What is the level of entrance test preparation in India? Many students prepare for IITJEE /AIEEE /NEET from their eighth/ninth grades. A few junior colleges offer an integrated course of 11th/12th boards with entrance test preparation.
There is no dearth of test prep institutes in India for under graduation or post-graduation courses. However, students from the STEM stream perform better than those from arts/commerce/humanities streamsat graduate level entrance tests. This selection continues to cascade into B-schools and corporate houses where the cream of top Management comprises those who did well in entrance tests. It appears to have a Darwinian effect where the more competitive test-takers continue to rule the roost.
IIMs now reserve a few seats for non-STEM streams. This reservation has done little to dent the existing pyramid of leaving non-STEM students at the bottom of the pyramid.
A degree in Management is not out of reach for many who start at the undergraduate level. Universities and colleges offer BBA or bachelor’s degrees in Management.
IIM Indore came into the undergraduate league by offering a unique course in 2011. Nevertheless, the IPM is a lot more than a degree.
What is the IPM?
The IPM – Integrated Program in Management is a five-year-integrated-program in management. The fourth and fifth years of the program have received accreditation by theAssociation of MBAs,AMBA London.
In 2019, IIM Rohtak also began offering the IPM. Now three more IIMs – Bodhgaya, Jammu, and Ranchi have joined the IPM club too.
The IPM is an integrated program of management studies from the undergraduate to the postgraduate level (Integrated BBA-MBA). Students join the program after their twelfth grade to gradate with MBAs after years. Students who avail of the option of dropping out of the program after three years get bachelor’s degrees – BBAs.
How does the IPM benefit students?
Students can pursue a degree in Management post their 12th grade instead of waiting to complete their bachelor’s degrees. The admission tests for IPM are relatively easier than tests like CAT or XAT. Successful graduates get the IIM-MBA tags.
What is the selection process?
Selection to the IPM involves clearing any one of -IPMAT (IIM-Indore), SAT (College Board), or JIPMAT (NTA). Students who score well in the admission tests face WAT (written ability test) and PI (personal interview) as part of the admission procedure.
IIMs offer admission to candidates who have cleared –
- SAT /IPMAT /JIPMAT 2021 exam scores
- WAT (written ability test)
- PI (personal interview)
- overall academic performance in the 10th and 12th boards
How does the program operate?
The IPM comprises fifteen terms across five years. Each year runs into three terms of three months.
IPM is in two parts. The first three years build the foundation, and the last two years focus on management.
The first three years of the program cover –
- Mathematics, Statistics, and Economics
- Psychology, Sociology, and Political Science and Economics
- Humanities, Literature and Fine Arts
A perception of analytical rigor and exposure to Management’s core disciplines prepares students for leadership roles and responsibility positions across various sectors.
Students receive the Bachelor of Arts (Foundations of Management) degree at the end of three years. Successful students have the option to withdraw from the program or join IIM’s two-year PGP class, graduating with MBAs after the fifth year.
IPM students undergo a social internship at the end of the second year and a business internship between the fourth and fifth years. The empiric learning instills leadership qualities in them and whets their leadership skills.
At the end of the five-year Integrated Programme, participants graduate with a Master of Business Administration (under the Dual Degree Programme) by IIM on completing the program.
Himanshu Rai, the IIM Indore Director, said that they had introduced the IPM to cater to the undergraduate student’s need for a comprehensive course. The need to prepare students with a blend of arts and science, philosophy and technology, life skills, and analytical skills arose when traditional degrees failed. The IPM now has several aspirants for the seats the five IIMs offer.
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