U.S. Black/African American Candidates: 2022-2023 Diversity Insights Series

Overview

This research brief – a part of the 2022-2023 Diversity Insight Series – shares insights on the U.S. Black and African American business school candidates to illustrate the needs of this underrepresented population in graduate management education (GME). It discusses trends in where these candidates live, when they begin the school search, and their motivations for pursuing graduate management education. The goal of the report is to help the graduate management education community craft more effective diversity initiatives to better reach these populations.

The brief draws upon unique GMAC research data, particularly GMAT score-sending data and the GMAC Prospective Students Survey (PSS), as well as external sources and outside research. 

Quick Facts

• US Black and African American candidates are a highly entrepreneurial group. From the US GME population, almost one in three Black candidates say they want to become an entrepreneur or be self-employed post-GME compared to just under one in five non-URP candidates.
• Sixty-nine percent of prospective US Black and African American candidates said they planned on using grants, fellowships, or scholarships to fund their studies, and 65 percent said they planned on using loans.
• African American candidates research GME thoroughly; almost half of Black and African American prospective students said they researched a lot before attending graduate school (45% vs. 31% non-URP), largely using information sources like school websites (61%).