BBA Vs BMS - Which is Better?

Students often face a dilemma when choosing between BBA or BMS, two of the most popular undergraduate business studies degrees, after schooling.

BBA is an undergraduate business studies course focused on administrative concepts required for business aspects. BMS is another undergraduate management course similar to BBA; however, it focuses on management and business development. Graduates interested in operations management can opt for a BBA degree, whereas students interested in management roles opt for a BMS degree.

Students must understand the basic difference between BBA and BMS before choosing them. This article provides a comparative study on the basic differences between the courses and some key inputs on how it is beneficial for aspiring students.

BBA vs BMS - Key Insights

Students facing a dilemma between BBA or BMS or BBM can look at the quick at-a-glance comparison of the courses given below: 

Factors	BBA	BMS
Full-Form	Bachelor of Business Administration	Bachelor of Management Studies
Duration	3 Years	3 Years
Eligibility	50% in 10+2 studies from any stream of study. Students should clear specified entrance exams.	50% in 10+2 studies from any stream of study. Students should clear specified entrance exams.
Entrance Exams	NPAT,  IPMAT, SET	NPAT, TSMAT, DUJAT
Average Starting Salary	INR 4.56 LPA	INR 4 LPA
Area of Study	Business Administration and management	Analytical and logical skills for business management

BBA vs BMS - Overview

Before comparing and contrasting BBA and BMS, let us first understand what the course offers for the aspirants. Often students think that BBA and BMS are the same courses but renamed differently. That's not the case. BBA is one of the most popular undergraduate management programs in India. It is a three-year specialization course that's focussed on business administration and operations. BBA, on the whole, has a diverse scope of specializations. The spectrum of specializations often helps students to analyze several options of study before fixing one course.

Read More about BBA

On the other hand, Bachelors of Management Studies is another undergraduate specialization course opted by students with a knack for managerial studies. BMS course structure is quite similar to BBA and BBM but has its specialized subjects that enhance logical thinking and decision-making skills. BMS coursework focuses on the study of finance and economics in business management apart from managerial studies.

Read More about BMS

BBA, BMS, and BBM have similar difficulty and study levels but with varied coursework and scopes. Before choosing, graduates need to understand the differences between the courses that aid them to make a worthy choice. Let us understand more about the major differences between these courses.

BBA vs BMS - Eligibility Criteria

All undergraduate management courses have similar criteria for admissions. The basic criteria require aspirants to have at least 50% in their 10+2 studies from any stream. Some of the other eligibility criteria for the courses are as follows:

BBA:

• BBA admission criteria require students to satisfy the minimum required criteria and clear some of the university-level entrance examinations. Some of the popular examinations include DUJAT, IMPT, SEET, and much more.
• Students must complete their high school in English medium or should have English as one of the mandatory subjects pursued in the course work.

BMS:

• BMS eligibility criteria are very much similar to BBA. It requires graduates to pass their 12 grade with a minimum of 45% aggregate from any stream.
• BMS admissions in several private universities are made via direct admissions, where cutoffs are decided based on12th grade board marks.
• In some cases, universities conduct internal entrance exams, which require students to clear with good ranks for merit admissions.

BBA Vs BMS - Benefits of Pursuing

Understandably, both BBA and BMS have an equal amount of reputation and scope in the job market. Graduates receive a spectrum of job opportunities in several domains: administration, marketing, sales, finance management, business development, etc. Both BBA and BMS can help graduates to set foundations for a successful career. But, which is better? In short, the answer to that question lies in understanding how the course is beneficial for aspirants.

Benefits of BBA

BBA is one of the most reputed undergraduate management programs. BBA course helps students to understand the prospects of business administration and operations of several domains. Their field of study allows them to handle broader scopes of employment. Some of the benefits of pursuing BBA are :

• It helps students acquire professional knowledge of business administration aspects that will help in any organization's functioning.
• Aspiring students can opt for a dual management degree of BBA+MBA, which will help them specialize in their field of study. BBA+MBA graduates have more scopes and demands than MBA + other undergraduate degrees in pure management roles.
• Apart from business administration studies, the coursework also offers basic management studies that will help them have a strong base in both streams.

Benefits of BMS

Similar to BBA, BMS graduates also enjoy a variety of job scopes in the job market. BMS specialization streams are broad due to the increase in demand for management people in several upcoming domains. Some of the benefits of BMS are :

• BMS helps students get a hold of management studies and an analytical and logical understanding of business aspects.
• BMS courses are very versatile as it helps students to understand managerial studies in several domains and industries.
• BMS is often cheaper than a BBA course that offers a similar study scope, thus cutting down costs for aspirants.
• MBA after BMS course offers numerous scopes for graduates in terms of employment. They often have greater pay than other MBA graduates due to their technical management skills.

BBA vs BMS - Syllabus

There is a common misconception among the graduates that both BBA and BMS are the same course. BBA and BMS's syllabus structures are very different from one another since they focus on various aspects of management studies.BBA provides more importance to administration studies rather than business management. Some of the subjects included in BBA coursework are as follows:

• Operations Management
• Import/ Export Management
• Public Relations Management
• Management Accounting
• Managerial Economics
• International Marketing
• Business Law
• Business Accounting
• Family Business Management

Read More on BBA Syllabus and Subjects

BMS offers more importance in logical and analytical-oriented studies under management studies. The coursework helps students understand management principles and the nuances of analytical study in management. Some of the subjects in the curriculum are :

• Business Statistics
• Industrial Law
• Computer Applications
• Strategic Management
• Cost Accounting
• Business Aspects of Banking & Insurance
• Financial Management
• International Finance
• Business Ethics & Corporate Social Responsibility

Read More on BMS Syllabus and Subjects

BBA vs BMS - Specializations

Management studies is a diverse field of study and has several specialization scopes under its belt. Both BBA and BMS can be applied in various fields as India is witnessing a massive progression in several late domains. There's a need for management personnel for efficient operations management, and BBA graduates fit into the picture. Both BBA and BMS have several areas of specialization, some of them are :

BBA Specializations	BMS Specializations
BBA Foreign Trade	BMS Finance
BBA Travel Management	BMS Accounting
BBA Marketing	BMS Industrial Law
BBA Finance	BMS Marketing
BBA Resource Management	BMS Sales Management
BBA Hotel Management	BMS Resource Allocation
BBA Law	BMS Business Analytics

BBA vs BMS - Scopes

A BBA degree allows graduates to work as HR Managers, Marketing Heads, Operations Manager, and other important roles that concern any organization's administration.

BMS is no different from the BBA course. BMS graduates have plenty of job scope in the pure management side of any organization. Graduates work in some of the popular roles such as financing manager, marketing manager, sales executive, managerial accountant, etc., that use their potential to the fullest.

Some of the key employment areas and job roles for BBA and BMS are given below :

	BBA	BMS
Employment Areas	Operations, Administration, Industrial Operations, Marketing, Sales, Assets Management, Corporate Funds, Banking, IT, etc.	Finance Management, Banking, Human Resources, Business Development, Accountancy, Corporate Accountancy, IT, Retail Sales, etc.
Job Designations	Corporate Administrator, Marketing Manager, Analyst, Finance Manager, Operations Manager, Executive Assistant, Consumer Relations Manager, etc.	Customer Success Executive, Marketing Executive, Accounts Manager, Finance Manager, Business Development Executive, Human Resources Manager, etc.

BBA vs BMS - Salary

The average pay scale for both BBA and BMS graduates varies based on several internal and external factors. Some of the common factors of variance include job role, job sector, graduate’s skills, and work ethics. Salary for BBA freshers may not look as attractive as MBA graduates but is indeed more competitive than BMS freshers graduates. Some of the common job designation and average pay for BBA graduates are mentioned below.

Job Role	Average Payscale
Business Development Executive	INR 3.17 LPA
Marketing Manager	INR 5.29  LPA
Customer Relationships Manager	INR 4 LPA
Operations Lead	INR 5 LPA
Business Development Manager	INR 7 LPA
Area Sales Executive	INR 6.7 LPA

Read More on BBA Salary

The average pay grade for BMS graduates is lesser than the BBA graduates. The difference in pay is due to the popularity of the course and the demand for BMS graduates. Salary packages go into much more significant numbers upon completion of a subsequent MBA degree in any specialization. Some of the popular job designations and the average pay are mentioned below:

Job Role	Average Payscale
Marketing Manager	INR 5.96 LPA
Accountant	INR 2.96 LPA
HR Assistant	INR 3.19 LPA
Research Analyst	INR 4.12 LPA
Digital Marketing Specialist	INR 4.3 LPA
Customer Service Associate	INR 2.9  LPA

Read More on BMS Salary

BBA vs BMS - Higher Education Scope

Both BBA and BMS career paths lead to the same destination when it comes to higher studies. MBA is the straightforward carry forward degree for both BBA and BMS graduates. Upon completion of coursework, graduates also try for PGDM diploma courses if they want to avoid MBA.  Graduates who are interested in finance management may take up short-term certifications like CFA. Some of the courses that can be taken after BBA and BMS degree are as follows:

• MBA
• CISA
• CFA
• PMP
• LLB
• CBA
• PGD in Banking

Graduates who have an interest in venturing into management roles often consider taking up MMS in core management studies. An MMS after BMS establishes graduates as pioneers in management in any specialization which opens the door for plenty of job scopes. Apart from MBA, there are also several short-term courses that BMS graduates consider after completing their degree. Some of the popular courses are :

• MBA
• CFA
• CA
• PGD in Human Resource Management
• Advance Diploma in Industrial Management
• PGD in Corporate Finance
• Master of Management Studies

BBA Vs BMS - Top Colleges in India

Listed below are some of the top colleges which offer the BBA course in India:

• IIM Indore
• IIM Ahmedabad
• SIBM Pune
• Xavier’s College Mumbai
• XLRI Jamshedpur
• Techno India Salt Lake Kolkata
• Christ University

Some of the top BMS colleges in India are given below:

• HR College of Arts and Economics
• NIMS University
• University of Delhi
• Xavier’s College Kolkata
• Bharati Vidyapeeth University
• Guru Gobind Indraprastha University
• Narsee Monjee College of Commerce and Economics Mumbai

BBA or BMS -  Which One To Choose?

Both the courses are equally worthy in terms of scopes, salary, and prospects. BBA is the course for graduates who are willing to partake in management and administration in any business. BBA has a lot of scopes when it comes to business administration. On the other hand, BMS is the right choice for aspirants willing to delve deep into pure management studies. Just like BBA, BMS graduates also have requirements in several universities. However, the industry the student can venture into varies according to the specialization area. BBA vs BMS has been the talk for quite some time now, suggesting how the choice is really difficult to make.

Similar post-graduate studies: BBA and BMS graduates can opt for an MBA if they are interested in further enhancing their knowledge in the business administration domain. The prime areas of focus include industry management, operations, accounts, HR, etc. It also provides an ample platform for entrepreneurship. BMS graduates can either opt for MBA or MMS based on their interest and coursework. It is conclusive that both MBA and MMS have similar scopes in the job market.

Demand is increasing: Ever since India opened its doors for entrepreneurship investment and MHRD, there has been a dramatic spike in indigenous companies' numbers. There's always a concern in terms of business stability when it comes to indigenous companies, and this is where proper management plays a role. Graduates of BBA and BMS are in equal demand for these organizations' administration and management and ensure their stability and success.

It is indeed a journey back to the first step after all these comparative studies. To make a wise and decisive decision, students must weigh these courses' prospects and align their interests with the coursework. It comes down to students' mindset and choices to make a decision that's worth cherishing.