IIMs May Offer Degree Next Session Onward

The IIM students of post graduate programmes as well as five-year Integrated Programme in Management (IPM) may receive a degree and not just diploma or certificate, in the coming years. The officials employed in these premier management institutes of India are waiting for the Lok Sabha elections to get over, after which the decision on this proposed Bill in the Parliament will be announced after the new term of government gets into power.

Currently, the premiere B-schools -- Indian Institute of Management (IIM), do not award degrees for the stated courses since these institutes however are premier and prestigious but do not hold a status of university to award degree after completion of course.

The only IIM among the total 13 IIMs that offer 5-year IPM is IIM-Indore. IIM-Indore director Rishikesha T Krishnan said that IIM act proposal is under process, at government level, which can determine the outcome of all 13 IIMs across the country, whether they can offer degree or not. Once the bill gets approval from both houses, the IIMs will be able to provide degrees of their own in India, as well as at the IIM Dubai centre.

The Students are happy to know about this and the response is positive upon this development as ‘PGDM’ does not hold recognition at many places in abroad which leads to the problems that students face with their plans of pursuing PhD. The degree status is likely to solve most problems. The degree tag in place of PGDM will also permit students to apply for government jobs and pursue higher education at any place of their choice overseas, as told by Ankur Jain, a second-year PGP student at IIM-Indore.