Candidates with Business Master’s degree still go for MBA: GMAC survey

The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) in a recent survey has found out that MBA continues to rule the roost in the field of management studies. GMAC’s Prospective Students Survey Report shows that even though demand for non-MBA business master’s degree continues to grow, MBA remains the preferred choice among aspirants.

More than 3 in 4 prospective students surveyed (86%) report they are considering an MBA program compared with half (41%) who are considering non-MBA business master’s programs.

The percentage of candidates seeking only business master’s degrees like Master of Finance, Master of Accounting, Master of Management- has increased from 15 percent in 2009 to 23 percent in 2016. However, candidates seeking business master’s degree see it as starting point of their career in management.

“These findings demonstrate that 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,” said Sangeet Chowfla, president and CEO of GMAC.

This rise in interest has been particularly strong among candidates from East and Southeast Asia and Western Europe. Globally 22 percent 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 percent of U.S. candidates. 

The survey also revealed that candidates seeking to pursue master’s programmes are young and majority of them have no prior experience. Compared with MBA candidates, individuals preferring business master’s programs are more interested in developing their technical skills. MBA candidates, on the other hand, are older with work experience and are more interested in developing their managerial and leadership skills.

The reason behind increase in Indian students’ interest in business master’s programme are specialized courses like Master of Global Management, Master of Entrepreneurship, Master of Data Analytics, Master of Marketing and Master of Supply Chain Management.

Here’s the table indicating the rise since 2009.

	Survey Year
% considering (among residents of India)	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016
Master of global management	n/a	n/a	13%	12%	12%	13%	13%	17%
Master of marketing	n/a	n/a	7%	7%	8%	8%	9%	13%
Master of entrepreneurship	n/a	n/a	9%	9%	10%	10%	11%	15%
Master of supply chain management	n/a	n/a	7%	6%	7%	8%	7%	10%
Master of data analytics	n/a	n/a	n/a	n/a	8%	10%	11%	14%

The Prospective Students Survey Report revealed more interesting data about popularity of MBA programmes abroad among Indian students.

According to the report, nearly 9 in 10 prospective students (89%) intend to apply to programs outside their country of residence, on par with previous years.

The top reasons candidates prefer to study outside India are the reputation of education systems (68%), improved chances of having an international career (67%) and to develop an international network of peers/colleagues (57%). Two in five (42%) of candidates who prefer to study outside India intend to seek employment in the country where they attend school.

Also read:

The US most preferred MBA destination for Indian students

Growing demand for Executive MBA, Online MBA indicates shift in popular trend

Why women enroll more in Business Masters programme than MBA