The Lausanne, Switzerland-based school has been ranked number one by Forbes in 2019 for its international MBA program with the graduates notching up an average 5-year gain of $168,900 along with a median salary of $200,000 five years out of school.

One Year MBA at IMD | Application Deadline | Eligibility Criteria | Application Process | Fee Structure

Eligibility Criteria

You should possess a Bachelor’s Degree along with a minimum of three years, full-time, work experience that demonstrates career progress. The typical range in the class is four to nine years.

You should choose two recommenders from business-related sources who know you well, have worked directly with you. They should be able to highlight your professional achievements, interpersonal skills, teamwork and leadership.

While the average GMAT score in the class is typically around 680, your unique experience and achievements could help balance out a weaker score. However, it is recommended that you aim for above a 630 (or an equivalent GRE score).

If English is not your mother tongue and has not previously studied in English, then you will need to submit a TOEFL or IELTS score. There is no minimum requirement but a score of 108+ on the TOEFL (IBT) or an IELTS score of 7.5 or above is recommended.

Apart from English, you should have knowledge of a second language, which can also be your native language, as a part of your international outlook.

How to apply

IMD evaluates each application on the basis of the candidate’s academic ability, career progression, leadership potential and international outlook. It also considers your integrity, drive, initiative and interpersonal skills.

All documents need to be submitted at the time of the application. Copies of original diplomas and official transcripts, with the grading scale, for all university degrees or equivalent are required. Official translations to English or French are necessary for every document.

Your GMAT/GRE score should be less than 5 years old. You will be required to upload a test taker copy and to order an official score report for IMD. The GMAT code is SKR-MM-13 and our GRE code is 8490.

Similarly, the TOEFL or an IELTS score should also be less than 5 years old. You should upload a test taker copy and order an official score report for IMD. The TOEFL IBT Code is C301.

You should enter the names and contact details of the recommenders at least two weeks before the application deadline so that they have time to complete and submit the online form. Only professional email addresses (no Hotmail, Gmail, etc.) are accepted.

Your one-page resume should be in English using the IMD CV template which can be downloaded from the IMD website. Other formats will not be accepted.

Your photo should be a professional style electronic photograph with no background scenery. the high-resolution setting, a minimum of 150 DPI, size 150KB and JPEG format is needed.

You need to provide a copy of your passport (picture page) that is valid throughout the entire MBA year. If you have multiple nationalities, a copy of each needs to be uploaded. The non-refundable application fee is CHF 200.

Fees & Other Expenses

The tuition for the year is CHF 60,000 and fees CHF 30,000. The first installment/deposited of CHF 15,000 should be given upon acceptance of admission. The second installment of CHF 15,000 should be deposited by September 30, the third installment of CHF 40,000 by February 28 and the fourth installment of CHF 20,000 by April 30.

Loans from Prodigy Finance are disbursed at the end of February in time for the 3rd and 4th installments. Therefore, you will need to cover the two first deadlines yourself. The first installment is non-refundable. The fees are exclusive of any value-added or other indirect taxes that may be due in any country.

The tuition & fees cover all your program and project-related expenses for the year. These include relocation and visa assistance for Switzerland plus travel and accommodation for IMD-organized projects.

Your teaching materials, books, personal coaching and off-campus team-building activities are also covered. Access to our fitness facilities, information center and cafeteria and a Partner Integration Advisor is included.

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IMD’s MBA Class of 2019 – Full Stats

The full-time MBA Class of 2019 comprises 90 students representing 39 nationalities. Women form 28%. The average age at entry is 31 (minimum 25). The average years of work experience of the cohort is 7 years (minimum 3). The average GMAT score is 680. The program with one intake runs from January to December.

In terms of International diversity, Asia has the biggest share of 34 % followed by Western & Southern Europe with 32 %, Central Eastern Europe 18 %, Latin America 11 %, North America 3 %, the Middle East / Africa 2 %.

The Nationalities represented are Albania, Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Denmark, France, Germany, Georgia, Greece, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Monaco, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, UK and the US.

In terms of Leadership and responsibilities, 51% had managed teams of 10+ prior to their MBA. In Digital experience, 56% have been involved in digital transformation. In Entrepreneurial experience, 39% have had start-up experience.

Industry background

The majority of 42% students have work experience in Manufacturing followed by 22% in Service, 13% Financial Services, 10% Consulting, 7% Telecom/High-Tech and 6% Public Sector/Non-Profit.

Functional Diversity

Marketing & Sales and Project Management make up 20% each, followed by Finance (16%), Operations (12%), Business Development (10%), Strategy & Planning (9%), General Management (7%), HR / Legal / Corporate Affairs and IT / R&D (3% each).

Student Profiles

Among the students, Spanish-Argentinian Ezequiel Abachian Alvarez has 9 years’ experience in manufacturing management, continuous improvement, product development and sales in industrial companies. In his last held position as Key Account Manager, Ceratizit, Luxembourg, he had managed an international sales team that outperformed revenue targets by 20%, through the development and introduction of customized products fulfilling market demands.

Dutch national Syed Aamir Ahmad has 5 years’ international experience in strategy, project management, business development, and transformation across financial services, start-ups, and the food & agriculture industry. As Project Manager, Cargill, the Netherlands, he had managed seven cross-functional transformation and continuous improvement projects, with teams of 10+ members, to support change management and drive customer satisfaction.

Perwez Akhtar from India has 9 years’ international experience in product development, process improvement and change management in the automotive industry. As Technical Specialist, Cummins Inc., USA, he led a cross-functional team across two business units to develop a novel product validation process, reducing development time by ~10%. He also steered programs to select engine architecture that met customer and environmental requirements, mitigating potential legal liabilities and downtime costs of ~$10m.

Swati Dalal from India has 9 years’ business development, growth strategy and team leading experience across the steel, hospitality and retail sectors. She was Senior Manager – Business Development, Trent Limited (Tata Group), India. She headed franchise operations for Westside-flagship fashion brand of Tata group, led a team of eight executives and managed all existing (40) and future franchisees. She also led 100% growth in a number of stores, bringing in incremental investments of over $10m.

Uzair Fahmi from India has 7 years’ international experience in global pharmaceuticals and market-shaping programs in public healthcare. As Independent Consultant, Clinton Health Access Initiative, India, he led consumer and provider research to identify opportunities in the private sector for increasing pregnancy supplements and presented recommendations to the Gates Foundation. He also secured a $1.2m external grant to improve price points and access to cancer drugs by developing a proposal of the pooled procurement strategy. https://www.imd.org/mba/one-year-mba-program/

At the end of the year when the MBA Class of 2018 at IMD is busy with job hunting after completing the electives, Dean Seán Meehan has shared some of his thoughts on the important moments in the program.

The one-year full-time MBA program at the IMD campus in Lausanne, Switzerland runs from January to December.  The Class of 2018 has 90 students with an average age of 31. The minimum age for entry is 25. Women comprise 29% and the cohort, representing 43 nationalities, has an average work experience of 7 years.

Meehan says one of the most iconic moments of the IMD MBA comes around in March – the first Integrative Exercise. It was introduced over 25 years ago to test the participants’ learning about strategy, marketing, costing and finance, and of course, their common sense.

The students are given a complex case at noon on Day 1. They are expected to present it to a jury during the morning of Day 2. Then, after receiving the feedback from the judges, they have to regroup and represent 24 hours later.

“They learn three lessons that they will use throughout the MBA and later in their careers; manage your time and go back over your work with fresh eyes, think holistically, and most importantly, work as a team. In this exercise you cannot paper over the cracks, you cannot bluff, you cannot be superficial, you will be exposed. It’s a highly appreciated test,” Meehan writes in the IMD blog.

“We made several adjustments to the program this year. Addressing digitalization was one important initiative. In addition to revising courses, we redesigned our overseas adventure to take the entire class to some of those places where our digital future is being created.

“Our role is to help our MBAs become better at business, yes. But more importantly, they have developed their resilience, their will and their accessibility.  We strive to ensure they leave knowing themselves as people who can play an important role in our society through the responsible leadership of corporations and organizations,”

“In just two weeks, we visited tech labs, companies and government agencies in Silicon Valley, Singapore and Bangalore. We heard from leading economists, entrepreneurs and scientists. A whirlwind? Yes, but also an amazing exposure to companies and people so focused on the future,” he says.

“We met alumni on every stop and, of course, benefited from local insights of classmates. Despite some late nights, (for them!!) I was impressed with the group’s attentiveness, interest and engagement all the way through.

“And of course, there were laughs galore. All in all, the trip was a tremendous memory of 2018 – something unique. I am currently being asked whether the class of 2019 will follow the same itinerary. They won’t. But I’ll save that for another day,” he adds.

Referring to the International Consulting Projects that are part of the program, he says In September, 17 teams worked from locations such as Helsinki, Abu Dhabi, Brussels, Dubai, Johannesburg and Lausanne.

Several of the teams also travelled extensively to locations in China, South East Asia, Hong Kong, Europe, and Africa. The teams delivered impactful final presentations. The Dean said many of the 2018 clients have requested IMD projects in 2019.

However, he says some of the new things introduced in the program did not work out as planned. The lessons learnt will be useful for improvements in the year ahead.

“Our role is to help our MBAs become better at business, yes. But more importantly, they have developed their resilience, their will and their accessibility.  We strive to ensure they leave knowing themselves as people who can play an important role in our society through the responsible leadership of corporations and organizations,” he adds.

FT noted that open enrolment programs targeting working managers registered a 10% growth to 2700 in 2017 compared to the previous year. The Lausanne, Switzerland-based IMD was also among the top three in eight of 10 criteria based on participants’ ratings.

In the second place for open enrolment programs is Oxford Said Business School that climbed up from the 4^th rank in the previous year. For Said, it was its best performance in the open ranking.

IESE was in the third spot, falling from the second rank in 2017.

Stanford GSB managed to climb to 8^th rank from 13^th in 2017. Harvard, however, fell from 5^th to 9^th rank while UNC Kenan-Flagler climbed to 10^th rank from 12^th rank it held in the previous year.

In the fourth rank is Harvard Business School that also dropped one spot from the previous year. INSEAD is in the fifth rank, moving up from the 7^th place in the previous year.

University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business is in the 6^th rank, moving up from the 9^th spot in the previous year. Stanford Graduate School of Business was in the 7^th place, having climbed up from 13^th rank in 2017.

University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business was another one that climbed to the 8^th rank, from being placed 19 in the previous year. However, UVA Darden School of Business just about managed its ranking in the top ten, being placed 9th, dropping down from the 5^th rank in 2017. The Centre for Creative Leadership was also in the 9^th rank, dropping from its 6^th rank in the previous year. There was no claimant for the 10^th rank and at rank 11 was ESMT, Berlin.

Meanwhile, the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, retained its 64^th rank. IIM Ahmedabad also managed to hold on to the 66^th rank.

The rankings cover a record 90 customized program and 80 open-enrolment programs across the world. The methodology is primarily based on measuring the participants’ and clients’ satisfaction along with the schools’ revenue growth, international reach and faculty diversity.

In Executive Education Customised Programs Ranking, IESE was number one for international clients and faculty diversity. It ranked second for its overseas programmes and partner schools. It was in the top five of all but one of the other nine criteria informed by its corporate clients.

In the second spot is Duke Corporate Education, pushing down IMD to the 3^rd rank.

Ranked 6^th is INSEAD that has also moved up from 9^th rank in 2017. However, SDA Bocconi fell to 7^th rank from the 4^th spot it held in the previous year.

Stanford GSB managed to climb to 8^th rank from 13^th in 2017. Harvard, however, fell from 5^th to 9^th rank while UNC Kenan-Flagler climbed to 10^th rank from 12^th rank it held in the previous year.

Meanwhile, IIM Ahmedabad moved up 6 places to rank 57. However, IIM Bangalore fell from 56 to 59^th rank.(Image Source:flickr.com)