IMD MBA - Class Profile, Fee, Salary & Curriculum

IMD 1-year Master of Business Administration degree at Lausanne, Switzerland, is designed for developing reflective and responsible leadership skills in an  entrepreneurial and global business environment.

In this in-depth analysis of IMD 1-year Full-time MBA program, we cover:

• IMD Full Time MBA Class Profile
• IMD Full-Time MBA Cost
• IMD Full-Time MBA Scholarships and Financial Aid
• IMD Full-Time MBA Curriculum
• IMD Full-Time MBA Application Process
• IMD Full-Time MBA Salary By Industry (2020-21)
• IMD Full-Time MBA – Placement by Region Data (2020-21)

IMD Full Time MBA Class Profile

There are 104 students enrolled in the IMD Full-time MBA program for the 2022 graduating class, with an average GMAT score of 680. IMD's reputation for facilitating career growth at lower opportunity cost has attracted candidates from 40 countries. The class of 2022 had 35% women in the class – a lower representation than a top US MBA program. The age of students ranged between 25 to 32 years with an average 7 years of professional working experience.

IMD Full-Time MBA Cost

The tuition fees for the IMD Full-Time MBA program for the 2022 entering year was USD 101,614.01. This covers the expenses such as Relocation and Visa Assistance, Travel and accommodation, Personal development, On-Campus Support, facilities, and partner integration.

IMD MBA Fee - Four Installments

The tuition fees need to be submitted by the students in four installments.

The first installment is due within 2 to 4 weeks of receiving an admission offer where the student needs to pay USD 15,632.92. The second installment for USD 18,238.41 is due by 30th September. The 3rd installment of USD 41,687.80 is due by 28th of April. The last installment is due on 30 April and the amount is USD 26,054.88.

Since loans are normally disbursed on time for the third and fourth installments, students will have to meet the first two deadlines on their own.

Personal Expenses: Apart from the tuition cost, the students also have to bear the personal expenses. Housing and living costs vary depending on students’ lifestyle. The average cost of living in Switzerland is USD 37,519.02 for a single person, though this can be reduced if accommodation is shared.
If the students are coming to IMD with their families, the overall budget will need to be increased based on the number and ages of individuals who will be joining.

    
IMD Full-Time MBA Scholarships and Financial Aid

For the 2022 Full-Time MBA class, 59% of the participants of the IMD MBA Program received a scholarship from IMD from which 61% of scholarships awarded were merit-based. Also, 75% of the women participants in the MBA Program were awarded scholarships.

IMD MBA Scholarships - Four Categories

The four major IMD MBA Scholarship categories include financial needs scholarships, scholarships based on Supporting documents, Scholarships for all-rounder participants, and scholarships for winners of assessment Challenges.

The minimum scholarship a participant can avail is USD 26,054.88 and the maximum is USD 52,109.75 except for the IMD MBA CO-RO Challenge for Danes scholarship where the participant can avail a full scholarship.

For financial aid, students can contact three major funding sources that include, IMD loans, Funding for Women, and regional funding.

     
Loans

IMD offers support and assistance in promoting diversity by offering loans to those who lack the financial resources to complete the degree.

Lendwise, Splendit, Sallie Mae, and Prodigy Finance, specializing in higher education student loans at prestigious institutions are IMD’s funding partners. For Indian nationals, IMD also partners with GradRight.

If applicants wish to assure prompt disbursement of the third and fourth tuition installments, they should apply as soon as they are accepted into the program. Participants might be possible to apply before being approved if they wish to plan their budget ahead of time.

Funding For Women

The women participants can apply for four additional funding options to finance their Full-Time MBA program.

The MBA For Women Foundation: The MBA for Women Foundation awards scholarships and loans to women pursuing an MBA at one of the world's top business schools. They must demonstrate financial need.

The American Association of University Women's Educational Foundation: Selected degrees including MBA programs are eligible for Fellowships at AAUW. The applicant should be women or identify as a woman, citizen, or permanent residents of the United States. Those who have demonstrated academic brilliance and potential of distinction in their areas are awarded an amount ranging from $5000 to $18,000.

Graduate Women International Fellowships: GWI and its national affiliates provide fellowships and grants to assist the research, study, and training needed to provide quality higher and continuing education to women and girls worldwide.

Graduate Women International: Graduate Women International (GWI) promotes women's rights, equality, and empowerment by ensuring access to high-quality secondary and postsecondary education and training. Over 60 countries have national affiliations, while over 40 countries have individual members. For the MBA program, a membership in the organization can facilitate funding options for women applicants.

Regional Funding: Apart from all the loans, scholarships, and fellowships, regional funding is awarded to students belonging to specific regions. Nations that account for most regional funding are Africa, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Egypt, Germany, India, Lebanon, Mexico, Peru, Portugal, Spain, and the USA.

IMD Full-Time MBA Curriculum

IMD Full-Time MBA Program is a one-year MBA program that comprises eight different phases.

1) Pre-Program

The program starts with a pre-program where participants prepare for their journey. The phase offers an overview of the entire course. The phase discusses relocation, housing, course work, Career development, and partner integration. The first phase or pre-program remains in action from October to December.

2) Opening Week

In the opening week, participants explore the campus, meet the MBA team, and complete essential administrative tasks and logistics.

3) Foundational Phase

Next is the Foundation phase, where participants build their foundational skills through core. This phase begins in January and ends in April. Foundations include three major industries, Opening Weeks, Core courses, and Entrepreneurship.

Core Course: All participants must complete eight-core courses.

•    Accounting
•    Business & Society
•    Economics
•    Finance
•    Leadership
•    Marketing
•    Operation
•    Strategy

Entrepreneurship: IMD has a mandatory foundation in Entrepreneurship that explores the skills involved in starting, acquiring, growing, and rejuvenating a start-up. During this phase, participants will work with early-stage high-tech ventures. Participants need to go through any three case studies of the past start-up projects along with the current entrepreneurial engagement. They need to closely observe the actions taken by each MBA team in response to the challenges they faced during the implementation of the projects.

4) Innovation Phase

After completing core courses, the innovation phase begins with the innovation labs, digital week, and the discovery trip that lasts from May to June.

Innovation Lab: During the one-week MBA Innovation & Leadership Lab, participants will focus on Design thinking. The methodology assists participants in better understanding the challenges from concrete observations to quick prototyping, allowing them to turn any interesting discovery into a set of possible answers.

Discovery Expedition: The exploration expeditions allow applicants to discover and explore unique developments in global hubs. Students explore how each region is positioning and pivoting according to its strengths and weakness. Past trips include visit to the UAE, San Francisco Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangalore to analyse how the govt. is adapting and growing according to the region’s unique competitive advantages.

Digital Analytics Lab: offers practical experience with programming and digital technology. For one week, the applicant learns Python programming and uses them as part of a team project that includes Big Data, Machine Learning, and AI.

5) Summer Break

After a long week of innovation, participants reflect and refresh with the summer break.

6) Exploration Phase

After the summer break, the exploration phase commences where participants can choose specialization courses.  The phase comprises of specialized Courses, and Discovery Expedition.

Specialized Courses: help participants gain a deeper grasp of business disciplines such as negotiations, international strategy, strategy beyond the market, and finance through hands-on learning.

Discovery Expedition: The exploration expeditions continues allowing participants to discover and explore unique global hub. They get a chance to broaden their horizons and learn how problems and opportunities are creating the future of business together.

7) Application Phase  

The Application phase begins in September and ends in October and consists of two major international consulting projects - Global high Impact and Go to Market.

Global High Impact: IMD was the first MBA program to conduct international consulting projects. With over 700 projects for 400 different companies offered since 1980, the course spans seven to eight weeks that offers applicants the opportunities to assist a multinational in resolving a unique problem. Each team for the project is divided into five to six people.

The Global High Impact program is divided into four phases:
•  Contextual analysis from the outside in – essential success factors
•  Analysis of the company – strategy context and value generation
•  Analysis of the Problem – Recommendations
•  Designing the implementation phase

Go to Market: Recruiters may count on the specialized Career Development team to help them find the most remarkable talent for their current and future business needs. They'll also work closely with participants as they prepare their first round of interviews, which can take place on campus, electronically, or anywhere else.

IMD collaborates with organizations from various industries to provide the IMD MBA graduates with a variety of options while also encouraging them to tap into their networks, as well as those of their classmates and the whole IMD ecosystem.

8) Customization Phase

Under the customization phase, participants need to opt for four electives from over six themes – Leadership & Communication, Digital, Finance, Sustainability, Strategy and Analytical.
       

Graduation: With guest speakers, alumni, and teachers – the one-week celebration concludes the 1-year IMD MBA program.

IMD Full-Time MBA Application Process

IMD MBA has four deadlines February 1st, May 1st, July 1st, and September 1st. The required application element for the IMD MBA program include:

• Degrees and Transcripts: Original diplomas and authentic transcripts for all university degrees or equivalents, including the grading scale. Every document must be translated into English or French by an official translator.

• GRE/GMAT: A GMAT or GRE score from within the last five years. Applicants need to upload a copy and place an order for an official score report from IMD. SKR-MM-13 is the GMAT code, and 8490 is the GRE code.

• English Test:  TOEFL or IELTS score within the last two years (for non-native English speakers who do not have a university degree taught fully in English). Applicants need to upload a test taker copy and place an order for an official score report from IMD.

• Recommenders: Two business-related references who can attest to the applicant’s professional accomplishments, interpersonal skills, teamwork, and leadership. IMD also recommends entering and submitting the recommender’s contact information at least two weeks before the application deadline to have enough time to fill out and submit the online form. Only professional email accounts are acceptable.

• CV: A one-page English resume based on the IMD CV template is a must, and a CV in any other file type will be rejected.

• Passport: A copy of the applicant's passport (photo page) that is valid for the duration of your MBA program. Attach a copy of each nationality if the applicant has more than one.

• Photo: A professional-looking electronic photograph with no scenery in the background and a high resolution of at least 150 DPI, a file size of 150 KB, and a JPEG format.

• Application Fees: A non-refundable application fee of USD 155.83 must be submitted.

Successful candidates will be invited for an online interview, and additional evaluation, including an elevator presentation, a team experience, class observation, and networking with members of the MBA team after the admission community has reviewed the applications.

The admission team will undertake random background checks on select applications shortly after acceptance of the offer and payment of the initial deposit to verify the authenticity of degrees and job history.

Joining one of the IMD Assessment Challenges is a different way to apply. These local competitions strive to increase diversity in the class, and each one includes a different scholarship option. (refer to scholarship section for challenges awards)

IMD Full-Time MBA Salary By Industry (2020-21)

The average base salary for the one-year IMD MBA program for the 2020 graduating class was $126,565 with a sign-on bonus of $36,926.
Most of the offers were in the Healthcare industry (29%), followed by Manufacturing (18%) and Technology (17%). Consulting was at 4th, while financial services had single-digit representation (8%).

IMD Full-Time MBA – Placement by Region Data (2020-21)

Most IMD MBA offers were in Europe (78%), followed by  Asia (10%) and Latin America (4%).
 

Reference

IMD MBA Application Process