MBA at IIMs seems to be the natural path many engineers take in order to gain career growth and higher pay checks. But today we find doctors, CAs, lawyers, humanities graduates, etc., also fighting to get into the top IIMs of the country. Academic diversity is a special focus for various b-schools as well. Various IIMs also give out points for academic diversity in order to broaden their scope and relevance. On the one hand, recruiters are looking at diverse profiles while hiring from the top b-schools. On the other, the IIMs themselves want to include a wide spectrum in their classrooms. So how impactful have the initiatives set up by IIMs been, to introduce more diversity in the MBA classroom? This report, based on data for the MBA class of 2021, provides key insights about academic diversity at India's top b-schools. This Academic Diversity Report - one of its kind on InsideIIM - will give you a synopsis of the academic backgrounds of the students from various IIMs in the country.
Academic Diversity At IIMs - Class of 2019-21: Key Highlights
- IIM Shillong is the most academically diverse b-school with 44% non-engineers in the class of 2021.
- None of the BLACKI feature in the top 5, when it comes to academically diverse IIMs in India. In fact, the new IIMs seem to be more diverse than the BLACKI institutes.
- IIM Indore emerges the most academically diverse b-school amongst the legacy IIMs.
- IIM Calcutta remains the least academically diverse IIM among the BLACKI institutes.
- Among the new IIMs, IIM Udaipur and Sirmaur seem to be the least academically diverse.
- IIM Rohtak emerges the most academically diverse among the newer IIMs with 41.06% non-engineers.
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InsideIIM Academic Diversity Report - Class of 2019-21 - Ft. IIMs
We received data of academic profiles of the batches of 35+ business schools from different parts of India. We received data from 14 IIMs. This particular report is a compilation of the data received from various IIMs.
Important points to be noted:
The academic diversity of business schools will be segmented based on batch-strength, as follows -
- a) Batch Size > 300
- b) Batch Size =< 300
- c) Batch Size < 150
Note: We did not receive data from IIM Bodhgaya, IIM Kashipur, IIM Jammu and IIM Raipur.
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Also Read: 7 IIMs Feature Amongst The Top 10 Most Gender Diverse B-Schools In India.
The Top-5 Most Academically Diverse IIMs - Class of 2021
The bar-graph below indicates the IIMs with the highest percentage of non-engineers in their respective batches, in descending order -
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| Rank | B-School | Percentage of Non-Engineers |
| 1 | IIM Shillong | 44% |
| 2 | IIM Rohtak | 41.06% |
| 3 | IIM Ranchi | 32.98% |
| 4 | IIM Trichy | 31.06% |
| 5 | IIM Amritsar | 29.05% |
The following figures emerge for the academic diversity of the IIMs in this report:
Most Academically Diverse IIMs (2019-21) - B-Schools With Batch Size Greater Than 300
With an intake of over 300 students for their 2-year management programmes, these IIMs have a huge challenge oh hand, maintaining a significant balance in the academic diversity of their respective batches.
For example, while IIM Rohtak and IIM Shillong are more academically diverse than IIM Bangalore and IIM Kozhikode, the batch size of the latter institutes is much greater than the former, therefore presenting a bigger challenge for IIM Bangalore and Kozhikode to bring in more academic diversity and sustain it. The bar-graph below indicates the percentage of non-engineers in institutes with a batch size greater than 300 students, in descending order:
IIM Indore seems to be the most academically diverse, with 29% non-engineers, in this cohort. But this can be attributed to the large batch size that is taken in by the institute as well. IIM A, on the other hand, was the most academically diverse b-school in this cohort for the class of 2018-20. A fact attributed to the b-school's selection process where non-engineers were preferred in the 2nd selection round. This year though, IIM A seems to have a lower score on the diversity index. Hopefully, for the class of 2020-22, IIM A will bounce back with a more diverse batch.
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Also Watch: IIM Indore Director, Dr. Himanshu Rai Explains The Importance & Value Of Diversity At B-School
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IIM Calcutta has historically scored low on the academic diversity spectrum, along with IIM Bangalore. Despite going from 12% non-engineers in 2018-20 to 13% this time around, IIM B and C seem to be on the opposite end of the spectrum when it comes to academic diversity. In case of both the institutes, keeping in mind that they are recruiting grounds for top consulting firms, though, perhaps the preference for engineers might be explained.
It's still a matter of concern that despite diversity points at IIM C, there's still a large number of engineers.
Note: IIM Indore data includes the data for the PGP course as well as the PGPH course. Also, we could not get absolute data for IIM C.
| B-School | Engineering | Commerce | Arts | Others | Total Batch Size |
| IIM Bangalore | 82.99% | 10.43% | - | 6.58% | 441 |
| IIM Ahmedabad | 73.97% | 21.13% | 3.09% | 1.80% | 388 |
| IIM Lucknow | 73.85% | 11.30% | 3.56% | 11.30% | 478 |
| IIM Calcutta | - | - | - | 13% | 480 |
| IIM Indore | 71.26% | 10.10% | 0.00% | 18.64% | 515 |
| IIM Kozhikode | 72.29% | 11.46% | 4.58% | 11.67% | 480 |
Most Academically Diverse IIMs (2019-21) - B-Schools With Batch Size Less Than/ Equal To 300
The batch-strength of these business schools ranges between 170-300, which still presents the challenge of balancing academic diversity; though to a lesser extent as compared to institutes which have a greater intake. The bar-graph below indicates the percentage of non-engineers in institutes with a batch size less than 300 but greater than 150 students, in descending order.
IIM Shillong emerges as the most academically diverse IIM in this cohort with 44% non engineers. With 24% students from the commerce background, this relatively new IIM was the most diverse IIM in last year's report as well. It's interesting to note that at IIM Shillong, engineers made up 87% of the Class of 2019 and 72% made up the Class of 2018, while in 2020 they made up 58% of the batch. This trend of balancing academic diversity seems to continue this year too, for the class of 2021, where 56% of the batch is engineers. The institute sets an example when it comes to academic diversity.
Another new IIM, IIM Rohtak follows a close second with batch comprising 59% engineers. IIMs Trichy and Ranchi, established in the same year as IIMs Udaipur and just 3 years after IIM Shillong, seem to have caught up and show a more academically diverse batch compared to last year's numbers. IIM Udaipur on the other hand boasted a 32.70% of non engineers in the class of 2018-20. But this seems to have changed this time around for the class of 2019-21. With only 17.38% non engineers at IIM Udaipur this year (slightly higher batch size notwithstanding), the institute needs to work on ensuring a more academically diverse batch once again.
| B-School | Engineering | Commerce | Arts | Others | Total Batch Size |
| IIM Shillong | 56.00% | 24.00% | 9.00% | 11.00% | 200 |
| IIM Trichy | 68.94% | 13.62% | 2.13% | 15.32% | 235 |
| IIM Rohtak | 58.94% | 19.11% | 2.85% | 19.11% | 246 |
| IIM Udaipur | 82.62% | 14.54% | 2.48% | 0.35% | 282 |
| IIM Ranchi | 67.02% | 14.89% | 3.90% | 14.18% | 282 |
Most Academically Diverse IIMs (2019-21) - B-Schools With Batch Size Less Than 150
The bar-graph below indicates the percentage of non-engineers in institutes with a batch size less than 150 students, in descending order:
IIM Amritsar emerges as the most academically diverse b-school in this cohort with almost 30% non engineers despite the relatively smaller batch size, as compared to IIM Sambalpur and IIM Sirmaur. IIM Sirmaur, with only 12% of non engineers, needs to focus on academic diversity as well.
| B-School | Engineering | Commerce | Arts | Others | Total Batch Size |
| IIM Amritsar | 73.96% | 9.38% | 2.08% | 14.58% | 96 |
| IIM Sambalpur | 70.95% | 16.22% | 3.38% | 9.46% | 148 |
| IIM Sirmaur | 87.60% | 7.44% | 0.00% | 4.96% | 121 |
Conclusion:
Academic and gender diversity at the top best b-schools in India - the IIMs, still remain a major concern. With a majority of engineering graduates still making the cut, other academic disciplines remain a minority at IIMs. Despite engineers having an advantage in the QA section (apparently), we can see a subtle shift in academic diversity at IIMs though. With more and more firms wanting to hire for specialised roles from IIMs, CAs/CFAs, commerce grads, doctors, lawyers and humanities students too are cracking major b-schools including the IIMs.
With gender diversity reaching a new high, we hope that academic diversity is not so lofty a goal any more and we have already started on the right path. From this report, we can see the subtle shift in terms of IIMs trying to get more inclusive and open, or at least trying to maintain a standard when it comes to diversity. This can be seen through additional points for academic diversity in the selection criteria of most business schools for the past few years.
(If your b-school has a higher ratio but still hasn’t featured in this list, it is possible that the data wasn’t shared with us. In case you want your b-school to be featured on this list, please send the required stats to Debayan at editor@insideiim.com.
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