The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology recorded a 50 percent rise in the number of applicants for their full-time Master of Business Administration ( MBA) program amid the financial meltdown, according to local media on Tuesday.

To cope with the substantial increase in applications, the university intended to expand the size of the intake for the full- time program from 90 to some 100, the South China Morning Post reported Tuesday.

But, the dean of the university's business and management school Leonard Cheng Kwok-hon said that they will set a bottom line to maintain the quality of students as well.

He said it was quite normal that an economic recession lead to a greater demand for certain types of postgraduate program.

Conversely, applicants for the part-time MBA program of the university had fallen 10 percent compared with last year. Cheng blamed the decline in applicants for the part-time program on people being preoccupied with their jobs.

"In these circumstances, obviously they have to work harder to hold on to their jobs. Their companies might not be willing to support the staff for further studies at this time," said Cheng.

The number of places for the part-time program will drop from 120 to 110, the university said.