Applications for MBA courses at ロンドン・ウォーリック・ビジネス・スクール surge

• 15 MBA programmes at the UK’s most renowned business schools are set for a bumper year after applications for the premium graduate courses rose by as much as 21 per cent at the same time as their US counterparts continue to struggle to attract students. 

• Warwick Business School, London’s Cass Business School and Cranfield School of Management are on track for double-digit percentage year-on-year increases for applications to start in autumn 2019.

• Demand for London Business School, the highest ranked British MBA provider on the Financial Times global rankings, is up 3 per cent on 2018. By contrast many US schools are forecasting a fifth year of declining demand.

        The surge in applications also confounds predictions made by many academics in the wake of the 2016 EU referendum that students would feel less welcome in the UK as Brexit approaches. One thing we can all agree on about Mr Trump is that he is the biggest plus for UK higher education. One theory is that the US trade war with China has diminished the attractiveness of American MBA providers, which were already suffering as a result of tightening visa restrictions, and made the UK appear a better option in terms of work opportunities after graduation. 

       Cass, part of City University in London, has attracted significant interest from Chinese and other Asian students, who would otherwise have applied to US schools, according to Steve Thomas, associate dean for MBA programmes. 

 

“One thing we can all agree on about Mr Trump is that he is the biggest plus for UK higher education,” Mr Thomas said. “His behaviour in relation to China, and against companies like Huawei in particular, is making the US significantly less attractive to students from Asia.” 

 

       Cambridge’s Judge Business School is the only one of the 11 UK members in the FT’s top 100 MBA ranking list whose applications have fallen in the past 12 months. A spokesman for the school blamed uncertainty over the UK’s departure from the EU. Brexit, it was assumed, would restrict or complicate the student visa process and dampen postgraduate students’ job prospects. 

       However, Brexit is not a deciding factor for many of those currently applying for course places, according to the most recent student survey by MBA entrance exam administrator the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC). Its poll, conducted last December, found that 54 per cent said Brexit had no impact on their decision whether or not to study in the UK. 

 

• Demand for the MBA globally was broadly flat last year, according to GMAC’s most recent global applications survey, with an 8.8 per cent increase in the Asia Pacific region offset by a 6.6 per cent decline in the US. 

• Some of the sharpest falls in applications in the US have been at leading institutions, such as Harvard Business School and Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Both have frozen their tuition fees at 2018 levels, widely interpreted as a defensive move to prevent demand for their courses falling further.

Why the MBA is still a gamechanging qualification

Is the MBA really all it’s cracked up to be? With enrolments surging, the answer seems to be yes

What could an MBA do for you? Make you richer? Propel your career? Help you change direction entirely? It’s a broad business degree for professionals with several years’ experience, but it is, as business schools tell you, more than the sum of its parts.

And the range of backgrounds MBAs attract is testimony to the course’s broad appeal – elite athletes, creatives, military officers, engineers, coders and charity managers, as well as the bread and butter intake from the worlds of finance and consulting.

Despite being one of the priciest degrees on offer, numbers are rising at Europe’s business schools, and UK schools don’t appear to have been hurt by the uncertainty of Brexit, says Matt Symonds, director of admissions advisers Fortuna Admissions. In fact, they are reporting a surge in applications.

Two thirds of schools in the UK received more applications in 2017 than the year before, and European schools have also seen increases, says the Global Management Admissions Council (GMAC), which administers a business school aptitude test.

Highly competitive UK top schools famously charge eye-popping fees – London Business School’s (LBS) course costs £78,500, while Said Business School in Oxford charges £55,000, and cheaper schools still cost around £20,000. Students opting for full-time courses will also need to sacrifice a year or more of salary. A part-time degree – the executive MBA (EMBA) appeals to older professionals (usually 30s and upwards) but requires some deft time management and intensive periods of study.

With a broad curriculum, and options to specialise, an MBA is designed to nurture the soft skills demanded by blue-chip companies – leadership, empathy, and global awareness – as well as the nuts and bolts of business. Five years down the line, it’s these soft skills that many former students value most.

“I really love my job, so personal development wasn’t a factor for me,” says Sarah Cash, who studied for an EMBA at the University of Hull while working for charity Dove House Hospice as director of business and income development. “It helped with bigger goals, such as setting out strategy, direction and organisational culture, and also with the practicalities of dealing with staff, managing change and improving productivity.”

All schools will rush to warn prospective students that leaving their institution with an MBA doesn’t guarantee a whopping salary rise, though it has traditionally provided a solid route into lucrative sectors such as investment banking and consulting. Increasingly, the degree appeals to would-be entrepreneurs, with many schools hosting incubator hubs for new ventures and providing ongoing support for those with a desire to head off on the startup journey.

Most full-time UK courses last a year, but some, such as LBS and Alliance Manchester Business School, run up to 18-21 months. Students are handpicked to create a mix of backgrounds, nationalities – often from 40 or more different countries – and professional pedigree. Professional networking is part of the appeal, and students talk about an enduring professional community and list of contacts to draw on when entering the job market after graduating and as they progress further down the line throughout their careers.

While the course content can be challenging – pesky finance and accounting modules, which tend not to be for everyone – the focus is on group work and often live projects, some of them abroad. Students are known to have a change of heart during an MBA and head in a different direction entirely. Many graduates describe the experience as life changing.

When sizing up prospective applicants to the most competitive business schools, admissions advisers Fortuna are careful to manage expectations. Top schools in Europe are notoriously tough to get in to and students need to be realistic about their ambitions.

“Applicants need to demonstrate fast track professional development,” says Symonds. “But they also need to demonstrate how they would thrive in the classroom, how they will engage with the clubs on offer, and what will they bring to the course.”