Doon Business school has been ranked at 157 in MBA by Business Today in 2020 and offers MBA with specializations in HR Management, Marketing, Finance and International Business. It also offers an MBA with Business Aptitude and skill enhancement (BASE). UPES on the other hand is ranked at 51-75 for MBA by NIRF in 2020 and offers an MBA in Financial Management.
Let us take a look at the differences between the two universities and the programs they have to offer:
Admissions:
| Particulars | Doon Business School | UPES Dehardun |
| Eligibility criteria | A minimum score of 50% in Bachelor’s | Minimum 50% in 10th,12th, and Bachelor’s degree |
| Qualifying Exams | CAT, MAT, UKSEE | XAT, GMAT, NMAT, MAT, CMAT, CAT, UPESMET |
| Group Discussion and Personal Interview | Yes | Yes |
| Total seats | 240 | 50 |
| Fees | INR 6.75 L | INR 13.34 L |
Faculty:
Doon Business School:
UPES Dehradun:
Infrastructure:
Placements:
Doon Business School
UPES Dehradun
While both the universities are great for an MBA program, students can go through the above points and make their decisions regarding their institution of choice accordingly.
LPU's B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering offers a decent scholarship system and a sprawling campus, but historically, the placement opportunities for mechanical branches are limited compared to the tech-heavy placements for B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering at UPES. While LPU's fees are around ?69,000 per semester, UPES also provides good scholarship options, although I found their campus employment opportunities lacking. Given the current tech-driven job market, UPES seems like the smarter financial choice for a better return on investment, especially if you're inclined towards computer science. If you’re passionate about mechanical engineering and don’t mind a tougher job market, LPU could still be a viable option.
for CSE in the Uttarakhand/Dehradun private college tier, the honest preference order is: Graphic Era Hill University > DIT University > UPES Dehradun — but with important caveats for each.
Graphic Era (Dehradun): strongest placements of the three for CSE. good companies from NCR/Bangalore recruit here. well-established, NAAC A grade. best choice among these three for pure software career.
DIT University (Dehradun): decent, autonomous university status. smaller batch than Graphic Era, placements are decent but lower than GEU. good option if you get a scholarship.
UPES (Dehradun): originally known for oil & gas/energy programs, not traditionally strong for CSE. placements for CSE have been improving but still lags behind Graphic Era in software roles. recently trying to build CS brand. fees are also higher than the other two.
that said — all three are Tier 3 private colleges. if you have any other option (NIT, good state govt college, Thapar, Amrita, etc.) that's worth pursuing instead. among just these three specifically for CSE, GEU is the best bet. also check if UPES is offering any specialization like CSE with AI/Cybersecurity — they've been positioning those as premium programs.
UPES Dehradun offers two years of MBA courses in eleven specializations. If someone wants to pursue an MBA in Oil and Gas Management and Power management, UPES is the best option to choose. Apart from these specializations, an MBA from UPES is not a great choice.
The highest package for an MBA is INR 29 LPA at UPES under the School of Business. The average package of UPES Dehradun MBA is INR 15.70 LPA (Top 10%). The institute has placed around 260 MBA students with an average CTC of INR 7.7 LPA.
The basic eligibility for admission to the MBA program at UPES is a minimum of 50% marks in classes X and XII and Graduation from a recognized University. Students must appear for UPESMET to get selected for the MBA program. Post which, a Group Discussion and Personal Interview round will be conducted. UPES Dehradun also accepts entrance exam scores like CAT, MAT, CMAT, NMAT, and XAT for its MBA courses.
NIRF 2023 ranked the UPES MBA course at 39th position among all the management institutions in India. The institute also offers scholarships to MBA students based on marks in graduation, CAT and NMAT. The total number of scholarships available is up to 75 seats. The scholarship will be awarded as 20% of tuition fees of 1st & 2nd semesters only.
Here are a few of the famous UPES Dehradun alumni.