In 1953, nine leading business schools banded together to create an admissions test for graduate business schools, and they created so much more.
Nine schools established the foundation of what we do, and you help us improve, innovate, and evolve every day.
On February 6, 1954, 1,291 candidates sat for the first administration of the Admission Test for Graduate Study in Business—now the Graduate Management Admission Test™ (GMAT™) exam. Today, the exam is taken more than 200,000 times annually around the world. Available in 110 countries, the GMAT exam is the most widely used assessment for graduate management admissions and the most reliable predictor of academic success in graduate business and management studies.
Since 1953, when the exam was created, GMAC has become so much more. The people, events, and innovations at GMAC over past 50-plus years have helped graduate management schools and programs worldwide flourish. Take a look at some of the milestones that span our history.
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1953
Nine forward-thinking business school Deans and Educational Testing Service (ETS), led by Lewis Ward of Harvard Business School, met to discuss the possibility of creating a test for graduate business admissions that could gauge a test taker's potential for success in business and management courses.
1954
The first GMAT exam (then called the Admissions Test for Graduate Business Study (ATGSB) exam) was administered to more than 2,900 test takers; 10 schools received ATGSB scores.
1957
After 3 years of data collection, the first research study was conducted to check the predictive validity of ATGBS scores on students' performance in the graduate business school course work.
1961
Data sufficiency questions are added to the ATGBS to measure a test taker's ability to analyze quantitative problems.
1970
The Graduate Business Admission Council (GBAC) is organized as an education corporation under New York state law independent from Educational Testing Service. 30 graduate schools of management are members. Today, membership includes 227 institutions.
GMAC holds its first Annual Meeting with trustees on October 8, 1970 in Princeton, NJ.
1973
The first MBA Forums are held in New York and Los Angeles as a way to help prospective students understand the various options in graduate management education.
1976
The ATGSB exam is renamed to the Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT). GBAC changes its name to the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).
1982
The GMAC Santa Monica Office opens and the organization hires its first employees; Bill Broesamle, Associate Dean at UCLA, is named GMAC President, and Susan Corley, his assistant at UCLA joined him.
1984
Selections, a publication produced by GMAC through 2004 provided a forum for commentary on important trends and themes in graduate management education.
1988
GMAC offers MBA Loans, a low-cost loan program for MBA students (in partnership with Sallie Mae).
1990
The Minority Summer Institute is organized in collaboration with AACSB to expose minority undergraduates to faculty careers in business, this program would become the predecessor of the PhD project.
1994
The Analytical Writing Assessment (AWA) section is added to the GMAT exam to measure a candidate's ability to think critically and communicate ideas. GMAC becomes a founding member of The PhD project, an organization dedicated to increasing diversity in business school faculty.
1995
Dave Wilson joins GMAC as CEO. Dr. Wilson, a CPA, previously served in several faculty positions at leading universities and at Ernst & Young, LLP. The first international business schools, London Business School and INSEAD are admitted as GMAC Member Schools. The GMAT exam is recognized by 7,000 programs worldwide.
1996
GMAC's first website, MBAExplorer, is launched as a site for prospective students to learn about the GMAT exam and graduate management education. The MBA Survival Kit, a preparation product for students entering an MBA program, provided an introduction to Finance, Accounting, Quantitative Skills and Statistics. Today, mba.com and our digital ecosystem accomplish the same goal, welcoming 12 million prospective students annually.
1997
The GMAT exam is administered as a computerized adaptive test (CAT) format for the first time. The CAT format determines the difficulty level of each question based on the test-takers response to the previous question.
2001
GMAC launched a website for school professionals and prospective students called gmac.com.
2004
In its' 50th year, the GMAT exam is administered over 200,000 times in more than 575 test center locations around the world.
2005
After more than 50 years in partnership, GMAC ends its long-term contract with ETS. GMAC established the Management Education Research Institute (MERI) to stimulate faculty research on issues affecting graduate management education.
2006
GMAC partners with Pearson Vue and ACT, Inc. to provide the GMAT Exam in test centers around the world.
2007
First non-US office is established in the UK.
2008
GMAT exam is innovated to include Integrated Reasoning
2011
GMAC membership reaches 200 business schools. In acknowledgement of global expansion, GMAC opens additional offices and now has offices in the UK, China, India, Singapore, and the US.
2014
GMAC adds the NMAT by GMAC exam to their portfolio of evaluation tools.
2015
GMAC adds the Executive Assessment to their portfolio.
2017
GMAC’s mba.com website is launched to expand reach and increase understanding of prospective students around the globe, receiving over 7 million visits a year.
2018
BusinessBecause.com is acquired by GMAC to provide daily business school news, applicant advice, and career inspiration for a global audience of future business leaders, as well as opportunities for schools to reach more candidates.
2019
The MBA Tour is acquired to support business schools and talented individuals to discover and evaluate each other through experiential recruitment.
2020
Immediately following the COVID pandemic, GMAC transitioned focus to developing an online testing solution that empowers business schools and candidates to discover and evaluate each other. The GMAT Online, NMAT by GMAC Online, and EA Online launched. GMAC launched the Annual Conference Experience and hosts virtual conferences for school professionals for the first time and celebrates its 50th year!
2021
Recognizing the growing interest in GME, GMAC established the microsite, GMAT.com.cn, for prospective students from the China region to access accurate, comprehensive, and authoritative information about the GMAT and GME in their native language more readily and comfortably.
2022
GMAC partners with Kaplan to create an expert-led business school course series, Business Fundamentals. GMAC launches Skills Insight; a free tool that helps prospective business students quickly identify their strengths and weaknesses.
2023
GMAC launched an updated version of the Graduate Management Admission Test™ (GMAT™) exam, the GMAT™ Focus Edition. The test was redesigned with a more efficient test taking experience and flexible new features to better support candidates on their business school journey.