Business education remains one of the largest pathways into professional work. In the United States, institutions awarded 375,418 business bachelor’s degrees in 2021-22, while the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported 2023 median wages of $79,050 for business and financial operations occupations and $116,880 for management occupations. The figures below describe degree production, accreditation, employer expectations, and selected career outcomes across clearly identified periods and geographies.
Contents
- Business degrees over time
- Graduate and doctoral education
- Women in business education
- Accreditation and global scale
- What employers say about business graduates
- Business careers and pay
- Occupational demand through 2033
Business degrees over time
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) shows how business bachelor’s degree production expanded over the long term before reaching a more stable recent level. U.S. institutions awarded 63,639 business bachelor’s degrees in 1965-66 and 126,144 in 1972-73. The total reached 246,265 in 1993-94, 311,574 in 2004-05, and 358,132 in 2013-14.
Recent NCES observations are close together but not identical. Business bachelor’s degrees totaled 367,235 in 2011-12, according to NCES Career Outlook, and 375,418 in 2021-22. NCES Digest table 325.25 records 391,375 in 2020-21. These numbers come from different reported academic years and source presentations, so they should be read as period-specific counts rather than combined into one uninterrupted series.
The recent five-year comparison in NCES Digest table 325.25 reported a 5.3% increase in business bachelor’s degrees from 2015-16 to 2020-21. That growth was smaller than the corresponding increases reported for advanced business credentials, but it still represents expansion in the number of students completing undergraduate business programs.
Graduate and doctoral education
Graduate business education has also grown substantially over the historical periods reported by NCES. Business master’s degrees increased from 6,874 in 1960-61 to 25,977 in 1970-71, then to 78,255 in 1990-91 and 142,617 in 2004-05. NCES recorded 191,606 business master’s degrees in 2011-12 and 202,334 in 2020-21.
Business doctoral degree production was smaller in absolute terms but expanded over the same broad period. NCES reported 257 business doctoral degrees in 1962-63, 1,185 in 1990-91, 1,498 in 2004-05, 2,538 in 2011-12, and 3,711 in 2020-21.
The five-year NCES comparison also shows faster recent growth at the graduate and doctoral levels. Business master’s degrees increased 13.8% from 2015-16 to 2020-21, while business doctoral degrees increased 28.4% over that period. These are reported changes in awarded degrees, not forecasts of future enrollment.
| Credential | Reported earlier count | Reported later count | Periods represented |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bachelor’s | 63,639 | 375,418 | 1965-66 to 2021-22 |
| Master’s | 6,874 | 202,334 | 1960-61 to 2020-21 |
| Doctoral | 257 | 3,711 | 1962-63 to 2020-21 |
The table provides historical endpoints from the reported observations. It does not imply that every intervening year followed a smooth trend.
Women in business education
The share of business bachelor’s degrees awarded to women changed materially across the NCES observations. Women received 33.7% of business bachelor’s degrees in 1979-80. Their share reached 50.3% in 2001-02 and was 46.7% in 2021-22.
These percentages describe the sex distribution of awarded business bachelor’s degrees in the named academic years. They are not employment shares, earnings comparisons, or measures of representation across every business credential. The difference between the 2001-02 and 2021-22 observations also illustrates why a single benchmark should not be treated as a permanent level.
Accreditation and global scale
AACSB describes a large international business-education network. Its About Us figures report more than 2,000 member organizations, 1,000+ accredited schools, and more than 5 million enrolled students globally. The network represents 100+ countries and territories and includes 1,350+ volunteers. AACSB also reports 2.5 million+ annual web visitors.
AACSB’s 2024 State of Accreditation Report covers the period from July 1, 2023, to June 30, 2024. During that period, the organization reported 188 total extensions across business and accounting, with 38 schools achieving business accreditation. It reported 278 schools in process for initial business accreditation as of June 30, 2024.
The same report recorded 43 initial accreditation visits and 210 continuous improvement review visits during the period. Standard 9 was mentioned in 94% of decision reports in 2023-24 business accreditation reviews. AACSB also reported 886 volunteers trained overall on the 2020 standards, including 132 volunteers trained in 2023-24 and 170 volunteers completing refresher training in 2023-24.
Because the AACSB figures use different scopes, dates, and terms, they answer different questions. Membership and enrolled-student figures describe the network’s reported scale; visits, schools in process, accreditation decisions, and volunteer training describe activity during a specified accreditation year.
What employers say about business graduates
GMAC’s 2024 Corporate Recruiters Survey included 931 respondents from 38 countries of citizenship; 51% of respondents were from the Global Fortune 500. The survey provides an employer perspective on graduate management education (GME), including delivery formats, skills, hiring, and international talent.
Among employers concerned about artificial intelligence, about two-thirds wanted GME graduates to use AI for acquiring business knowledge or developing strategy. Two-thirds of employers believed in-person programs impart stronger technical skills, while nearly three-quarters believed in-person programs provide better leadership and communication skills.
Almost twice as many employers in 2024 as in 2021 said GME skills matter more in remote or hybrid work contexts. More than a third of global recruiters expected to hire more MBA graduates in 2024 than in 2023, and more than a quarter expected to expand hiring of graduates from every degree type in 2024.
The survey also reported that roughly two-thirds of employers believed full business degrees are more effective for employee success than micro-credentials. Nearly 90% of employers in Asia, Western Europe, and the Middle East were open to or actively planning to hire international talent in 2024, compared with just over half of U.S. employers. Professional development was the most common benefit employers planned to offer new hires in 2024, up 8 points from 2023.
Graduate application demand
GMAC reported that total global applications to graduate business school programs increased 12% from 2023 to 2024. Application growth was reported at 80% of full-time two-year MBA programs and 64% of full-time one-year MBA programs in 2024. The corresponding shares were 58% of online programs and 52% of hybrid programs.
Nearly three-quarters of accounting and management master’s programs had application growth in 2024. GMAC also reported that more than 13 million prospective students a year use its websites to learn about MBA and business master’s programs. That audience figure is a measure of website use, not a count of completed applications or enrolled students.
Business careers and pay
The Bureau of Labor Statistics Career Outlook reported 2023 median annual wages for several business-related occupations. The median was $98,580 for project management specialists, $99,010 for financial and investment analysts, $99,410 for management analysts, and $99,580 for personal financial advisors. Financial risk specialists had a median wage of $106,090.
Management occupations generally had a higher reported median than business and financial operations occupations: $116,880 compared with $79,050 in 2023. Within management, BLS reported median wages of $136,350 for human resources managers, $136,380 for purchasing managers, $156,100 for financial managers, and $157,620 for marketing managers. Chief executives had a reported median annual wage of $206,680.
For context, the median annual wage for all occupations was $48,060 in 2023. These are occupation-level medians, not guaranteed salaries for business graduates. Pay varies by occupation and other factors, and the business and management groups include many different roles.
Occupational demand through 2033
BLS also reported employment counts for 2023 and projections for 2033. Accountants and auditors numbered 1,562,000 jobs in 2023 and were projected to reach 1,653,400 by 2033. Project management specialists numbered 973,600 and were projected to reach 1,043,400. Human resources specialists numbered 933,700 and were projected to reach 1,007,900.
Market research analysts and marketing specialists had 903,400 jobs in 2023, with a projection of 978,300 by 2033. Buyers and purchasing agents had 524,100 jobs and a projection of 561,400. Construction managers had 520,900 jobs and a projection of 568,500.
| Occupation | Jobs in 2023 | Projected jobs in 2033 |
|---|---|---|
| Accountants and auditors | 1,562,000 | 1,653,400 |
| Project management specialists | 973,600 | 1,043,400 |
| Human resources specialists | 933,700 | 1,007,900 |
| Market research analysts and marketing specialists | 903,400 | 978,300 |
| Buyers and purchasing agents | 524,100 | 561,400 |
| Construction managers | 520,900 | 568,500 |
| Compliance officers | 403,900 | 425,800 |
| Financial and investment analysts | 347,400 | 380,500 |
| Personal financial advisors | 321,000 | 375,900 |
| Logisticians | 237,100 | 282,900 |
The BLS projections also covered compliance officers, from 403,900 jobs in 2023 to 425,800 in 2033; financial and investment analysts, from 347,400 to 380,500; personal financial advisors, from 321,000 to 375,900; and logisticians, from 237,100 to 282,900. The later figures are projections, not observed employment totals.