MBA SHARE IN THE U.S. GRADUATE MANAGEMENT EDUCATION MARKET

The MBA degree has captured public attention since the beginning of the 20th century when MBA programs were first established in the United States. Since then, hardly any master’s-level degree created as many media impressions as the MBA. Extensive research has been conducted about MBA students, alumni, and employers, yet, several basic questions remain. How many MBA programs are offered? How many students graduate from these programs? How do these numbers compare with those for other programs in business fields? The U.S. Department of Education (DOE) tracks the number of graduate degrees awarded in business; however, the agency does not delineate which ones are MBA degrees. This paper aims to estimate the MBA share in the U.S. graduate management education market and looks at degree-granting institutions that offer master’s-level programs. Based on a sampling from nearly 2,000 institutions, this paper provides an estimate for the number of organizations that offer an MBA degree in the United States. An estimated number of MBA students in a given year and the number of those who graduate with an MBA degree are calculated based on survey data from the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) and the Council of Graduate Schools (CGS) combined with DOE data.