The MBA Market (updated January 2025)

In today’s ever-evolving business world, demand for advanced management education is poised to grow, with MBA programs emerging as a top choice for professionals seeking to sharpen their skills and accelerate their careers. Our comprehensive market research whitepaper delves into the forces driving this growing interest, unveiling the latest trends, data-backed insights, and market projections shaping the MBA landscape. From shifting student preferences to the impact of evolving corporate requirements, our whitepaper offers a thorough examination of the dynamic environment surrounding MBA programs—equipping educational institutions, industry stakeholders, and prospective students with the knowledge needed to stay ahead in an increasingly competitive arena.

Our MBA Market report is packed with all of the most frequently used indicators to give you a robust and comprehensive understanding of what's happening in this key graduate degree market.

Key Findings

The MBA market appears to have hit a bottom, and is now on a growth trajectory.

MBA completions declined at a -0.5% CAGR from 2017 to 2020. From 2020 to 2023, however, completions grew at a 0.9% CAGR.

The MBA market peaked around 2008. Since that peak, MBA completions have declined at a 0.5% CAGR. Completions appear to have hit a bottom, however. MBA completions continued on the general downward trajectory until 2020, after which a growth pattern has begun.

After declining at a -2.3% CAGR from 2018 to 2024, MBA enrollments are projected to grow at a 3.2% CAGR through 2030.

Just like completions, MBA enrollments were on a slide from around 2008, however enrollments bottomed just a couple of years after completions, in 2023. From 2023 to 2024, MBA enrollments grew 1.6%. Going forward, MBA enrollment growth is projected to accelerate to a 3.2% CAGR.

While most of the job market is in decline, the job market for MBA graduates is improving.

From October 2023 until October 2024, all job postings declined 10.8% while MBA job postings grew 35.6%.

Job postings requiring an MBA grew steadily from 2017 until 2022. Over the course of 2022 and 2023, however, MBA job postings declined precipitously, as did all aggregate job postings. Since the beginning of 2024, however, MBA job postings have been growing, no longer tracking with the broader job market but significantly outperforming it.

The percent of companies hiring recent MBA graduates grew from 76% in 2019 to 92% in 2024.

While the percent of companies hiring recent MBA graduates is growing, the percent of companies hiring bachelor's recipients is declining (from 96% in 2019 to 79% in 2024).

Schools continue to rush to offer online MBAs; however, the average program size is declining and confidence in the programs is wavering.

Between 2018 and 2023, 177 institutions began offering an online MBA program. This means that each month on average three new online MBAs are launched.

From 2018 until 2023, the number of online MBA programs in the market grew 31.9%. This growth in the number of programs outpaced online MBA enrollment growth, causing the average enrollment per online MBA program to decline 15.3%, from 215 to 182.

The percentage of university administrators reporting that they believe Business programs are among the most in-demand online degrees in the near future declined from 26% in 2019 to 15% in 2024.

General university administrators are reporting a decline in confidence in the future demand for online Business programs (including MBAs). This mirrors the decline in average enrollment per online MBA program. At the same time, Business School deans specifically report a high level of confidence in the future of the online MBA.

Actions and Reminders

1. Don't be overconfident in the enrollment potential of your institution's online MBA programs. Remember that the average size of an online MBA is declining and at the same time, consolidation in the MBA market is on the rise.2. If scalability is your goal, requiring a graduate admissions test will drastically hinder the potential of your institution's online MBA. Our findings suggest that in a given year, there are only about 4,000 prospective online MBA students who are taking either the GMAT or the GRE.3. Lower-cost online MBAs are flourishing. Business School deans are increasingly confident that strong national brands with programs priced at $25,000 or less will lead the market. At the same time, almost one-third (29%) of online MBAs currently available in the market are priced at $20,000 or less.

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