Last year, business and management was the most popular subject among undergraduate international students in the US[1]. So, it comes as little surprise that Business and Management ranked as the most popular search category on the ApplyBoard Platform in 2022.
On ApplyBoard’s online platform, prospective international students have the ability to narrow their searches by a wide range of factors. Destination, tuition cost, program length, and subject of study are all filters students can toggle as they browse their study abroad options.
We dove into our internal data to uncover what subjects are driving the popularity of the business and management field of study in the US, including how those preferences change based on where the student lives.
How Do Search Trends for the US Compare to its Competition?
Management and administration is the most popular business and management subcategory on the ApplyBoard Platform, but in which destination market is it the most popular? To understand how the popularity of subcategories fluctuates across each of ApplyBoard’s top three destination markets, let’s examine this chart:
Looking at searches for the US, there were a few key areas where the US is stronger than its competitors. Entrepreneurship and marketing and advertising were both significantly more popular among this group than Canada or UK searches. The US also edged out Canada in hospitality and tourism, as well as finance and economics. Overall, the US is garnering a competitive, stable level of interest from prospective international students. Of the 12 subcategories in the business and management filter, the US only placed last in two.
Certain subcategories are more popular in some destination markets than others. One of the most interesting findings from this data set is that business and management searches for programs in the UK are top-heavy. 42% of all UK category searches in 2022 were for either management and administration (24.4%) or international business (17.7%). Those two categories accounted for just 37% in the US.
But in order to truly gain value from destination market-specific data, we need to understand not only which subject areas are popular in certain countries, but also which cohorts of students they are most popular with.
How Do Student Preferences Differ By Source Country?
To understand student preferences, we look for outliers: specific data points that make a student population stand out due to its interest or disinterest in a particular subcategory.
These groups of students are ideal candidates for targeted recruitment efforts. By paying attention to the students who have a particular interest in their country’s programs, institutions can gain the competitive advantage they need to grow and diversify their student base.
ApplyBoard analyzed the data from Indian, Nigerian, and Bangladeshi searches (three high-growth markets across all top study abroad destinations) within the business and management subject filter in 2022. This was done for Canada, the UK, and the US. Here’s what we found:
Management, administration, general programs are more popular in the US than Canada or the UK, among all three nationalities.
Bangladeshi students are targeting marketing and advertising programs in Canada, the UK and the US at a higher rate than any other group of students.[2]
International business programs in the UK are more popular among Indian students than any other business and management program is among any other nationality of student, compared to the all markets average.
Which Students Should Business Programs Recruit to Diversify Their International Student Populations?
For many international recruitment offices today, diversity is king. Institutions are focusing less on international student volume and more on the different nationalities composing their international student body.
To help uncover which markets might fit the bill for diversity recruitment efforts, ApplyBoard analyzed the data from the top 10 markets by search volume within the business and management subject filter in 2022 and ranked them by how much they beat the all-market average:
Hospitality and tourism attracted just 8% of total searches in 2022. But among Nepali and Filipino students, it ranked as the most searched and second most searched subject, respectively.
Marketing and advertising was more popular among Chinese students than any other nationality of student on the ApplyBoard Platform last year. Nearly one in four Chinese student searches in the business and management category was for marketing and advertising. Colombian students also searched for marketing programs at double the rate of students from all markets.
Accounting, which drew just one out of every 10 searches in business and management last year, was the second most searched subject among students from Nepal at just under 16%.
Paying attention to the niche interests of students from emerging, underrepresented source markets can be the difference in garnering a competitive recruitment advantage. Institutions that acknowledge these country-specific trends and create a plan to act on them provide themselves with a chance to lead when it comes to student diversity.
ABOUT APPLYBOARD
ApplyBoard empowers students around the world to access the best education by simplifying the institutional search, application, and acceptance process. By connecting international students, academic institutions, and recruitment partners on a single online platform, ApplyBoard drives qualified student applicants and diversity to more than 1,750 campuses across Canada, Australia, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. ApplyBoard has helped more than 600,000 students along their educational journeys.
To learn more about ApplyBoard, please visit applyboard.com.