GMAC’s latest global survey reveals that today’s business school candidates are laser-focused on ROI, cost, and relevance. They increasingly want cutting-edge content—especially related to AI—but need to better understand the value of the human skills that their future employers prize. As geopolitics and affordability reshape mobility, schools must sharpen their value proposition. The challenge? Marry innovation with the timeless strengths of business education. The opportunity? Lead the way in preparing future-ready leaders.

Prospective business school students are increasingly considering the return on investment of their graduate management education, according to new research from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). Amid persistent cost concerns alongside global economic and geopolitical challenges, business schools can meet the moment by doubling down on how they help their students develop the skills that are valued most by employers and candidates alike while reinforcing the multidimensional value proposition of graduate business school.

For more than 15 years, the GMAC Prospective Students Survey has provided the world’s graduate business schools with critical insights into the decision-making processes of people considering applying to MBA or business master’s programmes. This year’s report—based on responses from nearly 5,000 candidates in almost 150 countries during the full 2024 calendar year—continued to explore trends in their motivations, programme preferences, and mobility considerations—with findings that emphasised the imperative for business schools to clearly articulate their relevance and ROI to candidates.

As expectations to integrate knowledge of artificial intelligence (AI) into business school curricula rise, business schools have the opportunity to leverage the new technology in a way that further develops the hallmark skills of a business education. As cost concerns persist among all prospective students while geopolitics threaten to disrupt the flow of international talent, GME programmes around the world must renew their obligation to explain their value to candidates.

The Skills Business Schools Can—and Should—Emphasise

It should not come as a surprise that candidate interest in AI is on the rise. GMAC’s latest study shows that globally, nearly half of our surveyed respondents identified it as essential to their ideal business curriculum in 2024, a measurable increase from 40% in 2023 and 29% the year prior. What is interesting, and perhaps surprising, is that candidate interest in AI in business school does not necessarily match the AI activity in their country of citizenship. For example, we learned that in France and the United Kingdom, where development of AI technology has been considered industry-leading, candidates from the countries are among the least interested in integrating AI into their business school curricula. This may signal that prospective students are still separating AI technology from how it can be leveraged in business contexts, indicating an opportunity for business schools to make this connection clearer to their prospects if they plan to use AI as a selling point or differentiator.

While business schools must future-proof their classrooms with AI content, its integration should be in service of further developing students’ core competencies in strategic thinking and problem-solving—which remain the top business skills prized by prospective students and employers alike, according to the GMAC Prospective Student Survey and GMAC’s latest annual survey of corporate recruiters. Indeed, it is encouraging to find there is alignment between which skills candidates say they most want to cultivate through GME and which skills employers say they value most in hiring decisions. With AI, neither employers nor prospective students expect graduates to emerge from business school as technologists or software engineers; rather, there is a shared expectation that the latest technology be integrated into GME classrooms in a way that furthers the development of tried-and-true skills that have served business school graduates well for decades.

It is also important for business schools to understand where there is a misalignment in candidates’ learning priorities and employers’ hiring expectations. Globally, prospective students appear to find less value in the ‘human skills’ they can learn through business school, with more employers than candidates reporting the importance of teamwork, adaptability, emotional intelligence, initiative, coachability, and grit. This trend is similar among recruiters and candidates in Western Europe, though employers in the region also tend to value technology and IT skills more than business school candidates as well. The typical business school experience certainly helps students hone their socioemotional skills — and increasingly their technology know-how, too. By understanding how these groups differ, schools can sharpen their value propositions to candidates and better coach their students about which skills make them more attractive to employers.

Results do not add up to 100% because respondents could select multiple options.

Candidates Weigh Cost with Geographic Mobility, ROI

Regardless of a candidate’s demographic traits or geographic location, cost is typically cited as their top barrier to pursuing GME. And compared to pre-pandemic levels, the average global candidate now expects to fund more of their degree with grants, scholarships, and fellowships—from plans to finance 25% of their degree with financial aid in 2019 to 30% in 2024. However, this is not the case among all candidates. For example, those from places in continental Europe like France, Germany, and Italy—where tuition tends to be less expensive – plan to use less financial aid compared to candidates in other countries.

Cost sensitivity has begun to show some disruption to recent patterns in which aspiring business candidates consider pursuing graduate management education. Our latest data show that study destination preferences have generally remained steady for the past five years, with the United States and Western Europe consistently cited as the top study destinations for prospects with international aspirations. At the same time, affordability and proximity to home are increasingly deciding factors among candidates who want to study in regions like Asia, the Middle East, and Africa—where rising inflation and fluctuating currency exchange rates have significantly shaped their education decisions. More than half (53%) of Indian students, for example, at least plan to apply to programmes in India, compared with just 38% of Indian students in 2019.

As candidates remain cost-conscious while geopolitics threaten the current state of international study (for example, attempts to cap international enrolment in Canada, Australia, and the United Kingdom, plus uncertainty about the impact of the US presidential election), business schools should be assured that candidates are more focused on the benefits of business school than before. When researching graduate management education programmes, return on investment and career outcomes top the list of the most important considerations among global candidates —even above programme rankings and cost, and at an even greater rate than the year prior. Among Western European candidates, programme rankings are still the most common factor in how candidates consider where to apply, but with career outcomes rising in importance year-on-year to match their focus on ROI. If business schools continue to help their students develop the most marketable skills for desirable careers—especially in the changing contexts brought on by AI, geopolitical headwinds, and financial anxieties—they can maintain their relevance and value to the development of future business leaders.

Results do not add up to 100% because candidates could select up to three options.