- Engineers are the largest group at several IIMs but not all: IIM Ahmedabad's 2026-28 batch was 60.87% engineers, while IIM Kozhikode's 2025-27 batch was 53% non-engineers.
- Academic diversity is a small formula term, 2 to 6 points of 100 in the policies that name it. It is not a quota.
- The binding limit is CAT: overall and sectional floors, such as 95 overall and 85 per section at IIM Ahmedabad (General, 2027-29).
- Batch shares do not show who applied or who was called, so they cannot prove a preference for any degree.
Non-engineers and IIM admission come down to two numbers: how many non-engineers join, and how much the formula rewards them. Batch reports show non-engineers are a large minority at some IIMs and a majority at others, and academic diversity earns a small, capped number of marks. What decides most calls is the CAT percentile and the sectional floors.
The shares below come from each college's own batch report, with the batch year, and report formats differ. Tables of these figures copied from news summaries often disagree with each other, so this post uses only the college reports and says what they cannot show.
What do batch shares prove, and what do they miss?
A batch share counts students who joined. It does not show how many non-engineers applied, how many were called or how many accepted offers. A 40% non-engineer share could mean a strong conversion or a large applicant pool.
Definitions also differ. Some reports count only B.E. and B.Tech graduates as engineers. Others split the rest into commerce, science, arts and management. Years differ as well, so compare shares with the batch year beside them.
How many engineers and non-engineers join five IIMs?
| IIM | Batch | Engineers | Not engineers |
|---|---|---|---|
| IIM Ahmedabad | 2026-28 | 60.87% | 39.13% |
| IIM Bangalore | 2026-28 | 67% | about 33% (remainder) |
| IIM Mumbai | 2024-26 | 71% | 29% |
| IIM Kozhikode | 2025-27 | 47% | 53% |
| IIM Kashipur | 2025-27 | 31% | 69% (commerce and management 38%, science and arts 27%, others 4%) |
Across these five the engineer share runs from 31% to 71%. A gap that wide shows that no single IIM profile applies, and that the same degree can be a majority at one IIM and a minority at another. Five rows cannot explain why, so avoid reading a pattern into them.
Where are non-engineers the majority?
- IIM Jammu (2024-26): engineering 41%, commerce 32%, science 17%, arts 10%.
- IIM Tiruchirappalli (2025-27): engineers are 46%.
- IIM Rohtak (2024-26): the report gives 17% engineers.
- IIM Nagpur (2024-26): 42.54% hold B.Com, B.Sc, BBA, BA or allied degrees.
Read these with care. Some figures are read from graphics, and the groups counted as non-engineers differ from one report to the next.
How does academic diversity enter an IIM formula?
Academic diversity appears as a small points item, not a seat quota. Who qualifies is defined in each policy, so check whether your degree is on its list.
| IIM | Cycle | Academic diversity points | CAT weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| IIM Calcutta | 2027-29 | 6 of 100 | 30 |
| IIM Nagpur | 2026-28 | 5 of 100 | 45 |
| IIM Tiruchirappalli | 2026-28 | 2 of 100 | 52 |
- Each normalised CAT point is worth 30 / 100 = 0.30 marks.
- 6 marks / 0.30 = 20 normalised CAT points.
- This holds only if CAT is normalised to a 0 to 100 scale and the candidate qualifies. The policy defines both.
Answer: About 20 points on a 100-point CAT scale, for candidates who qualify.
Non-engineers and IIM admission: what is the real constraint?
A diversity credit only helps candidates who are already in the pool, and floors set the pool. Floors differ by IIM, cycle and category.
| IIM | Cycle | Floor as published (General) |
|---|---|---|
| IIM Ahmedabad | 2027-29 | 95 overall and 85 in each section (General and EWS) |
| IIM Nagpur | 2026-28 | 95 overall and 70 in each section, with a positive score in every section |
| IIM Jammu | 2026-28 | General male PI cut-off was 91 overall and 72 in each section |
Check your weakest section against the floor first. For many commerce and arts graduates that section may be Quantitative Ability, but a mock will show it. The CAT QA formula sheet is a starting point for revision.
Do non-engineers have an interview advantage? What is the evidence?
Claims that panels favour or disfavour a degree are anecdotal. No IIM in our records publishes interview scores by stream.
What the policies do show is that the interview carries 15 to 50 of 100 final points, and that panels ask degree-specific questions. Engineers should expect their project and core subjects. Commerce and arts graduates should expect basics from their degree, such as accounting or economics, and awareness questions. The evidence level is low, so prepare for the questions your own profile sheet invites. The GD and PI note has a question map you can adapt.
A plan for commerce and arts graduates
- Take a mock on the free CAT Compass and compare each section with the floors above.
- Fix the weakest section first, usually with timed sets and a formula sheet.
- Read the diversity definition in each policy and note whether your degree qualifies.
- Prepare interview basics from your degree, plus five current issues you can discuss in depth.
- Check work-experience rules and counting dates if you have worked.
What data would change the picture?
- Call-to-offer conversion by degree, which the IIMs in our records do not publish.
- 2027-29 policies, which may change the diversity points.
- Batch reports for 2027-29, expected after the batches join.
- Applicant shares by degree, which would turn batch shares into odds.
Until those appear, treat batch shares as context and the CAT floors as the working constraint.