Introduction
Top Distance MBA Colleges in India – A lot of students from different streams choose to pursue a Master of Business Administration (MBA) after they complete their graduation. The degree is popular also because a lot of people from different backgrounds of study whether it is Arts, Commerce, Science or something similar can opt for it.
Students usually go for an MBA when they want to work in the Management sector of an organization. They go for this degree once they are clear about the area in which they wish to specialize such as Human Resource Management (HRM), Finance, Marketing, Banking among others.
There are 3 different modes to pursue MBA-
- Online mode,
- Regular mode or
- Distance Education.
The duration of this degree is two years. MBA is considered as one of the most demanded degrees in the current scenario. Every year lakhs of students get this degree which gets them high paying jobs and a secured future.
MBA professionals go on to become managers who lead the office team. A successful manager often possesses strong leadership, business, and communication qualities. Those who want to pursue an MBA must be embedded with qualities such as analytical thinking, ability to work under pressure, good communication skills, eye for detail, strong mathematical skills, management skills among others.
What is Distance MBA?
Many times it happens that there are working professionals or other similar people who want to pursue their MBA but can’t attend regular classes because of their busy schedule. For such people, MBA through Distance mode comes into the picture. It is a boon for those who can’t afford to pursue a full-time MBA. The benefits that a Distance MBA offers is similar to that of the regular MBA. The students who wish to go for this course can choose to pursue it from any of the top distance MBA colleges in India.
As it is viable from the name itself, in Distance MBA the classes are held via different virtual modes such as Posts, Video Conference, Emails. Students enrolled in this course also get almost all kinds of campus facilities. The curriculum is designed in such a manner that students can even participate in extra – curricular activities such as Quizzes, Sports, Seminars, elocutions among others.
While pursuing the degree, students are provided with a lot of flexibility for appearing in the Semester exams. They have to submit their assignments online and it is up to them when to attend the class depending on their professional and other personal commitments. The duration of such an MBA degree is anywhere between one year and three years. The fee can be anywhere around Rs 30,000 or more depending on how reputed the Management institute is.
Even though the classes are held through virtual modes, the students get enough chances to interact with their teachers and peers. They are even given practical exposure through specially designed e-practical experiments and internship opportunities with top companies.
Distance MBA is a good option for those candidates who can’t pursue the regular course due to their work commitment, capabilities and many other reasons. The working professionals who believe that they can balance their professional commitment with studies should pursue this. It is also a good choice for the students who are average in studies and find it tough to crack tough entrance exams for the regular MBA. While pursuing this course, the students do not need to worry about high fees. Distance MBA is a course designed in a manner to boost the career of students.
Distance MBA Eligibility
The eligibility of Distance MBA is similar to that of the regular MBA all over the country. However, there might be slight differences depending upon the Universities.
The eligibility for those candidates who wishes to pursue Distance MBA is as follows:
- Candidate must have pursued a Bachelor’s Degree in any stream for a minimum period of three years from any recognised University with minimum 50% marks (Marks eligibility may differ depending on different University criteria)
- Those candidates who wish to pursue Executive MBA through this mode need to have the work experience of a minimum period of three years.
Distance MBA Entrance Exam
Earlier, a majority of institutes used to accept applications for Distance MBA directly. However, now almost all of them admit students with the help of different Entrance exams. Few of these exams are conducted by the institutes themselves such as OPENMAT by IGNOU, SNAP by Symbiosis Deemed University among others. However, the majority of institutes admit students on the basis of national level entrance exams such as CAT, XAT, MAT, CMAT among others.
Few of the distance MBA Entrance Exams are:
- CAT: It is the most popular entrance exam in India. It is conducted by one of the IIMs every year. Several top MBA Distance Learning colleges in India grant admission into their Distance MBA courses on the basis of the Common Aptitude Test (CAT) score of the candidate. It is held in the month of November every year.
- XAT: It is conducted by XLRI, Jamshedpur. It is another popular exam as by using its score you can take admission in Distance MBA courses offered by top MBA correspondence courses in India. Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) is held in the month of January every year.
- IGNOU OPENMAT: The Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) organizes OPENMAT every year in the month of June in order to grant admission into Distance MBA courses.
- SNAP: The Symbiosis University organizes Symbiosis National Aptitude Test (SNAP) in order to grant admission into ints Distance and Executive MBA courses. The exam takes place in the month of May every year. The MBA colleges of Symbiosis University are one of the top 10 distance MBA colleges in India.
- CMAT: The Common Management Aptitude Test (CMAT) is organized by NTA every year during January. Several tier 2 and tier 3 Management institutes grant admission into their Distance MBA courses with the help of CMAT score.
Distance MBA Courses – Specializations
Majority of the top MBA colleges in India for distance learning offer MBA programs in different streams which is widely popular among the MBA aspirants. Few of these specializations are as follows:
- Banking Management
- Investment Management
- Insurance Management
- Rural and Agribusiness
- Supply Chain Management
- Marketing Management
- E-Commerce
- Hospitality Management
- Business Management
- Retail Management
- Healthcare Management
- Human Resources Management
- Travel and Tourism
- Media and Advertising
- Sales Management
- Finance Management
- IT Project Management
- Operations Management
- E-Business
- Services Excellence
- Entrepreneurship
- International Business
Top 10 Distance MBA Colleges
Based on several rankings done by reputed portals, the list of top 10 Distance MBA Colleges in India is as follows:
- Institute of Management Studies, Centre for Distance Learning (IMT CDL), Ghaziabad (Uttar Pradesh)
- Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai (Maharashtra)
- Symbiosis Center for Distance Learning (SCDL), Pune (Maharashtra)
- Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi
- Sikkim Manipal University, Directorate of Distance Education, Manipal (Karnataka)
- Annamalai University.
- Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management.
- Amity University.
- Lovely Professional University.
- ICFAI University.
Distance MBA scope
All the Distance MBA courses that some of the top MBA colleges in India for Distance Learning offer are recognized by the Distance Education Bureau of the University Grants Commission (UGC). As they are approved as well as accredited by India’s premier University Regulating Body. Therefore, these courses offer a lot of scopes.
Depending on how you pursue it academically, Distance MBA can be as good as a regular MBA. It is beneficial for both the students as well as the working professionals. You get a chance to interact with learners from all the age groups while pursuing the Degree. With this degree, you can study whenever you want. It is cheaper than the Regular MBA course as well. The degree gives you an extra advantage over the others.
Distance MBA will provide you lots of benefit if you wish to climb the Corporate ladder. You will get Managerial or Executive level jobs which will pave your way for further promotions based on performance. You will get lucrative career options. It is a very good option to acquire skills in order to excel professionally. You will become eligible for various types of Managerial and other roles.
Distance MBA Salary
Whenever a student decides to opt for Distance MBA, there are worries regarding the fact that if he or she will be able to earn a good package after completing this degree or not. However, contrary to fact, the students enrolled in this course are now getting similar salary packages that a student of Regular MBA might get.
The degree provides a good Return of Investment (RoI) if a student gives his best while pursuing the Degree academically. The majority of such students get a good placement offer after they complete their MBA degree. In some MBA specializations, the employment opportunities in our country is at par with the degrees persuaded through the regular campus. The recruiting companies have also started showing their interests in the students who pursue their MBAs through the Distance Mode. The packages for such students can lie anywhere between Rs 3 lakhs and Rs 12 lakhs depending upon the area of specialization and the Institute from where the degree is being pursued.
A number of Surveys and statistics have proved that even though the Distance MBA has a long way to go, the companies have started recognizing its value. According to the Placement Cell of the IGNOU School of Management Studies, a significant number of students were able to secure double-digit packages. Similarly, the students of NMIMS Mumbai, SCDL Pune, IMT Ghaziabad among others were also able to secure good packages.
Distance MBA Top companies
All the Universities that provide MBA degrees through the Distance mode now have their own well- established dedicated Placement Cell. These Cells play an important role in order to get the students placed. They coordinate with the reputed Government Organisations, Multinational Corporations (MNCs), Non -Government organizations (NGOs) and other reputed firms of the Private as well as Public sector. All the students need to do is to get registered with these Placement cells and perform well during their two years of their MBA studies.
According to the data released by IGNOU SOMS, SCDL and others, few of the other institutes that offer Distance MBA, the companies that offered employment opportunities to their students are:
- FashionandYou.com
- WNS Global Services
- Tata Consultancy Services (TCS),
- Amazon,
- Flipkart,
- Deloitte Consulting
- Myntra
- Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL)
- ITC
- Cognizant
- Amway
- Bajaj Allianz
- ICICI among others.
All this data proves that even the top- tier MNCs have started recognising the potential of such students.