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Booming Demand For European Business Masters Programs

Applications to European business masters programs are booming. We speak to admissions staff at Imperial, LBS, Bocconi and more top European business schools to find out why

Fri Nov 20 2020

BusinessBecause

Applications to European business masters programs are booming—that’s according to the latest Application Trends Survey Report released by the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC).

The vast majority of European business schools (79%) reported increases in applications to their masters programs in 2020 and more than half reported a significant increase of over 20%.

84% of European Master in Management programs and 90% of Master in Finance programs reported application growth, up from 36% and 42% respectively in 2019 and setting record highs for recent years.

Increasing demand for European masters programs accompanies an overall increase in applications to business schools in Europe and globally amid the COVID-19 pandemic, with significant demand from domestic candidates.


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Applications to top European business schools

The big-name European masters programs all saw application increases.

France’s ESSEC Business School received 5,200 applications to its masters programs in 2020, a 50% increase compared to the previous year.

London Business School saw a 40% application increase for its masters programs. Applications to Rotterdam School of Management (RSM) also increased by 40% to over 3,200 applications, excluding additional applications from RSM undergraduate students.


Why are applications increasing?

With strict visa rules and the anti-immigration policies of the Trump administration, the United States has become less attractive to internationals, pushing more people to consider pursuing business masters programs in Europe in recent years.

European masters programs also lead the rankings tables and are more established than their counterparts in Asia or North America, where the MBA is still the most prevalent graduate management degree.

Yet a number of additional factors have come into play in 2020:


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