No other Business Degree can replace MBA

Three in four prospective graduate business school candidates who hold a prior Master's degree are considering enrolling in MBA programmes, according to a new research from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). Findings from the Council's 2017 Prospective Students Survey Report released shows that the MBA remains the predominant programme format considered by candidates with both prior business master's degrees (61 per cent) and non-business Master's degrees (86 per cent).

Sangeet Chowfla, president and CEO of GMAC  said that these findings demonstrate that a business master's degree is not necessarily the end of graduates' business education. For many, their business master's degree is a stepping stone to continued professional development that may include an MBA down the road, in either a full-time or part-time format.

According to the survey report, globally, 22 per cent of prospective business school candidates have a prior Master's degree, with considerable regional variation. While 2 in 5 European candidates have a prior Master's-level credential, the same is true of just 14 per cent of US candidates.

Globally, the percentage of candidates considering only business Master's degrees such as Master of Finance, Master of Accounting, and Master in Management has increased from 15 per cent in 2009 to 23 per cent in 2016.

This rise in interest has been particularly strong among candidates from East and Southeast Asia and Western Europe, where now more than 2 in 5 candidates report considering only these programme types. Also, Non-MBA and MBA programmes attract distinct candidate pools seeking different outcomes. Candidates considering non-MBA business master's programmes skew younger and the majority have little to no prior work experience.

Compared with MBA candidates, individuals preferring business master's programs are more interested in developing their technical skills. MBA candidates are typically older, have more years of work experience, and are more interested in developing their managerial and leadership skills.

Nearly 3 in 5 prospective business school students (59 per cent) intend to apply to programmes outside their country of residence, up from 44 per cent in 2009.

Most candidates seek study opportunities outside their country of citizenship to receive a higher-quality education (63 per cent of respondents), to increase their chance of securing international employment (58 per cent), and to expand their international connections (51 per cent). One-third (34 per cent) of candidates who prefer to study outside their country of citizenship intend to seek employment in the country where they prefer to attend school.

Consistent with past research, more than 9 in 10 US candidates prefer to study domestically (96 per cent). Globally, among full-time MBA candidates looking to study outside their country of citizenship, 58 per cent prefer to study in the US, down from 61 per cent in 2009. Since 2009, there has been an increase in MBA candidates preferring to study in Canada (4 per cent in 2009 vs. 7 per cent in 2016).

There has been a similar shift in preferred study destinations among non-U.S. candidates interested in business Master's programs. In 2016, 47 per cent of non-US prospective students interested in business Master's programmes expressed a preference for study in the U S down from 57per cent in 2009.

Anticipated changes in US immigration policies and last year's Brexit vote in the United Kingdom may make it more difficult for non-citizens to obtain student visas to study in those countries or to obtain work visas after graduation to seek employment, one of the main reasons for studying in those countries.

Since November 2016, a growing share of international candidates say they are now less likely to pursue a graduate business degree in the US due to the presidential election results.

Approximately half of surveyed candidates indicate that not having enough money available to pay for their education (52 percent of respondents) and potentially having to take on large debts (47 per cent) may prevent them from pursuing a graduate business degree

The two most important financial aspects that candidates evaluate when deciding where to apply are total tuition costs and scholarship availability.

Compared with 2009, candidates, on average, expect to cover a greater share of the cost of their education with grants, fellowships, and scholarships and a smaller share with parental support, loans, and employer assistance.

More News
UPSC CSE Main: Political Science & International Relations most preferred additional subject
The Minister also informed that the majority of the candidates recommended in the Civil Services (Main) exam have been from the engineering stream, which has been a constant trend since 2017, followed by humanities, science and medical science. Poli...
IIT-Kharagpur launches online short-term digital marketing course, invites applications
Classes for the new programme will be conducted from January 15 to January 19, 2024. Candidates will be admitted on a first come first serve basis. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur has launched an online short-term course on digita...
ICSE Date Sheet 2024: Class 10th exams to begin on Feb 21, Class 12th from Feb 12
ICSE Board Exam Date 2024: The CISCE will announce the Class 10 and Class 12 results in May. ICSE, ISC Board Exam 2024 Date Sheet Released: The Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE), which administers the ICSE Class 10 ...
XAT Registration 2024 Last Date Extended; Apply Soon at xatonline.in
XAT 2024 Registration: Xavier School of Management (XLRI), Jamshedpur has extended the last date to apply for the Xavier Aptitude Test (XAT) until December 10, 2023. Interested candidates must apply on the official website: xatonline.in before the la...
XAT 2024 Registration: Last date to apply for MBA entrance test on xatonline.in
XLRI - Xavier School of Management will close the registration cum application process for the XAT 2024 examination today, November 30. Candidates can apply for the examination on the examination website, xatonline.in. The exam is sc...
CAT 2023 answer key, response sheet released; raise objections by Dec 8
CAT 2023 Answer Key: The final CAT 2023 answer keys will be made available at the official website – iimcat.ac.in after the window to raise grievances get over on December 8. CAT 2023: The Indian Institute of Management Lucknow (IIM Luckn...
NEET: 485 UG, 247 PG medical seats vacant in 2023, Minister tells Rajya Sabha
The NEET PG percentile has been dropped to zero to fill up the vacant seats, and therefore every candidate who appeared in NEET PG becomes eligible to participate in counselling, the government tells Parliament. According to the National Medical Com...
JEE Main 2024: Application correction starts today at jeemain.nta.ac.in
JEE Main 2024: The JEE Main 2024 application correction window will close on December 8. JEE Main 2024: The National Testing Agency (NTA) is set to open the JEE Main 2024 application correction window today, December 6. Candidates who want to m...
VTUEEE Syllabus 2024: Download Detailed Syllabus PDF
VTUEEE Syllabus 2024: Vel Tech University has released the VTUEEE 2024 syllabus for the VTUEEE exam on its official website, Veltech.edu.in. The syllabus mainly incorporates the topics of physics, chemistry, and mathematics of the 11th and 12th ...
VTUEEE Application Form 2024 (Released) - Apply Online @veltech.edu.in
VTUEEE Application Form 2024 - Vel Tech Institute has released the VTUEEE 2024 application form online veltech.edu.in. The direct link to fill out the application form of VTUEEE 2024 is updated on this page. Class 12th passed students and d...