According to GMAC’s annual Application Trends Survey, total applications to graduate management education (GME) programs rose seven percent in 2025, despite reported concerns with economic and political volatility.
Based on a sample of 1,172 programs at 326 business schools across 41 countries, the survey report and a recent webinar explored changes in the volume of applications, including MBA and business master’s programs, along with examinations of today’s applicant pool and new business school offerings related to artificial intelligence (AI), sustainability, and non-degree credentials.
Here are four quick facts behind this year’s application growth.
1. Because of visas, economic changes, and geopolitics, international applications moved away from Canada, U.K., and U.S. and toward Asia and Europe.
While it is true that total applications rose across the industry, the share of programs reporting application growth was more concentrated than last year. In 2024, more than half of programs (56 percent) globally saw applications increase. In 2025, the share of programs reporting application growth dropped to 49 percent.
Geography was a major factor in how application volume changed. Total applications dropped in Canada, then more modestly in the United Kingdom and United States, while applications increased in the rest of Europe and Asia.
As explored in this year’s infographic about the survey results, domestic applications increased in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, though it was not enough to offset the declines seen in international applications to programs in these countries. In Europe (excluding the U.K.) and India, both domestic and international applications increased. The domestic application growth is especially notable for India, where several years of GMAC Prospective Students Survey data has increasingly seen candidates from the country want to study closer to home.
When we asked respondents why they think their application volumes were changing, visa policy, economic changes, and geopolitics (either in their country or in other countries) were cited as top reasons—especially in Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States, where international applications dipped. Programs in the rest of Europe and Asia also acknowledged these macro factors supporting their application growth, but also pointed to improvements in their marketing practices and business school reputation.
2. Applicants want to be back in the classroom full-time and are favoring flexible programs less.
For the second year in a row, full-time, in-person programs were key drivers in the rise of applications to global business schools, with programs offered in this modality reporting eight percent growth in 2025. Unfortunately, more flexible program delivery formats did not sustain last year’s application growth, with part-time/in-person, hybrid, and online programs all reporting dips in both domestic and international applications.
This preference to return to the classroom full-time was previewed in the 2025 GMAC Prospective Students Survey, in which candidates considering business school also reversed years of increasing preference for more flexible program delivery in favor of full-time, in-person learning.
3. Most programs are integrating AI in the classroom, but most still do not have formal admissions policies.
Eighty-four percent of GME programs have integrated AI into the academic experience of their students in some way—up from 78 percent in 2024.
Even more critically, business schools are integrating AI along dimensions that align with how candidates and employers tell us they want AI to be used in our annual surveys of prospective students and corporate recruiters—which is leveraging the technology as a tool for decision-making and building business strategy.
Conversely, most programs still have no formal policy when it comes to applicants using AI in the admissions process. Programs in Asia are the most likely to formally prohibit its use, while European programs have eased back policies that ban the use of AI in admissions compared to last year.
4. Business schools are offering non-degree credentials to keep up with emerging skills and industry needs and strengthen corporate partnerships.
As people stay in the workforce longer and have more regular needs for upskilling and reskilling, what is the role of the business school?
To help answer this question, we asked business schools why they incorporate non-degree credentials—such as executive education, professional certificates, mini-MBAs, etc.—into their portfolios.
Around the world, schools are mostly creating non-degree offerings in order to address new skills or industry needs as well as strengthen their corporate partnerships—even more so than seeking new revenue streams or diversified portfolios. Many are also thinking about lifelong learning, but in service to their alumni.
All said, this year’s survey results reveal the beginning of trends related to new mobility patterns and preferred degree formats that may solidify in the years to come. But the results also reveal the willingness of business schools to adapt to new environments, to stay agile in their outreach, and to grow their program offerings in order to maintain relevance and deliver on their promise for high-quality GME.
To learn more about application volume, who is applying to business school, and new business school offerings, visit gmac.com/applicationtrends.
