Application Numbers Fall for 53% of Two-Year MBA Programs in the US

Fewer than half of applicants to full-time, two-year MBA programs in the US hail from the US, according to GMAC’s new survey. While 47% of applications received by schools in the US did originate from domestic applicants, almost as many stemmed from Asia-Pacific: Central and South Asia accounted for 21% of the year’s total, with a further 19% coming from applicants in East and Southeast Asia and 1% from those in Australia and the Pacific Islands. The remaining 12% of applications received were submitted by those holding citizenship in Latin America (3%), the Middle East (4%), Africa (2%), Europe (2%) and Canada (1%).

As one might expect, one-year MBA programs in Europe saw an even greater proportion of applications come from outside the country in which the program is based. In fact, only 11% of applications to these programs were submitted by those classified as domestic candidates this year. In addition, although around a quarter came from those based in the region (23% from Western Europe and 4% from Eastern Europe), the application volume from Asia-Pacific was higher than this. Those holding citizenship in a Central or South Asian country accounted for 23% of applications, while those from East & Southeast Asia accounted for 12%, and Australia & Pacific Islands, 1%. Further highlighting the one-year format’s global appeal, 15% of applications came from candidates in either Africa or the Middle East, 12% from Latin America and 10% from the US or Canada.  

Whether a candidate opts for a one or two-year, full-time MBA program, GMAC has calculated that approximately 27% of those enrolling can expect to secure some form of merit-based MBA scholarship from their chosen school. In comparison, the number of those expected to win either a fellowship or need-based MBA scholarship through the school is only 10%.  

While many may think that employer sponsorship has long been on the wane for full-time MBA programs, 47% of two-year programs told GMAC that between 1 and 9% of their enrolled students this year come wholly or partially funded by their existing employers. Only 28% of programs said that none of their students come with employer funding, with the remainder noting proportions of employer-funded students that are higher than 10%. The equivalent figures for the one-year MBA are similar – while 30% of programs said none of their enrolled students will have employer funding, 37% said between 1 and 9% of the class will and a further 13% of responding programs said that between 10 and 19% will. 

Away from the full-time format of the qualification, GMAC’s survey also notes that 51% of executive MBA (EMBA) programs saw a rise in application volume this year, compared to numbers received in 2015. This is eight percentage points up on the year-on-year growth reported last year and the first time since 2008 that an increase in applications has been reported by a majority of responding programs. A total of 63 EMBA programs responded to the survey, of which 46 are based in the US.

In addition, a majority of the 33 online MBA programs which responded to the survey cited a rise in application volume, highlighting continued interest in this growing format. There was also a significant year-on-year rise to the number of applications received by master’s in data analytics programs – a relatively new area of specialization in graduate business education. Diversification in program choice was a point emphasized by GMAC’s president and CEO, Sangeet Chowfla, when looking at the overall findings of a survey to which 872 graduate management programs responded in total. “With the competitive landscape changing, applicants have more options from which to choose, creating a mixed picture for business schools today.”