MBA application trends survey 2014

Graduate programmes everywhere have to strike a balance between giving students what they want and what they need. In doing that, it makes sense to seek feedback not just from employers, alumni and those currently engaged in their studies, but also to keep a close eye on who is applying for which types of courses – and why.

That is one reason the results of the annual survey of application trends conducted by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) are so closely watched. Now in its 15th year, the report provides an insight into demographic shifts and other factors likely to affect the volume of applications for graduate management programmes and what the pool of candidates is targeting for the 2014 intake cycle.  

This year’s survey collated replies from a record-breaking total of 740-plus programmes at 314 universities around the world. Among these, responses came from 20 business schools in the Asia-Pacific region, including some in Hong Kong, mainland China, Singapore and Australia.

Key findings this time show that MBA applications in the region are up compared to last year. In fact, 55 per cent of the full-time, two-year courses on offer in Asia reported a jump in the number of applicants. These positive signs can also be linked to the trends found in GMAC’s separate recent study of corporate recruitment, which showed that 83 per cent of major employers in the Asia-Pacific region plan to hire MBA holders this year.

“For schools, the rise over the last three years in applications for two-year courses is welcome,” says Sangeet Chowfla, GMAC’s president and chief executive. “This echoes other research which tells us how highly students value their two-year MBA degrees for the personal, professional and financial advantages those programmes can convey.”

Also apparent is that students are becoming more mobile within the region, in the sense of applying for overseas courses, and that schools want to attract “foreign candidates”. Indeed, this category now tops the list for targeted outreach ahead of “working professionals”. Besides that, Asia’s schools are actively targeting entrepreneurs in their recruitment drives, with the survey revealing Latin America as the only other region with a similarly specific focus.

In terms of student selection in Asia for MBA programmes around the world, China and India supply most candidates, a trend which has remained consistent for the last few years. Japan and South Korea are also high on the list, with Vietnam now rising fast in recruitment for both MBA and other master’s courses offered outside the region.