Nearly Half Of Business Master’s Candidates Want DEI Content In Their Programs: Poll

DEI — diversity, equity and inclusion — may be under political attack in parts of the United States, but candidates for business master’s degrees in the U.S. and the rest of the world largely still want diversity content in their prospective programs.

In a recently published study by education consultancy CarringtonCrisp and global management development nonprofit EFMD, nearly half of survey respondents say they expect “diversity and equality” content to be part of whatever program they apply to — most of any in a range of topics.

“While it may appear that ESG topics are less popular, that is not the case,” says Andrew Crisp, author of the study.

DIVERSITY & EQUALITY TOP ALL DESIRED CONTENT

The global poll of 1,596 prospective master’s students found that 46% expect Diversity & Equality content as part of their degree, the top topic cited, followed by Responsible Management (40%), Ethical Leadership (33%) and Global Challenges (31%) such as poverty, climate change, and pollution. The top five specific subjects that students want to study are Investment and Banking (35%), Business Forecasting and Modeling (29%), Market Research (29%), Business and IT (26%), and Digital Marketing (26%). These are followed by AI and Business (25%) and Business Ethics (24%).

Environmental Social and Governance topics — including Renewable Energy (18%), Sustainability (17%), Energy Management (17%), Social Entrepreneurship (17%) and Environmental Management (15%) — are all chosen as stand-alone subjects, but less so than many traditional topics such as Finance (22%), Marketing (22%), Economics (20%), Management (19%) and Entrepreneurship (19%), the poll found.

“Most students want this content to flow throughout a master’s program, as can be seen from the demand for Diversity & Equality and Responsible Management,” Crisp says. “It’s a smaller but significant number of respondents that want to focus and become specialists in areas such as Environmental Management.”

61% OF RESPONDENTS SAY AI USE SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED CHEATING

The poll also looks to the future, finding a few subjects that are expected to grow in demand. Among them: E-sports (12%) and Space and Satellite Industries (8%).

“While fewer than 1 in 12 express an interest in Space and Satellite Industries today, Bloomberg reported recently that ‘The global space economy grew 8% to $546 billion in 2022 and is projected to climb another 41% over the next five years,’” Crisp notes. “If you look at the efforts of individuals such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson, not to mention the programs in countries including the USA, India, China and Japan — space is going to be big business, and business schools need to be ready to meet the demand for new skills and knowledge.”

The impact of technology is reflected in other parts of the study. Almost six out of ten (59%) expect to use AI tools, such as ChatGPT, to complete projects during their studies — a result that comports with a previous CarringtonCrisp poll of MBA candidates. Just over six out of 10 (62%) believe that AI tools are making exams redundant and that using AI tools in their studies recognizes its use across business and should not be considered cheating (61%).

Respondents also expressed ongoing concerns around the cost of getting a degree: Just over half (51%) relay that living costs are the main reason not to study, while being unable to pay degree fees is cited by 41% as a reason not to study.

“We are seeing a reflection of the current cost of living crisis in business education, and particularly the high costs of accommodation in many international cities, where business schools are often located,” Crisp says. “Consequently, in terms of funding options, 34% of prospective students are dependent on family for financial help, with 27% reliant on a scholarship or bursary.”

DON’T MISS IN DRAMATIC ABOUT-FACE, MOST MBA CANDIDATES NO LONGER CRAVE ON-CAMPUS LEARNING and MORE THAN HALF OF TOP BUSINESS MASTER’S PROGRAMS ARE FOCUSED ON TECH: STUDY