After four years struggling to attract students, interest in full-time M.B.A. programs -- the bread and butter of business schools -- is heating up.

The median number of applications for full-time, two-year M.B.A.s rose by nearly 12% for the class that started this year, according to new data from the Graduate Management Admission Council, which administers a common business-school admissions test.

GMAC surveyed 683 graduate business programs at 328 schools world-wide for the latest report.

Application volume rose at 50% of the programs that responded to the survey. Last year, 43% reported growth.

U.S. schools had their strongest showing since 2009, when workers rushed to load up their resumes with advanced degrees in the early days of the financial crisis. But interest waned amid a tepid recovery and uncertain job prospects.

Now, as hiring ticks up among startups and tech companies -- and even finance firms -- so has interest from prospective students. U.S. schools reported a median 5% gain in applications to full-time, two-year programs.

Columbia Business School had a 6.6% increase in applications to its full-time M.B.A., partially rebounding from a double-digit decline last year. 'We are optimistic about where our application trends are going,' said spokesman Evan Nowell.

Much of the increased volume was buoyed by demand from overseas. Fifty-six percent of programs received more applications from international candidates this year, while just 38% said the same of domestic applicants.

Not all two-year programs reported gains. Applications at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School fell by 5.8% this year, to 6,036. The school enrolled 837 students in its first-year class. Wharton applicationvolume drop has dropped for the past past three years.

M.B.A. Admissions Director Ankur Kumar attributed the decline to self-selection among applicants, saying the ones who are admitted 'have done their due diligence.' Wharton set a record-high yield this year, she said, referring to the number of people admitted who then enroll. She declined to disclose what that yield rate was.

Like most two-year programs, demand for one-year M.B.A.s in the U.S. also looks strong. Students have flocked to the shorter format in the hopes of cutting tuition outlays and minimizing time out of the workforce. Fifty-five percent of respondent programs reported higher applicationvolume this year.