IGNOU’s MBA costs ₹66,000 for two years in distance or online mode, about ₹72,600 with registration, exam and project fees. You need a three-year bachelor’s degree with 50% marks (45% for reserved categories), and there is no entrance test.
IGNOU offers its MBA in two modes: distance learning with printed books, which IGNOU calls ODL, and a fully online MBA. Both cost ₹66,000 in programme fees and take two to four years. This guide covers the specialisations, eligibility, exams and the full cost, from IGNOU’s own pages and handbooks.
| Distance (ODL) | Online (MBAOL) | |
|---|---|---|
| Where you apply | the university’s website | the university’s website |
| Specialisations | General MBA or one of nine specialised MBAs | General MBA only |
| Study material | Printed books, or digital for 15% off the programme fee | Online only, on eGyanKosh and IGNOU’s learning platform |
| Assignments | Submitted at your learner support centre | Uploaded on IGNOU’s learning platform |
| Term-end exams | At an exam centre, June and December | At an exam centre, June and December |
| Medium | English (the portal also lists Hindi for four of the MBAs) | English |
Online students also sit their exams at an exam centre. IGNOU’s handbook for the online MBA tells them to collect the hall ticket and report to the centre with their ID card, the same as distance students.
In distance mode, IGNOU offers the general MBA and nine specialised MBAs: Human Resource Management, Financial Management, Marketing Management, Operations Management, Banking and Finance, Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Health Care and Hospital Management, Agribusiness Management, and Construction Management.
If you have not decided, take the general MBA and choose later. If you enrol in a specialised MBA, IGNOU does not let you change the specialisation. The Banking and Finance MBA was set up under an agreement with the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance, for its members.
UGC’s Distance Education Bureau lists the general MBA, the online MBA and seven of the specialised MBAs for the 2026-27 session. Agribusiness Management and Construction Management appear for 2025-26 but not yet for 2026-27, so check the Bureau’s list (deb.ugc.ac.in) before choosing either.
| Semester | Programme fee |
|---|---|
| Semester 1 | ₹16,000 |
| Semester 2 | ₹16,000 |
| Semester 3 (includes the project) | ₹18,000 |
| Semester 4 | ₹16,000 |
| Total | ₹66,000 |
The Health Care and Hospital Management MBA costs ₹68,000, with ₹20,000 for semester 3 and ₹18,000 for semester 4.
IGNOU charges these separately:
With 27 theory courses, the exam fees come to ₹5,400 if you pass each exam the first time. That makes the full cost about ₹72,600, or about ₹62,700 for a distance student who chooses digital study material.
SC and ST students can get the programme fee waived under IGNOU’s exemption policy, which IGNOU reviews every admission cycle. The registration, development and exam fees are not waived.
You need a bachelor’s degree of at least three years with 50% marks, or 45% if you belong to a reserved category. The rule is the same for every MBA in both modes. There is no entrance test.
The MBA takes at least two years and must be finished within four. Students with a disability of 40% or more get two extra years. If you stop after the first two semesters (56 credits) and ask for it, IGNOU awards a Post Graduate Diploma in Management instead of the MBA.
Each course has one assignment, worth 30% of the marks, and a term-end exam worth 70%. You can sit a course’s exam only after submitting its assignment. You need an overall C grade, which is 50%, to pass a course. The project is marked on the report alone.
Exams are held in June and December. You fill in a new exam form for each season, and the hall ticket is posted on IGNOU’s website 7 to 10 days before the exams. You need your IGNOU student ID card to enter the exam hall.
Distance students are attached to a learner support centre, where counsellors hold sessions, mostly outside office hours. IGNOU has 67 regional centres coordinating these centres. When too few students enrol at a centre, IGNOU gives online support instead of face-to-face sessions. Online students study on IGNOU’s learning platform and are told to check it regularly for assignment, exam form and exam notices.
Yes, for jobs and further study in India. IGNOU states that it is exempt from the UGC regulations for online and distance programmes and that its programmes are at par with those approved by the UGC Distance Education Bureau. IGNOU’s MBA is also recognised by AICTE. For a particular government post, read that post’s notification, as you would for any degree.
IGNOU has not announced the January 2027 dates yet. Last year, admission opened on 16 December 2025, and for semester-based programmes such as the MBA the final last date was 28 February 2026.
IGNOU suits a student with 50% or more in graduation who can reach an exam centre twice a year and study alone. If your marks are below 50%, or you want online exams and live classes, private online MBAs start at ₹67,000 in all at Mangalayatan University, followed by Graphic Era at ₹80,000 and Galgotias at ₹80,200.
You apply to IGNOU directly on its portal. If you want IGNOU’s full cost compared with private options for your budget, fill in the form and a counsellor will call you. It is free.
Sources: IGNOU programme pages, the admission portals, the MBA and MBA (Online) student handbooks (January 2026), IGNOU’s Common Prospectus July 2026 and the UGC-DEB programme list, read on 19 October 2026. Private university fees from their official websites, checked on 17 October 2026.
Tell us your course and budget. A counsellor calls you with the government and private options that suit you. It’s free, and we are not a university.