2-year MBA programmes in India receive the most applications: Survey

Even though female applicants represent minority of candidate pool, even though the growth rate is greater among women

The full-time two-year MBA programmes in India are the most competitive ones, receiving an average of 40.3 applications per seat, said a new application trends survey from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).

83 per cent of programs reported an increase in applications in 2017, compared to 2016.

"Receiving an average of 40.3 applications per seat, the full-time two-year MBA programs located in India are the most competitive programs," said the survey. However, unlike their counterparts around the world, applicants to these (Indian) programmes generally have little to no previous work experience.

Not a very high number of female applicants apply for these Indian programmes. The survey findings show that female applicants represent a minority of the candidate pool at 38 per cent.

This is when overall global findings show that most programme types have seen an increase in the representation of women with respect to application. Women represented 42 percent of the total applications received by participating programs, up from 37 percent in 2013. In 2017, women made up 39 percent of applications to MBA programs (up from 33 per cent in 2013) and 54 percent of applications to business masters programs (consistent with 2013, 54 per cent).

"Growth in demand by gender is moderated by program size, similar to overall demand. Yet, the growth rate is greater among women. In addition, more MBA programs report growth in female applicants (44 per cent) compared with business masters (39 per cent), whereas the growth rate is similar for men - 40 percent for MBA and 39 percent for business masters," the GMAC survey said.

The trend is catching up in India as well. Around 64 percent of programmes reported an increase in applications from women, compared to 2016. Another interesting trend for Indian MBA programmes is that very few applicants to Indian programs are from outside of India which is about less than 1 percent. Among the programs that received applications from international candidates, 25 percent reported growth and 75 percent are stable.

Twenty graduate business programs located in India participated in the 2017 Application Trends Survey and received 159,798 applications. All the programs are classified as MBA. Overall, 85 percent of the MBA programs reported growth in their application volumes this year.