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International Graduate Admissions Decline for First Time in Five Years
New survey data from the Council of Graduate Schools show that offers of admission from US graduate schools to prospective international students decreased 3 percent from 2008 to 2009, the first decline since 2004. More than half of responding institutions reported a decrease in international offers of admission. And while the survey also found a one-year 4 percent increase in international applications, the total number of international applications received in 2009 remains 5 percent below 2003 levels. The full report is available online.
Study Tracks Evolution in MBA Curricula
Nearly seven in 10 (69 percent) of MBA programs have made a significant revision to their curriculum in the past four years, and 89 percent of all MBA programs are planning curricular changes. Those findings come from the 2009 MBA Curricular Innovation Study conducted by the MBA Roundtable, a nonprofit organization focused on MBA curricular design and innovation.
The study found that the most common curricular revision was adding applied content, such as project-based courses. Other common revisions involved the integration of content across topics and disciplines.
About half of MBA programs reported that they had added leadership development offerings and provided more emphasis on global perspectives. A quarter have added an industry specialization in the past three years, most commonly in healthcare/biotech/medicine and entrepreneurship.
Fourteen percent of the programs surveyed were MBA programs that had been launched within the past three years. Most had moved from concept to enrolling students in less than 18 months, indicating a fairly rapid development cycle.
The MBA Roundtable first announced the results of the survey at GMAC’s 2009 Annual Industry Conference, held in June in Baltimore.
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