Who Is Eligible for an Executive MBA Programs? [Updated Qualification 2025]

What Is An Executive MBA?

An Executive MBA degree is a degree that is developed for working professionals. An EMBA is a program that helps you to learn about the business world and related aspects. Under this program, working professionals get the opportunities to enhance their skills like analytical thinking, teamwork, corporate finance, decision making, strategic management, change management, data analysis, business ethics, operations management, leadership development, and more. People who are working and eager to study more about a particular topic or subject, then those individuals can pursue this program by choosing some specialization as this is a must process.

In an EMBA, students get various advantages over other MBA programs like flexibility. You get a flexible learning environment in an Executive MBA program, but in a regular MBA program, you can not see a flexible environment, there you need to visit the university campus to attend the class on a regular basis. In the case of the Executive MBA program, you can attend classes through online mode or on the weekends, or in the evening after getting free from your office work. As this Executive MBA program is for working professionals. Let’ know about the eligibility criteria and other requirements about an Executive MBA program

MBA Eligibility And Requirements

To know about the eligibility criteria to enroll in an Executive MBA program, then you should keep reading this blog. As this will not only tell you about the eligibility criteria but also tell you about other requirements and top universities offering Executive Programs. Below are different eligibility criteria to take admission in a Executive MBA program:

Academic qualifications

• Candidates must have completed their master’s degree in a relevant field of specialization. 

• To be eligible for an Executive MBA, you need to score a minimum marks of 50%

Work Experience 

To be eligible for an Executive MBA program, you need to have a certain period of work experience. Every university has their own set criteria for admissions to a specific program. Generally, the duration of work experience for an Executive MBA program is 2-5 years. However, some institutions ask for only one year of experience. You can check this on the university’s official website.

Entrance exams

Some Institutions ask for the scorecard of certain entrance exams that are required to take admission in Executive MBA programs. Major of these programs are given below:

CAT (Common Admission Test)

• Eligibility: Students need to complete their bachelor’s degree with minimum 50% marks from a recognized university or institution
• Registration Fee: INR 2,500 for general category and INR1,250 for reserved categories

GRE (Graduate Record Examinations)

• Eligibility: For the GRE exam, there is no specific eligibility criteria to fulfill. Thus, anyone can register for this exam irrespective of their age and educational background
• Registration Fee: For general test, it is INR 22,500
• For GRE subject Test, it is INR 14,500
• Rescheduling fee is INR 5,000
• Each additional Score report costs INR 2,900
• For Score review, it is INR 5,900

CMAT(Common Management Admission Test)

• Eligibility: Aspirants may need to complete their bachelor’s degree in any discipline from any recognized university
• Registration Fee: For General students or General/EWS/OBC-NCL (Male): ₹2500
• Female, Transgender, and Reserved Categories (SC/ST/PwD): ₹1250

NMAT (NMIMS Management Aptitude Test)

• Eligibility: Students must score 50% marks in their Bachelor’s degree from a recognized university
• Registration Fee: INR 3,000 plus Applicable taxes
• Rescheduling fee is INR 1,200 plus applicable taxes
• Additional score reports, it is INR 400 per report plus applicable taxes

If we look at the universities offering online Executive programs, then we get to know that as there is no seat limit thus they do not need any entrance exam. They just need you to register for the program and as soon as you enroll for the program, you get the access to their Online Learning Management System (LMS), where you get all the study material including the case studies, assessments, receded lectures, and live lectures as well.

CAT (Common Admission Test)

• Eligibility: Students need to complete their bachelor’s degree with minimum 50% marks from a recognized university or institution
• Registration Fee: INR 2,500 for general category and INR1,250 for reserved categories

GRE (Graduate Record Examinations)

• Eligibility: For the GRE exam, there is no specific eligibility criteria to fulfill. Thus, anyone can register for this exam irrespective of their age and educational background
• Registration Fee: For general test, it is INR 22,500
• For GRE subject Test, it is INR 14,500
• Rescheduling fee is INR 5,000
• Each additional Score report costs INR 2,900
• For Score review, it is INR 5,900

CMAT (Common Management Admission Test)

• Eligibility: Aspirants may need to complete their bachelor’s degree in any discipline from any recognized university
• Registration Fee: For General students or General/EWS/OBC-NCL (Male): ₹2500
• Female, Transgender, and Reserved Categories (SC/ST/PwD): ₹1250

NMAT (NMIMS Management Aptitude Test)

• Eligibility: Students must score 50% marks in their Bachelor’s degree from a recognized university
• Registration Fee: INR 3,000 plus Applicable taxes
• Rescheduling fee is INR 1,200 plus applicable taxes
• Additional score reports, it is INR 400 per report plus applicable taxes

Age limit

There is no such age limit to attempt any of these examinations. You can easily apply for all these exams by simply visiting their official website and pay the registration fee for your chosen exam. You need to take care of only one thing: that your bachelor’s degree  must be from some recognized university or institution.

Top Universities Offering Executive MBA

Various universities/institutions offer Executive MBA programs in various specializations. Every institution offers a few specializations, not every institution offers each and every specialization. Students need to understand their needs and finalize the specialization in which field they wish to pursue and get knowledge about. Below are the top universities that offer Executive MBA programs to the working professionals. To be specific, this below table is a list extracted from the NIRF (National Institutional Ranking Framework) 2024 ranking list. These are top universities among them, however, all the IIMs are concluded in one iiM but they all are in the top ranking list.

University/College	Type	Exam	Course Fee (Per Annum)
IIM	Online program	CAT, GMAT or GRE score and several years of work experience	INR 23-28 Lakhs
IIT	Part time and evening program	—	INR 4-25 Lakhs
XLRI	Full time and online	CAT or GATE	INR 20-23 Lakhs
Management Development institute (MDI)	Online program	CAT, GATE, XAT, or MAT	INR 4-12 Lakhs
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management	Part time program	SNAP (Symbiosis National Aptitude Test)	INR 5-10 Lakhs
S. P. Jain Institute of Management and Research	Part time program	Valid GMAT score	INR 2-16 Lakhs
Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies	Online Program	NMAT by GMAC (Graduate Management Admission Council)	INR 4-8 Lakhs
Amity University Online	Online Program	CAT, MAT, XAT, CMAT, GMAT, or NMAT, or Amity Common Admission Test (AMCAT)	INR 4-8 Lakhs
Institute of Management Technology	Full time Program	CAT	INR 2-22 Lakhs
OP Jindal Global University	Online Program	CAT, MAT, XAT, CMAT, ATMA, NMAT, GMAT, or GRE	INR 4-25 Lakhs

Additionally, this table gives you the insight of the average annual fee for the Executive MBA program. Moreover, this table also shows all the exams that they are accepting for the admission purposes.

Top Universities Offering Online Executive MBA programs

Some universities are offering online Executive MBA programs that help those working professionals who can not visit the university campus or don’t have that much time to attend the lectures. Here in the online Executive MBA program, they get to learn all the syllabus and the course only through the online mode. Let’s see some universities that are offering online Executive MBA programs.

Top Universities Offering Online Executive MBA programs
Top Online Executive MBA offering University	Fees (May vary from university to university)
	Total fee	Detailed Fee
IIM Indore Executive MBA	INR 14 Lakhs	Total program fee: 14 Lakhs
IIM Visakhapatnam Executive MBA	INR 11.90 Lakhs	Application fee: INR 2,950/- Total program fee: 11,90,000/-
OP Jindal Global University Executive MBA program	INR 1.60 Lakhs	Base Program Fee: INR 1,60,000/- EMI starting at INR 5,449
Liverpool Business School Executive MBA online	INR 4.80 Lakhs	Base Program fee: 4.80 Lakhs EMI starting at INR 11,554 Immersion program fee: INR 7,10,000/- EMI fro Immersion fee: INR 16,658
Deakin Business School Executive MBA Global Online	INR 5.50 Lakhs	Base Program Fee: INR 5,50,000 EMI Starting at INR 12,583 Immersion Program Fee: INR 8,50,000 EMI Starting at INR 19,773
Edgewood College Executive MBA Global Online	INR 3.56 Lakhs	Base Program Fee: INR 3,56,000/- EMI starting at INR 15,875

What Are The Advantages Of Pursuing An Online Executive MBA?

Pursuing an Executive MBA (EMBA) offers numerous advantages, particularly for experienced professionals looking to advance their careers. Here are five key benefits:

• Career Advancement: With the advanced leadership and strategic thinking abilities that an Executive MBA offers you, you are a strong candidate for govt and senior management jobs.  It puts you in a role to take on more responsibilities and maybe earn an extra salary.
• Networking Opportunities: The EMBA program introduces you to a wide range of accomplished experts from different sectors, which broadens your network and offers beneficial business relationships which can enhance professional development and teamwork.
• Practical Knowledge: With an emphasis on real-world business problems and case studies, EMBA programs are tailored for working professionals and allow you to fast follow newly acquired knowledge for your current job, improving your studying and performance at work.
• Flexibility for Professionals: Work, study, and personal life can all be balanced with the majority of EMBA programs, which can be made with flexibility in mind.  Classes are once in a while presented in modular formats or on the weekends, which makes it less complicated to work at the same time as pursuing the course.
• Global Perspective: Many EMBA programs include international modules or partnerships with global institutions, offering insights into global business practices and strategies, which can be particularly beneficial if you're looking to expand your company's reach or work in international markets.

What Are The Different Specializations Offered Under The Executive MBA Program?

Under every program, there are certain specializations that they offer to the students. Similarly, under the Executive MBA program, there are various specializations that are offered by various universities or institutions. Below are a few of the specializations offered by the universities. Let’s have a look at those specializations.

specializations
Finance	Marketing
Human Resources (HR)	Business Analytics
Information Technology (IT)	Operations Management
Project Management	Sustainability Management
International Business	General Management
Entrepreneurship	Healthcare Management
Supply Chain Management	Accounting
Global Business	Strategic management
Leadership & Management	Information Technology

Conclusion

In this blog, you got to learn about Executive MBA eligibility. Additionally, you learned about the universities offering the program with their fee structure and exams scorecard accepted for them. An Executive MBA is a 2-year program which is designed for working professionals who can continue working and on the weekends or in the evening, they can study.