MBA variants other than the full time program, for example, the Part Time MBA, One Year Full Time MBA and the Distance Learning MBA.

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MBA - Other Variants

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	Primarily for working professionals to give them a theoretical foundation in business management.


	MBA: One-year Full-time Program
	Theoretical foundation building, learn from peers.

	MBA: Part-time Program
	Long-term course, requires high personal motivation.

	Other Variants
	Distance Learning, Executive and Specialized.

The One-year Full-time Program

Presently, in India, the Hyderabad-based International School of Business (ISB), XLRI in Jamshedpur and Great Lakes Institute of Management (GLIM), Chennai offer One-year Post-Graduate Programs in Management. These programs are often aimed at working professionals and are also called Executive MBAs.

In the year 2005, IIM Ahmedabad and SP Jain, Mumbai launched one-year programs. While the former, starting in April 2006, is a residential program with 70 seats meant exclusively for those with seven to ten years of work experience, the latter offers specializations in the fields of manufacturing and operations, IT and information management for students with minimum five years experience.

Advantages

Your existing work, industry experience and job skills can save you a significant amount of time in completing your MBA.
You are able to customize your studies to suit your specific needs.
The intensive learning environment encourages knowledge enhancement above and beyond normal academic learning.
The intensity of the one-year part-time MBA program encourages competitiveness and achievement.
The program includes placements, visiting faculty from industry , and most of all, it helps you build an intensive network with fellow students who will be entering the industry.

Disadvantages

There is no break between your course; therefore it doesn’t offer you an opportunity for internship.
Some employers who require MBAs for career advancement or promotions do not consider a one-year program a favorable option. Make sure that your potential employer will accept this type of MBA program before you decide to enroll.
Read about the entrances of one-year full-time MBA program

MBA Part-time

Thinking about changing your career, or accelerating along the path of your current career? Thinking about doing an MBA? Through part-time MBA you will expand your existing knowledge base. It will open your eyes to new opportunities. This requires as many courses as a full-time program and the classes are for a longer duration. In other words, it may take you three to five years to complete your MBA in a part-time program as opposed to a two-year full-time program. MDI Gurgaon, NMIMS Mumbai and SP Jain Mumbai are some of the reputed B-schools that offer part-time MBA courses.

Advantages

The part-time program is particularly appealing to people who wish to advance their existing career.
Courses are scheduled to take place before or after your regular working hours.
Real-life situations and problems can be incorporated in the classroom sessions where solutions can be explored.
If the company you work for is ready to fund your part-time MBA course through tuition fee assistance, it is an ideal choice.

Disadvantages

Because the course is spread out over a longer time span, tuition assistance is not always available.
Part time MBA programs have the same specialization opportunities as other MBA program variants like the full-time course but some offer only a small number of concentrated study courses and emphasize the core curriculum.
Work-related travel or relocation may become an obstacle in completing a part-time MBA.
Read about the entrances of part-time MBA

Distance-learning MBA Programs

A distance-learning MBA program is a great alternative for people whose schedule does not allow them to go for regular and frequent trips to a campus location. In India three IIMs (Kozhikode, Bangalore and Kolkata), NMIMS Mumbai and XLRI are some of the premier B-schools that offer this option. The schools that offer a distance-learning module, have a proper entrance test modeled on similar lines as CAT.

Advantages

It requires little or no commuting which saves time and money.
The course allows you to pursue your career when it is convenient for you.
The course pace, sequence and style of the learning are left up to you.
Learning resources are just a click away making it easy to access the teacher, fellow students or an online library.
Allows a broader perspective by interacting online with people from other parts of the world.

Disadvantages

Isolates the students. Personal and societal interaction become limited restricting interaction.
The students need to be highly disciplined and motivated to work independently.
The students need to be Internet savvy.
It does not offer motivation that arises out of competition, which is built in a classroom environment.
Read about the entrances of distant-learning MBA

Specialized MBAs

Such programs offer ample opportunities for hands-on experience and research as well as the right kind of placements. This is brought about by the fact that most of these schools have close links with corporates belonging to the respective fields, for example, between IRMA and Amul and the National Diary Development Board; or KJ Somaiya and Pantaloon.

In India, the options include rural management (Institute of Rural Management, Anand, Gujarat; NMIMS, Mumbai), forest management (Indian Institute of Forest Management, Bhopal), retail management (KJ Somaiya and Welingkar, Mumbai), telecom management (IIT-Delhi), insurance management (NMIMS, Mumbai), human resource management (XLRI, MDI, TISS) among others.

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