MBA programs showed strong gains in application numbers in 2014 – but growth is driven by a large number students seeking to study outside their country of citizenship.
These candidates make up a significant portion of the talent pool for many MBA and master’s programs and are driving changes in application volume globally.
Full-time one and two-year MBA programs are set to have a majority of foreign students in their cohorts, rising to as much as 80% for some specialist business master’s programs, according to the latest data from GMAC, administrators of the GMAT entry exam.
This global talent pool has been emerging for more than a decade, as business schools seek to diversify their classes with a large number of foreign students.
This increase in provision of international MBA programs has shaped the development of management education. Business schools have had to adapt to meet the needs of global students with a mix of different programs and partnerships with foreign universities.
Citizens of countries in East and Southeast Asia, and Central and South Asia make up the majority of foreign candidates applying to programs in Asia-Pacific, Canada, India, and the United States, according to GMAC.
Programs located in Europe received their largest share of foreign candidates from East and Southeast Asia and from other European countries, the data show in GMAC’s annual Application Trends Survey.
Understanding where the greatest levels of foreign applicants are coming from allows admissions departments to plan for future classes and strategically target their recruitment efforts.
These applicants are more likely to apply for master of finance and master of management programs, however, than they are for two-year and one-year MBA courses, according to GMAC.
But 56% of full-time one-year MBA program places and 52% of full-time two-year MBA program places are set to be taken by foreign candidates in 2014–2015, GMAC data show.
Master of finance programs have the highest proportion of foreign students – 82% – while master in management, marketing and communications programs have about 70% of their cohorts made up of international candidates.
International students have helped increase demand for two-year MBA programs, which have lost some of their lustre in recent years, but have roared back with 61% of these programs reporting increases in demand in 2014.
It is the second piece of good news for MBA candidates. In May, GMAC's recruitment survey revealed more companies plan to hire MBA graduates this year.
“Viewed in tandem there is good news for both students and schools in this survey, as well as in our recent Corporate Recruiters Survey, where 4 out of 5 companies said they planned to hire MBA graduates in 2014,” said Sangeet Chowfla, GMAC CEO.
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