IIM Lucknow’s full-time MBA routes and its working-executive route have different campuses, eligibility rules and timelines. The current PGP page links an admission policy for the 2026-28 batch using CAT 2025; the institute’s archive separately lists a CAT 2026 advertisement. I did not find a full-time 2027-29 IIML selection policy in the official material reviewed on 4 November 2026. Treat the policy below as history, not as the rules for the next full-time batch. (PGP admissions · IIML news archive)
For a 2027 start, first choose the route. The flagship MBA, MBA-ABM and MBA-SM are IIM Lucknow’s full-time admission routes. PGPWE is a separate two-year MBA for working executives at the Noida Campus, with an application round for 2027-29. Its next posted deadline is Phase 2 on 31 December 2026 at 5:00 PM IST. This is the immediate actionable IIML deadline in the current material; it is not a deadline for the flagship programmes.
PGPWE 2027-29: check eligibility before applying
PGPWE requires a bachelor’s degree with at least 50% marks or equivalent CGPA and at least three years of full-time post-qualification work experience by 31 March 2027. IIML excludes freelance, training or project work that was part of a curriculum. If your university has no CGPA conversion formula, IIML says it will divide your CGPA by the maximum possible CGPA and multiply by 100. (PGPWE admissions)
Applicants need one eligible test route: a valid test-centre GMAT or GRE score, CAT from 2024 or 2025, GATE from 2025 or 2026, or the IIML PGPWE entrance test at the Noida Campus. CAT 2026 is not among the CAT years listed for this batch. The institute says it publishes no minimum score; it sets a cutoff for shortlisting candidates to the Writing Ability Test and Personal Interview.
The selection score assigns 30% to the test, 30% to academic and professional profile, 10% to WAT and 30% to interview. Meeting degree and experience minima lets you apply; it does not guarantee a WAT-PI call. Check test validity through the deadline and prepare evidence for every qualification and work period.
PGPWE application: Phase 2 is the next posted window
IIML marks the schedule dates tentative. Phase 1 closed on 15 October 2026. One selection-process paragraph on the official programme page instead gives 15 January 2026 for Round 2, a date that has already passed. The schedule and FAQ both say 31 December 2026, and the live application form repeats Phase 2 as 31 December 2026. Check that live form before paying, because the page contains the conflicting past date.
Applications are online only. The non-refundable application fee is ₹1,000, and IIML says a submitted form cannot be edited. Preview all entries before submission. The form requests school and degree certificates and marksheets, applicable category or disability documents, work-experience evidence and salary slips, plus a score report unless you use the institute’s entrance test. Self-employed applicants may submit a dated personal declaration with supporting documents. IIML asks applicants not to upload an appointment or joining letter as experience proof. (Application form · PGPWE schedule and FAQ)
Full-time MBA: use the 2026-28 cutoff table only as history
The latest full-time policy linked from IIML’s PGP page is titled for Academic Year 2026-28 and CAT 2025. Its table gives minimum CAT percentiles for WAT-PI shortlisting, not guaranteed interview calls or admission offers. These are the policy’s full category-specific minima, reproduced by programme. (2026-28 IIML admission policy)
MBA, CAT 2025, batch 2026-28
MBA-ABM, CAT 2025, batch 2026-28
MBA-SM, CAT 2025, batch 2026-28
VARC means Verbal Ability and Reading Comprehension; DILR, Data Interpretation and Logical Reasoning; QA, Quantitative Ability. These were only the first-stage minima for composite-score consideration in the 2026-28 policy. They are not closing percentiles, an estimate for CAT 2026, or a guarantee of a WAT-PI call.
How the prior full-time selection process weighted candidates
For CAT 2025, batch 2026-28, IIML’s shortlist composite used scaled CAT score (60 points), Class 12 marks (10), graduation marks (10), work experience (up to 10 for MBA and MBA-SM), and diversity factors. MBA-ABM used a programme-specific academic-discipline diversity weight, so the shortlist formula was not interchangeable across programmes.
The same policy required at least 12 out of 40 in the Personal Interview to pass that stage. These are historical CAT 2025 rules. Wait for the 2027-29 policy before planning around a new shortlist score or treating any old component weight as current. (IIML policy PDF)