IIM Graduates Debut With Degrees
Careers 360|November 2019
Indian Institutes of Management that used to grant postgraduate diplomas are now granting degrees thanks to the IIM Act. What di­erence does it make to graduates?
Pritha Roy Choudhury
IIM Graduates Debut With Degrees

Shivani Pethe, a research scholar with Indian Institute of Manage-ment Calcutta (IIM-C), had faced a peculiar problem. With a background in statistics and master’s degree in operations research, she wanted to study “industrial clusters”. “I am working on industrial clusters.

My particular topic is at the intersection of operations management and strategic management,” she says. Her best bet for research guidance was not a university but an IIM. “I picked an IIM over any university because it really allows you to have a multidisciplinary approach which a normal university with a single operations management program may not be able to,” says Pethe, now in the fourth-year of the program.

At the time she joined, the doctoral research programmes at the premier public business schools did not end in PhD degrees. They were called “fellowship programmes” and their graduates “Fellows”. Similarly, students of the two-year post graduate management programmes left with diplomas, not degrees. While granted equivalence by the Association of Indian Universities, the PGDM-holders often faced problems at the time of recruitment and promotions in India’s regular public university system. Some even faced problems while pursing studies abroad.

Pethe’s status has changed since. In 2017, Parliament passed the Indian Institute of Management Act bestowing upon the IIMs the power to award degrees instead of diplomas. When she is through with her research, she will be a full-fledged PhD degree holder and permitted to use the honorific “doctor” before her name.

Beyond the name

“A “PhD” is a universally-accepted title. Previously, those who were in doctoral studies were called ‘fellows’. In that case, if they wanted to apply

This story is from the November 2019 edition of Careers 360.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

This story is from the November 2019 edition of Careers 360.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.

MORE STORIES FROM CAREERS 360View All
249 New Universities In 5 Years
Careers 360

249 New Universities In 5 Years

Private universities have grown but over 70% students still attend public universities. Women's enrolment has risen 20%, Tamil Nadu has the higher GER among states.

time-read
3 mins  |
July 2023
AIIMS Delhi: Changing The Way It Teaches
Careers 360

AIIMS Delhi: Changing The Way It Teaches

AIIMS Delhi has started reforming the way fourth-year MBBS students are taught to draw them away from coaching and in lecture classes.

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2023
'FEELS LIKE HOME HERE'
Careers 360

'FEELS LIKE HOME HERE'

With apps for using everything from the mess to laundry services, specialist firms are bringing a new level of ease and convenience to private university hostel residents.

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2023
A MODERN TOUCH
Careers 360

A MODERN TOUCH

Sanskrit universities are launching modern courses, and offering programmes in different disciplines after becoming central universities.

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2023
HOW MEDICAL EDUCATION IS CHANGING
Careers 360

HOW MEDICAL EDUCATION IS CHANGING

A new 'exit' exam, proposal for common NEET counselling, new regulations on making medical college assessment reports public - here's everything that NMC is changing.

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2023
UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES ARE GETTING NEW NAMES, STRUCTURES
Careers 360

UNDERGRADUATE DEGREES ARE GETTING NEW NAMES, STRUCTURES

AUGC panel has suggested news names for arts, science, commerce degrees in line with international practices and the NEP 2020. Here's how the new nomenclature will work.

time-read
2 mins  |
July 2023
MEET THE DOCTOR WHO SAVED THE JARAWA TRIBE FROM EXTINCTION
Careers 360

MEET THE DOCTOR WHO SAVED THE JARAWA TRIBE FROM EXTINCTION

The Jarawas, an indigenous tribe of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands have been inhabiting the islands for over 2,000 years. Contact with the outside world had put them at risk of deadly diseases including measles. For 15 years from the late 90's, Dr. Ratan Chandra Kar, alumnus of Nil Ratan Sircar Medical College in Kolkata, treated and protected the Jarawas, preventing their extinction. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2023 and recognised by NRS Medical College. He spoke to Careers360 about his experience and why young doctors must serve in remote areas.

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2023
'A BOON FOR THE DISTRICT'
Careers 360

'A BOON FOR THE DISTRICT'

170 years-old Krishnath College is transforming into Murshidabad University which is keeping the college's heritage but bringing modern, globally-linked education to the district.

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2023
POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS' DRP WOES
Careers 360

POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS' DRP WOES

The District Residency Programme has been introduced on the heels of the pandemic, without adequate planning or preparation, complained postgraduate students.

time-read
4 mins  |
July 2023
'Every UP district will have at least one medical college by 2027'
Careers 360

'Every UP district will have at least one medical college by 2027'

Thirteen new government medical colleges in Uttar Pradesh are set to begin their first academic session from 2023, raising the tally of government MBBS seats in the state to 5,128. Alok Kumar, principal secretary, department of medical education, UP, spoke to Careers360 about the expansion, meeting staff requirements, the government's focus on nursing and improving healthcare.

time-read
5 mins  |
July 2023