ISB Fees 2027-28, Placements, and ROI: What Does the One-Year PGP Really Cost?
For the class joining in 2027, ISB’s one-year PGP costs ₹40.47 lakh with shared housing, and about ₹6.5 lakh of it is due when you accept the offer. The 20-month PGP YL costs about ₹29.7 lakh. The Class of 2026 averaged ₹37.12 LPA.
Sources: ISB PGP fee structure for 2027-28; ISB PGP YL fee schedule for 2027-29; ISB Placement Report 2025-26, KPMG-reviewed as of October 10, 2026.
If you have searched for ISB’s fees, you have probably seen more than one number, and some of them are last year’s.
The year on a fee matters more than it seems, because the fee you will pay is the one for the class joining in 2027.
So this page starts there, with ISB’s official figures, and then works through what graduates earn and how long the money takes to come back.
How much does the ISB PGP cost?
The full fee for 2027-28
ISB’s PGP fee for the class joining in 2027 is ₹40.47 lakh with shared housing and ₹44.45 lakh with a studio. Both figures include GST and a refundable ₹20,000 security deposit, and here is how ISB breaks them down.
| Shared housing | Studio | |
|---|---|---|
| Tuition | ₹26,64,000 | ₹26,64,000 |
| Accommodation | ₹2,34,000 | ₹5,36,000 |
| GST at 18% | ₹4,79,520 | ₹5,76,000 |
| Refundable security deposit | ₹20,000 | ₹20,000 |
| Program fee | ₹33,97,520 | ₹37,96,000 |
| Admission fee (incl. GST) | ₹3,99,500 | ₹3,99,500 |
| Commitment fee (incl. GST) | ₹2,49,500 | ₹2,49,500 |
| Total | ₹40,46,520 | ₹44,45,000 |
Source: ISB PGP fee structure for 2027-28.
ISB’s fee schedule for 2026-27 put last year’s total with shared housing, paid in one installment, at ₹38.67 lakh. So if a figure you have seen elsewhere is close to that, it is a year out of date.
The table also shows how much your housing choice moves the total. The studio costs ₹3.98 lakh more than a shared room, partly because studio rent attracts GST and shared rooms do not.
What you pay when you accept the offer
Knowing the total is only half of it, because two payments fall due on the date in your offer letter.
The admission fee of ₹3,99,500 is partly refundable under ISB’s policy, and the commitment fee of ₹2,49,500 is not refundable at all.
Together they come to about ₹6.5 lakh, so keep that amount ready before the offer arrives. The rest can then be paid in one installment or two, with 6% interest on the second.
Whichever you choose, pay by the due date. ISB may still accept a late payment between March 14 and April 12, 2027, with a late fee of ₹10,000 plus taxes, but that is at its discretion.
What the fee does not cover
Even the full fee leaves out the cost of living through the year. ISB estimates another ₹2.25 lakh: ₹20,000 for books, ₹75,000 for a laptop, ₹80,000 for meals, and ₹50,000 for other costs such as IT support and laundry.
On top of that comes health insurance, which ISB charges at the actual premium. With shared housing, the year comes to about ₹42.7 lakh, including the refundable ₹20,000 deposit, before insurance, travel, and personal spending.
These figures change every year, so check ISB’s current fee document before you sign a loan.
The biggest cost is missing from ISB’s list, though: the year of salary you give up while you study. Section 4 adds that salary in.
Is ISB a one-year or two-year MBA?
Two programs, split by work experience
That ₹40.47 lakh is the fee for ISB’s one-year PGP. ISB also runs a second full-time program, and which one you can apply for depends on how long you have worked.
| PGP | PGP YL | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 12 months | 20 months |
| Work experience | At least 24 months | Up to 24 months, including fresh graduates |
| Total fee | ₹40.47 lakh (2027-28, shared housing) | About ₹29.7 lakh (2027-29) |
Sources: ISB PGP fee structure for 2027-28; ISB PGP YL fee schedule for 2027-29.
If you searched for ISB’s “two-year MBA” fees, the PGP YL is probably the program you are after. If you already have two years of work behind you, though, the PGP is probably the better fit.
For everything else about the PGP YL, read our ISB PGP YL guide.
What happened to the Early Entry Option
ISB has discontinued its Early Entry Option, which let final-year students apply early and join the PGP later. Applicants in that position now apply to the PGP YL instead.
Is the PGP an MBA?
Whichever route you take, ISB describes the PGP as “akin to an MBA” and says it is not a degree program.
The rankings treat it as an MBA all the same. The Financial Times placed ISB 12th in the world, second in Asia, and first in India in its 2026 Global MBA ranking.
Source: Financial Times Global MBA Ranking 2026.
Hyderabad or Mohali
ISB runs the PGP on both campuses. Of the 839 students in the Class of 2027, who joined in April 2026, 424 are in Hyderabad and 415 are in Mohali.
Source: ISB press release on the Class of 2027, May 7, 2026.
What do ISB graduates earn?
The Class of 2026 placements
Once you know what the year costs, the next question is what it pays. ISB’s Class of 2026 received 1,177 job offers, with an average salary of ₹37.12 LPA.
Consulting, technology, and financial services did most of the hiring, and the rest of the picture looks like this.
Class of 2026
Source: ISB Placement Report 2025-26, KPMG-reviewed as of October 10, 2026.
News reports from April 2026 quoted 1,117 offers and an average of ₹37.29 LPA. The numbers above come from ISB’s final placement report, reviewed by KPMG in October.
Those 1,177 offers went to a class of 811 students, or 1.45 offers per student, so the offer count does not tell you how many students were placed.
Where the offers came from
Hiring was concentrated in a few industries. Consulting took 45% of accepted offers, technology 26%, BFSI (banking, financial services, and insurance) 9%, and FMCG and retail 6%, so those four industries account for 86%. By function, consulting and strategy roles took 46% of accepted offers, and analytics and technology roles took 22%.
At the top of the list, 27 companies made 10 or more offers each, including Accenture, Mastercard, EY, Deloitte, McKinsey, Alvarez & Marsal, and Nagarro. The 79 first-time recruiters above made at least 96 offers between them.
ISB also reports how many graduates changed direction. Of the Class of 2026, 65% made an industry shift and 65% made a function shift.
Source: ISB Placement Report 2025-26, KPMG-reviewed as of October 10, 2026.
Why the average is probably above your number
The average of ₹37.12 LPA is the figure everyone quotes, yet ISB’s placement report gives neither a median nor the share of the class that was placed.
Averages are pulled up by the highest offers, so plan your loan around a figure below ₹37 lakh and treat anything above it as a bonus.
Source: ISB Placement Report 2025-26, KPMG-reviewed as of October 10, 2026.
If you want to work abroad
Only 35 of the 1,177 offers were international, so if your goal is a job in Europe or Singapore, an international school will probably serve you better.
Source: ISB Placement Report 2025-26, KPMG-reviewed as of October 10, 2026.
Does ISB pay for itself?
Put the cost and the salary together, and you reach the question most people are really asking.
If you earn around ₹12 LPA today and land an offer near the Class of 2026 average, ISB could pay back its cost in a little over two years before tax, and in roughly three to four years once tax and loan interest are counted. The more you earn now, the longer it takes. The calculator below works out the before-tax figure with your own numbers.
ROI calculator
How long does the ISB fee take to pay back?
₹42.7L
Loan, if you borrow it all
₹90K/mo
Monthly EMI over 60 months
₹25.1 LPA
Salary jump
2.2 yrs
Break-even, before tax
Where the money goes
The target uses the Class of 2026 average of ₹37.12 LPA, and the cost is about ₹42.7 lakh for the 2027-28 year with shared housing. The current CTC of ₹12 LPA is only an example, so set it to what you earn now. The more you earn today, the longer the payback.
Break-even is the total to win back divided by the salary jump. The total is the cost after any scholarship plus one year of your current pay, which you give up while at ISB. All figures are before tax, and the loan figure assumes you borrow the whole cost. Income tax and loan interest usually push the real payback to about three to four years for someone earning around ₹12 LPA today.
A worked example
To see where those figures come from, say you earn ₹12 LPA today and land the Class of 2026 average of ₹37.12 LPA. Your pay rises by about ₹25 lakh a year.
Against that, add up what the year costs: ₹42.7 lakh in fees and expenses, plus the ₹12 lakh salary you give up.
That is about ₹55 lakh to win back, which takes a little over two years at ₹25 lakh a year, before tax.
Tax and loan interest stretch that further. Income tax alone pushes the payback to about three years, and the interest on the loan adds roughly another half year, so three to four years is the safer figure to plan around.
Your current salary matters as much as the offer. At ₹18 LPA today, the same sum takes a little over three years even before tax.
A ₹42.7 lakh loan at 9.5% over five years, for instance, costs about ₹90,000 a month. Most education loans also let interest build up while you study, so the monthly payment usually ends up higher than that.
Sources: ISB PGP fee structure for 2027-28; ISB Placement Report 2025-26, KPMG-reviewed as of October 10, 2026. Payback figures are Crackverbal’s calculation under the new income tax regime.
Where scholarships fit
A scholarship shortens all of this. ISB says about 25% of PGP students receive some financial support each year, and for the Class of 2027 it reported scholarships worth over ₹12 crore to about 13% of the class.
In October 2026, ISB also announced 250 scholarships a year across the PGP and PGP YL, with tuition waivers of 25% to 100%. ISB has not yet said which intake they start with, so check its scholarship page before you apply. If you receive a scholarship, add it to the calculator and watch the payback time drop.
Sources: ISB PGP fees and scholarships page; ISB press release on the Class of 2027, May 7, 2026; ISB scholarship announcement, October 7, 2026.
Crackverbal’s admissions team will tell you where your profile stands and which round suits it.
Is ISB a good fit?
ISB is a good fit if
The numbers above work best for a particular kind of applicant. ISB is probably a good fit if:
- You have at least two years of work experience and a clear career goal.
- You want to build your career in India.
- You can afford a year away from work.
Consider another program if
Other applicants will probably do better with a different program. That includes you if:
- You have under two years of experience. Look at the PGP YL or a two-year IIM program.
- You want a career outside India. An international school such as INSEAD probably fits that better.
- Your goal is still unclear. ISB’s interview looks at how clearly you understand your goal, and one year leaves little time to explore it afterward, so arrive knowing the direction you want.
ISB vs IIM Ahmedabad vs IIM Bangalore
For most Indian applicants, the real alternative to ISB is an IIM, so here is how the three compare.
| ISB PGP | IIM Ahmedabad PGP | IIM Bangalore MBA | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length | 1 year | 2 years | 2 years |
| Program fee | ₹40.47 lakh for one year (2027-28, with housing) | About ₹27.5 lakh for two years (2025-27 batch, boarding extra) | About ₹26 lakh for two years (2026-28, hostel rent included, mess extra) |
| Pay | Average salary ₹37.12 LPA (Class of 2026) | Mean maximum earning potential ₹37.97 lakh; median guaranteed cash ₹32.5 lakh (Class of 2026, audited) | Average ₹35.35 LPA; median ₹34.75 LPA (2024-26 batch, PGP and PGPBA combined) |
Sources: ISB PGP fee structure for 2027-28; ISB Placement Report 2025-26, KPMG-reviewed as of October 10, 2026; IIM Ahmedabad PGP fee for 2025-27 and final placement report 2026; IIM Bangalore MBA fee for 2026-28 and final placements 2026.
One caution before you read too much into the fee and pay rows: the three schools count them differently.
ISB gives an average salary, while IIM Ahmedabad’s audited report gives guaranteed cash and maximum earning potential. Of IIM Ahmedabad’s two figures, maximum earning potential is the closer match to ISB’s average. The fees also cover different things at each school, so read the table as a rough guide.
The classes differ too. Many IIM students join with little or no work experience, while ISB’s Class of 2027 averages four years, so the pay figures describe different groups of people.
The clearer difference is time. If you have several years of experience and still want an IIM, look at IIM Ahmedabad’s one-year PGPX and IIM Bangalore’s one-year EPGP as well.
Can you get in?
All of this assumes you get in, and the basic bar is clear. ISB asks for at least 24 months of full-time work experience before you join, and a GMAT or GRE score taken at a test center.
Within that bar, the Class of 2027, which joined in April 2026, has 839 students, 47% of them women, with an average age of 26 and an average of four years of work experience.
Source: ISB’s report, Class Profile Co ’27.
Your GMAT or GRE score is one part of that profile, and an average tells you less than it seems to. In his session with Crackverbal, Pritesh Zaveri, ISB’s admissions director, said that in the class that began in April 2026, a candidate with a 575 got in and a candidate with a 775 was rejected.
For GMAT targets, profile strength, and how ISB reads your work experience, see our guide to the ideal ISB profile.
For the view from inside the admissions office, watch the full session with Pritesh Zaveri on how ISB evaluates a profile.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. ISB says about 25% of PGP students receive some financial support each year, and it reported scholarships for about 13% of the Class of 2027. In October 2026, it also announced 250 scholarships a year across the PGP and PGP YL. Check ISB’s scholarship page for what is open to your class.
Yes. ISB works with partner banks that offer education loans to admitted students. Compare each bank’s interest rate and disbursal date with the dates your fees fall due, and check whether it needs collateral and how interest builds up while you study.
The ₹2,49,500 commitment fee is not refunded. The ₹3,99,500 admission fee is partly refundable under ISB’s policy, so read that policy before you pay.
Round 1 closed on September 20, 2026. Round 2 closes on December 6, 2026, and Round 3 closes on January 17, 2027, the last date ISB accepts applications for this class.
ISB does not publish one. Any acceptance rate you see quoted is an estimate.
The bottom line
Once you add ISB’s own estimate of other costs, the PGP comes to about ₹42.7 lakh for the class joining in 2027, and the Class of 2026 averaged ₹37.12 LPA.
If you earn around ₹12 LPA now and land an offer near that average, the money probably comes back in a little over two years before tax, and in about three to four years once tax and loan interest are counted. If you are weighing an application for Round 2 or Round 3, it is worth talking to our admissions team first.
Sources: ISB PGP fee structure for 2027-28; ISB Placement Report 2025-26, KPMG-reviewed as of October 10, 2026.
Talk to a Crackverbal admissions expert about your profile, your timing, and your round.
Shreekala Kurup is the Co-Founder and COO of Crackverbal, and the driving force behind its MBA and master’s admissions consulting practice. Before co-founding Crackverbal, she spent seven years at Hewlett-Packard in client-facing operations roles, bringing with her a rigor for process and strategy that still shows in how she works with applicants today. A fellow of the ISB Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurs program, she has guided thousands of professionals into top global business schools, helping them find and articulate the story that was already there. Her particular skill is turning a complicated, anxious applicant into someone who sounds exactly like himself or herself on paper, which, as anyone who has written an MBA essay will tell you, is harder than it sounds.
Your MBA journey starts with
one right call.
30-minute profile evaluation. We'll tell you which schools match your profile and your odds — with no hedging.
01 · All 100 colleges Top 100 MBA Colleges in India With Fees and Average Salaries Search by name or...
01 · The fifty schools Fifty Indian B-Schools That Accept the GMAT Filter by who can apply with a GMAT...
TL;DR: Most people who search for courses after MBA are not really looking for courses. They are looking for direction....