IIM Kozhikode's incoming 2026–28 MBA batch has set a new diversity benchmark among India's premier business schools: 66% women in the flagship programme — the highest ever recorded across the IIM system — and non-engineers outnumbering engineers for the first time in recent memory.
The induction covered students across IIM Kozhikode's three full-time MBA programmes, along with doctoral scholars:
|
Metric |
Figure |
|
Batch size |
499 |
|
Female students |
329 |
|
Male students |
170 |
|
Women in the batch |
66% |
|
Engineers |
215 |
|
Non-engineers |
284 |
This is the 30th batch of IIM Kozhikode's flagship PGP. Women now make up nearly two-thirds of the incoming class — the highest share ever recorded in a flagship MBA programme across the IIM system.
Engineering graduates have long dominated Indian MBA classrooms, but IIM Kozhikode's latest intake shows a clear shift: 57% of the flagship PGP batch comes from non-engineering backgrounds, including commerce, economics, sciences, humanities, and law.
|
Academic background |
Students |
|
Non-engineers |
284 |
|
Engineers |
215 |
|
Programme |
Students |
|
PGP |
499 |
|
PGP-LSM |
51 |
|
PGP-Fin |
49 |
|
Total MBA students |
599 |
In addition to the MBA cohort, IIM Kozhikode admitted 99 doctoral scholars this year.
How many women are in the IIM Kozhikode 2026–28 batch? Women make up 66% of the flagship PGP batch — 329 out of 499 students — the highest proportion recorded in any flagship MBA programme across the IIM system.
Do non-engineers outnumber engineers at IIM Kozhikode? Yes. Of the 499 students in the 2026–28 flagship PGP batch, 284 (57%) are non-engineers and 215 (43%) are engineers.
How many total students did IIM Kozhikode admit in 2026? IIM Kozhikode admitted 599 students across its three full-time MBA programmes (PGP, PGP-Fin, PGP-LSM), plus 99 doctoral scholars.
What does this mean for MBA aspirants? It signals that top B-schools are placing growing weight on gender and academic diversity alongside academic merit. Candidates from non-engineering backgrounds continue to gain strong representation, and IIM Kozhikode's record female intake reflects a sustained institutional push toward more inclusive classrooms.
IIM Kozhikode has not yet released the average age, average work experience, or industry-wise profile of the incoming batch. Based on the data available so far, the 2026–28 cohort is shaping up to be the most gender-balanced and multidisciplinary in the institute's history.
