forget, IIM entrance exams are equally competitive and not just having outstanding scores will help. They have some written exams on the interview day and passing even those exams is a requirement.

Going on to any other universities in India, a Masters degree will be highly required to be able to apply for PhD's. But your executive diploma might not be treated as a Masters degree by most of the universities as as per AICTE terms for applying a PhD, you need to have obtained a degree of two year attendance duration. And I believe you have done a one year course at IIM Indore because it is an Executive diploma? In this case, without a legitimate two year masters degree, you can't apply to most of the Indian universities except the above three mentioned.

I hope this helps. My best wishes with your PhD admission.

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RE: Are executive post graduate diploma candidates eligible for PHD in INDIA?

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Caching Date: 4/24/2024 10:57:01 AM