Working Professionals Want Flexible Business Master’s Degrees: Report
Credit: Drs Producoes / E+ / Getty Images- Experienced professionals are increasingly seeking out specialized business master’s degrees, according to a report from the consulting firm CarringtonCrisp.
- Working professionals pursuing a specialized master’s degree want flexibility, according to the report.
- Those findings build on previous studies that found both increased interest in specialized business degrees and a focus on flexibility.
- The increased interest also comes as schools launch AI-focused degrees.
Specialized business master’s degrees have long been seen as avenues sought solely by early career professionals — but new research suggests that might be changing.
Experienced candidates are increasingly looking for specialized master’s degrees, according to the 2025 Tomorrow’s Masters report from the consulting firm CarringtonCrisp. These older learners prioritize flexibility when looking for a degree.
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CarringtonCrisp surveyed more than 2,600 students, ages 23-40, from across the globe and found that students with career experience were more likely than those without professional experience to want a flexible or entirely online degree.
“Undoubtedly, the flexibility that allows study while working is important to those who have already embarked upon their careers,” the report reads.
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Flexible Business Degrees on the Rise
The master of business administration (MBA) degree has long been seen as the main business master’s degree for experienced professionals, but specialized business master’s degrees have been on the rise in recent years.
The Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) found in its 2025 Prospective Students Survey that the respondents, ages 23-30, across the board were interested in specialized business master’s degrees.
Among graduate business school candidates, the GMAC found a drop in MBA interest but a rise in interest in specialized degrees.
The MBA fell from the main preference of 63% of prospective students in 2023 to 52% as of the 2024 survey, though that degree program is still on track for long-term enrollment growth. Specialized business master’s degrees rose from being preferred by 31% of surveyed candidates to 39% during that same period.
“Notably, these older groups — as well as the youngest respondents surveyed who are likely still completing their undergraduate studies — showed year-over-year increases in preferences for business master’s programs,” the GMAC report reads.
The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) also found a rapid rise in applications to specialized business master’s programs in a 2024 report.
The GMAC attributed the rise in interest to the rise of tech-focused degrees in fields like artificial intelligence (AI).
“The largest increases were seen in the ‘other business master’s’ category, which is a catchall for the many newer, specialized graduate business programs that have been rolling out at business schools over the past several years.”
CarringtonCrisp also found in its Tomorrow’s Masters report that tech is key to prospective business master’s students.
Three of the top five degree types sought by prospective students in the 2025 CarringtonCrisp survey were related to technology: business and information technology (IT), AI and business, and digital marketing.
“However, no subject is dominant, suggesting diverse interests among prospective students, and giving business schools an opportunity to grow a distinctive offering,” the report reads.
A number of business schools have launched flexible online degrees in fields like AI and financial technology (fintech) in recent years. The W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University, for instance, launched both graduate and undergraduate degrees in AI last year.
More experienced professionals were more likely to pursue topics like AI and business than those without experience, who were more interested in topics like healthcare management, psychology, and marketing, according to the CarringtonCrisp report.
Degrees for Working Professionals
The CarringtonCrisp findings build on a longstanding trend in business education wherein business schools launch online degrees tailored specifically to working adults.
That has largely played out in online MBA programs. Many online MBAs are marketed to working professionals and feature asynchronous courses for maximum flexibility around students’ busy schedules.
But a number of business schools also offer specialized online master’s degrees for working adults. Master of accounting degrees, for example, are on the rise as students seek out the job security offered by accounting roles.
Online degree programs are generally less costly than their in-person counterparts, although the cost of an online business degree varies significantly based on a school’s reputation.
Potential cost was a major barrier for prospective students in the CarringtonCrisp survey. The cost of living while studying was cited by 48% of those surveyed as a reason not to pursue a master’s degree, and being unable to pay the fees associated with a degree was cited by 40%.
Earning a specialized business master’s degree can pay off with a long-term return on investment, however, and employers indicated in previous GMAC research that they’re interested in hiring specialized business master’s graduates.