Wednesday, September 08, 2010
Travails of the Indian B.Com.
Just heard that at the business school at the University of Essex in the UK, Indian applicants for the M.B.A. program are turned away if their undergraduate degree in India is a B.Com.
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Well, even at Essex? I wonder who wants to get an MBA there anyways. In general a 4 year degree is necessary for any postgrad programme in the West. Even my B.Com was useless and needed to be supplemented with my ACA qualification.
ReplyDeleteProbably has to do with it being a 3-year degree rather than anything else. But I don't know how it is in the UK but it's definitely the case in the US. It is sad that there used to be a stigma attached to anyone who did not have an engineering or medical degree. The result was of course expansion in the number of engineering and medical seats to meet the demands of the status-conscious middle class.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure if it's the case even now. I hope not.
All of the above was because of specific government policies that targeted the middle class rather than the poor.
Also, Indians are the craziest about MBA degrees. It probably has to do with risk-averse nature and a love for secure babu-like jobs. I remember an Economist article that talked about entrepreneurs-out-of-necessity, who would give up their small business the minute they find an office job.
Sorry for going on and on....
Essex is not the only place to do MBA, if in west they have made a rule of 4 years of undergraduate they could have some reasons, we have many good opportunities in India where a B.Com is good enough. I am myself a B.Com and also an MBA from a reputed institute in India.After all it is a free world with free set of rules. We all are happy I guess in our own way..
ReplyDeleteI do not understand why we Indian's want to go abroad and study. Especially in this point of time when west is completely hay vay. The amount of money spent of university like University of Essex can fetch you an MBA from the most premium institute/Universities in India and better job prospects. There is no job guarantee in the west plus once you go there and for any reason you have to come back, life becomes very difficult in India.
ReplyDeleteEssex is hardly known for its business school. In the US, MIT did not accept a BCom degree, and required a science-based background. But otherwise, a BCom and work experience suffices, I thought. That's what I had when I went to one of the leading US business schools two decades ago, though.
ReplyDeleteI don't agree that four-year degree is a requirement. Undergraduate programmes in UK are for 3 years, so that should not matter. In the UK, the equivalent of B.Com is the 3-year B.Sc. (Accounting & Finance), which is acceptable for MBA programmes. So I am sorry but I don't quite believe this story. The actual problem could be a lack of work experience which is a must for admission to UK MBAs.
ReplyDeleteWhy only MBA ? I stood 1st class 1st in BCom, did the CFA (or whatever it is called now) from ICFAI, did my FRM from GARP a year back, have some 12 years of experience in securities market development but I cant do a Phd in India because I didn't do a MCom !
ReplyDeleteTo anon at 12 September 2010 10:41:00 PM GMT+05:30: I sympathize with your situation. I think your best bet is to do a masters degree by correspondence (e.g. an MBA or MCom from IGNOU) which will then make you eligible for a PhD.
ReplyDelete