Overview
Admissions Overview
An exciting MBA journey awaits you at Asia School of Business! Our intentionally diverse student body values intelligence, curiosity, and proactive change-makers. If you are a pioneer at heart, eager for new experiences, we warmly encourage you to apply to ASB and embody the MBA candidate profile we seek!
Admissions
Admissions Deadline
The application for the 2025 MBA intake is now open!
ASB adheres to the following application deadlines for our 2025 intake. Applications are due at 3:00 pm Malaysia Standard Time on the deadline stated below, including all required documents and a recommendation letter.
ASB encourages prospective candidates to apply in Rounds 1 and 2, as the competitive nature of Round 3 applications may result in a lower chance of admittance and limit consideration for fellowships. International students are especially encouraged to apply in Rounds 1 or 2 due to the timelines for processing student visa applications.
For more information about ASB, reach out to us at admissions@asb.edu.my.
ROUND 1
Tuesday,
Dec 31, 2024
ROUND 2
Monday,
Mar 31, 2025
ROUND 3
Saturday,
May 31, 2025
ROUND 4
Monday,
Jun 30, 2025
Criteria
Admission Criteria
ASB selects candidates with a high degree of intellectual capability and emotional maturity from an impressive international pool of applicants.
Our rigorous MBA program is suited for students who have performed at a superior level in their university studies, demonstrated the ability to pursue personal goals, exhibit a high level of integrity, and have professional work experience. We expect applicants to meet the following minimum requirements to be considered for admission:
- Bachelor’s degree or equivalent from a recognized institution with a minimum 2.5 CGPA on a 4.0 scale
- At least 2 years of post-graduation work experience
- Proof of English proficiency
Process
Admission process
Online Application
Prospective students complete the application and all necessary components. There is no application fee.
Evaluation
The application is read and reviewed by the ASB Admissions and a decision is made whether the applicant will be invited to interview.
Interview
Successful applicants are invited for an in-person or online interview with a member of the ASB Admissions.
Decision
The ASB Admissions decides whether to admit the applicant to the program.
Instructions
Application Instructions
The online application requires you to submit a number of personal, academic and employment details. ASB reserves the right not to review applications that are incomplete, do not meet our minimum requirements, or do not comply with the application instructions. Additionally, in order to submit a completed application, the below materials are required.
Please write a one-page cover letter to introduce yourself to the ASB Admissions. The cover letter should be succinct and include information on your past experiences, record of achievements, your goals for the future, and how the ASB MBA can help you achieve them.
Focus on answering the following questions:
- Why do you want to pursue an MBA from ASB?
- How will you contribute to the learning experience in this program?
- Any additional information you would like the ASB Admissions to know that may be helpful in evaluating your candidacy. (i.e. something you feel strongly about that is not articulated elsewhere in your application, your choice of recommenders, areas of concern in your academic record, any employment gaps (particularly those exceeding 3 months, other extenuating circumstances, etc.)
Your letter should conform to a standard business correspondence, should be addressed to the ASB Admissions Committee (250 words or fewer).
Please submit an updated resume that includes your work experience and educational experience in reverse chronological order. It should focus on accomplishments and indicate dates by month/year. Extracurricular and other information appropriate to a business resume are welcomed and encouraged. Please ensure your resume is reflective of any employment gaps you might have. You may refer to the ASB resume template here.
Your resume should NOT exceed 2 pages in length.
All applicants must have a bachelor’s degree (or equivalent) in order to apply to the Asia School of Business MBA Program. Applicants with an equivalent of a bachelor’s degree (particularly if your transcript or degree certificate does not explicitly state it is a bachelor’s degree) must provide an official explanation from your academic institution or governing body (i.e. Ministry of Education) that clarifies the equivalency of your qualification to a bachelor’s degree. This can be especially important for university degrees that do not adhere to the 4.0< cumulative grade-point average (CGPA) system.
- Transcripts
Please scan and upload copies of all your official academic transcripts from all programs in which you have received a degree.
If a transcript is not written in English, you must provide a notarised translation. The original and the notarised English translation should be scanned and uploaded as part of your application.
If your educational institution does not use a 4.0 grading scale, you must ensure that your transcripts include a description of the grading scale.
If your transcripts do not provide this information, you must submit supplemental official documentation describing the grading scale used. It will also be useful if you can provide supplemental official documentation that indicates the grade-point average (GPA) on a 4.0 scale based on the grades or points awarded by your academic institution, or upload a CGPA equivalent calculation using Scholaro’s GPA Calculator.
You should include the supplemental document(s) within your transcript document upload when adding the institution within the “Academic History” section of the application. You may also provide a credential evaluation report from services such as WES or ECE (General with GPA).
An “unofficial” or student copy of transcripts can be provided during the application stage. However, if you are admitted to the MBA program, you will be required to submit an official transcript signed and sealed from every school attended that contributed to a degree. Any discrepancies between the scanned transcripts and official transcripts may result in a candidate’s rejection or a withdrawal of our offer of admission.
- Degree Certificates/Diplomas
Please scan and submit a copy of all diplomas/degrees certificates for programs from which you have received a degree.
If the original is not in English, you are required to submit notarised translation. You should upload your diploma/degree certificate as a separate document upload when adding the institution within the “Academic History” section of the application.
While not required, ASB Admissions encourages all applicants to submit a valid GMAT, GRE, or Executive Assessment (EA) score as part of their application. We accept GMAT, GRE, or EA and have no preference for one over the other.
Test scores are only valid for five years. Therefore, for those applying to the ASB MBA 2025 intake, we will consider all scores taken after August 1, 2020. We ask that you also include percentiles when submitting your score. You may self-report your scores within your application and have your official GMAT or GRE scores sent to ASB.
- There is no program code required for the GMAT or EA
- MBA GRE School Code: 7568
Important Notes:
- ASB Admissions reserves the right to request additional supporting documents if required.
In order to obtain an international student visa to attend ASB, applicants are required to provide proof of their English proficiency. International applicants whose native language is English OR who have received a university undergraduate degree taught in English automatically fulfill this requirement.
All other international applicants must provide proof of their English language proficiency by submitting one of the following supporting documents or valid test scores (the minimum required score is in brackets):
- IELTS Standard/Online (Overall band 6.0)
- TOEFL (Internet-based (60), Essentials (Online) (8.5))
- Cambridge English (Advanced/Proficiency/Linguaskill Online (169), Occupational English Test (OET) (Conventional/Online) (250))
- Pearson Test of English (PTE) Academic / Academic Online (59)
- Malaysian University English Test (MUET) (Band 4)
- ELS (Certified Intensive English Programme Level, CEIP Level (109))
We will only accept English language proficiency test scores taken within two years of the start date of the intake you are applying for. Therefore, for applicants planning to enter the MBA program in 2025, we only accept the above English language proficiency test scores taken after August 1, 2023.
Applicants who are required to provide proof of English language proficiency are responsible for ensuring that their official test score report is sent to ASB.
- For IELTS, ASB’s RO name is “Asia School of Business”
- For TOEFL, ASB’s reporting code is B408
Important Notes:
- Applicants will be required to provide supporting letter from the university to confirm English language as the medium of instruction for the undergraduate degree.
- Proof of English proficiency document is needed for assessment and verification purposes. This document will also be required for international student visa application.
- For a Malaysian national who did not complete his/her undergraduate degree in English, you are required to submit either one of the ESL test scores above in accordance with the Ministry of Higher Education Malaysia guidelines.
All applicants are required to submit a one-minute video that introduces yourself to the ASB community. Your video will help ASB Admissions to get to know you better, learn more about your passions, accomplishments and aspirations, and to understand what unique qualities set you apart from your peers.
Important Notes:
- The video should not exceed 1:00 minute total in length
- You may upload your video OR host your video externally (i.e., YouTube, Vimeo, Dropbox); Please ensure that you provide an unprotected link (no password required)
- You must appear in person in your video
- Be authentic and be yourself!
ONE Letter of Recommendation is required for the MBA application. However, we request you to provide a backup recommender’s contact information in case an additional reference is needed. Professional recommendations are preferred from individuals who can speak with certainty about your professional achievements and potential. Recommendations from family members or friends are not accepted.
Letter of Recommendation
The first recommender must submit an online recommendation. We do not accept any recommendation via email.
- Applicants must input the name and contact information for each recommender, including their email address. Upon saving the information, the first recommender will receive an email with recommendation instructions. We prefer that a professional or academic email address be used for the recommender, not a personal one.
- Several corporate servers block our recommendation emails. We encourage you to confirm with your recommender that he/she has received the email request. If your recommender does not receive the relevant email, please ask him/her to check their spam/junk folders and add Asia School of Business (admissions@asb.edu.my) to the list of trusted senders. If your recommender encounters difficulty in submitting the online recommendation, please contact the Admissions Office for assistance.
- It is the applicants’ responsibility to remind their recommender of the application deadline in order for the application to be completed on time. An application will not be considered complete until the recommendation has been submitted.
Important Notes
Applications are due by 3:00 pm Malaysia Standard Time on the deadline date, including all required documents and recommendation letter:
Round 1: Tuesday, December 31, 2024
Round 2: Monday, March 31, 2025
Round 3: Saturday, May 31, 2025
Round 4: Monday, June 30, 2025
Important notes:
- All international students are strongly encouraged to apply in Rounds 1 or 2 due to timelines for processing international student visa applications.
- In exceptional circumstances, the ASB admissions may be in a position to grant an extension to the application deadline. In order to request one, please email admissions with the email heading: “APPLICATION DEADLINE EXTENSION REQUEST” and in the email explain why you are requesting for an extension. Extensions are at the discretion of the ASB admissions and all decisions are final.
There is no application fee required at this time.
Interviews will be scheduled by invitation only, after an initial evaluation of a completed application. Invited applicants will be notified by email and provided a link to register for the interview. Depending on your location, the interview will be conducted in person or virtually via Zoom.
You are also required to craft a one-page presentation slide for your upcoming interview session. You may be asked by the interviewer to present it in the interview. An email notification will be sent to your email address and you will need to upload the presentation as an executive summary on Application Portal. Alternatively, you may also check the communication on the Admit Portal.
Suggested Slide content:
- Brief introduction about yourself (1-2 sentences)
- Professional summary and education background
- Current role and company (if applicable)
- Organization chart to show where you are within the company leadership
- Career goals
- Extracurricular/ CSR activities
The ASB Admissions gives every application the fullest possible review and does not consider appeals of admissions decisions. All applicants are informed of admission decisions through the online application system, including those who do not get invited to interview.
Applicants admitted to the program early enough in the admissions cycle will be invited to attend various admissions events. Those interested in visiting our campus must make an appointment by reaching out to admissions@asb.edu.my with 2-3 suggested dates and times.
ASB also hosts several public admissions events in Kuala Lumpur and around the world. Click here to view our calendar.
For information regarding the MBA tuition fees, please visit our website.
If admitted, we require a MYR10,000 enrollment deposit to secure your place in the class. Enrollment deposits are due according to the deadline listed in the admission decision letter.
If you opt for an accommodation at the ASB Residences (ASBR), we require a minimum of MYR2,600 housing security deposit for Room Type A or more, depending on the room selection, which must be paid prior to moving into the ASB residential facilities.
Saturday, 16 August 2025: ASB Residential facilities available for move-in
Monday, 18 August 2025: International student arrival deadline
Monday, 25 August 2025: Day 1 of 1-week Orientation
Tuesday, 2 September 2025: 1st Day of MBA class
The ASB MBA program will officially kick off with a compulsory one-week orientation program beginning August 25, 2025. All students are required to attend the full orientation program.
*Schedule and dates are subject to change
The ASB Admissions team is here to support you. If you have any questions, please email us at admissions@asb.edu.my.