Enrolments in Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs surged in 2024 with applications to business schools the highest they have been in the last five years, including the COVID-inspired surge of 2020.
According to the newly released report from higher education firm Validated Insights, MBA programs are beginning to grow again, thanks to the surging popularity of online programs with about 60% of MBA students now undertaking an online program.
The research shows that from 2018-2023, online MBA enrolments grew at a 2.2% CAGR while on-campus MBA enrolments declined at -8.4% CAGR. The number of online students surpassed on-campus students for the first time in 2020.
Interest in online programs among prospective MBA students doubled between 2018 and 2023, from 22% to 44%. The plurality of MBA prospects now express a preference for online offerings.
Other key findings include:
- Since 2020, enrollments in MBA programs have grown at a compound annual rate of 0.9%.
- Search traffic for MBA programs has continued to grow, and relevant application volumes are trending in the right direction. Accordingly, enrollment growth is projected to accelerate to a 3.2% CAGR in the near-term.
- MBA completion rates have also rebounded, up 0.9% over the previous year.
- Applications to MBA programs are at the highest level in the past five years.
- The online modality not only surpasses the on-campus modality in terms of enrollment, but also in terms of prospective student preferences.
- The online MBA market is growing increasingly saturated, and along with this, the average enrollment per online MBA is declining.
- Even though MBA prices have been growing faster than higher education in aggregate, there appears to be downward pricing pressure as the number of highly affordable programs grows.
“The growth we’re seeing in MBA programs, in applications, enrollments, and completions is big news for colleges and universities, many of which have invested heavily in expanding or upgrading MBA and other graduate programs,” said Yelena Shapiro, Founder and CEO at Validated Insights.
“Our projection of three percent growth over the next five years is significant, and it tells us that these very important students are on their way back to school, and perhaps in big numbers.”
“It would be a mistake, based on our research, to consider future MBA students as being all in one bucket, to assume that they all want online programs,” Shapiro said. “Many do. But some very important segments of program seekers clearly are not thinking that way.”
The new report also finds that online search terms for MBA programs are growing, but shifting.
Meanwhile, the cost of an MBA continues to increase. From 2008 until 2020, the average annual tuition and fees paid by MBA students grew at a 5.3% compounded rate, to $US17,058. For comparison, average annual undergraduate tuition and fees grew at a more modest 1.8% clip in that time, and tuition and fees for master’s degrees grew at 3.7% – both much slower than MBA prices.
The detailed report also examined hiring and wage trends for MBA programs as well as how school leaders viewed the programs at their institutions.
Highlighted among these findings is that while an MBA wage premium exists, it has experienced continued stagnation in recent years. Better news for MBA students and aspirants is that from October 2023 to October 2024, while total job openings declined 10.8%, MBA job postings grew an impressive 35.6%.
“MBA programs are highly visible and deeply important to schools and graduates, as well as to the labor market and economy overall,” said Brady Colby, Head of Market Research at Validated Insights and founder of Thirty Two Edu, which was acquired by Validated Insights in 2023.
