International Business School Applications Fell 38% in 2026: What GMAC's Data Means for STEM OPT Plans

GMAC says international applications to US business programs fell 38% in 2026. Here is which cut each number comes from, and why the CIP code on your I-20, not the STEM label, is the first test for STEM OPT.

By F1Jobs Team · 2026-11-01 · 10 min read

A business school atrium at midday with a sweeping staircase, empty lounge chairs and sunlight pouring through a glass roof onto a pale stone floor

GMAC's Application Trends Survey 2026, released October 27, 2026, found that applications to graduate business programs fell 10% worldwide and 25% at US programs for the class entering in 2026-27. International applications to US programs fell 38% and domestic applications 6% (Figure 4, all US program types combined, so not an MBA-only figure); US Master of Business Analytics applications fell 32%. As of November 1, 2026, the STEM OPT rules are unchanged and in effect, and eligibility still turns on your program's CIP code.

Status as of November 1, 2026

STEM OPT (24 months, plus the 180-day automatic extension for timely filers): in effect, untouched by the October 14, 2026 rule that ended automatic extensions for certain other EAD renewals.
OPT fee ($70,000 before the initial OPT recommendation, $30,000 before each later one, STEM OPT included): proposed. Comments close November 9, 2026, at 11:59 p.m. ET; it stays a proposal unless DHS publishes a final rule.
$100,000 H-1B payment: Proclamation 11069 is in effect on paper, but courts blocked the agency policies that implement the payment and it is not being collected. FY2028 H-1B registration: not announced.

GMAC application trends 2026: the numbers, and which cut each one comes from

GMAC's Application Trends Survey 2026 (October 27, 2026) found that international applications to US graduate business programs fell 38% for the 2026-27 intake, while domestic applications fell 6%. Applications to US programs overall fell 25%, and US Master of Business Analytics applications fell 32%. Programs in Europe (excluding the UK) and East and Southeast Asia grew.

This is a survey of programs, not a count of applicants. According to the GMAC Application Trends Survey 2026 report, 1,162 programs at 314 business schools in 39 countries responded between mid-June and mid-August 2026. GMAC defines international applications as "those from outside of the business schools' country of operation." Each headline number measures something different.

GMAC Application Trends Survey 2026: what each headline figure measures (as of 2026-11)

Figure	What it measures	Change	Do not read it as
Global applications	Total applications to all surveyed programs worldwide	-10%	A US number
US programs	Total applications to US programs, all program types	-25%	An international-only number
US international (Figure 4)	Applications from outside the US to US programs, all program types combined	-38%	An MBA-only number
US domestic (Figure 4)	Applications from US candidates to US programs	-6%	Evidence that only international demand fell
US MSBA	Total applications to US Master of Business Analytics programs, the largest decline among US program types	-32%	A count of international MSBA applicants only
India as the largest drop	Share of US programs naming Indian candidates as their largest decrease	41% of programs	A 41% fall in Indian applications
Growth regions	Total applications to programs in Europe (excluding the UK) and East and Southeast Asia	Grew	Growth anywhere in the US

How much did international MBA applications fall in 2026?

GMAC's headline findings give no single US international MBA figure; the 38% covers all US program types. The report's MBA section covers global MBA results, and GMAC's separate Americas regional profile breaks US results down by degree type, so compare your program against the matching cut.

Why did domestic applications fall too?

GMAC points to a "low-hire, low-fire" US labor market and to new federal caps on graduate borrowing, which it notes took effect while the survey was in the field. The National Student Clearinghouse's preliminary fall 2026 count (October 29, 2026; all students, no international split) shows master's enrollment down 3.7%, so this is not only an international story.

Which regions gained applicants?

Total applications grew at programs in Europe (excluding the UK) and East and Southeast Asia, and fell at programs in the US, Canada and the UK. GMAC writes that "visa changes and other immigration, education, and work policies appear to be re-routing internationally minded GME applicants away from the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom." In the US, 41% of programs said their largest decrease came from Indian candidates.

Student-visa data points the same way. By our count of DHS's October 2026 SEVIS data, active records for Indian master's students fell 20.1% year over year, to 234,034, and all master's-level records fell 14.8%. SEVIS counts active records, not new enrollments, so read it as direction only.

What the drop means for your STEM OPT plan and job search

A smaller international applicant pool changes who sits in your class. It does not change the rules on your work authorization or make any employer more willing to sponsor. In our reading, three things follow:

The CIP code is the variable you can check. Post-completion OPT lasts up to 12 months. A degree whose CIP code is on the DHS STEM list can add a 24-month STEM OPT extension: more time to work and more H-1B registration seasons.
Business analytics is the program to watch. Among US program types, MSBA programs reported the largest decline (-32%). Globally, GMAC says business master's degrees, "historically reliant on international applications," held up better than MBAs by growing their domestic pipelines. For an international MSBA student, that can mean fewer recent graduates on OPT at your target employers.
Hiring is a separate question. Indeed Hiring Lab reported entry-level postings down 7.5% and senior postings up 14.7% year over year in May 2026. Application counts say nothing about which employers will sign a Form I-983 or file an H-1B petition.

For the job search itself, our evergreen guide to landing a sponsored US job after business school covers target lists, timing and sponsorship conversations. If you are still choosing a degree, compare an MBA against a specialized master's for H-1B and green card plans before you pay a deposit.

What is a STEM-designated MBA?

"STEM-designated" is a school's description, not a legal category. What counts is the six-digit CIP (Classification of Instructional Programs) code your school assigns to your program, printed on your Form I-20. If that code is on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List, the degree can support STEM OPT; if not, it cannot, whatever the brochure says.

The DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List (last updated July 22, 2024) calls itself "a complete list of fields of study that DHS considers to be science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) fields of study for purposes of the 24-month STEM optional practical training extension described at 8 CFR 214.2(f)." It covers four whole CIP series (Engineering, Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Mathematics and Statistics, and Physical Sciences) plus selected six-digit codes from 18 related series, Business among them.

Business-adjacent codes on that list include 52.1301 Management Science, 52.1302 Business Statistics, 52.1399 Management Sciences and Quantitative Methods, Other, 30.7102 Business Analytics, 30.7104 Financial Analytics and 45.0603 Econometrics and Quantitative Economics. General business administration (52.0201) is not on it. Our guide to the STEM OPT degree list and CIP codes walks through reading your I-20, and if your code is missing, see what you can do when your CIP code is not on the STEM list. ICE's SEVP schools page adds that "Interested parties, including members of the public, may nominate a CIP code," with an annual nomination deadline of August 1.

Do STEM MBAs qualify for STEM OPT?

A STEM-coded MBA or MSBA can support the 24-month STEM OPT extension, but the CIP code is only the first gate. The other requirements come from the USCIS STEM OPT page.

STEM OPT requirements for a business degree (as of 2026-11)

Requirement	What it means	Where to confirm
CIP code on the DHS STEM list	The six-digit code on your I-20 appears on the list	DHS STEM list; your DSO
Accredited, SEVP-certified school	Accredited by a Department of Education-recognized agency and SEVP-certified when you apply	USCIS STEM OPT page
E-Verify employer	The employer has a valid E-Verify company ID (or client company ID through an agent)	Employer HR
Form I-983	The employer signs a training plan	Employer and DSO
Filing window	Up to 90 days before your OPT EAD expires, and within 60 days of the DSO's recommendation	USCIS STEM OPT page
Unemployment limit	90 days on post-completion OPT; 150 days in aggregate once on STEM OPT	SEVIS Help Hub
Filing fee	I-765 $520 on paper, $470 online; optional premium processing $1,780 (30 business days)	Form G-1055, edition 10/26/26
Work while pending	180-day automatic extension, in effect, only if you file before your OPT EAD expires	USCIS STEM OPT page

If your business degree is not STEM-coded but you earned an earlier STEM degree in the US, USCIS says you "may be eligible to use a previous STEM degree from a U.S. institution of higher education." The conditions include: both schools currently accredited and SEVP-certified; no earlier STEM OPT extension based on that degree; a STEM OPT job directly related to it; and, per Study in the States, a degree earned within 10 years of applying. Your DSO, not the admissions office, confirms whether that works in your case.

How to check a program's STEM status before you commit

Ask the admissions office for the program's six-digit CIP code in writing, and whether it covers every student or only one track.
Search that exact code on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List on ice.gov.
Confirm with the international student office (your future DSO) which CIP code will print on your Form I-20, and whether a concentration change would alter it.
Ask career services whether recent international graduates moved from OPT to STEM OPT with E-Verify employers that signed Form I-983.
Read the OPT fee proposal in the Federal Register (docket ICEB-2026-0100) and your school's international office page for its response.
Look up target employers' H-1B history in the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub before you count on them for sponsorship after STEM OPT.

The OPT fee proposal and a business-school timeline

Under the OPT fee proposal published October 8, 2026 (proposed 8 CFR 214.13(i)), the SEVP-certified school would pay $70,000 before your initial OPT recommendation and $30,000 before each later one, STEM OPT included. Schools could pass the cost to you, to all students or to employers. The fee would start 60 days after a final rule and would not reach students already on approved OPT, already approved, or holding a DSO recommendation dated before the effective date. The $100,000 you may have seen is the proposal's own worked total for OPT plus STEM OPT, not a separate fee. More than 4,700 comments had been filed as of November 1, 2026. Our explainer on who would pay the proposed OPT fee goes deeper.

If you already used OPT after an earlier US degree: DHS "considered ... having the one-time initial fee of $70,000 apply again to any initial period of OPT following the F-1 student's change to a higher educational level" and "especially encourages input" on it. That is an option DHS asked about, not the proposal itself; see whether the fee could be charged twice after bachelor's OPT.

Two illustrative timelines under the proposal's text (as of 2026-11)

Stage	One-year STEM-coded MSBA, graduating May 2027	Two-year STEM-coded MBA, starting August 2027
October 27, 2026	GMAC data out; you are already enrolled	You are applying into the next cycle GMAC will measure
November 9, 2026	OPT fee comments close at 11:59 p.m. ET; no final rule exists unless one is later published	Same
OPT recommendation	Spring 2027; not covered if dated before any final rule's effective date	Spring 2029; $70,000 owed by the school (which may pass it on) if a final rule is in effect by then and unchanged
STEM OPT recommendation	Around spring 2028; $30,000 under the proposal if a final rule is in effect, and how a fee-free first OPT is treated is unresolved	Around spring 2030; $30,000 under the proposal if in effect
H-1B registration	FY2028 season not announced; March 2027 is only an expectation	STEM OPT can span more than one registration season, none announced

This is not a prediction that a final rule will exist or what it would say; a final rule can change amounts, scope and timing.

MBA H-1B sponsorship in 2027: in effect versus proposed

Weighted selection: in effect since February 27, 2026. Registrations are weighted by the DOL wage level of the offered job, from four entries at Level IV down to one at Level I (Federal Register).
FY2028 registration: not announced; the USCIS registration page still describes FY2027. USCIS must announce a season at least 30 calendar days ahead (8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(A)(3)).
$100,000 payment: courts vacated the agency policies implementing it, and the USCIS I-129 page says, "If this order is later lifted, DHS still plans to collect the payment." Per USCIS guidance of September 21, 2026, change-of-status, amendment and extension requests granted inside the US were never covered; a denied change of status or a consular-notification petition would be, if collection resumed.
$103,265 fee on certain cap-subject petitions (RIN 1615-AD20): proposed; comments closed September 24, 2026; no final rule.
Cap-gap: a timely cap-subject change-of-status petition extends F-1 status and OPT work to April 1 of the fiscal year requested (or the petition start date, if earlier). Cap-exempt petitions get no cap-gap, and cap-gap ends if the petition is denied, withdrawn, revoked or rejected.

Cap-gap and SEVIS questions go to your DSO; petition strategy goes to your employer's immigration attorney.

Common mistakes

Calling 38% the MBA drop. It is the US international figure across all program types.
Reading "41% of US programs" as a 41% fall in Indian applicants. It is the share of programs naming India as their largest decrease.
Trusting the "STEM-designated" label or a STEM concentration over the CIP code. Only the six-digit code on your I-20 decides whether the degree can support STEM OPT.
Saying students pay $70,000. The school is the legal payer and may pass the cost on, and the fee is still a proposal.
Forgetting E-Verify. An employer willing to sponsor an H-1B still cannot employ you on STEM OPT unless it is enrolled in E-Verify.

Frequently asked questions

How much did international MBA applications fall in 2026?

GMAC's Application Trends Survey 2026, released October 27, 2026, reports that international applications to US graduate business programs fell 38% for the 2026-27 intake (Figure 4). That figure covers all US program types, MBA and business master's together, so it is not an MBA-only number.

What is a STEM-designated MBA?

It is an MBA that the school places under a CIP code on the DHS STEM Designated Degree Program List, such as 52.1301 Management Science. The label has no legal meaning; the six-digit CIP code on your Form I-20 counts. General business administration (52.0201) is not on the list, last updated July 22, 2024.

Do STEM MBAs qualify for STEM OPT?

They can, if the CIP code on your I-20 is on the DHS STEM list and the other requirements are met, including an accredited, SEVP-certified school, an E-Verify employer that signs Form I-983 and a timely Form I-765. As of November 1, 2026, STEM OPT and its 180-day automatic extension are in effect. Your DSO confirms eligibility.

Are business schools still recruiting international students?

Yes, according to GMAC. In the 2026 report's foreword, CEO Joy Jones describes renewed efforts by schools to build resilient domestic and international talent pipelines, even as US, Canadian and UK programs were especially likely to name visa policy changes as a major factor in their application volume. Ask each school for its program CIP code in writing.

Which regions gained business school applicants in 2026?

GMAC's 2026 survey found that total applications grew at programs in Europe (excluding the UK) and East and Southeast Asia and fell at programs in the US, Canada and the UK. Separately, 41% of US programs said their largest decrease came from Indian candidates, a share of programs rather than a 41% drop.

Sources

How we checked this: on November 1-2, 2026 we read the GMAC report, the DHS STEM list, the USCIS STEM OPT page (updated January 30, 2026), Study in the States' STEM OPT eligibility page, the OPT fee proposal and DHS's October 2026 SEVIS tables.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Your own I-20, EAD and notices govern, and your DSO (for F-1, OPT and SEVIS questions) or a licensed immigration attorney (for H-1B and status strategy) should review your situation.

If you are heading into OPT or STEM OPT from a business program and want a search aimed at employers that actually sponsor, F1Jobs can help you plan it.