India sees 26% surge in MBA applications as UK, Canada programmes report declines amid visa uncertainty

India leads Asia’s growing share of MBA applications amid Western slowdown

India emerged as one of the fastest-growing management education markets, recording a 26 per cent rise in international applications in 2025, according to GMAC. This surge highlights the growing confidence in Indian B-schools’ global reputation, alongside their efforts to integrate technology and industry-focused learning, as per the survey. The sharp rise in applications also reflects how visa and post-study work restrictions in traditional study destinations have redirected students toward emerging Asian education hubs.

Neighbouring East and Southeast Asian regions saw even higher growth, at 42 per cent, as regional institutions expanded outreach and developed globally recognised curricula. In contrast, Canada’s graduate management education programmes faced one of their worst slumps, with 84 per cent of business schools reporting application declines. The United Kingdom followed closely, with two-thirds of its programmes seeing fewer applicants.

US slowdown, global pivot toward Asia and Europe

While the United States, historically the largest hub for management education, reported only a marginal one-point dip in applications, the shift of international student flows away from North America and the UK was evident. GMAC’s data shows that Asia and non-UK Europe absorbed much of this redirected demand.

The overall volume of international applications globally remained largely stable; however, their destination choices changed drastically in favour of markets perceived as more accessible and future-oriented.

Full-time MBAs rebound, specialised master’s follow suit

GMAC’s 2025 data indicates that the revival of full-time, two-year MBA programmes played a crucial role in driving global application growth. Nearly all business master’s degrees, except for Master of Business Analytics, recorded increases in both domestic and international applications.

Schools that aligned their offerings with emerging industry trends, such as sustainability, technology management, and digital leadership, reported particularly strong interest.

Further, as per the report, Artificial Intelligence continued its rapid integration into graduate management education. As per GMAC, only 16 per cent of programmes reported no AI integration in 2025, compared to 22 per cent the previous year. More than half of the surveyed institutions now teach AI as a core tool for business decision-making, strategic planning, and societal impact, often embedding it into hands-on coursework and simulations.

Sustainability education

GMAC data shows that three in four programmes now offer sustainability-focused coursework, most frequently through MBA curricula. Moreover, 63 per cent of prospective students surveyed identified sustainability as an important factor in their academic decisions.

Regionally, Asian programmes, excluding India and Greater China, were the most likely to require sustainability studies as part of their core structure, while American institutions remained the least likely to do so.

This reflects shifting student and institutional priorities, where environmental, social, and governance (ESG) perspectives are increasingly viewed as essential management requirements.

Women’s participation edges upward, but growth remains slow

Globally, women continued to represent just over 40 per cent of graduate management education applicants, a proportion that has remained steady for more than a decade. However, GMAC noted subtle progress, that in 2025, the median share of women applicants increased by one percentage point, and women applied to MBA programmes at a faster rate than men.

Representation among business master’s applicants also held near parity, suggesting incremental movement toward gender balance in graduate business education, a trend further supported by institutional diversity commitments and flexible programme formats.

(With PTI inputs)