Application Trends Survey – 2022 Deans Summary

Overview

This Deans Summary highlights the key themes and insights of the Application Trends Survey – 2022 Summary Report.

It explores application volume trends by program type and world region; applicant pool composition by gender, citizenship, and work experience; and expected changes in enrollment rates, acceptance rates, and program size. It includes responses from nearly 1,000 graduate business school programs collected in June and August 2022.

Quick Facts

• Total applications to graduate business schools declined 3.4 percent year-on-year.
• Global applications to business master’s programs – including Master in Management, Master of Finance, and Master of Data Analytics – grew year-on-year (+3.2%). Among MBA programs that responded to the last two surveys, total applications declined almost 7 percent.
• Opposing trends in domestic and international applications defined the market for U.S. programs this year. Among U.S. programs that responded to both this year’s and last year’s surveys, there was a 25 percent decline in domestic applications and a 19 percent increase in international applications.
• A majority of responding programs in Europe (58%) and Asia Pacific (57%) grew or sustained the number of applications received from women.