If you are set on a career in business management, there are two obvious choices you can make: a Masters in Management (MIM) or a Masters in Business Administration (MBA). These two courses might look similar, but are as different as chalk and cheese. To help aspirants, we break down the key differences between the two courses.
MIM
MBA
Significance
Full form
Masters in Management or alternatively Masters in Business Management.
Masters in Business Administration
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Aliases
The abbreviation MIM does not represent an official degree such as an MBA or MSc. However the umbrella brand is being used by business schools who abbreviate their Masters in Management with ‘MIM’. Depending on different University traditions, marketing strategies or different curriculum and course designs, the actual degree name may differ.In India for instance, the MIM is known by the name PGP or PGDM. Other names you may come across – MSc in Management, MSc in International Business, Master in Business and Economics, MSc in General Management
No known aliases in USA, Europe. In India, different B-schools use different names for the full time MBA course. These include: PGPX (Post Graduate Programme for Executives), EPGP (Executive Post Graduate Programme), IPMX (International Programme in Management for Executives), PGPEX (Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives), PGPM (Post Graduate Programme in Management), One year PGP (Post Graduate Programme). (Despite the misleading names these courses are not be confused with Executive MBAs which are part-time programmes. Read this for more on this branding faux pas unique to India: Executive MBA? No. India’s first globally accredited MBA? Yes!
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Popular courses
Popular MIM courses include those offered by B-schools such as St. Gallen, Oxford, Hult, Indian Institute of Managements (PGP/ PGDM), IE Business School.
Popular courses can be one year or two year in duration. Some top one year full time MBA courses are those offered by INSEAD, IMD, IIMs, ISB, Cornell, Kellogg. Some top two-year full time MBA courses are those offered by Harvard, Kellogg, Wharton, MIT, Stanford.
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Who is it for?
Fresh graduates or recent graduates with minimal work experience ranging between 0 to 3 years
Experienced professionals with minimum of 3 years of work experience and above. Average work experience in an MBA class is usually 5-7 years.
Impacts your eligibility. You will have to gain substantial work experience if you have your sights set on an MBA.
Typical age group of participants
23 years
27 to 32
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Average work experience of participants
0 to 3 yrs (25% of MIM students have 0 yrs of work experience)
3 to 12 years
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The goal of the degree
To help fresh graduates gain a grounding in business management
To help experienced professionals transition to leadership roles
Don’t head into an MIM expecting managerial slots. Most MIM graduates land assignments as Management Trainees.
Program length
40 percent of MIM programs take up to a year to complete; 58 percent take more than a year but no more than two years. On average, full time MIM programs take 18 months to complete.
Most European MBAs take about one year to complete and North American MBAs about two years. In India the MBA programme is of one year duration. Across Asia and Australia, many MBA prorammes are of one year duration.
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Tuition fee
Typically an MIM programme is 63 percent cheaper than an MBA. Average fee EUR 12550 in Europe. Highest – and EUR 30000 .Fee in India for PGP/ PGDM programmes ranges between 2 lakh and 14 lakh depending on the institute.
Higher fee. Average fee in Europe for One year MBA programmes EUR 33750. Highest – EUR 70700. Average fee in USA for a One year MBA $ 100000 and for two year MBA – $111000.
An MIM is considerably cheaper than an MBA. But the salary on graduation are similarly far lesser than what you would make after an MBA. If you are touching the 2 to 2.5 years work experience level, you might be better off pursuing an MBA after crossing the 3 years work experience threshold.
Career path – on graduation
Graduates join companies in entry level slots such as Management Trainee
Graduates join companies in lateral management slots such as Senior Manager, General Manager, Vice president & CEO
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Career path – lifetime
Some organisations may prefer MBAs for top management slots.
MBA is the established degree required for top office
Depends on maturity of economy and regulatory framework. In USA and UK, an MBA might be preferred for top managerial slots since it is the established degree. In India, B-schools have traditionally produced MIMs albeit branded as MBAs by virtue of accreditation granted by local bodies AIU and AICTE. Global accreditation awarded by AMBA, UK classifies these programmes as MIMs. Read about the accreditation at these links - (http://bit.ly/iimlaccreditation), (http://bit.ly/spjainaccreditation) & (http://bit.ly/mdiaccreditation) and the recent MBA accreditation granted to PGPEX at IIM C: PGPEX awarded MBA accreditation by AMBA. Only prog. at IIM C to make the cut.
The industry in India is beginning to understand the value of true blue MBAs and with time might give preference to MBAs for top slots.
Geographies the course is popular in
European countries and India. In India the 2 year PGDM/ PGP courses are extremely popular.
Across the world
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Eligibility
Fewer eligibility criteria. For instance MIM courses do not require prior work experience. The primary entry requirements are a bachelor degree, proof of language skills, sometimes the GMAT or comparable tests, such as the GRE, and academic achievements during the undergraduate degree. About two thirds of theMIM programs worldwide accept graduates from all types of undergraduate programs whereas one third requires a business or economics degree.
Higher number of eligibility criteria. Most B-schools require GMAT, a minimum of 3 years of work-experience and largely accept candidates with 5+ years of work experience. Some B-schools in India specify a certain age for aspirants, such as IIM A which requires aspirants to be at least 27 years of age.
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GMAT Requirements
40 percent of MIM programs need a GMAT Score. Average GMAT Score of MIM Students is 610. In India, CAT is the exam used for admission to 2 year PGP/ PGDM programmes and the admission process is primarily score based unlike admission process in countries such as UK, USA and France which are more broad based.
GMAT is a requirement at most B-schools. Average score of MBA students worldwide is 650. Average scores at top 10 B-schools in Europe, USA, India hovers around 700-720.
The curriculum
Theoretical grounding in general managerial concepts. Eg. How to design a consumer research study or how to create a profit and loss statement from a balance sheet.A lot of learning happens on the job after graduation.
Practical application of general management concepts useful for a manager as MBAs are expected to hit the ground running. Course focuses on analysis and application of concepts rather than theory of how to do it: consistent with managerial job.Eg. How to analyse research findings and how to analyse a balance sheet and profit and loss statement to chart strategy.
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Reputation (The programmes don’t compete per say as they are meant for different groups of students)
Primarily known in Europe and India but the concept is catching up in other continents.
Traditional management degree. The exception is India, where MBA courses gained traction in 2001 prior to which only MIM courses were on offer. In general, MBA courses are more popular among HR Managers worldwide.
Job Level & Salary
Average earnings – 55000 EUR per year. Average PGDM/ PGP salaries at top B-schools in India range between 8 lakh and 17 lakh. Roles on offer – Management Trainee, Assistant Manager
Salaries in USA ranges between $60,000 and $300,000. Average salary hovers around $100,000 across B-schools. In India, average MBA salaries at IIMs, ISB, XLRI etc range between 18 lakh and 33 lakh. Highest reported domestic salary in India stands at 1 crore domestic at IIM B.Roles on offer – Senior Manager, AGM, DGM, CEO, VP
Top 35 MIM Programmes in the world as per Financial Times, UK MIM Ranking 2013
Rank in 2013
3 yr. rank
School name
Country
Weighted sal. ($)
Value
Employment
1
1
University of St Gallen
Switzerland
80,081
1
100 (71)
2
2
ESCP Europe
France, UK, Germany, Spain, Italy
64,800
32
88 (62)
3
-
WHU Beisheim
Germany
97,050
7
95 (94)
4
4
HEC Paris
France
76,130
24
96 (47)
5
7
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
Netherlands
68,452
5
89 (100)
5
-
IE Business School
Spain
79,076
16
94 (88)
7
4
Cems
See table note
62,672
3
88 (47)
8
7
Essec Business School
France
73,424
21
92 (71)
9
13
HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management
Germany
88,402
20
95 (100)
10
10
Esade Business School
Spain
66,240
10
92 (92)
11
8
EMLyon Business School
France
55,159
48
95 (78)
12
13
Imperial College Business School
UK
60,557
60
82 (82)
13
12
Grenoble Graduate School of Business
France
56,216
49
89 (74)
14
14
Edhec Business School
France
56,580
54
96 (92)
14
16
City University: Cass
UK
56,133
38
72 (90)
16
14
Mannheim Business School
Germany
75,970
2
93 (78)
17
22
Università Bocconi
Italy
58,539
57
96 (62)
18
12
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
India
94,313
69
100 (100)
19
-
Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta
India
81,650
68
100 (100)
20
29
Eada Business School Barcelona
Spain
54,861
40
89 (88)
20
-
London School of Economics and Political Science
UK
69,628
70
92 (50)
22
21
WU (Vienna University of Economics and Business)
Austria
55,180
11
98 (96)
23
19
Stockholm School of Economics
Sweden
59,889
14
100 (73)
24
-
Iéseg School of Management
France
48,104
52
78 (91)
25
29
Kozminski University
Poland
53,580
28
91 (84)
26
22
Toulouse Business School
France
49,010
51
88 (45)
27
23
HEC Lausanne
Switzerland
54,159
15
57 (72)
28
26
Louvain School of Management
Belgium
50,658
23
95 (65)
29
29
Skema Business School
France, US, China
47,555
58
84 (75)
29
32
Vlerick Business School
Belgium
58,682
8
95 (96)
31
25
Audencia Nantes
France
52,878
47
91 (81)
31
27
Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management
Belgium
53,440
19
99 (90)
33
32
University of Strathclyde Business School
UK
47,038
46
93 (71)
34
-
Télécom Business School
France
50,942
35
93 (64)
35
34
Aston Business School
UK
51,716
42
88 (65)
Top 35 MBA Programmes in the world as per Financial Times, UK MBA Ranking 2013
Rank ’13
3 yr. rank
School name
Country
Weighted sal. ($)
Salary inc. (%)
1
2
Harvard Business School
US
187,223
121
2
2
Stanford Graduate School of Business
US
194,645
115
3
2
University of Pennsylvania: Wharton
US
180,772
121
4
3
London Business School
UK
160,988
124
5
6
Columbia Business School
US
174,347
123
6
5
Insead
France / Singapore
153,992
96
7
8
Iese Business School
Spain
146,049
141
8
8
Hong Kong UST Business School
China
132,685
153
9
8
MIT: Sloan
US
160,414
117
10
11
University of Chicago: Booth
US
162,363
108
11
9
IE Business School
Spain
157,054
117
12
17
University of California at Berkeley: Haas
US
151,952
98
13
17
Northwestern University: Kellogg
US
161,269
99
14
16
Yale School of Management
US
159,370
118
15
19
Ceibs
China
131,362
157
16
18
Dartmouth College: Tuck
US
156,765
117
16
23
University of Cambridge: Judge
UK
145,169
98
18
18
Duke University: Fuqua
US
145,147
108
19
15
IMD
Switzerland
147,380
65
19
17
New York University: Stern
US
144,586
106
21
19
HEC Paris
France
123,571
109
22
25
Esade Business School
Spain
126,699
118
23
29
UCLA: Anderson
US
147,125
115
24
24
University of Oxford: Saïd
UK
136,609
95
24
26
Cornell University: Johnson
US
147,799
112
26
16
Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad
India
171,188
110
27
-
CUHK Business School
China
103,423
153
28
38
Warwick Business School
UK
120,111
89
29
30
Manchester Business School
UK
114,769
111
30
28
University of Michigan: Ross
US
140,195
97
31
-
University of Hong Kong
China
114,119
114
32
33
Nanyang Business School
Singapore
102,683
132
33
33
Rotterdam School of Management, Erasmus University
Netherlands
105,546
103
34
22
Indian School of Business
India
123,470
152
35
38
University of Virginia: Darden
US
142,657
110
Final word
The Masters programme is for talented and ambitious young people with limited (if any work) work experience who would like to start a career in business. It is also more theory-oriented in terms of teaching style and more specialized in terms of content.
The MBA is usually for those who have already started their careers and want or need new knowledge, analysis tools and networking opportunities in order to change their line of business or secure a promotion.
Your career aspirations should decide your decision on which course to pursue. An MIM graduate will be hard pressed to find a managerial position upon graduating from B-school. MIM students lack the c.v. of their MBA counterparts and their work experience is limited. MIM graduate can expect entry level positions rather than managerial jobs. MBA graduates on the other hand are considered ‘experienced hires’, since they have been in business for several years prior to their MBA degree – consequently they are eligible to bag leadership or management positions.
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