PGP stands for a Post Graduate Programme in Management. It is a full time course for people with a graduation degree and the duration of the course is 2 years. For most colleges which offer management degrees and other similar specialized courses, the PGP programme is often considered their flagship programme.

The main aim of the PGP programme is to take young candidates and transform them into managers who are professional and competent with a wide variety of skills in their arsenal.

They develop their students to be perfectly capable of performing and excelling in any field and sector, in all kinds of organizations, and demonstrate the skills of leadership at an early age. They also want their students to showcase their excellence in all these fields while also maintaining a healthy contribution to the society at large.

The specific goals of the PGP programmes are:

• Help their students gain the necessary concepts and soft skills which are required for survival in the corporate world
• Develop a sense of purpose for the society at large to give them a moral compass while taking decisions
• Develop immense capabilities of leadership and act as motivators wherever they work
• Nurture a never ending thirst for success and excellence while maintaining their honesty and integrity

The PGP programmes can be considered to be equivalent to the MIM programmes (Masters in Management) for professionals in the middle of their careers.

While the PGP programmes are meant to nurture and develop young managers, the FPMs (Fellowship Programmes in Management) are meant to enhance research and conduct studies in the various fields of management. Hence comparing the two and trying to decide the more important of the two is pointless.

PGP programmes in India

The PGP programmes in India are considered to be one of the toughest programmes in the field of management across the globe to get admission into. The process for selecting the students is quite rigorous and it has been designed to make sure that the best of the best succeed in getting admission to these courses.

It is estimated that the top institutes of the country accept less than 0.1 candidates per 100 applications for the PGP programme. That is less than one person for a thousand individuals. This gives you an idea just how strong the competition is for the PGP programmes at the top institutes in India.

How to join the PGP programmes?

The process to join the PGP programme in any institute or business school of the country is very similar to the process of joining a regular MBA programme.

• The applicants have to perform well in one of the entrance tests which the institute has prescribed. Most institutes take the marks obtained by the student in the Common Admission Test (CAT) as a yardstick for selection to further rounds.
• The academic performances of the students in the past also play an important role in the selection of the individual.
• Their performance in the subsequent rounds of selection like the group discussions and personal interviews is also taken into account.