Taking up management courses in India after graduation, a candidate mainly has two options, either to go for an MBA (Master of Business Administration) or a PGDM (Post Graduate diploma in Management). A post graduate degree in management becomes highly beneficial whenever any particular working individual wants to expand or venture into administrative services or managerial jobs. These courses are also highly sought after by fresh graduates having graduation degree in commerce or technology.
There is a lot of confusion when it comes to selecting between MBA and PGDM. PGDM, as the name suggests, is a Diploma course and as a result, people are skeptical about it, thinking that it is not a proper specialization degree. That is not entirely true. In India, UGC considers a PGDM as an equivalent to Masters’ degree in management.
Basically to award an MBA degree an institution has to be affiliated to a certain University. As a result, the curriculum of this course is not that flexible. Any institute or college recognized by AICTE has the ability to grant PGDM degree. Post Graduate diploma courses are even taught by many top tier B-schools and autonomous colleges.
Post Graduate Diploma Course Details
There is a certain advantage because of autonomy in PGDM course. Since the college doesn’t have to abide by any particular university rules and curriculum, it can modify and change the syllabus of a PGDM course based on the increasing demands and market needs. A student doesn’t have to follow outdated university syllabus.
Also, post graduate diploma courses are much more practical scenario oriented. A candidate has to indulge in several industrial pieces of training and internship programs which help in better understanding of real world problems and further tackling then strategically. PDGM courses like MBA is also a two-year course in which major management topics are covered.
A word of caution must be kept in mind when choosing between PGDM and MBA is, since PGDM is completely dependent on the institute, a candidate must take into consideration AICTE approvals and affiliations before enrollment. As far as the cost of education is considered Post graduate diploma courses is a bit expensive as compared to MBA.
Jobs and Career
Indian companies consider both PGDM and MBA graduation degree valid and equal to each other. Instead of concentrating on theoretical knowledge, they are much more concerned about the practical knowledge of the candidate. Starting salary of a fresher can range anywhere between 4-5lakh. For higher education after masters, PDGM is recognized as a Master’s degree equivalent by UGC. What matters the most is the brand of a qualifying institution, its alumni presence and its reputation in the market.