More first-in-the-family students enrol on elite business courses

Once the preserve of well-connected corporate climbers with company sponsorships, the executive MBA is drawing a new wave of students: the first in their families to pursue higher education.

The share of applicants to business school programmes whose parents did not complete a bachelors degree rose from 13 per cent in 2023 to 21 per cent in 2024, according to the Graduate Management Admission Council.

“This growing interest was especially prominent towards EMBA programmes,” says Joy Jones, chief executive. She says the gap between first-generation students who show interest in business education and those who apply is narrowing.

This suggests that schools may be reaching a pool of candidates they had not fully engaged before.

For Rosy Gonzalez Speers, a first-generation Latina at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, the attraction is as much about networking as knowledge. “I don’t come to the table with family relationships, or a dad that plays golf with so-and-so,” says the Miami-based partner at AL Media, a political communications agency. 

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Also a mother to young children, the 36-year-old says that finding time for an EMBA — usually studied while working — was a high hurdle. Cost was another. An award from the Forté Foundation, a non-profit focused on advancing women in business, covered 30 per cent of the Washington DC school’s nearly $170,000 tuition, leaving her to fund the rest through savings and loans. 

She views her first-generation background not as a setback but as an asset to the cohort. “It gives me a unique perspective that I bring to the table, which is comforting because folks in the cohort are extremely accomplished.”

Historically, EMBA classes were dominated by mid-career professionals with corporate sponsorship. The recent rise in first-generation students suggests that profile is beginning to shift. GMAC notes that first-generation candidates are more likely to rely on scholarships or loans and less on parental support than their peers. 

But measuring representation is difficult: disclosure is often voluntary, and Donna Humphrey-DeLosh, managing director of the Michigan Ross EMBA, says most first-generation students self-identify only later in the admissions process, which limits targeted marketing.

“Anecdotally, over the last several years we’ve seen an increase. We’re starting to collect the data now,” she notes.

Crochenka McCarthy, associate head of executive education at ESCP, which has multiple campuses across Europe, says degree providers could do more to signal that non-traditional backgrounds are welcome. “We don’t always collectively say it openly,” McCarthy says. “We are training future leaders, and they can be anybody.”

At ESCP, many first-generation EMBA candidates come from entrepreneurial families with little formal academic experience, often after decades running businesses but struggling to innovate or expand. That lack of academic grounding can also weigh on them. “I’ve seen people who worry about feeling left behind [in class],” says McCarthy. 

To accommodate them, accreditation rules allow ESCP to admit up to 30 per cent of a cohort without a bachelors degree if they can demonstrate 15 years of professional experience. In practice, the proportion is lower.

Others report similar concerns. Lucía Egea, vice-dean at IE Business School in Spain, says: “We see hesitation about whether one ‘belongs’ in a global EMBA cohort.” 

IE has introduced mentoring and peer-support to help students adjust. “We know from many personal stories that more first-generation professionals are joining our EMBA cohorts,” Egea adds. “They are often motivated by the opportunity to be role models in their communities.”

Tuition at top EMBA programmes can exceed $200,000, though many cost significantly less. Still, the return can be swift: according to the Executive MBA Council, average salaries rise nearly 20 per cent by graduation, with many students stepping into more senior roles.

With employer sponsorship in long-term decline, schools note ironically that in some respects this has widened access. “It’s no longer viewed by applicants as for traditional corporate pipelines,” says Nita Swinsick, associate dean at Georgetown University: McDonough. 

The school has expanded scholarships as employer backing wanes, but these are not targeted at first-generation students. Other institutions interviewed by the FT have taken a similar approach. 

At the same time, programme design is evolving, with schools citing first-generation candidates’ preference for flexibility to more easily fit study around full-time work. While many EMBAs still use the traditional fly-in weekend model, Georgetown now combines on-campus residencies with online sessions, and European schools such as IMD and Insead have launched similar formats.

The changes may ultimately be felt most in the classroom, where first-generation candidates add fresh perspectives. Joe Tennison, an American Michigan Ross EMBA student, illustrates the point. The son of a carpenter turned homebuilder, he was urged to join the family trade rather than attend university. “I’ve always been really proud of going to college,” he says. “It gives me a more humble perspective, and less entitlement. I feel like I’ve had to work harder. Nothing was given to me.”

His investment paid off. He was recently promoted to vice-president at Morley Builders, a California-based construction management firm — progress he credits in part to the skills and credibility he gained. For him, the degree is both a springboard to leadership and a reminder to classmates that paths to the top need not be uniform.