Based on the new qualifying rules, holders of a three-year bachelor's degree in any discipline can now enrol for the MBA course. They should have at least a first-class pass or at least a CPI of 6.5 out of 10. This revision will take effect starting with the 2025-26 academic year.

Candidates in the final year and who are waiting for their results are also eligible to apply. A valid Common Admission Test score is needed for admission. A CAT is a national examination conducted for admission into an MBA program.

Until last year, it used to be the case that candidates with a four-year bachelor's or master's degree in any subject with first class (or a CPI of at least 6.5 out of 10) could apply for MBA studies. As per the institute, most MBA applicants are engineers.

Until some years ago, engineering was the only field that provided a four-year bachelor's program and thus most students who were admitted to SJMSOM's MBA program had an engineering educational background by default.

As per revised eligibility requirements, The 2025-27 batch of MBA will have a substantial number of candidates from other streams. It was opposed to the earlier scenario until last year when the batches used to be predominantly engineers, said a release carried out by IIT Bombay on Tuesday night.

The institute emphasised that the changes in the qualifying criteria were aimed at enhancing discipline and gender balance within the cohort. It is considered a multidisciplinary aspect of management. It also added that an ethnically diverse cohort will help bring varied thought into the classroom and enhance the overall learning experience. The announcement further mentioned that the case techniques used in management education required variety in classrooms since managers were often faced with unstructured problems without perfect solutions or algorithms, unlike science and engineering.

 The institute further observed that the revised eligibility criteria were in line with those for MBA admissions at other IIMs and IITs.

SJMSOM was optimistic that the revised criteria would enable it to attract a more diverse group of candidates. The change was made following continued feedback from recruiters who have been on campus.

Following a news release issued by IIT Bombay, hiring companies were also compelled to enhance gender and disciplinary diversity while recruiting and making personnel arrangements. Consequently, most management institutes adopted several measures to enhance student diversity.

New Eligibility Criteria

• Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree with 60% marks for the unreserved category and for reserved categories, the marks percentage is 55%. The minimum CPI of 6.5 for the unreserved category and 6 CPI for SC, ST and PWD categories out of 10 from institutions/universities established by an act of the parliament or a state legislature in India, or other institutions notified to be deemed a University under Section 3 of the UGC Act, 1956. Candidates who have an equivalent qualification recognised by the MoE, Government of India.

• Final year students and students who are waiting for results can also be eligible to apply. The candidate should have obtained a minimum aggregate of 60% marks (55% in the case of candidates belonging to SC/ST/PWD categories) or equivalent up to the latest exam completed and the results declared. Admission will be on the condition that the candidate fulfils the eligibility criteria.

• The candidate should have a valid CAT score.