November 10, 2020 The Global Demand for Graduate … · 2020. 12. 1. · The Global Demand for...

The Global Demand for Graduate Management Education

November 10, 2020

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Application Trends Survey 2020

https://www.gmac.com/ApplicationTrends

Contents

2

1. Executive Summary (3-17)

2. Summary of Relative Analysis (18-33)

3. MBA Programs: Relative Analysis (34-58)

4. Business Master’s Programs: Relative Analysis (59-74)

5. Impact of COVID-19 (75-84)

6. About (85-93)a) Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC)

b) Methodology, Respondent Profile and Program Statistics

c) Contributors and Contact Information

©2020 Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). All rights reserved.

About the Report

The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) conducts the annual Application Trends Survey (ATS) of business school admissions offices around the world to offer timely insights into the demand for graduate management education (GME). This survey benefits admissions, recruitment, and marketing professionals in understanding the candidate pipeline and informing their future strategies.

The 2020 report was delayed by a few weeks to gauge the impact of COVID-19 on application trends. Since many b-schools responded to the pandemic-induced uncertainty by adopting a range of flexible admissions approaches, including extended deadlines, this report focuses on global demand for GME and analyzes differences by programs and regions. This survey data was collected between July 30 and September 14, 2020, and garnered responses from 1,085 programs at 325 business schools worldwide. More details are available under the methodology section, along with the respondent profile and program statistics.

• The report uses two approaches to assess changes in the volume of applications for graduate management programs:

• Absolute change analysis is based on 731 programs that responded to both the 2019 and 2020 surveys. It analyzes the application volume to provide a pair-wise comparison. Weighted absolute change adjusts for the regional distribution of selective GME programs.

• Relative change analysis is based on 1,085 programs that responded to the 2020 survey. It summarizes the percent change in the application volume, as reported by the participating programs in 2020.

3

About the Study

Reconfiguration of the enrollment funnel

4

The 2020 application season for graduate business schools was unlike any other. The pandemic-induced uncertainty impacted the decisions of b-schools and candidates and reconfigured the enrollment funnel.

Many b-schools responded by adopting flexible admissions approaches, including extended deadlines and deferral policies. As a result, the number of applications increased. B-schools also hedged enrollment risks by increasing acceptance rates.

For candidates, GME offers a pathway to emerge from the economic downturn with better career prospects. While more candidates applied to b-schools, deferral rates also went up due to concerns about online learning, travel, and visas. This shift in choice pattern ultimately resulted in a lower yield for many b-schools.

Acceptance Rate is the percentage of total candidates (including deferrals) accepted into the program divided by the total number of completed applications.Yield Rate is the percentage of candidates that will enroll divided by the number of accepted candidates.Deferral Rate equals the percentage of candidates that will defer divided by the number of accepted candidates.

Increase in applications

Increase in acceptance rates

Increase in deferral rates

Decrease in yield rates

5

65%

41% 40% 42%

71%70%

42% 41% 44%

75%

Overall Asia Pacific Canada Europe United StatesAcce

ptan

ce ra

te

Acceptance Rates (Median)

2019 2020

62% 62% 66% 62% 61%60% 51% 61% 57% 60%

Overall Asia Pacific Canada Europe United States

Yiel

d ra

te

Yield Rates (Median)2019 2020

2% 1% 4% 5% 2%6% 2% 9% 6% 6%


Defe

rral r

ate Deferral Rates (Median)

2019 2020

41% 49% 55% 53%37%

67% 57%79% 72% 67%

Overall Asia Pacific Canada Europe United StatesPerc

enta

ge o

f pr

ogra

ms

Programs Reporting Increase in Application Volume, 2018-2019 and 2019-2020

2018-2019* 2019-2020

Enrollment Funnel by Region

Overall, the median acceptance rate was slightly higher at 70 percent in 2020 as compared to 65 percent in 2019.

The median yield rates for 2020 decreased across the regions with the programs in Asia Pacific, Canada, and Europe reporting a sharper decline.

Overall, the deferral rates (median) increased from 2 percent in 2019 to 6 percent in 2020 with American and Canadian programs reporting a higher jump.

Percentage of programs reporting growth in applications for 2020 as compared to last year has increased across all regions.

*Percentage of programs reporting increased application volume between 2018-2019 is from the GMAC 2019 Application Trends Survey Report.

6

65% 69% 64%70% 70% 70%

Overall MBA Business Master's

Acce

ptan

ce ra

te

Acceptance Rates (Median)2019 2020

62% 68% 56%60% 64% 53%


Yiel

d ra

te

Yield Rates (Median)2019 2020

2% 3% 1%6% 7% 5%


Defe

rral r

ate Deferral Rates (Median)

2019 2020

41% 40% 42%67% 66% 67%


Perc

enta

ge o

f pr

ogra

ms


2018-2019* 2019-2020

*Percentage of programs reporting increased application volume between 2018-2019 is from the GMAC 2019 Application Trends Survey Report.

Enrollment Funnel by Program Type

The median acceptance rate was higher as compared to the previous year.

Business master’s programs reported lower yield rates (median) than MBA programs.

Overall, the median deferral rates for MBA programs were higher than business master’s.

Overall, 2 in 3 MBA and business master’s programs reported an increased in applications.

7*Percentage of programs reporting increased application volume between 2018-2019 is from the GMAC 2019 Application Trends Survey Report.

41%55% 62%

74%

45%62% 53%

76%

Asia Pacific Canada Europe United States

MBA2019 2020

43%26%

37%

69%

40% 32% 34%

74%


Business Master’s2019 2020

67% 68% 58% 68%58% 63% 55% 66%


MBA2019 2020

54%68% 66%

50%43% 52% 59% 52%


Business Master’s2019 2020

Yield Rates (Median)

3% 4% 6% 3%5% 11% 11% 6%


MBA2019 2020

0% 6% 5% 0%0% 7% 5% 6%


Business Master’s

2019 2020

Deferral Rates (Median)

Acceptance Rates (Median)

53% 56% 62%33%

55%81%

63% 70%


MBA2018-2019 2019-2020


41% 45% 41%64%

80% 78% 65%

Asia Pacific Canada* Europe United States

Business Master’s2018-2019 2019-2020

*Data unavailable for 2018-2019 Canadian Business Master’s program due to insufficient responses (N<10)

Enrollment Funnel by Program Type and Region

The median acceptance rate was higher for MBA and business master’s programs in the US.

Median yield rates for MBA programs in the US were higher than other regions

Deferral rates for MBA programs in Canada and Europe were in double-digits.

Percentage of programs reporting growth in applications for 2020 varies by region and program.

International candidates were less likely to commit to enrollment and more likely to ask for deferrals

8

GMAC Yield Pulse Survey was embedded in the 2020 Application Trends Survey and made visible to a select group of schools. The data was collected between July 30 and September 14, 2020 and received responses from 39 business schools.“International” refers to an applicant who is not a citizen or resident of the country where the program is located.

59%

5%

38%

15%

Yield Rate Deferral Rate

Yiel

d an

d de

ferra

l rat

es

Domestic International

Global demand for graduate management education reversed its course from the last year

9

-7.5%

5.6% 5.4%

14.3%

2017 2018 2019 2020

Year

-on-

Year

Cha

nge

in A

pplic

atio

ns

Total Business Master's Applications, 2017-2020

9.5%

3.7%

-6.9%

-0.2%

2017 2018 2019 2020

Year

-on-

Year

Cha

nge

in A

pplic

atio

ns

Total MBA Applications2017-2020

9.1%

5.4%

-3.1%

2.4%

2017 2018 2019 2020

Year

-on-

Year

Cha

nge

in A

pplic

atio

ns

Total Applications2017-2020

Weighted Absolute Year-on-Year Change

Total applications for GME increase by 2.4 percent based on the weighted absolute* change analysis of 731 programs that responded to 2019 and 2020 surveys. This is a reversal of trends from a decline of 3.1 percent in applications last year.

*A weighting methodology was applied to the absolute year-on-year change sample to adjust for the regional distribution of selective GME programs globally- using data from AASCB, EFMD, and AMBA. The absolute year-on-year change for specific countries or regions shown in rest of the report is not weighted.

Domestic and international candidates adapted differently to global economic uncertainty and disruptions

10

2.4%

-0.2%

14.3%

Overall(n=731)

MBA (n=364) Master's(n=360)

Year

-on-

Year

Cha

nge

in A

pplic

atio

ns

Total Applications

-2.9% -3.9%

47.4%

Overall(n=731)


Year

-on-

Year

Cha

nge

in A

pplic

atio

ns

Total Domestic Applications

13.2% 12.0% 10.2%

Overall(n=731)


Year

-on-

Year

Cha

nge

in A

pplic

atio

ns

Total International Applications


*A weighting methodology was applied to the absolute year-on-year change sample to adjust for the regional distribution of selective GME programs globally-- using data from AASCB, EFMD, and AMBA. The absolute year-on-year change for specific countries or regions shown in rest of the report is not weighted.

Growth in global demand differed for various MBA and business master’s program types

11


-0.2%

0.6%

11.6%

1.4%

53.0%48.6%

43.5%

-1.8%MBA (n=364) Full-time two-

year MBA(n=110)

Full-time one-year MBA(n=77)

Part-timelockstep MBA

(n=36)

Part-time self-paced MBA

(n=45)

Flexible MBA(n=24)

Online MBA(n=23)

Executive MBA(n=37)

Year

-on-

year

Cha

nge

in A

pplic

atio

ns

MBA Program Type

14.3%17.8%

1.8%

21.2%

34.2%

Businessmaster's(n=360)

Master inManagement

(n=28)

Master ofAccounting

(n=58)[US ONLY]

Master ofFinance (n=70)

Master of DataAnalytics(n=53)

Year

-on-

year

Cha

nge

in A

pplic

atio

ns

Business Master’s Program Type

*A weighting methodology was applied to the absolute year-on-year change sample to adjust for the regional distribution of selective GME programs globally-- using data from AASCB, EFMD, and AMBA. The absolute year-on-year change for specific countries or regions shown in rest of the report is not weighted.

Variations in program location and candidate citizenship tempered global growth in applications

12

Absolute Year-on-Year Change by Program Location

-7.1%

13.3%

24.0%20.6%

Asia Pacific(n=58)

Canada(n=26)

Europe(n=94)

United States(n=553)

Year

-on-

year

Cha

nge

in A

pplic

atio

ns

Program Region

Total Applications

-7.2%

30.8%

50.1%

29.9%

Asia-Pacific(n=58)

Canada(n=26)

Europe(n=94)


Year

-on-

year

Cha

nge

in A

pplic

atio

nsProgram Region

Total Domestic Applications

-5.9%

6.5%

20.8%14.7%

Asia-Pacific(n=58)

Canada(n=26)

Europe(n=94)


Year

-on-

year

Cha

nge

in A

pplic

atio

ns

Program Region

Total International Applications

Among the programs that responded to the 2020 and 2019 surveys, the total number of domestic applications increased more thaninternational applications. While overall applications for US programs were up, higher-ranked schools were more likely to report growth in applications (related data). The proportion of higher-ranked schools reporting growth in international applications was also robust; however, higher deferrals for international candidates could limit the increase in enrollment (related data).

Twenty-eight US programs are included in the total application volume analysis and are not included in the domestic and international application volume analysis because their programs are not reporting their domestic and international volumes - only their total volume.

Demand for GME among domestic and international candidates increased across all major regions except Asia Pacific

13

-7.1% -7.2% -5.9%

Overall Domestic InternationalYear

-on-

year

Cha

nge

in A

pplic

atio

ns

Applications for Programs in Asia Pacific

(n=58)

13.3%6.5%

30.8%


-on-

year

Cha

nge

in A

pplic

atio

ns

Applications for Programs in Canada(n=26)

20.6%29.9%

14.7%


-on-

year

Cha

nge

in A

pplic

atio

ns

Applications for Programs in the United States

(n=525)

24.0%

50.1%

20.8%


-on-

year

Cha

nge

in A

pplic

atio

ns

Applications for Programs in Europe(n=94)

Absolute Year-on-Year Change by Program Location

Twenty-eight US programs are included in the total application volume analysis and are not included in the domestic and international application volume analysis because their programs are not reporting their domestic and international volumes - only their total volume.

Among the programs that responded to the 2020 and 2019 surveys, the total number of applications increased for Canada (13%), Europe (24%) and the US (21%). Given the diversity of the Asia Pacific, there were higher country-level differences for this region. For example, Q4 protests in Hong Kong, followed by the start of the pandemic in mainland China dampened the application volume. Likewise, application volume for India is likely to be affected by the economic downturn. Given the scale of Greater China and India, the growth in applications for the Rest of Asia could not avoid the overall decline in application volume for the region (-7%).

As the economy slows, demand for graduate management education surges…

2020, June 21

“Demand for MBA courses tends to be countercyclical….When recession looms, as is now the case, the opportunity cost of taking a career break to update skills and build a professional network at business school reduces greatly.”

2010, July 20

“Demand for MBA courses is soaring as potential students aim to fend off the recession by boosting their credentials and improving their career prospects.”

14

Reasons applications are up from admissions officers’ perspectives…

Q: What are the reasons your overall application volume is (up/flat/down) compared to year?

…the effect COVID-19 and related travel bans which stimulated students to look for domestic programs.- Admissions officer from a B-school in Europe

People are forced to change career directions due to COVID 19 and upgrading their current education status.- Admissions officer from a B-school in Australia & Pacific Islands

…a more hands on approach to recruiting and focusing on more each individual inquiry and applicant.- Admissions officer from a B-school in the US

…

…

…

15

Q: What are the reasons your overall application volume is (up/flat/down) compared to year?

The social movement in Hong Kong followed by COVID-19 disruptions impacted MBA student recruitment. - Admissions officer from a B-school in East & Southeast Asia

Highly volatile economic situation - candidates are not willing to make new financial commitments.- Admissions officer from a B-school in Middle East

Increasing competition from more schools entering the online space; drop in organic search ranking.- Admissions officer from a B-school in the US

…

…

…

16

Reasons applications are down from admissions officers’ perspectives…

Recruitment• 64% reduced travel budget• 49% sought to recruit more domestic candidates

Admissions• 57% extended application deadlines• 57% allowed students to defer entry

Program• 57% offered online start with transition to in-person• 25% offered online start in the fall semester

17

B-schools adapted to the new reality with flexibility In mid-September, as the data collection

for 2020 Application Trends Survey was wrapping up, the economic uncertainty triggered by the pandemic persisted. On September 11, Bloomberg noted “The global economy is getting back on the road to growth, though returning to pre-pandemic levels of activity will be a longer journey.”

This uncertainty compelled b-schools to adopt a more flexible approach in their recruitment, admission, and programs for the 2020 incoming class. For example, extended application deadlines allowed a new pool of applicants who were impacted the economic downturn to apply to graduate business school.How has COVID-19 (coronavirus) impacted the following areas of your program.

Select all that apply for each area [Marketing/Recruitment, Program, Admissions].

Respondents described how COVID-19 impacted various areas of their programs. Here are the top two responses for each area.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-09-11/charting-the-global-economy-bouncing-back-but-long-road-ahead

18

Summary of Relative Analysis

• This section includes a summary of relative analysis based on the percent change in application volume as compared to the last year. Some of the key dimensions of analysis include:

• Candidate Citizenship

• Program Types

• Regions

Back to Table of Contents

Overall, a higher proportion of programs report growth in applications as compared to previous years

19

16% 16% 13% 16%

39%13% 10%

11% 9%

13%

20%18%

16% 16%

14%

8%8%

8% 7%

6%21%

18%21% 18%

12%11%

13% 13% 16%

6%

11%16% 18% 19%

10%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total Overall Applications, 2016-2020

Significant decline (-21% or more)Moderate decline (-11-20%)Slight decline (-1-10%)Stable (No change)Slight growth (1-10%)Moderate growth (11-20%)Significant growth (21% or more)

Nearly half of all graduate management programs report a growth of over 10 percent in applications

20

39%

13%

14%

6%

12%

6%

10%

Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

Significant decline (-21% or more)

Moderate decline (-11-20%)

Slight decline (-1-10%)

Stable (No change)

Slight growth (1-10%)

Moderate growth (11-20%)

Significant growth (21% or more)

67%

6%

27%

Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

DeclineStableGrowth

Relative Change in Application Volumes, Overall, 2020

Relative change analysis is based on responses from 1,042 programs reporting percent change in application volume compared to last year. Left-hand chart collapses three categories of growth and decline. Right-hand chart provides granular details.

Overall, most of the programs report growth in applications from both domestic and international candidates

21

• Left-hand chart collapses three categories of growth and decline. Right-hand chart provides granular details.• “International” refers to an applicant who is not a citizen or resident of the country where the program is located.

• Relative change analysis is based on responses from 997 (domestic) and 982 (international) programs reporting percent change in application volume compared to last year.

29%40%

8%

10%13%

15%18%

12%12%

12%6%

5%14%8%

International Domestic

Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

Citizenship of applicants

Significant decline (-21% or more)Moderate decline (-11-20%)Slight decline (-1-10%)Stable (No change)Slight growth (1-10%)Moderate growth (11-20%)Significant growth (21% or more)50%

64%

18%

12%

32%24%


Citizenship of applicants

Decline

Stable

Growth

Relative Change in Domestic and International Application Volumes, Overall

Overall, 2 out of 3 programs report growth in applications

22

67%57%

79% 72% 67%

6%11%

0%2% 6%

27% 32%21% 26% 27%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Overall (N=1,042) Asia Pacific(N =91)

Canada(N =39)

Europe(N = 133)

United States(N =742)

Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

Program location

Relative Change in Total Application Volumes, by Program Location

Decline

Stable

Growth

Overall, 3 out of 4 full-time two-year MBA programs report growth in applications

23

66% 72% 64% 70% 69% 64%84%

48%

7% 4%6%

7% 3% 11%

2%

10%

27% 24% 30% 22% 28% 26% 14%42%

All MBA programs(N=525)

Full-time two-yearMBA (N=140)

Full-time one-yearMBA (N=99)

Part-time lockstepMBA (N=54)

Part-time self-pacedMBA (N=58)

Flexible MBA (N=47) Online MBA (N=49) Executive MBA(N=62)

Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

Program Type

Relative Change in Application Volumes, by Program Type

Decline

Stable

Growth

67%80%

51%78% 73%

5%2%

5%

5% 4%28% 18%

45%17% 23%

All business master'sprograms (N=496)

Master inManagement

(N = 49)

Master ofAccounting(N = 83)

Master of Finance(N = 95)

Master of DataAnalytics(N = 71)

Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

Program Type

Decline

Stable

Growth

Nearly 80 percent of master of finance and master in management programs report growth in applications

Overall, a higher proportion of European and Canadian programs report growth in applications

24

23%

44% 41% 41%

15%

14%13% 15%19%

14%14%

23%11%

2%6%

0%16% 7% 11%

13%4%6%

6%

5%11% 14% 9%3%

Asia Pacific Europe US Canada

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total Applications, by Region, 2019-2020

14%

39%45%

39%

23%

41%

28% 24%

10%

9%9% 16%

7%

11%

8% 14%13%

21% 13%

29%

16%

16%

11%

27%27%

7% 11%

8%

28%

5%

19%

11%

23%10% 10%

3%

9% 9%

13%

11%

3% 4% 5%

5%

3% 3%7%

5%

9% 9% 8%0%

14% 13% 15%8%

Asia Pacific Europe US Canada Asia Pacific Europe US Canada

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total Applications, by Region, 2019-2020


InternationalDomestic

Asia Pacific: 53 percent of programs report growth in applications from women

25

47%

72%63%

49%57%

12%

6%8%

6%

11%

41%

22% 29%45%

32%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total Applications, 2016-2020

Asia Pacific, All Program Types

Decline

Stable

Growth57%

37%45% 53% 47%

11%

27%28% 14%

15%

32% 35%26% 33% 38%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Total Domestic Int'l Female Male

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics


Asia Pacific, All Program Types

Decline

Stable

Growth

Canada: Most programs (84%) report growth in applications from domestic candidates

26

41%

75%63% 55%

79%5%

3%

2% 18%

0%55%

23%35%

26% 21%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year


All Canadian Business Programs

Decline

Stable

Growth79% 84%

65% 65%57%

0%8%

11% 14%16%

21%8%

24% 22% 27%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics


All Canadian Business Programs

Decline

Stable

Growth

Europe: 3 out of 4 programs report growth in applications in 2020

27

65% 65% 61%53%

72%

8% 12%9%

5%

2%

27% 23% 30%42%

26%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year


All European Business Programs

Decline

Stable

Growth 72% 70% 69%59%

70%

2% 7% 5%8%

8%

26% 23% 26% 32%22%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics


All European Business Programs

Decline

Stable

Growth

US: Overall, the proportion of programs reporting growth sharply increased in 2020

28

46%38% 32% 37%

67%

8%8%

8%7%

6%47% 54% 60% 56%

27%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total Applications, 2016-2020All US Business Programs

Decline

Stable

Growth 67% 67%

47%61% 63% 56%

6% 11%

19%

11% 11% 22%

27% 23%34% 27% 26% 23%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Total Domestic Int'l Female Male URP

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics


All US Business Programs

Decline

Stable

Growth

Eighty percent of applications to European schools were from international candidates

29

56% 51% 44%20%

63%

44% 49% 56%80%

37%


Perc

enta

ge o

f app

licat

ions

Program location

Location Distribution of Applications, by Program Location


67% 70% 84%

37%

11% 7%8%

27%

23% 23% 8%35%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

UnitedStates

Europe Canada Asia Pacific

Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

Program location

Relative Change in Domestic Application Volumes, by Program Location

Decline

Stable

Growth

47%69% 65%

45%

19%5% 11%

28%

34% 26% 24% 26%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

UnitedStates

Europe Canada Asia Pacific

Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

Program location

Relative Change in International Application Volumes, by Program Location

Decline

Stable

Growth

Application Volume by Candidate Citizenship

“International” refers to an applicant who is not a citizen or resident of the country where the program is located.

Robust growth in applications from female candidates pursuing graduate management education

30

56% 57% 58% 57% 55%

44% 43% 41% 42% 45%


Perc

enta

ge o

f app

lican

ts

Program Location

Gender Distribution of Applications, by Program LocationMale Female Other

63% 70% 57% 47%

11% 8%16%

15%

26% 22% 27% 38%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

UnitedStates

Europe Canada Asia PacificPerc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

Program location

Relative Change in Application Volumes From Men, by Program Location

Decline

Stable

Growth

61% 59% 65% 53%

11% 8% 14%14%

27% 32% 22% 33%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

UnitedStates

Europe Canada Asia PacificPerc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

Program location

Relative Change in Application Volumes From Women, by Program Location

Decline

Stable

Growth

Application Volume by Gender

Overall, the proportion of programs reporting growth in applications from women is the highest in the recent years

31

47% 42% 42% 41%

60%

16%16% 13% 13%

11%

37% 42% 45% 46%

29%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Overall

DeclineStableGrowth

45% 38% 34% 36%61%

15%14% 13% 13%

11%39% 48% 53% 51%

27%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

US

41%59% 64%

50%65%

27%6% 3%

16%14%

32% 34% 33% 34% 22%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Canada

53% 65% 59% 48% 59%

18%12% 15%

15%8%

29% 22% 26% 37% 32%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Europe

58%42%

66% 53% 53%

8%16%

10%12% 14%

34% 42%24% 35% 33%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Asia Pacific

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total Applications from Women, 2016-2020

Bookmark GMAC Advisor Blog for latest insights.

https://blog.gmac.com/gmac-advisor/topic/research-insights

Canada and Europe receive nearly 40 percent of their applications from Central & South Asia and East & Southeast Asia

32

2%

6% 7%

3%

7%

0% 1% 0%0%

47%

0% 0%

36%

20%

19%

11%

50%

20%

20%

16%

3% 1%

44%

1%1% 2%

4%

1%1%

3% 4%

1%0% 0% 0%

66%


Perc

enta

ge o

f app

licat

ions

Program location

Regional Distribution of Applications, by Program Location

Africa Australia & Pacific Islands Canada Central & South Asia East & Southeast Asia Europe Latin America Middle East United States

Overall, 2 out of 3 programs say that the academic profile of candidates is about the same as compared with last year

33

26% 27% 25% 18% 27%

63% 61% 61% 77% 61%

11% 12% 14%4% 12%


Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

Program location

Academic Profile of Candidate Pool Compared With Last Year

More academically qualified About the same Less academically qualified

34

MBA Programs: Relative Analysis

• This section includes relative analysis based on the percent change in application volume for 525 MBA programs compared to the last year. Program types include:

• Full-time two-year MBA• Full-time one-year MBA• Part-time lockstep MBA• Part-time self-paced MBA• Flexible MBA• Online MBA• Executive MBA


Full-time MBA programs experience a surge in demand; reversing historical trends

35

-3-2-10123

'00

'01

'02

'03

'04

'05

'06

'07

'08

'09

'10

'11

'12

'13

'14

'15

'16

'17

'18

'19

'20

Full-Time MBA (Combined)

-3-2-10123

'05

'07

'09

'11

'13

'15

'17

'19

Full-Time Two-Year MBA

-3-2-10123

'00

'01

'02

'03

'04

'05

'06

'07

'08

'09

'10

'11

'12

'13

'14

'15

'16

'17

'18

'19

'20

Part-Time MBA (Combined)

-3-2-10123

'09

'10

'11

'12

'13

'14

'15

'16

'17

'18

'19

'20

Part-Time Self-Paced MBA

-3-2-10123

'05

'07

'09

'11

'13

'15

'17

'19

Full-Time One-Year MBA

-3-2-10123

'09

'10

'11

'12

'13

'14

'15

'16

'17

'18

'19

'20

Part-Time Lockstep MBA

-3-2-10123

'07

'08

'09

'10

'11

'12

'13

'14

'15

'16

'17

'18

'19

'20

Flexible MBA

-3-2-10123

'04

'06

'08

'10

'12

'14

'16

'18

'20

Executive MBA

-3-2-10123

'07

'08

'09

'10

'11

'12

'13

'14

'15

'16

'17

'18

'19

'20

Online MBA

Scale: Relative change in application volume over time, where -3 indicates significant decline in volume compared to the previous year, 0 indicates no change from the previous year, and +3 indicates significant increase compared to the previous year.

16% 16%10% 13%

37%13% 12%

10%9%

13%20% 20%

16%18%

17%8% 8%

8%8%

7%22%17%

25% 20%

13%10%

13%16% 16%

6%

10% 14% 15% 17%8%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total MBA Applications


Overall, 1 out of 3 MBA programs report “significant growth” (20% or more) in applications in 2020

36

Nearly 3 out of 4 full-time two-year MBA programs report growth in applications

37

66% 72%64% 70% 69% 64%

84%

48%

7%4%

6%7% 3% 11%

2%

10%

27% 24% 30%22% 28% 26%

14%

42%

All MBA programs(n=525)

Full-time two-yearMBA (n=140)

Full-time one-yearMBA (n=99)

Part-time lockstepMBA (n=54)

Part-time self-paced MBA (n=58)

Flexible MBA(n=47)

Online MBA(n=49)

Executive MBA(n=62)

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s


Decline

Stable

Growth

16%

29%

42% 38%17%

14%

13%15%

22%

20%

15%27%

14% 2%

7%

0%20%

14%

10%

19%6%

8%

5%

0%5%14%

8%0%

Asia Pacific Europe United States Canada

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total MBA Applications, by Region, 2019-2020

Proportion of MBA programs reporting growth is higher in Canada and the US as compared to Asia Pacific and Europe

38

13%

27%38% 36%

11%

27% 26%

13%

13%

8%

12% 12%

10%

10%6%

13%

14%

27%

15%

40%

18%

22%

10%29%

28%

6%

12%

8%

38%6%

22%

17%

27%20%

13%

4%

10%

18%13%

17%

3%6% 5%

0%

5%4%

7%

0%

3% 6% 7%0%

8% 12% 16% 13%

Asia Pacific Europe UnitedStates

Canada Asia Pacific Europe UnitedStates

Canada

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total MBA Applications, by Region, 2019-2020



Full-time MBA: A vast majority of globally ranked programs report growth in applications

39

74% 74%

9% 5%

17% 21%

1-50(n=46)

51-100(n=42)

Overall

Decline

Stable

Growth69% 71%

5% 12%26% 17%

1-50(n=42)

51-100(n=41)

Domestic

66% 66%

10% 12%

24% 22%

1-50(n=41)

51-100(n=41)

International

59%76%

12%

10%29%15%

1-50(n=41)

51-100(n=41)

Women

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total Application Volume Full-Time MBA programs, by FT Report Rankings

Categories based on rankings from the 2020 FT Global MBA Rankings for full-time programs. For schools that reported multiple full-time MBA programs, the flagship program was used.

More MBA programs reported growth in applications from domestic candidates as compared to international candidates

40

66% 61%

44%

58% 60%

7% 13%

22%

13% 13%

27% 26%34% 29% 27%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Overall Domestic Int'l Male Female

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics


All MBA Programs

Decline

Stable

Growth

Asia Pacific: A higher proportion of two-year full-time MBA programs report growth than one-year

41

40% 35% 36%

20% 35% 43%

40% 30% 21%

Full-time one-yearMBA

Full-time two-yearMBA

PGPPerc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Program Type

Relative Change in Domestic Application Volumes, by Program Type, Asia Pacific

Decline

Stable

Growth29%

52%

8%

43%

39%

58%

29%9%

33%

Full-time one-yearMBA

Full-time two-yearMBA

PGPPerc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

sProgram type

Relative Change in International Application Volumes, by Program Type, Asia Pacific

Decline

Stable

Growth

40%61%

43%

13%9% 29%

47% 30% 29%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Full-time one-yearMBA (N=15)

Full-time two-yearMBA (N=23)

PGP (N=14)Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Program Type

Relative Change in Application Volumes, by Program Type, Asia Pacific

Decline

Stable

Growth

PGP: Post Graduate Programs is a characteristic of Indian higher education policy where PGPs are awarded by colleges affiliated to universities and MBAs are directly awarded by universities. In general, admissions criteria, curriculum and outcomes of PGPs and MBAs are similar. ISB and IIMs offer PGPs.In this report, analysis based on total MBA applications includes PGP counts. PGP are not included in the one-year or two-year break-up of data.

Asia Pacific: More full-time two-year MBA programs report growth in applications from female candidates

42

47%

80% 75%63% 61%

24%

4%0%

9% 9%

29%16%

25% 28% 30%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year


Asia Pacific Full-Time Two-Year MBA

Decline

Stable

Growth61%

35%52%

71%

43%

9%

35%

39%10%

19%

30% 30%

9%19%

38%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics


Asia Pacific Full-Time Two-Year MBA

Decline

Stable

Growth

Does not include PGP.

Asia Pacific: More full-time one-year MBA programs report growth in applications from domestic candidates

43

63% 63%

31%43% 40%

11% 11%

6%

10% 13%

26% 26%

63%

48% 47%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year


Asia Pacific Full-Time One-Year MBA

Decline

Stable

Growth

40% 40%29%

43%50%

13%20% 43%

29% 14%

47%40%

29% 29%36%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics


Asia Pacific Full-Time One-Year MBA

Decline

Stable

Growth


Canada: A vast majority of full-time MBA programs (90%) report growth in applications from domestic candidates

44

87%93%

67%

0%

7%

13%

13%0%

20%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Overall Domestic International

Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

Demographics

Relative Change in Domestic Application Volumes, Full-Time MBA Programs, Canada

Decline

Stable

Growth

Canada: MBA programs report growth in applications, fueled by domestic candidates

45

42%

74%

50% 56%

81%5%

4%

3%

15%

0%53%

22%

47%

30%19%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year


Canada All MBA Programs

Decline

Stable

Growth81%

88%

54% 60%52%

0%

8%

17%

20%24%

19%

4%

29%20% 24%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics


Canada All MBA Programs

Decline

Stable

Growth

Europe: 2 out of 3 full-time one-year MBA programs report growth in applications

46

75%59%

0%10%

25% 31%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Professional MBA Full-time one-year MBA

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Program Type

Relative Change in Domestic Application Volumes, by Program Type, Europe

Decline

Stable

Growth63% 62%

0% 7%38% 31%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Professional MBA Full-time one-year MBAPe

rcen

tage

of P

rogr

ams

Program Type

Relative Change in International Application Volumes, by Program Type, Europe

Decline

Stable

Growth

40%69%

10%

0%50%31%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Professional MBA Full-time one-year MBA

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

sProgram Type

Relative Change in Application Volumes, by Program Type, Europe

Decline

Stable

Growth

Europe: Proportion of full-time one-year MBA programs reporting growth increased in 2020

47

74% 76%

45%

63%69%

0%

17%

13%

3%0%

26%

7%

42%34% 31%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year


Full-time One-Year MBA Programs, Europe

Decline

Stable

Growth 69%59% 62% 59%

69%

0%10% 7%

3%

7%

31% 31% 31%38%

24%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Total Domestic Int'l Female MalePe

rcen

tage

of P

rogr

ams

Demographics


Full-time One-year MBA Programs, Europe

Decline

Stable

Growth

US: Nearly 4 out of 5 full-time two-year MBA programs report growth in domestic candidates

48

44%

86%62% 70% 74% 70% 75%

10%

2%

12% 4% 8% 9% 4%46%

12%26% 26% 18% 21% 21%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Executive MBA Online MBA Flexible MBA Part-time self-paced MBA

Part-timelockstep MBA

Full-time one-year MBA

Full-time two-year MBA

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Relative Change in Application Volumes, by Program Type, United States

Decline

Stable

Growth

39%75% 64% 57% 61% 61% 78%20%

13% 24%10% 21% 5%

2%41%13% 12%

33% 18% 34% 20%

ExecutiveMBA

Online MBA Flexible MBA Part-timeself-paced

MBA

Part-timelockstep

MBA

Full-timeone-year

MBA

Full-timetwo-year

MBA

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Relative Change in Domestic Application Volumes, by Program Type, United States

Growth Stable Decline

28% 38% 24% 42% 32% 49% 59%31%

38%29%

24% 37% 19% 5%41% 24%

48% 34% 32% 32% 35%

ExecutiveMBA

Online MBA Flexible MBA Part-timeself-paced

MBA

Part-timelockstep

MBA

Full-timeone-year

MBA

Full-timetwo-year

MBA

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Relative Change in International Application Volumes, by Program Type, United States


US: A sharp reversal in the proportion of full-time two-year MBA programs reporting growth in applications

49

75% 78%

59% 65%71% 68%

4% 2%

5%7%

8% 14%

21% 20%

35%28%

21% 18%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Total Domestic Int'l Female Male URPs

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

sDemographics


US Full-time Two-Year MBA

Decline

Stable

Growth

40%32%

24% 23%

75%7%

4%

6% 5%

4%53%

64%70% 73%

21%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year


US Full-time Two-Year MBA

Decline

Stable

Growth

US Full-time MBA: Growth in applications varies by the ranking of the programs

50

81% 70% 76%

6%4%

6%

13%26% 18%

1-50(n=48)

51-100*(n=50)

Unranked(n=50)

Overall

Decline

Stable

Growth82% 73% 74%

2%2% 9%

16% 25% 17%

1-50(n=44)

51-100*(n=48)

Unranked(n=46)

Domestic

75%

47% 40%

2%

11%13%

23%43% 47%

1-50(n=44)

51-100*(n=47)

Unranked(n=48)

International

73%59% 64%

5%13%

13%

23% 28% 22%

1-50(n=44)

51-100*(n=46)

Unranked(n=45)

Women

Categories based on rankings from the 2021 US News and World Report Rankings for full-time MBA. For schools that reported multiple full-time MBA programs, the flagship program was used.*Category of 51-100 includes 33 schools tied for 100th place

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total Application Volume US Full-Time MBA programs, by US News and World Report Rankings

US: Nearly 70 percent of full-time one-year MBA programs report growth in applications

51

70%61%

49%

64% 61%47%

9%

5%19%

11% 14%

22%

21%34% 32%

25% 25% 31%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Total Domestic Int'l Women Male URPsPe

rcen

tage

of P

rogr

ams

Demographics


US Full-time One-Year MBA

Decline

Stable

Growth

43% 43% 42%30%

70%

7% 6% 5%

12%

9%50% 51% 53% 58%

21%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year


US Full-time One-Year MBA

Decline

Stable

Growth

US: A higher proportion of professional MBA programs* report growth in applications from female candidates

52

73%64%

34%

72%60% 61%

6%16%

31%

13%

12%17%

21% 20%

35%

15%28% 22%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


rcen

tage

of P

rogr

ams

Demographics


Professional MBA Programs, US

Decline

Stable

Growth62%74% 70%

86%

12%

8%4%

2%26%18%

26%12%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Flexible MBA Part-timeLockstep

Part-timeSelf-Paced

Online MBA

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year


Professional MBA Programs, US

Decline

Stable

Growth

*Professional MBA programs include flexible, part-time lockstep, part-time self-paced and online MBA programs.

US: Nearly 3 out of 4 part-time MBA programs report growth in applications

53

72%58%

38%

69%56%

62%

5%

15%

30%

13%

12%

17%

23% 27%33%

18%33%

21%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Total Domestic Int'l Female Male URPsPe

rcen

tage

of P

rogr

ams

Demographics


US Part-Time MBA

Decline

Stable

Growth

42% 43%29%

38%

72%

7% 10%

13%8%

5%49% 48%58% 54%

23%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year


US Part-Time MBA

Decline

Stable

Growth

US: A higher proportion of EMBA programs report growth in applications as compared to last couple of years

54

44% 39%28% 33% 38% 38%

10% 20%31% 25% 18%

28%

46% 41% 41% 43% 45%33%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Total Domestic Int'l Female Male URPsPe

rcen

tage

of P

rogr

ams

Demographics


US EMBA

Decline

Stable

Growth

43% 49%

33% 29%

44%

7%7%

17%

10%

10%

50%44%

50%62%

46%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year


US EMBA

Decline

Stable

Growth

US: Online MBA programs report growth in applications from female candidates and underrepresented populations

55

86%75%

38%

85%74%

67%

2%13%

38%

8%

8%13%

12% 13%24%

8%18% 20%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


rcen

tage

of P

rogr

ams

Demographics


US Online MBA

Decline

Stable

Growth

56%47%

36%50%

86%

15%

6%

6%

10%

2%30%

47%58%

40%

12%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year


US Online MBA

Decline

Stable

Growth



Full-time MBA programs in Europe report a higher proportion of international applicants (92%) as compared to the US (35%)

56

48% 49% 54% 53% 56%

52% 51% 46% 47% 44%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f app

licat

ions

Full-Time MBA, Overall


12% 8% 9% 15% 8%

88% 92% 91% 85% 92%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f app

licat

ions

Full-Time MBA, Europe


50% 55% 63% 60% 65%

50% 45% 37% 40% 35%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020Perc

enta

ge o

f app

licat

ions

Full-Time MBA, United States


65% 65% 60% 66% 68%

35% 35% 40% 34% 32%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020Perc

enta

ge o

f app

licat

ions

Full-Time MBA, Asia Pacific


Over half of applicants for full-time MBA programs have work experiences of six years or more

57

4%

11%

13%

40%

26%

24%

10%

9%

7%

27%

31%

32%

19%

23%

19%

Professional MBA

Full-Time One-Year MBA

Full-Time Two-Year MBA

Percentage of applicant pool

Prog

ram

type

Work Experience of Applicants, by Program TypeNone Less than 3 years 3-6 years 6 to less than 10 year 10 years or more

*Professional MBA programs include flexible, part-time lockstep, part-time self-paced and online MBA programs. Does not include PGP.

Proportion of candidates with six years or more has increased as compared to previous years

58

14% 11% 13% 12% 11%

16% 26% 21% 21% 26%

35%32% 7% 33%

9%

25% 21% 22% 22%

31%

10% 10% 12% 12%23%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f app

lican

t poo

l

Year

Candidate Work Experience, Full-time one-year MBA


12% 16% 13% 18% 13%

27% 24%23%

27%24%

38% 35%7%

32%

12%

17% 18%20%

17%

32%

6% 7% 12% 7%19%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f app

lican

t poo

l

Year

Candidate Work Experience, Full-time two-year MBA

None

Less than 3 years

3-6 years

6 to less than 10 year

10 years or more

59

Business Master’s Programs: Relative Analysis• The analysis presented in this section

is based on the survey responses of 523 business master’s programs, including the following:

• Master in Management• Master of Accounting• Master of Finance• Master of Data Analytics


A significant growth in applications as compared to the previous year

60

-3-2-10123

'08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '20

Master in Management

-3-2-10123

'08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '20

Master of Accounting

-3-2-10123

'08 '09 '10 '11 '12 '13 '14 '15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '20

Master of Finance

-3-2-10123

'15 '16 '17 '18 '19 '20

Master of Data Analytics

Scale: Relative change in application volume over time, where -3 indicates significant decline in volume compared to the previous year, 0 indicates no change from the previous year, and +3 indicates significant increase compared to the previous year.

19% 17% 17% 19%

43%12%

6%12% 10%

13%

19%

15%

16% 14%

11%

9%

9%

8%6%

5%18%

19%16%

16%

10%

12%

14% 10%15%

6%

11%20% 20% 21%

11%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total Business Master’s Applications


Overall, nearly 3 out of 5 business master’s programs report growth of over 10 percent in applications

61

Overall, 2 in 3 business master’s programs report growth in applications

62

67%80%

51%

78% 73%

5%

2%

5%

5%4%

28%18%

45%

17% 23%

All business master'sprograms (n=496)

Master in Management(n = 49)

Master of Accounting(n = 83)

Master of Finance(n = 95)

Master of Data Analytics(n = 71)

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Program Type


Decline

Stable

Growth

44%54%

40%

60%

12%

15%

12%

10%8%

10%

12%

10%

4%

1%

5%4%

2%13%

5% 6%20%

28%

13% 10%

Asia Pacific Europe US Canada

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total Business Master’s Applications, by Region,

2019-2020

Proportion of business master’s programs reporting growth is higher in Canada and Europe as compared to Asia Pacific and the US

63

20%

47%53%

60%52% 51%

31%

60%

0%

10%7%

20%

0%11%

8%

10%

12%

18% 10%

10%

8%

13%

12%

10%

24%

8%9%

8%

5%

15%16%

4%8%

4%

4%

13%4%

3% 5%10%

3% 7%

20%24%

10% 8%

28%

14% 14%

Asia Pacific Europe US Canada Asia Pacific Europe US Canada

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total Business Master’s Applications, by Region, 2019-2020



A vast majority of business master’s programs report growth in applications from both domestic and international candidates

64

67% 68%56%

67%59%

5%10%

13%

9%

10%

28%22%

31%25%

31%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Overall Domestic International Male Female

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics

Relative Change in Application Volumes, by Program TypeAll Business Master’s Programs

Decline

Stable

Growth

Europe: A vast majority of Master of Finance and Master in Management programs report growth in applications

65

Relative Change in Application Volumes

58%79%

66%36%

84%

11%

0%13%

12%

0%32% 21% 21%52%

16%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year

Master in Management, Europe

Decline

Stable

Growth

79% 89%

5%6%16% 6%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Citizenship

Master in Management, Europe, 2020

Decline

Stable

Growth

55%

21%

75%

42%

90%11%

21%

10%

5%

0%34%

57%

15%

53%

10%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year

Master of Finance, Europe

Decline

Stable

Growth

85% 75%

5%10%

10% 15%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

sCitizenship

Master of Finance, Europe, 2020

Decline

Stable

Growth


Europe: Proportion of Master of Finance programs reporting growth is highest in the recent five years

66

55%

21%

75%

42%

90%

11%

21%

10%

5%

0%34%

57%

15%

53%

10%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year



Decline

Stable

Growth90%

75%85%

67% 72%

0%

10%

5%

17% 11%

10% 15% 10%17% 17%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


rcen

tage

of P

rogr

ams

Demographics



Decline

Stable

Growth

Europe: Proportion of Master in Management programs reporting growth is highest in the recent years

67

58%

79%66%

36%

84%

11%

0%13%

12%

0%32%21% 21%

52%

16%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year



Decline

Stable

Growth84% 89%

79% 81%94%

0%

6%

5% 0%

0%16%6%

16% 19%6%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


rcen

tage

of P

rogr

ams

Demographics



Decline

Stable

Growth

US: 9 out of 10 Master in Management programs report growth in applications from underrepresented minorities

68


50% 38%24%

46%76%

14%12%

5%

6%

0%36%50%

71%49%

24%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year

Master in Management, US

Decline

Stable

Growth

50%85%

5%

0%35%15%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Citizenship

Master in Management, US, 2020

Decline

Stable

Growth

76%85%

50%

70% 70%

88%

0%

0%

15%

10% 10%

0%24%15%

35%

20% 20%12%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total Applications, 2019-2020Master in Management, US

Decline

Stable

Growth

US: Nearly 3 in 4 Master of Finance programs report increase in applications, reversing trend of previous three years

69


55%30% 35% 37%

73%

11%

6% 8% 6%

8%34%64% 57% 57%

18%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year

Master of Finance, US

Decline

Stable

Growth

66%78%

2%3%33%

19%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Citizenship

Master of Finance, US, 2020

Decline

Stable

Growth

73% 78%66% 70%

77%

51%

8% 3%

2%2%

4%

29%

18% 19%33% 28%

19% 20%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total Applications, 2019-2020Master of Finance, US

Decline

Stable

Growth

US: 3 out of 4 Master of Data Analytics programs report growth in applications

70


94%74% 64% 53%

71%

0%

7%8%

5%

5%

6% 19% 28%42%

24%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year

Master of Data Analytics, US

Decline

Stable

Growth

67% 72%

11% 11%23% 18%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Citizenship

Master of Data Analytics, US, 2020

Decline

Stable

Growth

71% 72% 67% 70% 74%

49%

5%11%

11% 5%5%

27%

24%18% 23% 25% 21% 24%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total Applications, 2019-2020Master in Data Analytics, US

Decline

Stable

Growth

US: Proportion of Master of Accounting programs reporting growth in applications is highest in the last five years

71


44%30% 27% 31%

51%

5%10% 5% 8%

4%

51% 60% 68% 60%46%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Year

Master of Accounting, US

Decline

Stable

Growth

37%55%

22%16%

41%28%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Citizenship

Master of Accounting, US, 2020

Decline

Stable

Growth

51% 55%

37%43%

58%

43%

4%

16%

22% 10%

10%

26%

46%

28%41%

47%

32% 31%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics

Relative Year-on-Year Change in Total Applications, 2019-2020Master of Accounting, US

Decline

Stable

Growth

Other Master Degrees in the US: 2 out of 3 programs report growth in applications from underrepresented populations

72

61%76%

41%

59%71% 67%

6%

6%

18%

0%

0%17%

33%18%

41% 41%29%

17%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Total Domestic Int'l Women Male URPs

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics


Master of Supply Chain Management, US


62% 66%

45% 50%58% 61%

2%11%

16%18%

16%18%

36%24%

39%32% 26% 21%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%

Total Domestic Int'l Women Male URPs

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics


Master of Information Technology, US


71%85%

55%

75%65% 61%

5%

5%

15%

10%

10%28%

24%10%

30%15%

25%11%

0%

25%

50%

75%

100%


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

Demographics


Master of Marketing, US




International candidates form a majority of applications for Master of Finance programs in Europe (83%) and the US (75%)

73

39% 22% 25% 19% 26%

61% 78% 75% 81% 74%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020Perc

enta

ge o

f App

lican

t Poo

l



65% 54% 51% 54% 61%

35% 46% 49% 46% 39%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020Perc

enta

ge o

f App

lican

t Poo

l

Master in Management, US


15% 10% 17% 13% 17%

85% 90% 83% 87% 83%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020Perc

enta

ge o

f App

lican

t Poo

l



16% 19% 25% 29% 25%

84% 81% 75% 71% 75%

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020Perc

enta

ge o

f App

lican

t Poo

l

Master of Finance, US


* Not displayed due to insufficient response.

Nearly 1 out of 3 applicants for business master’s programs have no work experience

74

30%

30%

32%

30%

57%

57%

51%

54%

8%

3%

6%

6%

10%

7%

8%

6%

5%

3%

3%

3%



Master of Finance


Percentage of Applicant Pool

Prog

ram

type

Work Experience of Applicants, by Program TypeNone Less than three years 3 years, but less than 6 years 6 years, but less than 10 years 10 years or more

75

Impact of COVID-19

The analysis presented in this section is focuses on the impact of COVID-19 on marketing/recruitment, admissions, and programs.


COVID-19 Impact on Marketing/Recruitment - Overall

76

10%

6%

10%

20%

33%

44%

49%

64%

None of these

Other

Sought to recruit more international candidates

Decreased marketing/recruitment activities

Increased budget for online initiatives

Increased marketing/recruitment activities

Sought to recruit more domestic candidates

Reduced travel budget

Percentage of Programs

How has COVID-19 (coronavirus) impacted the following areas of your program. Select all that apply for each area:*

COVID-19 Impact on Marketing/Recruitment by Region

77

49%

35% 36%

58%

16%

7%

60%63%

38%

55%

38%

13%

57%

51%

59%

47%

14% 14%

66%

49%

42%

25%20%

8%

Reduced travel budget Sought to recruit moredomestic candidates

Increasedmarketing/recruitment

activities

Increased budget for onlineinitiatives

Decreasedmarketing/recruitment

activities

Sought to recruit moreinternational candidates

Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s


Excludes Other and None

COVID-19 Impact on Marketing/Recruitment – MBA vs Master’s

78

67%

46% 44%

36%

23%

6%

61%

53%

45%

29%

16% 15%

Reduced travel budget Sought to recruit more domesticcandidates

Increased marketing/recruitmentactivities

Increased budget for online initiatives Decreased marketing/recruitmentactivities

Sought to recruit more internationalcandidates

Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

MBA Master's


COVID-19 Impact on Admissions - Overall

79

10%

7%

9%

9%

9%

22%

24%

30%

33%

34%

46%

57%

57%

None of these

Other

Reduced class/cohort sizes

Waived deposit requirements

Increased the size of the waitlist

Added additional admission rounds

Accepted substitute/additional admission tests

Waived application fees

Extended deposit deadlines

Conducted online interviews

Waived admission tests

Allowed students to defer entry

Extended the application deadline

Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

COVID-19 Impact on Admissions by Region

80

35%

43%

3% 2%

50%

30%

14%

26%

3%

13%

6%

63%

70%

18%

3%

40%

55%

20%

33%

10%

5%

23%

51%

50%

21%

1%

34%

53%

36%

11%

2%

9%

23%

61%

59%

56%

39%

30%

29%

22%

22%

11%

8% 7%

Allowed students todefer entry

Extended theapplication deadline

Waived admissiontests

Waived applicationfees

Conducted onlineinterviews

Extended depositdeadlines

Acceptedsubstitute/additional

admission tests

Added additionaladmission rounds

Waived depositrequirements

Reducedclass/cohort sizes

Increased the sizeof the waitlist


Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s


COVID-19 Impact on Admissions – MBA vs Master’s

81

60%57%

49%45%

33%29%

25%22%

10% 10%8%

55%60%

19%

49%

34% 32%

20%

26%

8% 8%10%

Allowed students todefer entry

Extended theapplication deadline

Conducted onlineinterviews

Waived admissiontests

Extended depositdeadlines

Waived applicationfees

Added additionaladmission rounds

Acceptedsubstitute/additional

admission tests

Increased the size ofthe waitlist

Reducedclass/cohort sizes

Waived depositrequirements

MBA Master's


Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s

COVID-19 Impact on Program - Overall

82

20%

0%

2%

3%

13%

13%

14%

19%

25%

57%

None of these

Canceled semester/term

Reduced the overall program duration

Reduced program tuition

Delayed the program start date

Increased scholarship funds

Other

Eliminated pre-program activities

Offered online start in the fall semester

Offered online start with a transition to in-person

Percentage of Programs



COVID-19 Impact on Program by Region

83

75%

18%

5%

22%

11%

39%

9%

73%

38%

23%20%

15%18%

0%

64%

7%12%

17%15%

26%

0%

53%

25% 24%18%

12%

6%3%

Offered online start with atransition to in-person

Offered online start in thefall semester

None of these Eliminated pre-programactivities

Increased scholarship funds Delayed the program startdate


Perc

enta

ge o

f pro

gram

s


Excludes Other, “Canceled semester/term”, and “Reduced the overall program duration”

COVID-19 Impact on Program – MBA vs Master’s

84

60%

26%21%

18% 16%14%

4%

53%

24%

16%

22%

11% 12%

3%

Offered online start withtransition to in-person

Offered online start inthe fall semester

Eliminated pre-programactivities

None of these Increased scholarshipfunds

Delayed the programstart date


Perc

enta

ge o

f Pro

gram

s

MBA Master's

Excludes Other, “Canceled semester/term”, and “Reduced the overall program duration”

85

AboutGMAC, Methodology, Respondent Profile & Contacts


GMAC™

The Graduate Management Admission Council™ (GMAC™) is a mission-driven association of leading graduate business schools worldwide. Founded in 1953, we are committed to creating solutions for business schools and candidates to better discover, evaluate and connect with each other. We work on behalf of the schools and the graduate management education community, and guide candidates on their journey to higher education, to ensure that no talent goes undiscovered.

GMAC provides world-class research, professional development opportunities and assessments for the graduate management education industry, designed to advance the art and science of admissions. Owned and administered by GMAC, the Graduate Management Admission Test™ (GMAT™) exam is the most widely used graduate business school assessment, recognized by more than 7,000 programs worldwide. Other GMAC assessments include the NMAT by GMAC™ (NMAT™) exam, for entrance into graduate management programs in India, Nigeria, the Philippines, and South Africa, and the Executive Assessment (EA), which supports the admissions needs of more than 160 programs around the world.

Our flagship portal for graduate management education resources and information, www.mba.com, receives over 7 million visits a year and features the Program Finder matching tool and GMASS™ search service, a data-driven technology that helps connect candidates and business schools. These platforms are part of GMAC Connect, a suite of services that helps schools attract students through recruiting solutions that marry our market intelligence, data, reach and candidate touchpoints.

Subsidiaries of GMAC include UK-based online publishing company BusinessBecause, a content-rich destination that helps students identify the right-fit business schools during the critical consideration and selection phases of their journey, and The MBA Tour, which supports business schools’ global recruiting efforts by organizing business education-focused events around the world.

GMAC is a global organization with offices in China, India, Singapore, United Kingdom and the United States. To learn more about our work, please visit www.gmac.com.

86

https://www.gmac.com/about-us

https://www.gmac.com/about-us

Methodology

The Graduate Management Admission Council conducted its 20th annual Application Trends Survey from July 30 and September 14, 2020.

The survey questionnaire contained approximately two dozen questions and was administered online. All survey questions might not have been applicable to all responding programs.

By the survey closing date, a total of 306 business schools and faculties worldwide participated in the survey and submitted data for 1,085 graduate management programs. All application numbers and trends discussed in this report refer to completed applications that contained all documents needed for making an admissions decision.

Participating programs include 525 MBA programs, 523 business master’s programs, 16 post-graduate programs (PGP), and 21 doctoral programs. This report highlights trends for the various MBA program types, in addition to other business master’s programs offered at graduate business schools in subjects like economics, entrepreneurship, health/public administration, human resources, and marketing.

Reported survey findings are based on data submitted by responding programs and are not a census of all graduate management programs. Percentages in tables may not add to 100, due either to multiple responses provided by respondents or to rounding. Data are not reported if the number of responses in a table cell is less than 10. Unless otherwise specified, responses “don’t know,” “prefer not to say,” or “not applicable” are not included.

Relative change analysis involves year-on-year comparison of all programs that responded to the 2020 survey as compared with 2019 respondents.

Absolute year-on-year change analysis involves comparing the number of applications received by programs that responded to consecutive years’ surveys, allowing for an apples-to-apples comparison of the volume of applications received in one year versus another. A weighting methodology was applied to the overall absolute change sample to adjust for the regional distribution of selective GME programs globally - using data from AACSB, EFMD, and AMBA. Absolute year-on-year change for specific countries or regions is not weighted.


PGP: Post Graduate Programs is a characteristic of Indian higher education policy where PGPs are awarded by colleges affiliated to universities and MBAs are directly awarded by universities. In general, admissions criteria, curriculum and outcomes of PGPs and MBAs are similar. ISB and IIMs offer PGPs. In this report, analysis based on total MBA applications includes PGP counts. PGPs are not included in the one-year or two-year break-up of data.

Participating graduate business schools receive access to an Interactive Data Report, which allows users to filter and explore the survey data by a number ofvariables, and a Benchmark Report, which allows users to benchmark their programs’ responses against the aggregated responses from a minimum of five peer programs of their choosing.

87

88

Participant ProfileAfrica Asia

Pacific Canada Europe Latin America Middle East United States Total

Number of business schools 4 47 15 46 7 2 204 325

Number of Programs, by Program Type MBA Programs

Full-time two-year MBA 1 23 9 3 2 0 103 141Full-time one-year MBA 1 16 7 29 3 2 44 102Part-time lockstep MBA 1 5 2 5 3 0 41 57Part-time self-paced MBA 1 0 1 1 1 0 55 59Flexible MBA 0 2 3 0 0 0 42 47Executive MBA 1 5 2 10 2 2 41 63Online MBA 0 0 2 5 1 1 46 55Other MBA 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 1Total 5 51 27 53 12 5 372 525

Business Master’s ProgramsMaster's of accounting 0 4 0 0 0 0 81 85Master's of data analytics 0 2 2 6 0 2 69 81Master's of finance 0 5 5 20 4 1 61 96Master's in management 0 6 2 20 1 0 24 53Master's of information technology 0 1 0 0 0 0 43 44Master's in marketing 0 3 0 6 2 0 22 33Master's of supply chain management 0 1 0 1 1 0 21 24Other business master's 0 5 1 31 3 1 66 107Total 0 27 10 84 11 4 387 523

Other ProgramsPhD/DBA 0 2 3 0 0 1 15 21PGP 0 15 0 0 0 0 1 16Total 0 17 3 0 0 1 16 37

Total Responding Programs 5 95 40 137 23 10 775 1,085

525 MBA programs and 523 business master’s programs participated in the 2020 Application Trends Survey

89

MBA and PGP Program Distribution Business Master’s and PhD Program Distribution

PGP

Flexible MBA

Online MBA

Part-time lockstep MBA

Part-time self-paced MBA

Executive MBA

Full-time one-year MBA

Full-time two-year MBA

57

55

47

141

102

63

59

16 PhD

Master's of supply chain management

Master's in marketing

Master of Information Technology




Master of Finance

Other Business Master's AfricaAsia-PacificCanadaEuropeLatin AmericaMiddle EastUnited States

107

96

81

85

53

33

24

21

44

90

Program Statistics

Total MBA* Business Master's Full-time MBA Professional MBA Executive MBA

Global N=1,085 N=541 N=522 N=255 N=218 N=63

Median Total Applications 124 131 121 228 122 53

Percentage of Domestic Applications 56% 70% 43% 56% 84% 77%

Percentage of International Applications 44% 30% 57% 44% 16% 23%

Percentage of Male Applications 56% 60% 51% 62% 56% 66%

Percentage of Female Applications 44% 40% 49% 38% 44% 34%

Applications Per Seat (median) 2.71 2.14 3.41 3.87 1.72 1.51

Class Size (median) 45 55 36 55 68 33

Acceptance rate (2020) (median) 70% 70% 70% 52% 78% 84%

Yield rates (Enrollment) (2020) (median) 60% 64% 53% 52% 71% 72%

Deferral rate 2020) (median) 6% 7% 5% 8% 5% 7%

• PGP is included in MBA; PGP is included in full-time MBA based if a respondent self-reported the program as such• Professional MBA programs include flexible, part-time lockstep, part-time self-paced and online MBA programs• “International” refers to an applicant who is not a citizen or resident of the country where the program is located

Regional Locations of Programs

91

Africa: Egypt, Nigeria, South Africa

Australia and Pacific Islands: Australia

Canada

Central and South Asia: India

East and Southeast Asia: China, Hong Kong SAR, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand

Europe: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom

Latin America: Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Mexico, Venezuela

Middle East: Lebanon, Turkey, United Arab Emirates

United States

The US South includes Alabama, Arkansas, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia

The US Midwest includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin

The US West includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington

For the purposes of this survey, US regions are based on regional classifications used by the US Census Bureau.

The US Northeast includes Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont

Contributors and Contact Information

92

Contributors

Dr. Rahul Choudaha, Industry Insights and Research Communications Director, author; Rhonda Daniel, Former Senior Manager, Research, questionnaire development, analysis and interpretation of data; Maryam Bastani, Research Senior Coordinator administrative work; Devina Caruthers, Research Associate Manager, analysis and interpretation of data; Rebecca Estrada, Senior Consultant (Data analysis and interpretation of data); Tacoma Williams, Research Senior Coordinator, administrative work and quality assurance.

We appreciate feedback provided by several colleagues on various drafts of this report.

Contact Information

For questions or comments regarding the findings, methodology, or data, please contact the GMAC Research Department at [email protected]

For speaking opportunities, please contact Dr. Rahul Choudaha, Industry Insights and Research Communications Director at [email protected]

For media enquiries, please contact Geoff Basye, Director of Media Relations, at [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



93

GMAC ResearchGMAT

Statistics, Geographic Trend Report, Profiles of Test-takers

Survey Researchmba.com Prospective Students Survey, Application Trends Survey, Corporate Recruiters Survey, Alumni Perspectives Survey

Engagements• Blogs• Infographics• Reports• Webinars

gmac.com/research

References and Bibliographic


https://www.gmac.com/market-intelligence-and-research/research-library/search-results?ct=research-brief

https://www.gmac.com/market-intelligence-and-research/research-library/search-results?s=&cp=1&ct=Research+Report&t=&y=&sf=2&ps=10&d=False&so=False&st=&lb=false

https://www.gmac.com/market-intelligence-and-research/research-library/search-results?s=&cp=1&ct=webinar&t=&y=&sf=2&ps=10&d=False&so=False&st=&lb=false

https://gmac.com/research

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