[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":3,"doc-seo-585341-105":59,"doc-detail-585341-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",[7,13,18,23,28,33,38,43,48,51,55],{"id":8,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":10,"show_sort_weight":11,"slug":12},1,"Document","Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":14,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":15,"show_sort_weight":16,"slug":17},2,"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":19,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":20,"show_sort_weight":21,"slug":22},4,"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":24,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":25,"show_sort_weight":26,"slug":27},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":29,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":30,"show_sort_weight":31,"slug":32},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":34,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":35,"show_sort_weight":36,"slug":37},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":39,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":40,"show_sort_weight":41,"slug":42},8,"Research & Report",30,"research-report",{"id":44,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":45,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":47},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":46,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":49,"show_sort_weight":46,"slug":50},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":53,"show_sort_weight":52,"slug":54},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":56,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":9,"category_name":57,"show_sort_weight":24,"slug":58},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":60,"data":61},"ok",{"site_id":62,"language":63,"slug":64,"title":65,"keywords":66,"description":67,"schema_data":68,"social_meta":123,"head_meta":125,"extra_data":127,"updated_unix":129},105,"en","gmac-prospective-students-survey-2026-deans-summary","GMAC Prospective Students Survey 2026 Deans Summary","","GMAC Prospective Students Survey 2026 Deans Summary synthesizes insights from 4,253 respondents across 145 countries of citizenship, examining how prospective graduate management education candidates choose programs and modes of study. The findings highlight shifting motivations toward durable skills, clear ROI, and specific career outcomes, along with increased social influence on application timing. It also details key barriers by consideration stage and emphasizes the need for earlier, transparent outreach on cost, funding, time commitment, and career disruption concerns.",{"@graph":69,"@context":122},[70,84,105],{"@type":71,"itemListElement":72},"BreadcrumbList",[73,77,79,82],{"item":74,"name":75,"@type":76,"position":8},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":78,"name":9,"@type":76,"position":14},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/",{"item":80,"name":40,"@type":76,"position":81},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",3,{"item":83,"name":65,"@type":76,"position":19},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/gmac-prospective-students-survey-2026-deans-summary/585341/",{"url":83,"name":65,"@type":85,"image":86,"author":91,"headline":65,"publisher":94,"fileFormat":97,"inLanguage":63,"description":67,"dateModified":98,"datePublished":99,"encodingFormat":97,"isAccessibleForFree":100,"interactionStatistic":101},"DigitalDocument",{"url":87,"@type":88,"width":89,"height":90},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/gmac-prospective-students-survey-2026-deans-summary/585341.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":92,"@type":93},"Aria Callaghan","Person",{"url":74,"name":95,"@type":96},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-11-03","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":102,"interactionType":103,"userInteractionCount":52},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":104},"ViewAction",{"@type":106,"mainEntity":107},"FAQPage",[108,114,118],{"name":109,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":111},"How many respondents and countries are included in the 2026 survey sample?","Question",{"text":112,"@type":113},"The 2026 survey includes 4,253 respondents representing 145 countries of citizenship.","Answer",{"name":115,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":116},"What motivates candidates most to pursue GME according to the summary?",{"text":117,"@type":113},"Candidates are most motivated to enrich their life and develop their potential, alongside goals such as gaining business knowledge and improving career opportunities.",{"name":119,"@type":110,"acceptedAnswer":120},"What are the top barriers to GME, and do they vary by consideration stage?",{"text":121,"@type":113},"Top barriers include program cost, not getting into a preferred school, lack of financial aid, and uncertainty about job prospects. The summary indicates concerns differ across stages, with early-stage candidates more focused on cost, time demands, and potential career disruption.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":83,"og:type":124,"og:title":65,"og:site_name":95,"og:description":67},"article",{"robots":126,"canonical":83},"index,follow",{"doc_id":128,"site_id":62},585341,1792062400,{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":131},{"doc_id":128,"user_id":132,"nickname":92,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":39,"category_name":40,"doc_title":65,"doc_description":67,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":52,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":8,"is_downloadable":8,"audit_status":8,"page_count":39,"language":139,"language_code":63,"site_id":62,"html_lang":63,"table_of_contents":140,"faqs":141,"seo_title":142,"seo_description":67,"update_tm":143,"read_time":46,"preview_page_count":4},962084926284,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_29158cc5080c5b710cf443261637dec0","GMAC Prospective Students Survey  \n2026 Deans Summary  \nFor more than 15 years, the GMAC Prospective Students Survey has provided the world’s graduate business schools with critical insights into the decision-making processes of people actively applying to, considering, or researching graduate management education (GME) programs. This year’s report, which considers data collected throughout the 2025 calendar year, continues to explore candidates’ program and modality preferences, the skills they plan to cultivate in business school, and the career goals they ultimately aim to achieve. In the context of new patterns of application trends, we examine prospective students’ preferred study destinations earlier in their paths to GME. The report also dives deep into underlying candidate motivationsand barriers as well as the tactical mechanics of their application and financing plans.  \n2026 Survey sample stats  \n4,253  \nSurvey respondents  \n145  \nCountries of citizenship represented  \n46%  \nFemale respondents  \n27%  \nUnderrepresented respondents (U.S. only)  \nThe direction of the future candidate pipeline is being reshaped by what, how, and increasingly where prospective students choose to study. When building new strategies, business schools should factor in the elasticity of evolving patterns in global student mobility as candidates explore abroader array of study destinations worldwide. At the sametime, candidates are becoming ever more disciplined in how they assess return on investment, challenging programs to demonstrate clear relevance and concrete outcomes. Insights from the GMAC Prospective Students Survey – 2026 report suggest that success in this environment will hinge on how effectively schools communicate measurable value and build trust with prospective students navigating an increasingly complex global landscape.  \nJoy Jones  \nCEO, GMAC  \nThe GMAC Prospective Students Survey – 2026 report reveals that GME candidates are redefining where they want to study, what they expect to learn, and how they evaluate return on investment (ROI). Today, candidates view business school less as a vehicle for career pivoting and more  \nas a pathway to durable skills, clear ROI, and specific career outcomes (Figure 1). At the sametime, the trigger to apply is more socially influenced than ever before, with input from parents, professors, and friends increasingly prompting application planning.  \nFigure 1: Compared to when this question was first added to the survey in 2022, candidates in 2025 were more focused on gaining business knowledge and less focused on changing their industry or job function.  \nCandidates are still most motivated to pursue GME to enrich their life and develop their potential.  \n\n| Global candidates' motivations to pursue GME, 2022 and 2025\u003Cbr> 2022  2025 |  |  |\n| --- | --- | --- |\n| Enrich life and develop potential\u003Cbr>Gain business knowledge\u003Cbr>Increase opportunity of a global career Increase income\u003Cbr>Build wealth\u003Cbr>Enhance network\u003Cbr>Gain access to employment abroad\u003Cbr>Have a positive social/environmental impact Industry/job function change\u003Cbr>Have the skills to start my own business Support family\u003Cbr>Attain status and respect Make my family proud Gain promotion\u003Cbr>Secure current job | \u003Cbr>81%\u003Cbr>77%\u003Cbr> 62%\u003Cbr> 72%\u003Cbr> 68%\u003Cbr> 65%\u003Cbr> 62%\u003Cbr> 59%\u003Cbr> 58%\u003Cbr> 61%\u003Cbr> 54%\u003Cbr> 49%\u003Cbr> 45%\u003Cbr>\u003Cbr>58% 42%\u003Cbr> 40%\u003Cbr> 35%\u003Cbr> 28%\u003Cbr> 27%\u003Cbr> 23%\u003Cbr> 23%\u003Cbr> 19%\u003Cbr> 13%\u003Cbr> 14% |  |\n| 0% 25% 50% 75% 100%\u003Cbr>Share of prospective students |  |  |\n\nNote: Some options were added after the question first appeared in the survey in 2022, so data in that year are not available.  \nGMAC | Prospective Students Survey 2026 Deans Summary 3  \nAs business schools refine their value propositions, this year’s results show that candidates earlier in the GME journey need more support in visualizing how graduate business education fits into their lives. Compared to those closer to applying, candidates two or more years out express g","cbCaikw6VP0IXzA8","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaikw6VP0IXzA8","pdf",931358,"English","# 2026 Deans Summary\n## Survey sample statistics\n## Candidate motivations and ROI expectations\n## Program and study-destination preferences\n## Key barriers by consideration stage\n## Trends in preferred degree types","[{\"question\":\"How many respondents and countries are included in the 2026 survey sample?\",\"answer\":\"The 2026 survey includes 4,253 respondents representing 145 countries of citizenship.\"},{\"question\":\"What motivates candidates most to pursue GME according to the summary?\",\"answer\":\"Candidates are most motivated to enrich their life and develop their potential, alongside goals such as gaining business knowledge and improving career opportunities.\"},{\"question\":\"What are the top barriers to GME, and do they vary by consideration stage?\",\"answer\":\"Top barriers include program cost, not getting into a preferred school, lack of financial aid, and uncertainty about job prospects. The summary indicates concerns differ across stages, with early-stage candidates more focused on cost, time demands, and potential career disruption.\"}]","GMAC Prospective Students Survey 2026 Deans Summary | PDF",1792054432]