In the current macroeconomic and labour market climate, new GMAC research reveals aspiring business students care first and foremost about the return on their investment.

With more than 15 years of survey responses representing all world regions, the GMAC Prospective Students Survey has provided the world’s graduate business schools with critical insights into the decision-making processes of people currently considering applying to a graduate management education program, from their perceptions of the degrees, their paths to graduate business school, their program preferences, interest in online and hybrid delivery formats, to their career goals.

This year’s summary report analyses 2024 data from 4,912 respondents across 147 countries—45 percent female and 67 percent Gen Z—offering insights for business schools to continue matching their offerings with market demands and meeting students where they are.

1. Social impact and sustainable development matter, especially to women and millennials

More than two-thirds of prospective students agree that a potential employer’s ethical and sustainable practices would influence their decision to accept a job offer. This is especially true of women, who tend to be more interested than men in professional and educational opportunities that also serve the common good. Half of women agreed that an employer’s sustainable and ethical practices would influence their decision to accept a job offer, with an additional quarter strongly agreeing.

Interestingly, while there is a lot of chatter about Gen Z turning down job offers based on an employer’s commitment to social good, our results show that millennials actually feel more strongly, with 27 percent of millennial prospective students strongly agreeing that an employer’s ethical and sustainability practices would impact their decision to accept a job offer compared to 19 percent of Gen Z candidates.

2. MBA reigns supreme, with interest in business master’s on the rise

MBA remains the preferred business degree among more than half of global candidates, maintaining strength in its traditional strongholds like India, Canada, and Latin America. However, the degree has lost some favour among US candidates compared to last year.

As more business schools launch new and increasingly specialised master’s programs, candidates have taken notice. Compared to the previous year, there has been a significant jump in the share of candidates who prefer business master’s degrees. A deeper dive into the shift reveals that pre-experienced candidates as well as those aged 30 and over are more inclined to apply for business master’s programs than before.

Notably, the largest increases were seen in the “other business master’s” category, which includes the many newer, specialized graduate business programs that have been rolling out at business schools over the past several years, such as a Master of Sustainability Management or Master of Climate Finance— disciplines with growing appeal to the more sustainability-minded candidates.

3. In-person programs regain popularity, on pace with “return to office” mandates

When it comes to program modality, the survey indicates resurging preference for in-person delivery—either full-time or part-time in format—perhaps related to more “return to office” mandates by many corporations and younger candidates’ desires for face-to-face interactions. This shift also reverses a multi-year trend of growing popularity of hybrid and flexible programs that followed the pandemic.

Candidate preference is found to be shifting by age. For example, candidates aged 25-30 showed the biggest year-to-year increases in the shares who want to study full-time, in person. On the other hand, candidates older than 30, who are likely more established in their career, showed the biggest increases in preference for part-time, in-person learning.

4. Labour market uncertainty impacts ROI considerations

Cost remains a top barrier for candidates to get graduate business degrees no matter where they are located or how advanced they are in their career. Today’s economic and employment outlook has heightened people’s awareness around the skills and employment opportunities they will gain in terms of return on their investment. In fact, ROI remains prospective students’ most considered factor when researching GME, with a noticeable increase in how many survey respondents say this is among their most important aspects of researching a business school.

At the same time, we have seen a significant year-over-year drop in the share of candidates who say program rankings are among their top three factors when researching programmes—from 37 percent of global candidates in 2023 to 29 percent in 2024. The Financial Times and QS are the publications most often leveraged by prospective students from around the world except in the United States, where candidates are most likely to consider the U.S. News and World Report rankings in their decision-making about business school.

5. Business schools can highlight the value of human skills

Individuals looking to enter business schools overwhelmingly say they want to learn how to think strategically and solve problems. And with nearly half of prospective students reporting artificial intelligence (AI) as part of their ideal curriculum, candidates are expecting hands-on experience utilising AI for strategy and decision-making. This line of thinking by candidates is consistent with their future employers, who have in recent years been advocating that strategic thinking and problem-solving are top skills for students to learn in business school.

However, employers place a greater premium than their future employees on human skills like emotional intelligence, adaptability, and coachability, according to GMAC’s latest survey of corporate recruiters. This misalignment presents business schools with a great opportunity to integrate teamwork, adaptability, and emotional intelligence into courses, workshops, and experiential learning—and highlight to candidates and students how these skills enhance career success.

Read the full prospective student report on gmac.com with infographic.

Andrew Walker is the director of industry communications at the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC).

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