How Many Students Are Studying For An MBA?

How many students are currently enrolled in MBA programs?

It depends on how you count.

The latest numbers from the AACSB (the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business), the primary accreditor of business schools, finds that 250,389 students were studying for an MBA worldwide during the 2020-2021 academic year. The majority of those students–155,996–are at U.S. business schools.

Online MBA Students Now Exceed Those In Full-Time, Residential Programs

But not all of them are in full-time, residential programs. In fact, in the U.S., students enrolled in Online MBA options now exceed those in full-time MBA programs. That is a big swing from just a few years ago. Some 45,038 MBA candidates in the U.S. are enrolled in online MBAs, while 43,740 are studying in face-to-face, full-time programs on campus.

That makes sense, given the fast growth of online education in recent years. More students are opting for long-distance learning because they don’t have to give up their jobs and lose their income for two years. At many business schools, online MBA students now outnumber full-time MBAs, including at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, and the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School. And several schools, including the University of Illinois Gies College of Business, have shut down their full-time residential MBA programs to concentrate on delivering high quality Online MBA programs.

Despite the growth in online education, the largest number of MBA students are in part-time, face-to-face programs. In fact, part-timers are nearly double full-time enrollment in the U.S. and the world. Some 82,322 MBA students are enrolled in part-time programs in the U.S., while the number increases to 127,844 globally.

Another 41,214 professionals are in Executive MBA programs, with 11,534 in the U.S. alone.

DON'T MISS: BY THE NUMBERS: HOW RARE IS YOUR MBA DEGREE? or ACCEPTANCE RATES AT THE TOP 50 U.S. MBA PROGRAMS