Question 1

Course Eligibility

Accepted Answer

1. Who is this program for?

Working professionals who are looking for a transition into managerial and leadership roles, take up larger responsibilities within their organisation, make impactful decisions with the right management tools that you learn from a global MBA degree.

2. What is the minimum eligibility for this program?

For Online Program-
- Students with a 3 or 4-year bachelor’s degree having a minimum of 55% marks are eligible to apply. Applications of students with a lower percentage in Bachelor’s degree will be evaluated based on their Statement of Purpose and work experience.
For Transfer to On-Campus*-
- The student must successfully complete Specific seven modules/courses (21 Credits) of the online program with an aggregate of minimum 3.0 CGPA with a minimum passing grade of C- (or 1.7 CGPA) in each course before reaching the university.
- English Proficiency Requirement: TOEFL (iBT) >/=79, or IELTS >/= 6.5, or PTE >/= 57, or Duolingo >/= 100

*Note:

Non-compliance with or failure to meet the aforementioned on-campus transfer requirements will lead to the immediate termination of your F-1 visa.
upGrad expressly disclaims all/any responsibility if Students choose to travel to the U.S. without meeting the on-campus transfer criteria, as specified above. Any and all consequences or issues that may arise due to students' decision to travel without meeting the specified on-campus transfer criteria shall be the sole responsibility of the students.

3. How do I become eligible for the scholarship? What is the application process?

The Scholarship is rolled out based on academic and professional achievements. Once the application form is submitted with these details, the admission committee reviews the same. If you are admitted into the program, the scholarship that you are eligible for will be mentioned on the Offer Letter itself. Please note that admission is provisional until successful verification of supporting documents.

Question 2

Payment

Accepted Answer

No cost CC EMI FAQ's

0% EMI with finance partners and credit card option availability will vary program-wise.
1. Which banks allow using the no-cost credit card EMI option?
A. No cost EMI is available on credit cards from all major banks: American Express, Bank of Baroda, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, RBL Bank, Standard Chartered, Axis Bank, Yes Bank, State Bank of India, CITIBANK and HSBC.
2. Is there a minimum transaction limit?
A. Yes. It's 50,000.
3. Does Standard Chartered Bank offer 18 or 24 months of no-cost EMI?
A. The bank offers only 12 months of no-cost EMI option. For any period that extends beyond, a certain interest is charged.
4. Will I have to pay extra for the EMI transaction?
A. If you avail of 0% credit card EMI, upGrad will not charge any processing fees or down payment. Your bank, however, may levy GST or other taxes on the interest component of the EMI.
5. Are there any fees or down payment charged by the bank?
A. Certain banks charge nominal processing fees between ₹99-500 on 0% credit card EMI transactions. If charged, it will be billed in the first repayment installment.
6. Can I use my international credit card for 0% credit card EMI or a standard credit Card EMI?
A. You can use only Indian bank credit cards to make payments against your course fees. But you can pay the amount using the credit card option in one shot and later convert it into EMIs from your respective bank. The duration and interest charged will depend on your bank. upGrad will not charge processing fees or down payment for these transactions; this will be purely between you and your bank.
7. Are there any charges if I opt for cancellation/refund from the course after paying the balance with no-cost EMI?
A. Yes, there will be additional charges, which will be equal to the interest paid by upGrad to the bank. You will only get the refund of the Principal amount, i.e., the amount actually deducted/blocked from your card. This deduction will be in addition to the amount mentioned in the refund policy shared in your Offer Letter.
8. Can I pay using multiple credit cards?
A. Multiple cards can be used to complete the payment. Take the part payment option to use multiple credit cards. The learner just needs to ensure that the minimum transaction amount is ₹50,000 if they want to opt for 0% credit card EMI. For example, if the amount to be paid is ₹1,50,000. You can pay using two credit cards: HDFC Card – Part payment – ₹1,00,000ICICI Card – Part payment – ₹50,000
9. How can I opt for Credit card EMI if my bank is not listed in the 0% Credit card EMI or Credit card EMI? You can pay the amount using the Credit card option in one shot / part payments, and later you can convert into EMI from your respective bank. The tenures and interest charged will depend on your bank. upGrad will not charge any processing fees or down payment for these transactions.
10. Why is the entire amount blocked on my credit card?
A. Initially, your bank will block the entire amount from your available purchase limit, and from your next billing cycle, you will be charged the EMI amount. As you start paying your EMI, your credit limit will be released accordingly. For example, if you have made a payment of ₹1,00,000 on a 6-month EMI and your credit limit is ₹2,00,000, then initially, your bank will block your credit limit by ₹1,00,000. After payment of your first month's EMI of ₹15,000, the blocked amount will be reduced to ₹85,000.
11. Why is interest getting charged on no-cost EMI?
A. Your bank will charge you interest. However, this interest charge has been provided as an upfront discount to you at the time of your payment, effectively giving you the benefit of a no-cost EMI. The total amount paid during the entire EMI tenure to the bank will equal the amount to be paid to upGrad in case of a cancellation or refund request. For example, the amount payable to upGrad is ₹4,05,000. Let's say the amount deducted at the time of the transaction is ₹3,79,850 (Principal amount). The bank charges interest of 12-15% per annum on ₹ 3,79,850[Note: Interest factor is reducing rate and not Flat rate]EMI AMOUNT = ₹33,750 x 12 = ₹4,05,000Effectively, you have taken a loan of ₹3,79,850 instead of ₹4,05,000
12. How much do I pay to block my seat?
A. You need to pay ₹25,000 to block your seat.

Question 3

About USA

Accepted Answer

Can international students work to pay for their educational expenses?

Although there are a limited number of part-time, on-campus jobs for international students, the income from these jobs is only sufficient to provide “pocket money”; you will not earn enough income to pay for a significant portion of your educational expenses. The U.S. government prohibits international students from working outside the University.

Question 4

Visa

Accepted Answer

Will upGrad help me in writing Academic and Visa SOP?

Yes, upGrad will help with your Academic and Visa SOP and will also organize training on how to write an effective SOP.

How much are living expenses for a year in the USA?

Living expenses in the USA for international students are approximately USD 20,000.

Question 5

Time Commitment

Accepted Answer

1. What is the time commitment expected for the Program?

Upto 12-15 Hours/Week of time commitment is expected to be able to graduate from the Program.

2. How will my doubts/questions be addressed in an online Program?

Our Student Support is available. You can write to us via studentsupport@upgrad.com Or for urgent queries, use the "Talk to Us" option on the Learn platform.
Additionally, an upGrad buddy will enhance the learners’ experience by engaging with them to ensure they are on track with upcoming deadlines, and submissions. They will offer guidance, and resolve their non-academic queries.
Peer-to-peer discussion forum where you can post your queries and your peers/faculty/teaching assistants answer them within a day. Regular Q&A sessions with faculty to get clarification on conceptual doubts.

Question 6

Refund Policy

Accepted Answer

1. Is there any deferral or refund policy for this program?

Refund Policy:
1. Students must pay an applicable Caution Amount for the enrollment to the Program. This Caution Amount will be adjustable against the total Program fee payable by the student.
2. Once the student has made a partial or full payment of Program fee, such student can claim a refund for this amount at any time before the cohort commencement date by raising a refund request through ‘My applications’ page on our website (www.upgrad.com), stating the specific reason for the refund. The refund shall be subject to a deduction of INR. 20,000/- towards processing fee. If less than INR. 20,000/- have been paid in total, students shall not be eligible for any refund in such a case.
3. Students shall not be eligible for a refund (under any circumstances) if the refund request is raised postprogram/Batch Start Date. In such a case, the student will continue to pay the EMI of his loan (if applicable), as the loan cannot be canceled. This is also applicable to students who could not complete their payment and could not get enrolled in their opted cohort. However, the student can request a PreProgram deferral as per the policy defined below for the same.
4. Studentshall not be eligible for refund of any amount paid towards the Program in case any discrepancy is identified between your application and self-attested documents including but not limited to wrong details about your grades or any other incorrect information provided in your application.
5. In case of a valid refund request post obtaining the loan from a third party credit facility provider, we would like to clarify that the responsibility of canceling the loan will lie with the student as upGrad is not privy to such arrangements between the student and the third party credit facility provider.
6. If students do not provide documents as per the timeline mentioned in the offer letter, they will be deferred to the next batch but they will not be eligible for any refunds.

Deferral Policy: (Pre- Program Commencement)
1. If a Learner, due to unavoidable circumstances is unable to commence with the cohort and requests for a deferral before the Cohort Commencement Date, Learner will have an option to defer to another batch.
2. However, the learner will be required to pay 50% of the Total Program Fee amount (inclusive of taxes) before the deferral can be approved. Till this condition is complied with, the Learner will be assumed to be continuing in the same cohort.
3. A Learner can request for deferral only once and to either of the scheduled cohorts to start in the next 1 year from the batch start date of the initial batch the Learner enrolled for.
4. The Learner has time till the current Cohort Commencement Date to make the payment of the 50% of the Total Program Fee, post which the deferral request will expire. Once the deferral window expires and the Learner asks for a refund after the Cohort Commencement Date, the above-mentioned applicable refund policy will apply.
5. The fee applicable to the deferred Learner will be as per prevailing Total Program Fee for the batch Learner as opted to defer to (No additional deferral fee is required to be paid).

Deferral Policy: (Post Program Commencement)
1. If a learner is facing severe issues in dedicating time to the course, Learner will have an option to defer to another batch.A Learner can request for deferral only once and to either of the scheduled cohorts to start in the next 1 year from the Cohort Commencement Date of the initial batch the Learner enrolled for.
2. The Learner will be required to pay a deferral fee of 5% of the Total Program Fee (inclusive of taxes) if any along with the differential program fees between the two cohorts.
3. The deferral request will be approved once the deferral fee is paid.
4. Till this condition is complied, the Learner will be assumed to be continuing in the same cohort.
5. The Learner has 7 days (including holidays and weekends) from the date of deferral request to make the payment of the deferral fee, post which the deferral request will expire, and the learner will continue as part of the current cohort.
6. If the Learner completes the deferral payment, the Learner’s login will be disabled, The Learner will leave the deferred cohort and the Learner will start learning on the new cohort from the point of the last assignment that was graded in the deferred cohort. All grades and progress till that point will be carried forward as it is to the new cohort.
7. The deferral can only be requested during the batch for which the Learner has enrolled is ongoing. Once the batch has been completed, deferral requests shall not be entertained. For clarification, the batch completion here shall mean the “last grace deadline” as communicated by upGrad. Case Deferral fee Before Program Commencement 50% program fee (including taxes) to be paid upfront- no additional deferral fee to be paid Post Program Commencement (0-7 days after program start date) 5% of the program fee (including taxes) to be paid within 7 days as deferral fee Post Program Commencement (8 days after program start date) Will have to continue as a part of the current cohort.

Case	Deferral fee
Before Program Commencement	50% program fee (including taxes) to be paid upfront- no additional deferral fee to be paid
Post Program Commencement (0-7 days after program start date)	5% of the program fee (including taxes) to be paid within 7 days as deferral fee
Post Program Commencement (8 days after program start date)	Will have to continue as a part of the current cohort