IIM Kozhikode

Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIM Kozhikode or IIMK) is a public management institute established in 1996 by the Government of India in collaboration with the Government of Kerala. It was the fifth Indian Institute of Management to be established in India. The institute is located in Kozhikode, Kerala, in the Kunnamangalam area, and its main campus covers approximately 112.5 acres. IIMK is an Institute of National Importance governed by the Indian Institute of Management Act, 2017.

The institute's flagship management programme is the two-year Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP). IIM Kozhikode's PGP is now an MBA programme and follows a six-term structure. The first year focuses on compulsory foundation courses, while the second year provides students with a broad choice of electives across areas such as Finance, Marketing, Information Systems, Operations, Strategy, Economics, Human Resources and Humanities & Liberal Arts.

For the 2026-28 PGP admission cycle, CAT 2025 is the required entrance examination. IIM Kozhikode's official admission policy specifies minimum CAT percentile requirements as well as academic eligibility requirements. For the General category, the minimum qualifying CAT requirement is 85 overall percentile with 75 percentile in each section. However, this is an eligibility threshold rather than a guaranteed interview or final-admission cutoff. Shortlisting uses an Aggregate Index Score incorporating CAT performance, Class X and XII marks, diversity and work experience.

The 2026-28 selection process is conducted in three stages. Candidates first have to satisfy the minimum eligibility requirements and complete the institute's registration process. The second stage shortlists candidates for the Written Ability Test and Personal Interview using the Aggregate Index Score. The final stage evaluates CAT performance, WAT, PI and the resume score. For the final selection, CAT carries 35%, PI 35%, WAT 20%, and resume score 10% weightage.

IIM Kozhikode has international accreditation from AMBA and EQUIS. The institute received AMBA accreditation in 2010 and was subsequently re-accredited, most recently in 2023. It received EQUIS accreditation in 2021 and was re-accredited in 2024 for another five-year period. IIMK's AACSB accreditation process was still underway in 2026; therefore, AACSB should not be described as an accreditation already obtained.

In the NIRF 2026 Management ranking, IIM Kozhikode is listed at 6th position. The institute's official ranking page also records its 3rd position in NIRF 2025. The IIRF 2026 ranking places IIM Kozhikode at 7th in its management ranking.

The latest officially published final placement report available for the institute is Final Placements 2025. It reports a highest CTC of ₹81.00 LPA, mean CTC of ₹28.18 LPA, median CTC of ₹27.50 LPA, 169 recruiters and 561 participating students. The placement report also records 57 new recruiters and 13 international offers.

For students researching IIM Kozhikode admission 2026, the relevant flagship programme is the PGP 2026-28 batch, for which CAT 2025 was the entrance examination. The admission cycle therefore began during 2025 and continued into 2026.

The official CAT 2025 notification states that registration opened on August 1, 2025, closed on September 13, 2025, and the CAT examination was conducted on November 30, 2025. The CAT result was scheduled for the first week of January 2026. CAT 2025 was the entrance test used for the IIM Kozhikode PGP 2026-28 admission process.

After CAT results, candidates who met IIM Kozhikode's minimum eligibility criteria and had opted for the institute were eligible to register for the institute's pre-interview process. IIMK's admission policy makes an important distinction between pre-interview registration and an interview call: successful registration itself does not automatically mean that a candidate has been shortlisted for the Personal Interview.

For the 2026-28 PGP batch, IIM Kozhikode stated that the Stage 2 PI shortlist would be made available around the second week of January 2026. Candidates were required to download their interview call letters and venue information through the IIMK registration portal.

The institute conducts the WAT and PI process in multiple cities. For the 2026-28 cycle, the official admission policy listed Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Mumbai and New Delhi as WAT/PI locations. The process is conducted as a half-day session involving a written essay followed by a Personal Interview.

After completion of the interview process, IIM Kozhikode stated that the required number of admission offers would be made around the first week of May 2026, in merit order and according to applicable Government of India reservation norms. A limited number of candidates could subsequently be placed on the waiting list, with movement depending on the number of candidates declining initial offers.

IIM Kozhikode PGP 2026-28 Important Dates

The CAT dates above come from the official CAT 2025 notification, while the IIM Kozhikode shortlist and offer timelines come from the institute's official PGP 2026-28 admission policy.

For future admission cycles, applicants should check the latest CAT notification and IIM Kozhikode admission policy because dates, eligibility requirements and selection procedures can change between batches.

IIM Kozhikode's flagship programme is the Post Graduate Programme in Management (PGP), a two-year, six-term programme that leads to an MBA degree. The programme is designed for graduates seeking careers in management and related business functions. The first year consists primarily of compulsory foundation courses, while the second year provides students with a wide range of elective choices.

The first-year PGP curriculum includes subjects such as Organization and Market Economics, Organizational Behaviour, Financial Accounting, Data Analysis, Business Communication, Marketing Management, Financial Markets and Instruments, Corporate Finance, Human Resource Management, Information Systems, Operations Management, Strategic Management, Innovation and Design Thinking, Sustainability and Business.

In the second year, students can select electives from multiple academic areas. These include Economics; Finance, Accounting & Control; Humanities & Liberal Arts in Management; Information Technology and Systems; Marketing Management; Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources; Quantitative Methods & Operations Management; and Strategic Management. Examples of electives include Financial Derivatives, Corporate Valuation, Artificial Intelligence for Business, Business Intelligence and Big Data, Customer Analytics, Strategic Marketing, Supply Chain Management, Data Analytics Using R and Global Business Strategy.

IIM Kozhikode does not officially describe the flagship PGP as a programme with fixed MBA specializations in the manner used by many standalone business schools. Instead, students have access to academic areas and elective courses. Therefore, Finance, Marketing, Operations, HR, Strategy and similar areas should be described as elective/academic areas, rather than guaranteed formal PGP specializations.

Apart from the flagship PGP, IIM Kozhikode offers several other management programmes. These include the Post Graduate Programme in Finance (PGP-Finance), Post Graduate Programme in Liberal Studies & Management (PGP-LSM) and the one-year Post Graduate Programme in Business Leadership (PGP-BL). The institute also offers executive programmes and a Bachelor of Management Studies programme.

For the flagship PGP, CAT is the relevant entrance examination. The 2026-28 admission policy specifically states that only candidates obtaining a positive scaled score in all sections of CAT 2025 would be considered, subject to the remaining eligibility requirements.

PGP eligibility for 2026-28

For candidates holding a graduation degree, IIMK required at least 60% aggregate marks in graduation, with the degree involving at least three years of education after 10+2. Candidates qualifying through CA, CMA or CS had separate minimum requirements. Category-wise CAT, Class X and Class XII minimum thresholds also applied.

The institute's flagship PGP intake has historically been stated as 480 students. IIMK's official admission page says the programme intake was increased to 480 from the 2019 academic session. 

Admission to the IIM Kozhikode PGP 2026-28 programme is based on CAT 2025 followed by the institute's own selection process. The official admission policy divides the process into three stages: minimum eligibility and registration, shortlisting for WAT/PI, and final selection.

1. Meet the eligibility requirements

Candidates with a graduation degree needed at least 60% aggregate marks. The degree was required to represent at least three years of education after higher secondary schooling. Candidates applying through CA, CMA or CS qualifications had separate eligibility provisions.

For the General category, the minimum CAT threshold for the 2026-28 batch was 85 overall percentile and 75 percentile in each section. The minimum Class X and XII requirement was 60%. These figures are the official minimum eligibility criteria, not a promise of an interview call or final admission.

2. Appear for CAT

CAT 2025 was mandatory for the flagship PGP admission cycle. IIMK considered the scaled scores of all three CAT sections when calculating its CAT Index Score.

3. Complete IIM Kozhikode registration

Candidates satisfying the minimum criteria and opting for IIM Kozhikode were eligible to receive instructions for online registration. IIMK explicitly states that this is a pre-interview registration process and not itself an interview call.

4. Stage 2 shortlisting

IIMK uses an Aggregate Index Score (AIS) to shortlist candidates for the WAT and PI stage. For 2026-28, the AIS consisted of:

• CAT 2025 Index Score — 50%
• Class X percentage — 15%
• Class XII percentage — 20%
• Gender/academic diversity — 10% / 5%
• Work experience — 5%

The exact diversity component depends on the candidate's eligibility under the institute's criteria.

5. WAT and Personal Interview

Shortlisted candidates appear for a Written Ability Test followed by a Personal Interview. The institute assesses areas including academic effort, general awareness, social disposition, attitude, personality, communication and work experience.

6. Final selection

The final score for the 2026-28 PGP batch was calculated using:

• CAT 2025 Index Score — 35%
• PI Score — 35%
• WAT Score — 20%
• Resume Score — 10%

Admission offers are made according to the resulting merit list and applicable Government of India reservation norms.

The 85 percentile CAT requirement should therefore not be presented as the final IIM Kozhikode CAT cutoff. It is the minimum eligibility threshold published by the institute. The actual shortlist depends on the complete Aggregate Index Score, and final admission depends on the final selection score. 

For the PGP 2026-28 batch, IIM Kozhikode's official fee structure lists the same programme fee for the first and second years. The total listed programme fee is ₹11,75,000 per year, making the two-year programme fee ₹23,50,000, before the additional deposits and charges specified separately by the institute.

For an annual-fee presentation, the official figure can therefore be stated as ₹11.75 LPA. This is an annual programme fee rather than an estimate: the institute's 2026-28 fee document specifically lists ₹11,75,000 for 2026-27 and another ₹11,75,000 for 2027-28.

IIM Kozhikode PGP 2026-28 fee breakup

The official fee document also specifies a ₹25,000 caution deposit, refundable after completion of the course after adjustment of any applicable dues, and ₹2,000 towards the Students' Welfare Fund at admission. In addition, an amount of ₹40,000 is payable at the beginning of each academic term towards mess and students' activities deposit; this amount is refundable after each term based on actual consumption.

The payment schedule divides the annual fee into three instalments for each corresponding term. For both years, the listed instalments are ₹4,75,000, ₹3,50,000 and ₹3,50,000, totaling ₹11,75,000.

The PGP fee should not be confused with the fee of IIM Kozhikode's other programmes. PGP-Finance and PGP-LSM are covered by the same fee document, while programmes such as PGP-BL have separate fee structures.

IIM Kozhikode also provides institutional and external financial assistance schemes. The institute's scholarship ecosystem includes merit-based and need-based assistance, along with applicable government and external scholarships. Eligibility and award amounts vary according to the relevant scheme and should be checked against the current institute notification.

The latest officially published final placement report available for IIM Kozhikode is the Final Placements Report 2025. Therefore, the placement figures below should be identified as 2025 placement data, rather than being presented as 2026 placement figures.

According to the official report, the highest CTC was ₹81.00 LPA and the mean CTC was ₹28.18 LPA. The report also recorded a median CTC of ₹27.50 LPA. For female students, the reported mean CTC was ₹31.04 LPA.

The 2025 placement process involved 561 participating students and 169 total recruiters. IIM Kozhikode reported 57 new recruiters and 13 international offers during the placement cycle. The institute also reported a 12.5% year-on-year increase in the highest CTC and an 8.3% increase in total recruiters.

IIM Kozhikode Placements 2025

The placement report provides domain-wise information as well. Consulting accounted for 32% of placements, followed by Finance at 19.2%, General Management at 16.4%, Sales & Marketing at 14.4%, IT & Analytics at 13.5%, and Operations at 4.5%.

The report also notes year-on-year average CTC growth in Consulting and Operations, with the institute reporting growth of 7.01% in Consulting and 11.45% in Operations.

The 2025 placement cycle added recruiters from a range of sectors and organizations. The official report identifies new recruiters including HP, IndianOil, Michelin, NSE, Swiggy, vivo, UKG, Mother Dairy, IndianOil and Zinnov, among others.

For students researching IIM Kozhikode average package or IIM Kozhikode highest package, it is important to specify the placement year. The ₹81.00 LPA highest CTC and ₹28.18 LPA mean CTC figures belong to the 2025 Final Placements Report and should not be presented as a 2026 placement outcome unless a newer official report is published.

IIM Kozhikode's placement information is particularly relevant to its flagship PGP because the programme prepares students across multiple management functions through its core curriculum and elective areas, including Finance, Marketing, Strategy, Operations, Information Systems, Human Resources and related disciplines.