One-Year MBA Options Overtake Two-Year MBAs In Popularity
For what is likely the first time ever, prospective business school students say they prefer one-year MBA programs over the more traditional two-year options more popular in the U.S. That is the surprising finding in the 2023 Prospective Students Survey put out today (April 10) by the Graduate Management Admission Council.
Not surprisingly, the race between those two residential MBA program types was close. In fact, GMAC concedes the result is within the margin of error for the survey completed by 2,710 respondents in 131 countries. Nonetheless, 22% of the would-be students seeking a graduate management education said they would prefer the more accelerated MBA program that costs less and involves half the time away from a paycheck. Some 20% expressed a preference for the two-year, full-time residential MBA.
The survey results (see table below) underscores the now commonly accepted notion that full-time MBA programs in the U.S. particularly are a mature product, and the preference for one-year options tilts in favor of European schools where a one-year MBA is more popular than in the U.S.
There Are 23 Top One Year MBAs in the USA
The highest-ranked U.S. schools with one-year options are Kellogg, Cornell, Duke, NYU Stern, Emory Goizueta, USC Marshall, Notre Dame Mendoza, and SMU Cox.
In its report, GMAC notes that the two-year MBA has been the preferred program among candidates globally. “This year, the one-year MBA surpassed it as the most popular program choice, though the difference remains within the margin of error,” according to the survey. “Across generations, Gen Z is most interested in the two-year MBA and millennials are most interested in the one-year MBA,” according to the survey. “Taken together, the full-time MBA of any duration continues to surpass interest in more flexible or executive MBAs and business master’s programs.”
Users of this data must take into account the limits of the survey. For one thing, U.S. respondents account for a mere 17% of the sample, even below the 20% from Africa. For another, as the GMAT test has lost significant market share to the rival GRE exam, fewer people register on GMAC’s site to get ready to take the GMAT test. The surveys are sent to registered users of that site one month after they sign up and then supplemented by respondents from GMAC Tours, BusinessBecause, and registered users in India of the NMAT exam acquired by GMAC. So the sample is also likely to miss many prospective students who apply to programs where a standardized test is not required.
Still, regional preferences continue to shape what candidates choose to study. Over the past five years, business master’s degrees have been most popular among European candidates, and the share has grown about 8 points since 2018. There has also been growth in business master’s interest over the past five years among Middle Eastern, African, and Latin American candidates. Interest in business master’s degrees continues to be smallest and largely stable in North America, where the MBA still reigns supreme.
The One Year MBA Overtakes the Two Year in Popularity Among Would-Be Students
Source: 2023 GMAC Prospective Students Survey
The GMAC survey found that candidates in North and Latin America prefer longer programs, whereas those in the Middle East and Africa, Europe, and Asia/Pacific Islands prefer programs that last 13-18 months. The most popular ten-month MBA program in Europe is at INSEAD which has campuses in both France and Singapore for MBA students. In no region do candidates most prefer programs lasting 12 months or less, GMAC said, though it is the second choice in Europe (see below table).
Regional Preferences for Full Time MBA Programs
Candidates in North and Latin America prefer longer programs, whereas those in the Middle East and Africa, Europe, and Asia/Pacific Islands prefer programs that last 13-18 months.
In no region do candidates most prefer programs last 12 months or less, though it is the second choice in Europe
Accelerated MBA programs offered by even the best business schools are sometimes belittled as “quickie” degrees. However, all the bad press about these programs probably disappeared when The Financial Times released its 2021 list of global full-time MBA courses.
INSEAD’s one-year program topped the rankings, and there were as many as eight “quickies” in the top 15, most of them rated by experts as comparable with top global two-year programs.And it has continued to do so now that we are in the next decade.
Obviously, one-year full-time MBA programs are not the same thing as the traditional postgraduate management programs offered by IIM and the likes. But they are ideal for professionals who are budget-conscious, and don’t have much time for business fundamentals courses of the traditional course, since they may already have an undergraduate management education or significant amount of business exposure.
Many may even want to continue in the same industry after graduating. The best candidates for such courses tend to have more experience than the average full-time-MBA applicant.
Here are brief sketches of some of the best global business schools offering short-duration MBA programs. All these schools figure in the top 40 of FT’s 2021 global MBA rankings. More European schools than U.S. schools appear in the list below since more top schools in the continent offer the shorter-duration MBA program than in the US.
As with most of our articles on the best programs, this is a representative (not comprehensive) list and not a ranking. For the full ranking refer to any of the popular MBA rankings.
Best One Year MBA Programs in the World – With Employment Report
| Top B-schools in USA | ||||||
| # | B-School | Location | MBA Program Link | Program Duration | Employment Statistics | |
| 1 | University of Southern California (USC)- Marshall | California | Program Link | 12 or 24 Months | Employment Report | |
| 2 | Kellogg School of Management- | Illinois | Program Link | 12 or 24 Months | Employment Report | |
| 3 | Cornell University- Johnson | New York | Program Link | 12 or 24 Months | Employment Report | |
| 4 | Emory University- Goizueta | Georgia | Program Link | 12 or 24 Months | Employment Report | |
| 5 | University of Notre Dame- Mendoza | Indiana | Program Link | 12, 24 Months | Employment Report | |
| 6 | University of Pittsburgh- Katz | Pennsylvania | Program Link | 12 or 24 Months | Employment Report | |
| 7 | University of South Carolina- Moore | South Carolina | Program Link | 12 or 24 Months | Employment Report | |
| 8 | Texas A&M- Mays Business School | Texas | Program Link | 18 Months | Employment Report | |
| 9 | University Of Geogia-Terry College of Business | Georgia | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| Top B-schools in Europe | ||||||
| # | B-School | Location | MBA Program Link | Program Duration | Employment Statistics | |
| 10 | HEC Paris | France | Program Link | 16 Months | Employment Report | |
| 11 | INSEAD France | France | Program Link | 10 Months | Employment Report | |
| 12 | SDA Bocconi | Italy | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 13 | University of St.Gallen | Switzerland | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 14 | University of Cambridge | United Kingdom | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 15 | IE University- IE Business School | Spain | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 16 | University of Navarra- IESE Business School | Spain | Program Link | 15 or 19 months | Employment Report | |
| 17 | EDHEC Business School | France | Program Link | 10 Months | Employment Report | |
| 18 | London Business School | United Kingdom | Program Link | 15-21 Months | Employment Report | |
| 19 | ESMT Berlin | Germany | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 20 | University of Oxford- Saïd Business School | United Kingdom | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 21 | Imperial College Business School | United Kingdom | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 22 | ESADE Business & Law School | Spain | Program Link | 12 15or 18 Months | Employment Report | |
| 23 | IMD Business School | Switzerland | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 24 | Warwick Business School | United Kingdom | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 25 | Rotterdam School of Management | Netherlands | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 26 | University of London- Cass Business School | United Kingdom | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 27 | Durham University Business School | United Kingdom | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 28 | Alliance Manchester Business School | United Kingdom | Program Link | 12,15 or 18 Months | Employment Report | |
| 29 | Leeds University Business School | United Kingdom | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 30 | University of Bath School of Management | United Kingdom | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 31 | Adam Smith Business School | Scotland | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 32 | Nottingham University Business School | United Kingdom | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 33 | Cranfield School of Management | England | Program Link | 13 Months | Employment Report | |
| 34 | ESCP Business School | France | Program Link | 10 Months | Employment Report | |
| 35 | University of Strathclyde | UK | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| Top B-schools in Singapore | ||||||
| # | B-School | Location | MBA Program Link | Program Duration | Employment Statistics | |
| 36 | Singapore Management University- | Singapore | Program Link | 10 or 15 Months | Employment Report | |
| 37 | INSEAD Singapore | Singapore | Program Link | 10 Months | Employment Report | |
| 38 | NUS Business School | Singapore | Program Link | 17 Months | Employment Report | |
| 39 | Nanyang Technological University- | Singapore | Program Link | 12 Months | Employment Report | |
| 40 | HKUST Business School | Hong Kong | Program Link | 12 or 16 Months | Employment Report | |
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