- ISB is ranked 12th globally and 1st in India in the Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2026
- The PGP Class of 2026 recorded an average salary of INR 37.29 lakh per annum across 1,117 offers made to 808 graduates
- ISB publishes a PGP programme fee of INR 34,48,000 plus GST for shared accommodation on a single-instalment plan
- ISB marked its silver jubilee in 2026, twenty-five years after it was founded in 2001.
What Is the Indian School of Business?
The Indian School of Business is a private, not-for-profit business school founded in 2001 with campuses in Hyderabad and Mohali. It is accredited by AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA, teaches through more than 70 resident faculty, and has built a global alumni network of over 20,000 graduates.
ISB was set up by leaders from industry and academia who wanted a world-class management school inside Asia rather than outside it. It is funded by private corporations, foundations and individuals, and it operates as a not-for-profit institution rather than a commercial college.
The school works in association with global partners including the Kellogg School of Management, the Wharton School, London Business School and the Fletcher School. Teaching is delivered by more than 70 resident faculty supported by over 200 visiting faculty drawn from international business schools.
ISB holds all three major international business school accreditations: AACSB, EQUIS and AMBA. Because it is a private institution that awards a postgraduate diploma rather than a university degree, it does not appear in the Indian NIRF management rankings, and it is assessed instead by international ranking bodies.
Where Are the ISB Campuses Located?
ISB runs two residential campuses. The Hyderabad campus in Gachibowli spans 260 acres and opened in 2001, while the Mohali campus in Knowledge City, Punjab, covers 70 acres. Both are built to LEED Gold and IGBC Platinum green-building standards and house students, faculty and recreation facilities on site.
The Hyderabad campus at Gachibowli was the school's first, and it remains the larger of the two at 260 acres. It combines an academic centre, a Learning Resource Centre, student villages for residential accommodation, dining facilities and a recreation centre with sports and fitness amenities.
The Mohali campus sits in Knowledge City, Sector 81, SAS Nagar, Punjab, and covers 70 acres. It offers the same residential model, with a library, gymnasium, swimming pool, dining facilities and outdoor sports spaces. The PGP is taught at both campuses, and graduation ceremonies are held at each site.
- Hyderabad campus: Gachibowli, Hyderabad, Telangana 500 111, 260 acres
- Mohali campus: Knowledge City, Sector 81, SAS Nagar, Punjab 140 306, 70 acres
- Both campuses are fully residential and meet LEED Gold and IGBC Platinum standards
How Is ISB Ranked in 2026?
ISB is ranked 12th globally in the Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2026, rising fifteen places from 27th in 2025. It holds the number one position in India for the third year running and second in Asia. ISB also ranked first worldwide for salary increase after the programme.
- Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2026: 12th globally, up from 27th in 2025
- Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2026: 1st in India for the third consecutive year
- Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2026: 2nd in Asia
- Ranked 1st globally on percentage salary increase before and after the programme
- Alumni network ranked 6th globally by the Financial Times
The salary-increase measure is the metric ISB scores highest on, which reflects the profile of its intake: candidates who join with a few years of work experience and move into consulting, technology or financial services roles at a substantially higher pay grade.
What Are the ISB Fees in 2026?
ISB publishes a PGP programme fee of INR 34,48,000 plus GST for shared accommodation on a single-instalment plan, along with a refundable security deposit of INR 20,000. That amount covers admission, commitment and tuition fees. PGP PRO costs INR 33,69,559 plus GST and PGP MAX costs INR 43,03,508 plus GST.
| ISB Programme | Duration | Fee Published in 2026 for AY 2027-28 (INR, plus GST) |
|---|---|---|
| PGP in Management | 12 months, full-time residential | 34,48,000 (shared accommodation, single instalment) |
| PGP PRO (working professionals) | Part-time with campus residencies | 33,69,559 |
| PGP MAX (senior executives) | 15 months | 43,03,508 |
| PGP MFAB (family business) | Modular with campus residencies | 44,72,881 |
| Fellow Programme in Management | About five years of funding | Fully funded: tuition waiver plus 65,000 monthly stipend |
ISB describes the programme fee as indicative and subject to change. The published figures do not include travel, laptops or personal expenses. A refundable security deposit of INR 20,000 is payable with the first instalment across the postgraduate programmes.
Scholarships are a meaningful part of the cost picture. ISB states that scholarships support around a quarter of each class annually, through merit-based, need-cum-merit and diversity awards. The Fellow Programme in Management is different again: doctoral students receive a full tuition fee waiver, a monthly scholarship of INR 65,000, furnished on-campus accommodation and medical insurance.
Executive MBA Programmes ExplainedRead →Who Is Eligible for ISB Admission?
Applicants to the PGP need a bachelor's or postgraduate degree in any discipline, a valid test-centre GMAT or GRE score, and a minimum of two years of full-time work experience. ISB does not accept CAT or NMAT scores, online at-home tests, or CA articleship as work experience.
- Hold a bachelor's or postgraduate degree in any discipline from a recognised institution
- Take the GMAT or GRE at a test centre; the online at-home versions are not accepted
- Complete at least 24 months of full-time work experience by the stated cut-off date
- Submit TOEFL or IELTS only if you are a non-Indian applicant whose undergraduate instruction was not in English
- Apply in Round 1, Round 2 or Round 3; the selection criteria are identical across rounds
- Prepare essays and referee inputs, then attend the interview if shortlisted
ISB does not publish a minimum GMAT or GRE cut-off. It reports that scores in the current class range from 530 to 780 on the GMAT and 319 to 330 on the GRE, which shows the admissions committee reads the full profile rather than filtering purely on test score.
Part-time work, internships and CA articleship do not count towards the two-year work experience requirement. Applying in an earlier round does not materially improve your chances, though ISB encourages it so that candidates have more time to plan finances and notice periods.
What Do ISB Placements Look Like?
The PGP Class of 2026 received 1,117 offers, with an average salary of INR 37.29 lakh per annum, about eleven percent higher than the previous cohort. The highest offer reached INR 1.56 crore a year. Consulting, technology and BFSI led hiring, and Accenture alone made more than 100 offers.
A total of 808 students graduated from the PGP Class of 2026 across the Hyderabad and Mohali campuses, receiving 1,117 offers between them. That works out to roughly 1.38 offers per student. The average post-programme salary was about 156 percent higher than the cohort's average pre-ISB salary.
- Average salary for the Class of 2026: INR 37.29 lakh per annum, up around 11 percent year on year
- Highest offer: INR 1.56 crore per annum
- Consulting, technology and BFSI together accounted for more than 75 percent of roles offered
- Accenture made over 100 offers; Mastercard and EY GDS each made over 40
- 25 first-time recruiters joined the season, including UBS, NTT Data and Teradata
- 67 percent of the cohort switched industry and 69 percent switched function
Which Programmes Does ISB Offer?
Beyond the one-year PGP in Management, ISB offers PGP PRO for working professionals, the fifteen-month PGP MAX for senior executives, PGP MFAB for family business owners, PGP YL for young leaders, and doctoral routes through the Fellow Programme in Management and the Executive Fellow Programme.
The flagship PGP is a twelve-month, full-time residential programme with an intake of roughly 820 students a year across the two campuses. The year is structured around core courses in the early terms, followed by electives that let students concentrate in areas such as finance, marketing, operations, strategy and entrepreneurship.
- PGP in Management: 12-month full-time residential programme, the school's flagship
- PGP PRO: for working professionals who continue in their jobs, with campus residencies
- PGP MAX: a 15-month programme for senior executives
- PGP MFAB: for members of family businesses
- PGP YL: the Young Leaders route for early-career candidates
- FPM and EFPM: the doctoral and executive doctoral programmes
ISB also runs open-enrolment and custom Executive Education programmes through a separate arm, alongside international exchange options with 57 or more partner schools for PGP students.
Is the ISB PGP Worth It?
For candidates with at least two years of experience, the one-year format means a shorter career break than a two-year MBA abroad. ISB reports that 67 percent of the 2026 cohort changed industry and 69 percent changed function, and scholarships support roughly a quarter of each class.
The comparison most Indian applicants make is between ISB and a two-year MBA at a top overseas school. ISB costs less in absolute terms, keeps living costs in rupees, and removes a second year of forgone salary. Against that, an overseas MBA can open post-study work rights that ISB does not provide.
The other comparison is with the older IIMs. ISB's intake is more experienced, its format is shorter, and admission runs on GMAT or GRE rather than CAT. Which route suits you depends on how many years of work experience you already hold and whether you want a career switch or an accelerated path in your current field.
Since the PGP began, more than 14,000 professionals have graduated across 25 cohorts, and the wider alumni network now exceeds 20,000 people in more than 60 countries, including over 750 entrepreneurs and 800 alumni in CXO-level roles.