Over a quarter of a million students take the GMAT every year, and no two have exactly the same background. However, we used GMAC data to show the highest and lowest mean GMAT scores by undergraduate major. The graph below shows the mean scores by major, ranging from a 608 (Physics) to a 486 (Statistics).

Test-takers are asked to select their major among 42 listed, which are divided into 5 fields: Engineering (including Computer Science), Social Science, Science, Humanities, and Business.

Engineering students scored the highest, with a mean score of 591. Social Science majors and Science majors had a photo finish, with mean scores of 569 and 568 respectively. Humanities majors had a mean score of 547. Rounding out last place were (surprisingly) business majors, with an mean score of only 530.

Of the 42 undergraduate majors to choose from, the top 5 were:

1. Physics (608)

2. Mathematics (605)

3. Engineering (595)

4. Philosophy (588)

5. Other Engineering or Computer Science-related major (586)

With one glaring exception, all of the top majors are heavily quant-oriented. In fact computer science and engineering majors fare by far the best on the GMAT, with a mean score of 591.

The 5 lowest scoring majors were:

1. Statistics (486)

2. Education (488)

3. Marketing (489)

4. Agriculture (500)

5. Management (502)

Unsurprisingly, over half of GMAT examinees in 2012 were business majors, with Accounting and Finance being the two most popular majors.

The most popular undergraduate majors among GMAT examinees were:

1. Accounting (13.9% of students in 2012)

2. Finance (13.5%)

3. Engineering (11.6%)

4. Economics (8.7%)

5. Management (7.8%)

The least popular majors among GMAT examinees were: 

1. Art History (0.13% of students in 2012)

2. Anthropology (0.17%)

3. Statistics (0.19%)

4. Agriculture (0.19%)

5. Actuarial Science (0.26%)

So if you’re one of the 323 Art History majors that took the GMAT in 2012, this might be why you haven’t been able to find any fellow Rococo lovers at business school.

Check out the chart below for the full numbers. All of these figures are from the 2011-2012 testing year.

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