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IGNOU: fees, courses and admission
Indira Gandhi National Open UniversityMaidan Garhi, New Delhi
Fees and rules checked on 19 October 2026
January 2027 admission: IGNOU hasn’t announced the dates yet. The July 2026 session closed on 13 October 2026.
Overview
IGNOU is India’s national open university, set up by an Act of Parliament in 1985. It teaches by distance (ODL) and online, with admissions twice a year.
- Type
- Central university
- Modes
- Distance (ODL) and online
- Sessions
- January and July
- Study centres
- Run by 67 regional centres
- Entrance test
- None for the MBA
Courses and fees
MBA
2 years
₹66,000programme fee in total
₹16,000 a semester, ₹18,000 in semester 3
Get fee detailsFees from IGNOU’s admission portals, July 2026 list. Registration (₹300), development (₹400) and exam fees (₹200 per theory course) are extra. Totals are IGNOU’s fee multiplied by the course length; IGNOU states a full-programme figure only for the MBA.
What an IGNOU MBA costs in all
Distance learners who take study material as soft copy get 15% off the programme fee: ₹62,700 in all.
Admission
- July 2026 session
Closed on 13 October 2026, after extensions.
- January 2027 session
Dates not announced yet (checked 19 October 2026). We update this page the day IGNOU publishes them.
How to apply
Distance courses: the university’s website · Online courses: the university’s website · No printed form to post.
Eligibility
- MBA
A bachelor’s degree of at least three years with 50% marks, or 45% for reserved categories.
- MBA entrance test
None.
- MBA duration
Two years, with up to four to finish.
Exams and study
Term-end exams are written at an exam centre, for the online MBA too. The hall ticket comes from the Samarth portal.
Online MBA assignments and the project are uploaded on IGNOU’s LMS. Hard copies are not accepted.
67 regional centres run the study centres, where students meet counsellors and use the library.
UGC recognition. IGNOU is exempt from UGC’s 2020 regulations for distance and online programmes. Its prospectus says its programmes are at par with those approved by UGC-DEB.
Frequently asked questions
Is there an entrance test for the IGNOU MBA?
No. You need a three-year bachelor’s degree with 50% marks, or 45% for reserved categories.
How much does the IGNOU MBA cost in all?
The programme fee is ₹66,000 for two years. With registration (₹300), development (₹400), exam fees (₹5,400) and project evaluation (₹500), it comes to about ₹72,600.
Is the online MBA cheaper than the distance MBA?
No. Both are ₹16,000 a semester, and ₹18,000 in semester 3. Distance learners who take soft-copy material get 15% off.
Where are IGNOU exams held?
At an exam centre, for the online MBA as well. The hall ticket comes from the Samarth portal.
When does January 2027 admission open?
IGNOU hasn’t announced the dates yet (checked 19 October 2026). This page is updated the day it does.
If IGNOU isn’t the right fit
If you’d rather study with a private online university, UGC-entitled online MBAs start at ₹67,000 in total (Mangalayatan University, fee checked 17 October 2026).
Sources
- IGNOU ODL admission portal, programme pages for MBA, MCA, BCA, BBA, M.Com, MA English, B.Com and BA, read 19 Oct 2026.
- IGNOU online programmes portal, MBAOL and other OL programme pages, read 19 Oct 2026.
- IGNOU Common Prospectus, July 2026, pp. 23, 27, 32 and 61.
- IGNOU MBA and MBAOL handbooks, sections 3.2, 3.7 and 4.7.
- IGNOU announcements page, notice of 1 Oct 2026 extending July 2026 admission to 13 Oct 2026.