IIFM Bhopal: Courses, Fees, Admission 2025, Placements, Ranking

The MBA admission eligibility criteria at IIFM Bhopal require candidates to hold a Bachelor's degree with at least 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PwD) and a Master's degree with at least 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/PwD) or an equivalent CGPA. The selection process involves two stages. In Stage I, candidates are shortlisted based on their performance in national-level entrance examinations such as CAT, XAT, or GMAT. Moving to Stage II, shortlisted candidates are invited to participate in an Online Presentation and Interview. The final selection is determined by considering the entrance test score, presentation, and performance in the interview. Furthermore, a minimum CAT cutoff of 85 percentile is required for admission to the PGDFM and PGDSM programs at IIFM Bhopal.

Both the MBA in Forest Management and the MBA in Sustainability Management at IIFM Bhopal are part of a reputed institution that achieved a 100% placement rate in 2023. The average salary package was reported at INR 10.38 LPA, with a median salary package of INR 10 LPA. Top recruiters for the institute included well-known companies such as Infosys, Vedanta, Aditya Birla, S&P Global, ICICI Bank, Arvind, and EY.

The PGDSM programme at IIFM Bhopal is a one-year full-time course focused on equipping students with skills and knowledge to address sustainability challenges. On the other hand, the PGDFM programme is a two-year full-time course designed to develop professionals with a holistic understanding of forest, environment, and natural resource management.

Unfortunately, specific information regarding the placement statistics for each programme (MBA in Forest Management and MBA in Sustainability Management) is not provided. As a result, it is challenging to definitively conclude which programme has better placements at IIFM Bhopal. Prospective students interested in these programs are encouraged to directly contact the institute's admission office or consult official placement reports for detailed and program-specific placement data.

The CAT exam is always conducted on the last Sunday of November every year so the CAT 2024 exam is expected to be conducted on Nov 24, 2024. Official announcement of the CAT 2024 exam date will be made by the convening IIM on Jul 30, 2024. The announcement will be made at the iimcat.ac.in website as well as in all the national dailies across India. We at Shiksha also notify the aspirants through our communication channels. Registrations cum application process for CAT 2024 will begin from the first week of August and end in the third week of September 2024.

Check below CAT exam dates for last five years:

• CAT 2023: November 26
• CAT 2022: November 27
• CAT 2021: November 28
• CAT 2020: November 29 
• CAT 2019: November 24

IIFM Bhopal refunds the complete fee in case the host cancels the course. The host is not liable for any other charges that candidate incurred. The course fee for certificate course is INR 36,000. The payment of fee can be done in two installments.

The total fee for IIFM Bhopal PGDM is INR 11.80 lakh for General/ OBC-NCL/ EWS candidates. There is relaxation in the fee for the SC/ ST candidates. The total fee for SC/ ST candidates is INR 7.07 lakh which excludes a refundable caution deposit of INR 30,000. Candidates have to pay the caution deposit one-time along with the first year fee. Tabulated below are the fee for first and second year of the course:

IIFM conducts personal interview in second round of selection. The first level of selection for PGDM course is based on national-level entrance exam scores like CAT, XAT, CMAT, etc. The institute conducts a personal interview round for shortlisted candidates in offline mode. The interviews are conducted in below centres:

• Bhopal
• Delhi
• Ahmedabad
• Guwahati
• Bengaluru
• Kolkata
• Chennai

The Fellow Programme in Management (FPM) at the Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) Bhopal offers a full-time programme with a duration of 48 months and has a total of 10 available seats. The programme is specifically designed to address the evolving landscape in forestry, environment, development, management, and related sectors. Candidate selection for the FPM programme is based on a range of criteria, encompassing academic qualifications and professional experience. The institute aims to stay relevant to the needs of the concerned sectors by continuously updating programme content and responding to emerging emphases, including environmental sustainability, climate change, and corporate social and environmental responsibility.

The Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM), Bhopal, has specified fee structures for its PGDFM and PGDSM programs. The PGDFM programme costs INR 7.8 LPA for General/Non-creamy OBC/Differently Abled candidates and INR 4.62 LPA for SC/ST candidates. On the other hand, the PGDSM programme at IIFM Bhopal has a fee of INR 6.24 LPA for the entire course. In comparison, the MBA programme at the School of Management, ITM University, Gwalior, is priced at 6.8 LPA. Notably, the fees for the MBA programme at ITM University, Gwalior, are lower than those for the PGDFM programme at IIFM Bhopal. This suggests that IIFM Bhopal is relatively more expensive than the School of Management at ITM University, Gwalior.

In terms of placements, the institute has achieved good records for the 2021-23 batch. The highest package offered to the batch was INR 20.50 LPA. The average package and median package stood at INR 10.30 LPA and INR 10 LPA, respectively. Tabulated below are the salary details for IIFM placements 2023:

Yes, IIFM Bhopal is one of the premier institutes offering PGDM in Sustainability Management. PGDSM is a two-year course equivalent to MBA that prepares professionals with a blend of managerial, technical, analytical and social skills as well as values to address emerging sustainability issues and challenges in the environmental sector. The two-year fully residential programme develops a brigade of green managers who would be able to integrate Economic, Social and Environmental issues. Candidates who have completed a bachelor's degree with at least 50% aggregate (45% aggregate for SC/ ST/ PwD) are eligible to apply for PGDSM. 

IIFM Bhopal follows a reservation criteria as per the Government of India requirements. Below is category-wise reservation:

As per the data sourced from unofficial sites, the majority of IIFM Bhopal alumni are working in the Business Development sector (30%), followed by Consulting (19%). The following table represents the sector-wise alumni placements: 

IIFM Bhopal is ranked among the top Management institutes of India. The institute has been ranked by several top and prestigious ranking organisations. IIFM Bhopal Ranking for MBA/ PGDM by Business Today at 48 in 2023. As one of the top-rated and reputed institutes, IIFM Bhopal provides excellent quality education for its PGDFM and PGDSM students and the placements for both courses at the institute are very good with the participation of top-notch recruiters. The overall highest and median packages at IIFM stood at INR 20.50 LPA and INR 10 LPA, respectively. 

The Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM) in Bhopal has set a minimum CAT percentile requirement of 85 percentile for admission to both the PGDFM and PGDSM programs. However, the selection process for the Fellow Programme in Management (FPM) admission is based on a broader range of entrance exams, including CAT/GMAT/UGC-CSIR-JRF/NET/GATE/ICAR NET or FRI Ph.D. entrance test. Therefore, having a CAT percentile of 75 may not meet the necessary threshold for admission to the FPM programme at IIFM Bhopal, given the specified criteria. Candidates aiming for the FPM programme should ensure that they meet the required percentile in the appropriate entrance exams as outlined by the institute.

Banking and Finance emerged as the top sector during PGDFM and PGDSM placements 2023. The second in the sequence were the Consulting and Research & Analytics sectors. The table below illustrates the sector-wise distribution of IIFM Bhopal placements 2023:

Personal interview is conducted at the second level of IIFM Bhopal selection process. After selection based on entrance exam score, shortlisted candidates are called for personal interview. PI are conducted in offline at centres-Bhopal, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Guwahati, Bengaluru, Kolkata and Chennai.

The institute has released the placement report for PGDFM and PGDSM. Below is the average package offered to IIFM Bhopal students:

Candidates applying for PGDM at IIFM Bhopal need to pay an application fee. Candidates can pay the fee via any of the online payment modes. The application fee for IIFM Bhopal PGDM is given below:

CMAT is one of the accepting exams for IIFM Bhopal MBA course. However, it not mandatory to have a valid CMAT score for admission to MBA programme. Aspirants who have passed CAT, XAT, MAT or GMAT can also apply for admission. Besides entrance exam, candidates must also fulfil the eligibility requirements. A minimum of graduation is required for MBA admission.

Yes, IIFM Bhopal offers four and a half months Certificate in Chartered Foresters in online mode. The programme is designed for all graduates, working professional or retired personnel. The course introduces students with various concepts of Agroforestry, Finance, Economics, Project Management, etc.