GMAC to launch more Study in China programs

The Graduate Management Admission Council, a global organization of graduate business schools, is planning to cooperate with more domestic business schools and expand its Study in China program in light of growing interest from international students.

Administrators of GMAC, which also runs the business school entrance exam, the Graduate Management Admission Test, or GMAT, said during a news conference in Shanghai on March 11 that they aim to increase the number of Study in China programs from the current 11 to 20 this year.

"While we were holding the admission campaigns in foreign countries, we noticed that an increasing number of foreign students are interested in the MBA programs in China. That's the reason for us to tie up with the Chinese colleges," says GMAC's Marketing Associate Director in Greater China Li Peishan.

The Study in China programs, which provide a platform for international students to learn more about business in the country, was launched by GMAC in June 2018. The program is offered by 11 leading business schools such as the Guanghua School of Management of Peking University, the School of Management of Fudan University and the Business School of the Chinese University of Hong Kong.

Sun Long, the executive director of the Fudan MBA Program, says that 4,000 students expressed an interest in the program last year.

"Around six years ago when we attended the international MBA program's exhibition in foreign countries, students seldom stopped by. But in recent years, more and more students are willing to learn more about our program," says Sun.

According to the Application Trends Survey Report 2018 released by GMAC, the application numbers for its programs in the Asia-Pacific was 105,754 in 2018, an 8.8 percent increase from 2017. The report added that nearly half of its Asia-Pacific programs received more international applications in 2018 than in the previous year.

China, with seven national colleges in the Financial Times' Global Top 50 MBA rankings, was one of the main drivers behind this growth.

Sun says, a key factor behind this trend is the bullish outlook regarding international trade with China, which has in turn driven demand to learn more about the consumption behaviors in the country.

In addition, the tuition and living expenses in China are relatively lower than in Western countries, making the country more attractive to international students.

"Our two-year, full-time MBA program's tuition fee is around 320,000 yuan ($47,897) while a similar program in Western countries costs around $120,000. This makes China a good option," Sun says.