Eligibility, selection weights, important dates and batch profile
IIM B Admission 2026-27 — Eligibility, Cutoffs, Selection Process & Important Dates
IIM Bangalore runs the 2-year PGP (MBA) plus a joint-placement PGPBA (Business Analytics), the 1-year EPGP (Executive MBA, FT-ranked #34 globally), PGPEM (Enterprise Management, part-time), and the FPM doctoral programme. Admission to the flagship PGP is a strict two-stage formula published officially in the IIM Bangalore PGP 2026-28 Admission Procedure: a Pre-PI score on 100 points (CAT 55 + Academics 30 + Work-Ex 10 + Gender 5) selects who gets called for the PI+WAT day, after which a Post-PI score on 100 points (PI 40 + CAT 25 + WAT 10 + Work-Ex × Quality 10 + Academics 15) determines final admission. Gender diversity bonus applies only to the Pre-PI stage and is dropped from the final calculation.
Programmes & fees (PGP 2025-27 admit data)
PGP (MBA) — flagship
2-year residential · ~480 seats · CAT 2025 entry · ₹26 L total (Tuition ₹22 L + Other ₹4 L) · joint placements with PGPBA
PGPBA (Business Analytics)
2-year residential · ~64 seats · CAT 2025 entry · ₹26 L total · analytics-focused MBA · joint placements with PGP
EPGP (Executive MBA)
1-year residential · 82 seats · GMAT or CAT · ~₹35 L · FT-ranked #34 globally · mean salary ~₹35.5 LPA · for mid-career professionals
PGPEM (Enterprise Mgmt)
2-year part-time · GMAT · ~₹35 L · no residential requirement · for working professionals in Bengaluru
FPM (Doctoral)
4-5 years · fully funded with stipend + research allowance · CAT/GMAT/GATE · academic-career track
Aggregate 85 %ile · VARC 80 · DILR 75 · QA 75 — these are first-shortlist minimums. Note from IIMB: "scores of those called for interviews were higher" — realistic shortlist 98+ %ile.
NC-OBC
Aggregate 75 %ile · VARC 70 · DILR 65 · QA 65
EWS
Aggregate 75 %ile · VARC 70 · DILR 65 · QA 65
SC
Aggregate 70 %ile · VARC 65 · DILR 60 · QA 60
ST
Aggregate 65 %ile · VARC 55 · DILR 55 · QA 55
PWD
Aggregate 60 %ile · VARC 50 · DILR 50 · QA 50
Positive-raw-score gate
Only candidates with a strictly positive raw score in ALL THREE sections of CAT 2025 are considered. A zero or negative in any section is an automatic disqualifier regardless of percentile.
Eligibility
Academic
Bachelor's degree (any discipline) with min 50% / equivalent CGPA · SC/ST/PwD min 45%. OR a completed professional degree (CA / CS / ICWA(CMA) / FIAI).
CA/CS/ICWA path
Applicants without a bachelor's degree but with CA/ICWA/CS completed after Class XII are eligible — same min % requirement as bachelor's degree.
CAT requirement
Valid CAT 2025 score on date of application submission.
Final-year applicants
Allowed — must submit bonafide certificate from institution.
References (mandatory)
TWO online reference letters required. Referees submit directly via the IIMB portal — application cannot be submitted until both are received. References preferred from employer (current or past) or academic teacher. No extension granted for late references.
Documents to upload
10th + 12th + bachelor's transcripts · degree/provisional certificate · bonafide cert (if final-year) · professional degree transcripts (if applicable) · Statement of Purpose · work-ex letters + first and last payslips (if applicable) · category cert · disability cert + UDID card (for PwD)
10 + 10 = 20 points. Scores normalised. Candidates without 10th/12th score due to COVID get weight redistributed.
Bachelor's degree
10 points. Score normalised. Incomplete/intermediate scores considered only if final score pending.
Work-Ex formula
Score = 10 × (months / 36) for 0 < x < 36 months · = 10 for x ≥ 36 months. Months counted up to July 2025. Internships, articleship, and unpaid work do NOT count.
Professional course bonus
CA / ICWA / CS final-year-completed scores normalised; max of work-ex score and professional course score is used.
Gender diversity
5 points (non-male candidates). Applies ONLY at Pre-PI stage — dropped from Post-PI calculation.
Standardisation formula
For every component: standardised = Max[0, min{wt, wt/2 + ((val − mean) / sd) × wt/6}] truncated to [0, wt].
Top-10 auto-qualifiers
Top 10 candidates in each of (CAT total score, adjusted bachelor's degree score among commerce/arts/science streams, professional CA/ICWA/CS score) automatically qualify for the PI stage — even if their pre-PI composite is below the standard cutoff.
Stage II — Post-PI Composite (total 100 points)
Personal Interview
40 points — dominant component. Same day and location as WAT.
CAT 2025
25 points: VARC 8.75 + DILR 10 + QA 6.25. DILR still weighted highest within CAT.
WAT (Written Ability Test)
10 points. Duration ~30 minutes. Evaluated on content AND style of the written note.
Work-Ex × Quality score
10 points. Pre-PI work-ex score is scaled down from 10 to 5, then multiplied by Quality of Experience score (0.25 / 0.5 / 1 / 1.5 / 2 scale) — Quality of Experience is rated separately by EACH interview panel member and averaged.
10th + 12th boards
5 + 5 = 10 points (down from 20 at Pre-PI stage).
Bachelor's degree
5 points (down from 10 at Pre-PI stage).
No gender diversity bonus
Gender diversity does NOT apply at Post-PI stage. Final offers go strictly by Post-PI score within each category.
Batch profile (PGP 2025-27)
Size
544 students (PGP + PGPBA combined for placements)
Gender
37.5% female · 62.5% male — higher female representation than IIM-A
85% with work-ex · avg ~26 months — more experienced than IIM-A's 73% / 25 months
Reservations & integrity
Reservations
EWS, NC-OBC, SC, ST, PWD per Government of India law
Fraud penalty
False work-ex claims → automatic disqualification + 3-year ban from applying to ANY programme at IIMB.
Disputes
Any admissions dispute for PGP 2026-28 falls under jurisdiction of competent courts in Bangalore only.
Important note
Single-cycle policy
IIMB explicitly states all the above applies ONLY to the 2026-28 admission cycle. IIMB reserves the right to change the formula in future years — do not assume continuity.
CAT cutoffs (official, by category)
Category
VARC
DILR
QA
Total
General
80
75
75
85
NC-OBC
70
65
65
75
EWS
70
65
65
75
SC
65
60
60
70
ST
55
55
55
65
PwD
50
50
50
60
Sectional + total percentile minimums from the official admission policy. Meeting the cutoff is the FIRST gate — final selection depends on the composite score.
How selection works
Stage 1 — Shortlisting for PI
CAT 2025 (VARC 19 + DILR 21 + QA 15)55%
10th board (normalised)10%
12th board (normalised)10%
Bachelor's degree (normalised)10%
Work experience / Professional course10%
Gender diversity (pre-PI only)5%
Stage 2 — Final selection (post-PI)
Personal Interview40%
CAT 2025 (VARC 8.75 + DILR 10 + QA 6.25)25%
Written Ability Test (WAT) — ~30 min10%
Work Experience × Quality-of-Exp Score10%
10th board5%
12th board5%
Bachelor's degree5%
Detailed selection process — what to expect at each stage
01
CAT (Common Admission Test)
Computer-based · 3 sections (VARC, DILR, QA) · valid CAT 2025 score required on date of application submission.
02
Online Application + 2 References
Submit online form with 10th/12th/bachelor transcripts, SOP, work-ex letters + first/last payslips, and category certificate. TWO online reference letters (employer or academic teacher) submitted directly by referees — application cannot be submitted until both references arrive.
03
First Shortlist (CAT minimums + positive raw score)
Cleared if you meet the Annexure I cutoffs by category (General: VARC 80 / DILR 75 / QA 75 / Aggregate 85 %ile) AND have a strictly positive raw score in ALL three CAT sections. Negative or zero raw in any section disqualifies regardless of percentile.
04
Pre-PI Composite Score (out of 100)
CAT 55 (VARC 19 + DILR 21 + QA 15) + 10th board 10 + 12th board 10 + Bachelor's 10 + Work-Ex 10 + Gender Diversity 5. Work-Ex = 10x/36 for 0<x<36 months, capped at 10 for x≥36. Top 10 in each of (CAT total, adjusted bachelor's for commerce/arts/science, professional CA/ICWA/CS) auto-qualify for the PI stage.
05
PI + WAT Invitation
A specified number of candidates per reservation category is invited for the PI+WAT day. PI and WAT happen on the same day and same location.
06
Written Ability Test (WAT)
~30 minutes · candidates write a note on a given topic · evaluated on content AND style of writing.
07
Personal Interview (PI)
Conducted by faculty panel. Each panel member separately rates Quality of Experience (0.25 / 0.5 / 1 / 1.5 / 2 scale) which is averaged and multiplied by the (now scaled-down to 5) work-ex score.
08
Final Composite Score (out of 100)
PI 40 + WAT 10 + CAT 25 (VARC 8.75 + DILR 10 + QA 6.25) + Work-Ex × Quality 10 + 10th board 5 + 12th board 5 + Bachelor's 5. NO gender diversity bonus at this stage. Final offers go strictly by post-PI score within each category.
Batch profile
544 students
Batch size
37.5%
Female %
26 months
Avg work exp
70%
Engineers
85%
With work exp
IIM B Financial Aid 2026 — Loans, EMI Options & Scholarships