NEW DELHI: Even as cost remains a primary concern in today’s dynamic economy with a brisk job market and rising inflation, candidates from around the globe still perceive graduate management education as a tried-and-true pathway to advance professionally. The GMAC Prospective Students Survey 2022 also finds that more candidates from traditionally mobile markets are opting to study closer to home than they did before the pandemic and belief in the value of fully online education remains low while acceptance of hybrid formats increases. India specific findings reveal that more Indians say they want to become a CEO than any other geography (35%) and candidates from India are the most likely to prefer STEM-certified programmes (62%).

Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC), a global association of leading graduate business schools, which conducts the GMAT in its latest survey explored how candidate preferences have shifted during the Covid-19 pandemic.

As per the survey the full-time MBA programme continues to be the most popular program option, with one out of four of all candidates preferring the two-year full-time format and another one in five preferring the one-year full time format.“While the pandemic has altered aspects of the graduate management education landscape, the fundamental perceptions of the value of graduate management education generally and the MBA specifically continue to stay strong,” said Sangeet Chowfla, president and CEO of GMAC, adding, “While there continue to be evolutions in candidate’s preferred study destinations, delivery formats, career paths and perceptions of admissions testing policies, if there were ever any concerns that the pandemic and its effects would diminish business school aspirants’ perceptions of the value of a degree, the latest findings should help put them to rest.”

The study finds that more candidates from traditionally mobile markets are opting to study closer to home than they did before the pandemic. For example, among Central and South Asian candidates, the percentage who prefer to study internationally declined from 89% to 73% between 2019 and 2021. Among East and Southeast Asian candidates, preference to study internationally also declined from 92% to 87% between 2020 and 2021, a possible indication that studying abroad was limited due to the pandemic-fueled travel restrictions.

Among international candidates — candidates whose preferred study destination differs from their country of citizenship — virtually the same proportion said in 2021 that the United States and Western Europe is their preferred destination (39%, respectively). Among international MBA candidates specifically, the US is the preferred destination of half (50%), expanding its lead over second place Western Europe (28%) between 2019 and 2021. In the meantime, Western Europe remains the preferred destination of more than half of international business master’s candidates.

Candidates still see higher value in the in-person experience, but interest in hybrid formats is on the rise

Interest in working in the tech sector is on the rise

Candidates also see higher value in the in-person business school experience compared with online as the share of surveyed candidates who prefer fully online programs stays flat. Among global prospective students surveyed in 2021, most disagree that online degree programs offer the same value as on-campus programs (73%). Nearly four in five disagree that the networking opportunities are equivalent, and two in three disagree that the career opportunities are the same.
At the same time, preference for hybrid models has gone up significantly across candidate types, especially those who prefer Executive, Part-time, and Flexible MBA programmes (44%, from 30% in 2019), but also those who want to study full-time to earn a business master’s (20%, from 13% in 2019) or MBA (13%, from 7% in 2019). Globally, 20% of candidates surveyed in 2021 prefer hybrid program delivery, up from 14% pre-pandemic.

While consulting continues to top prospective student interests, but tech is still on the rise, there is growing interest in the technology industry, especially among the career switchers (50%) and non-business undergraduate majors (49%). Furthermore, between 2019 and 2021, interest in tech also increased with women (29% to 34%).

“As people perceive work differently after the pandemic, many become more open-minded to the variety of possible career paths they could pursue. It is encouraging to see that more women are pursuing a business degree as a way to build careers in the tech industry,” said Joy Jones, chief product officer and general manager of assessments at GMAC.