MBA Applications & Enrolment Record Double-Digit Growth Globally

For the second year in succession, applications and enrolment in MBA programs at Business Schools across the world have recorded double-digit growth, according to a study by the Association of MBAs (AMBA).

The average number of applications for MBA programs went up by 10% between 2015 and 2016. During the same period, the average enrolment per program increased by 24%, says Times Higher Education (THE) quoting the study findings.

AMBA, a global organisation that focuses on international business school accreditation and membership, had surveyed 223 business schools accredited by it across the world. The growth in applications had picked up following a five-year decline.

The proportion of applications from women rose by four percentage points to 37% between 2013 and 2016. The share of women enrolment rose by two percentage points to 35% during this period.

An earlier survey in 2016 had found that between 2014 and 2015, there was only a 5% growth in the number of applications for AMBA-accredited programs.

The signs of recovery came after the average number of applications fell by 44% and enrolments per program by 8% between 2009 and 2014.

Meanwhile, though the gender balance remained weighted towards men, the schools were making some headway in attracting more women to enrol for MBA programs, according to the findings of the 2017 Application and Enrolment Report.

The proportion of applications from women rose by four percentage points to 37% between 2013 and 2016. The share of women enrolment rose by two percentage points to 35% during this period.

However, female applicants were much lower in some countries, including India, where just 10% of applications came from women.

The recent growth in applications and enrolment in MBA programs displayed the business schools’ ability to innovate and adapt to the market requirements after having suffered during a period of considerable global economic uncertainty, THE quoted Will Dawes, AMBA research and insight manager and author of the study as saying.

How have the MBA programs innovated? Several of them have become much more flexible in terms of course delivery, he points out.

Modular programs facilitate students to keep their jobs and earn a degree quickly without attending classes full-time. The schools have also adopted a more global outlook by including more study-abroad opportunities and further development of international campuses, he says.

Meanwhile, the study also carries an analysis of a group of 90 business schools, on which AMBA has collected data each year since 2011. It shows a rise in the average number of applications in the five years to 2016 in Eastern Europe (77%), Africa (48%), North America (25%) and Western Europe (13%). During the same period, applications volume dropped in Oceania by 17% and the UK by 16%.

Average enrolments were up in Africa (56%), Eastern Europe (56%) and Oceania (15%) but dropped in Western Europe by 19% and the UK by 8%, the study says.