IIM Kozhikode has created a new milestone in Indian management education by admitting a record 66% women in its flagship MBA programme for the 2026-28 academic session. The achievement marks the highest-ever female representation in the flagship MBA programme across the Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs).
The institute welcomed 599 students across its three full-time MBA programmes during the inauguration of the new academic year. Along with this, 99 doctoral scholars also joined its management doctoral programmes, reflecting IIM Kozhikode's growing emphasis on academic excellence, research, and leadership.
The biggest highlight of this year's admissions is the record 66% women enrolment in the flagship Post Graduate Programme (PGP). Out of 499 students, 329 are women. This makes it the highest proportion of female students ever recorded in the flagship MBA programme of any IIM.
This achievement builds on IIM Kozhikode's long-standing efforts to promote gender diversity. The institute became the first IIM to cross the 50% women enrolment mark in 2013. Since then, it has consistently improved its gender balance, recording 59% women in 2024 before reaching the historic 66% in 2026.
Across all three full-time MBA programmes, women now account for nearly 63% of the total student intake, placing the institute among business schools with one of the highest levels of gender diversity.
The programme-wise intake includes:
| Programme | Total Students | Women Representation |
| PGP | 499 | 66% |
| PGP in Liberal Studies & Management (PGP-LSM) | 51 | 82% |
| PGP in Finance (PGP-Fin) | 49 | 12% |
Apart from gender diversity, IIM Kozhikode has also increased the participation of students from non-engineering backgrounds.
In the flagship PGP, 57% of the students come from non-engineering disciplines. The share is even higher in the PGP-LSM programme, where 96% of the batch belongs to non-engineering fields. In PGP-Fin, 45% of the students are from non-engineering backgrounds.
Overall, 59% of students across the institute's three full-time MBA programmes are non-engineers.
IIM Kozhikode has also expanded its research ecosystem by inducting 99 doctoral scholars this academic year. Among the 27 students admitted to the regular Doctoral Programme in Management (DPM), 66% are women, the highest-ever female representation in the institute's regular doctoral programme. Another 72 scholars have joined the Executive Doctoral Programme.
The institute has also introduced the first batch of its Doctoral Programme in Management (Teaching Track), a new initiative designed to prepare future management educators and researchers.
