AMBA APPLICATION & ENROLMENT SURVEY
ultimately enrolled. The next-closest region to achieving a gender balance was Africa, where female students represent 46 per cent of those enrolled. Focusing on conversion figures, the global conversion rate for women was 28 per cent, two percentage points lower than the 30 per cent global for men. The largest difference in average conversion rates for men and women in an individual region was recorded by business schools in Latin America. Here, 45 per cent of applications from male candidates were converted into enrolled students, compared to 39 per cent of applications from female candidates. Business schools in India recorded the lowest levels of female representation, as has been the case in previous years. In 2022, 29 per cent
of applications came from female candidates and women represented 24 per cent of those enrolled. In Asia & the Middle East, as well as in India and North America & the Caribbean, there were marginal drops in the average proportion of female applicants of between one and two percentage points. Domestic & international students Globally, 36 per cent of those applying to AMBA-accredited business schools are defined as international applicants and 26 per cent of those who ultimately enrolled are classified as international students. The highest proportion of international applications was received by business schools in the UK (91 per cent), followed by North America & the Caribbean, where 75 per cent of applicants were defined as international. Business schools in India and China received the world’s lowest proportion of applications from international candidates, with just one per cent, or fewer, applications coming from international students in each region. In the UK, 68 per cent of those enrolled in MBA programmes were international students, making it the only region where students hailing from outside their home country were in the majority. Business schools in North America & the Caribbean, meanwhile, reported an equal split between the number of enrolled domestic and international students. Globally, the conversion rate for international students was significantly lower than that of domestic students (22 per cent vs 34 per cent). Three regions have significant variations between international and domestic conversion rates. In the UK, schools reported a domestic conversion rate of 63 per cent, on average, while the international rate recorded was just 13 per cent. In North America and the Caribbean, the domestic conversion rate was 62 per cent, compared to an international conversion rate of 21 per cent. Finally, in Oceania, the domestic conversion rate was 51 per cent compared to the international conversion rate of 11 per cent. India was the only region where the international conversion rate was higher than the domestic conversion rate but, as we have seen, the proportion of international applications in the South Asian nation was less than one per cent.
supplementary data on applicants’ gender and geographic background (domestic vs international) was collected, as was data on the method and mode of programme delivery. Data collected for this report has been analysed with the use of nine regions designed to reflect the geographic spread of AMBA‑accredited business schools and the composition of the MBA market. For example, business schools in the UK, India and China are treated as separate regions within this report. This is due to their distinct markets and the high volume of AMBA-accredited schools based in each country.
METHODOLOGY & ANALYSIS In February 2023, data sheets were sent to 277 business schools that held AMBA accreditation in that same year. The questionnaire asked schools to provide application and enrolment figures for their MBA, MBM and DBA programmes, plus any other AMBA‑accredited programmes delivered by the institution over the course of the calendar year of 2022. In total, 252 AMBA-accredited business schools returned their data, representing a response rate of 91 per cent. These institutions delivered 897 MBA programmes during 2022 – a decrease of just under seven per cent when compared with the previous year’s figure of 959. Due to the different start and end dates of programmes across schools, data was collected for the entire calendar year to ensure valid comparisons could be made with previously collected statistics. As well as information pertaining to applications, offers, enrolment and graduation,
The full list of regions cited in the report is:
Africa Asia & the Middle East China Europe India Latin America North America & the Caribbean Oceania UK
Ambition | MARCH/APRIL 2024 | 35
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