The benefits of a Postgraduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) programme

Students aspiring to do postgraduate courses in management often have a tough time choosing between a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA). The main difference between the two lies in the autonomy provided to different programmes by the governing authorities. Since higher education was linked to the learners’ professional development, authorities allowed private institutions to offer professional higher education in technical, management, and other domains of industry need.

But the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act of 1956 stipulated minimum infrastructure standards for a university to award a postgraduate degree. Most private organisations that wished to offer higher education courses were not equipped with such resources, so the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) found an alternative by accrediting standalone management institutions to offer a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM), which is considered equivalent to an MBA by the Association of Indian Universities (AIU). The PGDM programme also differs from an MBA in terms of curriculum development, flexibility offered, industry relevance, career development opportunities, and recognition. Let’s take a look at some of these.

Curriculum: The PGDM programme has more autonomy in designing the curriculum compared to an MBA programme and is updated every year. Thus students are trained for current and latest industry requirements. I

Structure: One example of the PGDM’s structural flexibility is delivering the curriculum as a trimester or semester schedule, which provides a wide range of 40-45 courses spread over six different terms of 8–10 weeks each. In contrast, an MBA programme offers 30–35 courses across four semesters. Another aspect is the assessment design. In a PGDM programme, continuous and end-term evaluation can be rationalised according to requirement. For example, practical courses such as Financial Modelling and Marketing Analytics may go through lab-based assessment, and courses like Organisation Behaviour may be assessed through case study evaluation.

Teaching-Learning: The coursework of a PGDM programme is delivered through a mix of academic and corporate trainers. Academic trainers lay the conceptual groundwork, while corporate trainers build a practical knowledge structure on it. Another aspect is the addition of corporate certifications to the curriculum. Industry training is integrated through internships, live projects, guest lectures, industry visits, and consulting assignments, thus ensuring hands-on exposure and real-world learning. These are largely credit-based activitie embedded in the curriculum delivery over the tenure of the programme. Hence, it provides aspirants with sequential learning of content building to practical understanding to gap identification to relearning.

Global integration: In many institutions,the PGDM programmes train students to develop global competencies. There are also programmes that offers a dual certification in collaboration with foreign universities. These global immersion programmes equip students to compete in business environments across the world.