Unlike historically, when MBA applications trend countercyclical to economic conditions, this year, data collected by Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) suggests a significant change from previous post-recession patterns. Even as the global economy shows signs of recovery, applications to MBA programmes are rising after a slump of three years. According to the 2012 Application Trends Survey, 51 per cent of graduate business and management programmes surveyed confirmed receiving more applications than last year. Though the growth is displayed in applications across a variety of programme types, including part-time, online as well as specialised master's degrees, it has majorly been fuelled by application gains among online and distance courses.
Region-wise, programmes in Asia-Pacific and Central Asia reported the strongest growth in volumes for full-time MBA programmes. Ashish Bhardwaj, regional director, South Asia, GMAC, elaborates, "Looking at different regions of the world, 32 per cent of full-time two-year MBA programmes in the US reported application increases, 37 per cent in Europe reported application increases, 80 per cent of all MBA programmes in China reported application increases and 83 per cent of all MBA programmes in India reported application increases. Clearly, the relatively stronger economic growth in India and China, the two most significant markets in Asia Pacific, builds a strong case for investing in management education."
He adds, "Demand for MBA programmes in India is also driven by the financial, personal and professional development the degree offers. These multidimensional advantages were reported by Indian citizens in a separate survey by GMAC, the 2012 Alumni Perspectives Survey where 92 per cent of Indian alumni agreed their graduate management degree is personally rewarding and 88 per cent said their degree is professionally rewarding."
This upswing in demand for MBA among Indians is witnessed across regions as worldwide Indians account for the greatest number of foreign applicants for 43 per cent of MBA programmes. Across Asia, 34 per cent of MBA programmes indicated that Indian citizens accounted for their greatest number of foreign applications. For Europe and US, this number stands at 59 per cent and 44 per cent respectively.
Another point to be noted is apart from showing the strongest growth in overall increase in applications Asia also reported the greatest growth in female application volume for fulltime one-year MBA programmes at 77 per cent. This compared with 32 per cent in Europe and 47 per cent in the United States. Says Bhardwaj, "In terms of women candidates, 73 per cent of management programmes in India surveyed reported more applications from women candidates than last year. While it is difficult to clearly pinpoint the relative contribution of the outreach efforts made by top schools in attracting women candidates and the 'market effect', what is evident is that schools and corporate recruiters are both working towards greater gender diversity in the management pool and women candidates in greater numbers are seeing the value in investing in management education."
The survey also reveals special efforts made by programmes to recruit entrepreneurs (16 per cent), pre-experience candidates (13 per cent), and members of the LGBT community (9 per cent). The annual survey also indicates that specialised master's programmes in management, finance, and accounting continue to show robust growth.
744 programmes, including 527 MBA programmes, 24 business doctoral programmes (PhD/ DBA) and 193 specialised master's programmes, from 359 B-schools in 46 countries participated in the survey this year.
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