IIM Courses for Working Professionals - With & Without CAT

Each year, over two lakh candidates and management aspirants appear for the nationally known Common Admission Test, or the CAT. Applicants’ performance in this management examination is one of the primary screening factors for admission to the most elite group of management institutions–the Indian Institute of Management (IIMs). However, the IIMs have only over 5000 seats for which admissions are conducted through CAT 2025 exam scores (and other factors). As a result, the competition for securing a seat through the CAT examination is exorbitant. 

Many students consequently raise the query of whether a course from an elite management institute like the IIM can be pursued without a valid CAT 2025 score. Working professionals also seek admission to a number of executive courses which require CAT or equivalent management aptitude tests like the GMAT or GRE. A major concern among such professionals is the availability of executive courses without an entrance exam like CAT.  

If you are a management aspirant with a similar concern, then this blog is the right spot for you. Read further as we clarify the details about how to get admissions in an IIM without a CAT score, along with further details about such courses and admission procedure. Details about courses that also require a CAT have also been mentioned. 

Are There IIM Courses for Working Professionals With & Without CAT?

Yes, working professionals seeking to take admission in a course offered by an IIM can apply to both courses that require a CAT score or don’t do so. 

The Common Admission Test (CAT), being one of the nation’s entrances with the highest competition levels, the average cutoffs for admissions to IIMs based on CAT frequently soar up to 99 percentile. With high stakes of the test as well as cut-throat competition to outperform others to secure seats in eminent IIMs, many students raise concerns about alternative ways of getting admission into an IIM course. However, securing a good percentile in the CAT 2025 exam which held on November 30, 2025, provide a competitive advantage to working professionals in getting admissions to IIMs. 

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With many students being unable to secure a seat in an IIM program through CAT examinations, either due to low score or due to being unable to appear for the test, the IIMs have introduced many courses in the regular mode, online mode as well as hybrid mode for management aspirants that do not require a CAT score for admission. 

As of 2023, over 10 IIM campuses have introduced courses in the online, regular and hybrid mode that do not require a CAT score to seek admission. Rather, other eligibility factors such as prior educational qualifications and professional experience, scores on other management aptitude tests (e.g. GMAT, GRE etc.), personal interviews, institutional aptitude tests etc. are considered for admission to these courses. 

IIM campuses offer a number of courses like 

• Online/Hybrid Certifications 
• Online/Hybrid/Regular Diplomas 
• Online/Hybrid/Regular  Degrees 
• Online/Hybrid Executive Courses 

 That do not require a CAT score for admissions. 

Students, freshers as well as working professionals (including executives and managers) can take these courses up. 

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Title: Top Courses Without CAT at IIMs

• Full-Time Certifications 
• Full-Time PG Diplomas
• Full-Time Degrees
• Online/Hybrid Certifications 
• Online/Hybrid PG Diplomas 
• Online/Hybrid Degrees 

So, if you are a management aspirant seeking admission in an IIM, then yes, IIMs provide a number of course options to choose from without a CAT score. 

Top IIM Courses To Take Up With & Without CAT 2025 Score

Here is a list of the top IIM campuses along with their highly sought management programs without a CAT. Please note that this table lists most of the courses available without a CAT examination, however, it is not exhaustive as the campuses are introducing many new certifications, diplomas etc. each academic season for students to pursue. Some of these courses require a CAT score but candidates with a valid score on any other  equivalent management aptitude test such as GMAT or GRE can seek admissions in these courses. 

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Title: IIM Campuses Offering Executive Courses Without CAT 

• IIM Ahmedabad 
• IIM Bangalore 
• IIM Calcutta 
• IIM Kozhikode
• IIM Udaipur
• IIM Indore 
• IIM Nagpur 

Find the most widely pursued IIM courses without a CAT examination enlisted below! 

IIM Campus	Course	Course Type	Minimum Eligibility
IIM Ahmedabad	Armed Forces Programme	PG Diploma	Graduation
IIM Ahmedabad	ePost Graduate Diploma in Advanced Business Analytics (ePGD-ABA)	PG Diploma	Graduation + 2 Years of Work Experience + GMAT/GRE/CAT/GATE/ Aptitude Test
IIM Ahmedabad	e-Mode Post Graduate Programme in Management (ePGPM)	Master’s Degree	Graduation + 3 Years of Work Experience
IIM Ahmedabad	Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (MBA-PGPX)	Master’s Degree	Graduation + GMAT/GRE + 4 Years Work Experience
IIM Bangalore	Executive Post Graduate Programme  in Management (EPGP)	Master’s Degree	Graduation + GMAT/GRE
IIM Bangalore	Post Graduate Programme in Enterprise Management (PGPEM)	Master’s Degree	Graduation + GMAT/GRE/CAT
IIM Bangalore	Post Graduate Programme in Public Policy and Management (PGPPM)	Master’s Degree	Graduation + GMAT/GRE/CAT
IIM Calcutta	MBA for Executives (MBA-Ex)	Master’s Degree	Graduation + GMAT + 5 Years Work Experience
IIM Calcutta	Post Graduate Diploma in Business Analytics (PGDBA)	PG Diploma	Graduation
IIM Kozhikode	Executive Post Graduate Programme - Interactive Learning Mode (EPGP)	Master’s Degree	Graduation  + 3 Years of Work Experience
IIM Kozhikode	Post Graduate Programme in Liberal Studies & Management (PGP-LSM)	PG Diploma	Graduation + GMAT/GRE/CAT
IIM Kozhikode	Post Graduate Programme in Business Leadership (PGP-BL)	PG Diploma	Graduation + GMAT/GRE/CAT + 3 Years of Work Experience
IIM Kozhikode	Post Graduate Programme in Finance (PGP-Finance)	Master’s Degree	Graduation + GRE/GMAT/CAT
IIM Udaipur	Post Graduate Diploma in Business Analytics (PGDBA Working Executives)	PG Diploma	Graduation + GRE/GMAT/CAT
IIM Udaipur	MBA-Global Supply Chain Management	Master’s Degree	Graduation + GRE/GMAT/CAT + 3 Years of Work Experience
IIM Udaipur	MBA-Digital Enterprise Management	Master’s Degree	Graduation + GRE/GMAT/CAT + 3 Years of Work Experience
IIM Nagpur	MBA for Working Professionals	Master’s Degree	IIM Nagpur Aptitude Test
IIM Indore	Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management (EPGP)	Master’s Degree	Graduation + GMAT + 5 Years of Work Experience
IIM Ranchi	Executive MBA (EMBA)	Master’s Degree	Graduation + Personal Interview
IIM Kashipur	Executive MBA (EMBA)	Master’s Degree	Graduation + GMAT/CAT
IIM Amritsar	Executive MBA (EMBA)	Master’s Degree	Graduation + GMAT/CAT/GRE + 3 Years of Work Experience

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Title: Full-Time IIM Courses Without CAT 

• Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives (PGPX)
• Executive MBA (EMBA)
• PG Diploma in Business Analytics (PGDBA) for Executives 
• PG Programme in Finance (PGP-Finance)
• Executive Post Graduate Programme  in Management (EPGP)

IIM Courses for Working Professionals With & Without CAT

In addition to the vast number of courses that can be taken up after qualifying the CAT exam, a large number of courses offered by the IIMs that can be taken up in the absence of a valid CAT score are intended for working professionals, for whom, preparing and qualifying a highly competitive examination like the CAT might be cumbersome and unviable. 

To ensure that working professionals, whether at fresher, managerial or executive positions, get ample opportunities to pursue further education and skill development, IIMs have introduced a number of certification courses, diplomas as well as micromasters and masters degree programs that do not require a CAT score on a mandatory basis. The enrolments to such courses are conducted majorly based on educational qualifications and prior work experience. 

A large number of these courses are offered in the online or hybrid mode of learning, to provide increased flexibility of course completion as well as affordable education to working professionals. 

Given here is a list of the top courses available to choose from, especially designed for the skill needs of working professionals, which do not require a CAT score for admissions. 

IIM Campus	Course	Course Type	Minimum Eligibility
IIM Rohtak	Online Executive Certification Programme in Data Analytics	Online Certificate	Any Valid Bachelor's from a Recognised University + Minimum 2 Years of Work Experience
IIM Ahmedabad	Online Certification Course in General Management for Shipping	Online Certificate	Qualified Professionals with Experience in the Maritime Industry
IIM Kozhikode	Online Professional Certificate Programme in Applied Data Science and Machine Learning	Online Certificate	Any Valid Bachelor's from a Recognised University + Minimum 3 Years of Work Experience
IIM Bangalore	Online MicroMasters Program in Entrepreneurship	Master’s Degree	Graduation + Professional Working Experience
IIM Kashipur	Online eDP in Applied Financial Risk Management	Online Certification	Any Valid Bachelor's from a Recognised University + Minimum 2 Years of Work Experience
IIM Raipur	Online eDP in Data Science and Machine Learning using R and Python	Online Certification	Any Valid Bachelor's from a Recognised University + Minimum 2 Years of Work Experience
IIM Indore	Online Executive Programme in Healthcare Management (EPHM)	Online Certification	Graduate/Equivalent Education + Minimum 5 Years of Professional Experience
IIM Visakhapatnam	Online Executive Development Program in Strategic Human Resource Management	Online Certification	Any Valid bachelor's from a Recognised University + Preferable 1 Year Work Experience
IIM Rohtak	Online Post Graduate Programme in Management for Executives	PG Diploma	Valid Bachelor’s/ Master’s Degree with Minimum 3 Years of Professional Experience
IIM Indore	Online Executive Programme in Blockchain and FinTech	Online Certification	Graduate/Equivalent Education + Minimum 5 Years of Professional Experience
IIM Raipur	Online Post Graduate Executive Certification in General Management	Online Certification	Any Valid Bachelor's from a Recognised University + Minimum 2 Years of Work Experience
IIM Raipur	Online Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management	Masters Degree	Any Valid Bachelor’s Degree from a Recognised University + Minimum 3 Years of Working Experience
IIM Bangalore	Online Micromasters Program in Business Management	Master’s Degree	Graduation + Professional Experience at the Managerial Level

A number of the courses mentioned above are available in the online or hybrid mode, which means enrolled professionals can conveniently pursue them through either the IIM’s official online learning platform or through their partnered MOOC platforms. 

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Title: Online IIM Courses without CAT for Executives 

• Executive Certification Programme in Data Analytics
• MicroMasters Program in Entrepreneurship
• Executive PGP in Management
• eDP in Applied Financial Risk Management
• Certification in General Management for Shipping
• Executive Development Program in Strategic HRM

Top Online Executive Programs Offered by IIMS

IIM Online Executive MBA	IIM Online Certificate In Digital Marketing and Analytics
IIM Online Certificate In Project Management	IIM Online Certificate In Data Science and Analytics
IIM Online Certificate In Financial Management	IIM Online Certificate In Advanced HR Management
IIM Online Certificate In Leadership & Management	IIM Online Certificate In Supply Chain
IIM Online Certificate In Operations	IIM Online Certificate In Financial Data Analytics

Admission Procedure for IIM Courses With & Without CAT Exam

Although the courses listed here do not require a mandatory CAT score for admissions, the selection procedure for these courses is still quite comprehensive and rigorous to ensure that appropriate candidates with the acumen for management are shortlisted for completing the course. 

The general admission procedure for the full-time regular courses at IIM with and without a CAT for working professionals has been elaborated below. 

• Stage 1: Applications 

The selection procedure for all the courses begins with the opening of online application portals for admission on official IIM websites. Through such portals, interested candidates from across the nation can conveniently register on the IIM portals. 

At this stage, the candidate is required to register for the course by filling in their basic personal details, educational qualifications, details about prior work experience etc. Most of the courses available for working professionals at IIMs require either a CAT score or other management aptitude examinations (e.g. GMAT/GRE/Institutional Management Aptitude Test etc.). So, the candidate must submit details about their score on the requisite entrance test along with their educational and professional details. 

• Stage 2: Further Screening based on Writing and Managerial Skills 

Once the campus completes the process of shortlisting candidates from the applications based on entrance performance and fulfilment of minimum eligibility conditions, the list of screened candidates is released. 

Students shortlisted at this stage are required to submit their portfolios or resumes for further rounds of screening. This usually includes writing ability tests or essay submission. Some IIM campuses require the candidates to submit a detailed portfolio of their education and achievements, along with goal statements. 

• Stage 3: Personal Interview or Personal Interaction 

Upon further screening based on writing skills and overall profile of applicants, IIMs shortlist candidates for the final round of admission, which includes a Personal Interaction or Personal Interviews. Whether the specific course is for executives or freshers, PI is the most common screening criteria for most the IIM campuses to assess the aptitude and managerial acumen of candidates. 

• Stage 4: Final Selection 

Once the candidate has successfully qualified all the rounds of screening and personal interview, the final list of selected candidates is released by the IIM campus. Selected students can then secure their seat by registering and paying the course fee. 

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Title: Admission Rounds at IIMs 

• Initial Registration & Details Submission 
• Writing Ability & Portfolio Submission 
• Personal Interview & Interaction 
• Final Selection 

Similarly, for the courses at IIMs offered in the online or hybrid mode, candidates are required to register online, submit digital copies of their personal and educational details followed by appearing for personal interviews upon being shortlisted. 

Online and hybrid courses provide the advantage to candidates to conveniently complete the admission and screening rounds via the virtual mode. 

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Online Executive Program In Operations	Online Executive Program In Leadership
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Online Executive Program In Marketing	Online Executive Program In Healthcare
Online Executive Program In Business Analytics

Conclusion 

Thus, if as a management aspirant seeking admissions in an IIM does not have a valid CAT score, they have the opportunity of selecting from a number of certificate, diploma or degree programs that are offered by IIMs without a mandatory requirement of CAT. The options are especially diverse for working professionals who have some working experience in a relevant sector. Interested candidates can select the preferred mode of learning for such courses as well, which include full-time regular courses (often residential programs), online courses, self-paced courses as well as hybrid courses.