Canadian MBA Schools

Accelerated MBA Options

2010-09-19T13:28:00.001-07:00

Accelerated MBA Programs

A number of schools offer accelerated MBA programs for students who have already completed a business undergraduate degree. While the specific options at each school differ, they do offer a good opportunity for business grads to get their MBA without having to cover material they have already completed.

Queens

The Queen’s Accelerated MBA for Business Graduates is offered in most major cities across Canada. The program involves 4 weeks of on-campus instruction at Queen’s (approximately 50% of the degree instruction time) and video conference sessions from your home city (accounting for the other 50% of the degree instruction time). The video conference sessions are held every 2^nd Sunday and Monday during the year.

The program is completed in 12 months and allows students to earn their MBA while continuing to work full-time. The nature of the Accelerated MBA program means all students follow the same curriculum. The total cost for the one-year program is $67,000 CDN.

Alberta

The FastTrack MBA for Business Graduates is a fairly new program introduced at Alberta. The program can be completed full-time in 10 months, or in 22 months part-time. All classes are delivered at the University of Alberta. The curriculum includes 5 required courses (one of which is an international study tour) and 7 elective courses. Students take courses within the normal full-time MBA program and are able to interact with individuals from many different backgrounds.

The total cost for the program, including the international study tour, is approximately $20,000 CDN.

Ivey

Ivey’s accelerated MBA program is only open to students who have graduated from the Ivey HBA program within the last 6 years. . The program is completed in 8 months at Ivey and allows students to choose their own electives.

The total cost for the program is $38,500 CDN.

Schulich

Schulich offers credit for up to half of their required MBA courses. While each case is reviewed individually, the accelerated MBA can be completed in as few as 8 months. Students would essentially enter the Schulich MBA in the 2^nd year of the program.

Two term domestic tuition at Schulich is approximately $25,700 CDN.

McMaster

Similar to Schulich, the McMaster MBA can be completed in 8 months full-time. Courses are held at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster. Students admitted to the accelerated program would join the 2^nd year of the DeGroote MBA.

The total tuition for the Accelerated MBA is approximately $13,000 CDN.

McGill

McGill’s accelerated MBA offers students the change to complete 45-credits as opposed to the 51-required of Full-time MBA students. Essentially, students in the accelerated option would not be required to the complete the internship/practicum that full-time MBA students. McGill accelerated students would need to complete the same core courses as the full-time MBA students. The accelerated MBA could be completed in 16 months.

Tuition at McGill is $32,500 per year, so the accelerated MBA would be approximately $48,000 CDN.

Concordia

The Concordia accelerated MBA allows students to complete 45 credits as opposed to the 57 required of full-time students. As such, the accelerated MBA can be finished in one year of full-time study. As with most accelerated programs, students would join classes in the 2^nd year of the regular MBA program.

For Quebec residents, the accelerated MBA is approximately $9,000 CDN. For Canadian citizens, the cost rises to $14,000 CDN.

Women and the MBA

2010-09-04T20:51:00.000-07:00

Women pursue their MBA for the same reasons as men:

Advancing or changing their careers
Increasing their earning power
Building their networks, etc.

However, the challenges facing women differ. Typically, business schools are dominated my men, both in terms of students and faculty. It's a similar story in the business world, where men tend to dominate in the most high profile positions. A number of studies also show that women MBA's tend to make less further on in life than their male counterparts (although part of this is explained by women seeking more work life balance).

Women in MBA Programs
In Canada, the number of women entering full-time MBA programs hasn't changed substantially in a number of years. The table below looks at the percentage of women enrolled in some of the top MBA programs in Canada:

As you can see, the highest percentage of female students is only 35% (and the average is just over 30%). Compared to undergraduate degrees at University, where women outnumber men, the low female representation is somewhat surprising.

Resources for Female MBA Students
There are a number of separate organizations dedicated to helping women overcome some of the obstacles they face in pursuing an MBA and in advancing their careers after the degree. Two of the largest are the Forte Foundation and the National Association for Women MBA's (both US based). The success and struggles of women MBA's have also been written about most major business magazines and newspapers, including Forbes and the Financial Post.

Ivey MBA Financial Times Ranking 2010

2010-02-26T08:16:00.000-08:00

The Financial Times Rankings are published every year. On their own, each year's ranking can only tell you so much about a school. To get a good sense of the schools overall trajectory, it's a good idea to examine their rankings over the past number of years.

Ivey MBA Financial Times Ranking

The first Canadian MBA program we'll look at is the University of Western Ontario - Ivey MBA program. From the start of the FT rankings, Ivey has fallen from its initial starting point in the top quartile of the rankings down into the bottom of the top 50. This is more a reflection of the growth of international programs as the other top Canadian schools have met a similar fate.

Ivey MBA - Graduate Salary

Ivey continues to fare very well on graduate salaries, especially compared to the other Canadian schools on the FT list. Salaries are consistently at or above the $100,000 US mark for alumni 3 years after graduation. Outside of Rotman (Toronto), the other Canadian schools on the FT rankings all fall in the mid to low $80,000's in terms of graduate salary.

Ivey MBA - Career Progress Ranking

When the FT rankings first came out, Ivey ranked middle of the pack in terms of Career Progress. Currently, they have fallen to 76th overall. The overall success of the Ivey MBA is part of the reason why they have fallen in terms of career progress. Career progress is calculated in part on changes in level of seniority and in size of the organization that alumni work for pre and post-MBA. As a leading MBA program in Canada, Ivey is likely to attract students that are already fairly successful, working at larger organizations, and looking to get ahead. To help put this in perspective, Wharton (University of Pennsylvania) one of the best known business schools and one that is consistently ranked at the very top of the Financial Times rankings is 41st in terms of career progress.

Financial Times MBA Rankings 2010 - Now Released

2010-01-25T11:20:00.000-08:00

All in all, there hasn't been a huge shift in the relative ranking of Canadian Schools. The positive news, McGill has rejoined the FT Top 100 after a brief absence making it 6 Canadian schools in the Top 100. Along with McGill, Rotman is the only other Canadian school to move up in the Rankings, moving up to 45 from 47 last year (and in the process becoming the highest ranked Canadian school).

The Canadian school rankings are:

School Highlights

A more detailed breakdown of each school is presented below, however here are some initial thoughts (a more detailed analysis will be up in the next few days).

McGill will obviously be happy to be back on the list after falling off - they are also the best ranked Canadian school in terms of value for money (although there isn't much a difference between all of the schools).

Rotman also managed to move up in the rankings, albeit by a small margin. With the fellow Ontario schools slipping a few spots, they will be happy to be the highest ranked Canadian school (they were tied with Ivey in 2009).

Ivey, Schulich, UBC, and Alberta will all be somewhat disappointed to drop in the rankings although each won't be horribly disappointed. Ivey continues to have the highest earning grads, Schulich and UBC remain in the same place relative to Canadian schools and Alberta's salary figures are finally starting to catch up with the other Canadian schools.

University of Toronto: Rotman

Rank in 2009: 47

Salary: $96,436

Salary Increase: 87%
Value for Money: 56

Career Progress: 86

Aims Achieved: 49

Placement Success: 69

Employed 3 months after Graduation: 83%

University of Western Ontario: Ivey

Rank in 2009: 47

Salary: $102,839

Salary Increase: 92%

Value for Money: 32

Career Progress: 76

Aims Achieved: 59

Placement Success: 30

Employed 3 months after Graduation: 87%

York University: Schulich

Rank in 2009: 49

Salary: $85,547

Salary Increase: 86%

Value for Money: 35

Career Progress: 60

Aims Achieved: 75

Placement Success: 87

Employed 3 months after Graduation: 80%

University of British Columbia: Sauder

Rank in 2009: 71

Salary: $83,514

Salary Increase: 74%

Value for Money: 33

Career Progress: 70

Aims Achived: 90

Placement Success: 68

Employed 3 months after Graduation: 83%

University of Alberta

Rank in 2009: 77

Salary: $79,383

Salary Increase: 85%

Value for Money: 29

Career Progress: 38

Aims Achieved: 72

Placement Success: 77

Employed 3 months after Graduation: 75%

McGill University: Desautels

Rank in 2009: unranked

Salary: $83,435

Salary Increase: 80%

Value for Money: 27

Career Progress: 90

Aims Achieved: 77

Placement Success: 81

Employed 3 months after Graduation: 93%

Financial Times MBA Rankings 2010

2010-01-20T11:14:00.000-08:00

The latest Financial Times rankings will be released on January 25th, 2010. The FT rankings are the most widely anticipated rankings around the world. The rankings are based on a number of different areas including graduate surveys, salary information, and faculty research. The complete methodology for the rankings is available through the Financial Times. 5 Canadian schools made the previous Financial Times list.

I've previously posted a breakdown of how Canadian schools have historically performed in each area:

FT MBA Rankings Summary 1
FT MBA Rankings Summary 2
FT MBA Rankings Summary 3

As always, a number of Canadian schools will be watching the rankings closely. Internationally, the global economic slowdown will likely have had some effect on the overall salary figures reported by schools (especially the finance heavy MBA programs). The effects were not as well noted in the 2009 rankings as the alumni surveys were undertaken during Fall 2008 as the slowdown was beginning to take affect. Which schools will benefit in the rankings and which ones will be hurt ... check back on Monday to find out. The Canadian schools to keep an eye on include:

University of Toronto (Rotman)
University of Western Ontario (Ivey)
York University (Schulich)
University of British Columbia (Sauder)
University of Alberta

Top Universities 2009

2009-10-11T11:29:00.000-07:00

QS publishes an annual list of the World's Top Universities. Granted this list incorporates all of the different faculties and areas of a University, and not only their MBA programs, but it does present for interesting reading. Worth noting is that only 4 Canadian schools place in the Top 100 globally, while that number is higher for top MBA program (5).

Not surprisingly, a number of the top Universities also have top MBA programs within Canada. Each university would obviously have areas where it specializes in, but only Waterloo lacks an MBA program of note. At the end of the day, you would likely receive a high quality education at any of these schools. The main difference between their MBA programs would be all of the extra-curricular activities and the career guidance/placement services you would expect. Of course, pursuing a graduate business degree, these are just as important as the quality of education.

Top Canadian Universities 2009
1. McGill
2. University of Toronto
3. University of British Columbia
4. University of Alberta
5. Université De Montréal
6. University of Waterloo
7. Queens University
8. McMaster University
9. University of Calgary
10. University of Western Ontario
11. Simon Fraser University

Concordia MBA 2009

2009-09-07T13:18:00.000-07:00

John Molson (Concordia) MBA 2009/10

Location: Montreal, QC
Tuition: $6,000 - $13,000 Cdn, $26,000 Intl

Located in one of the largest cities in Canada (Montreal), the Molson MBA is a 16-20 month MBA program. An AACSB accredited school, the Molson MBA offers the typical business area specializations (Accounting, Finance, Marketing, etc.).

One unique offering at Concordia is the CFA concentration within the MBA program. The finance courses are closely tied into the CFA level 1 exam, and graduates from the MBA with CFA concentration typically have a pass rate more than twice the average (92% pass rate in 2009). Concordia also has a number of international options including a live case analysis alongside students from the University of Vermont and exchange options with Universities in France, Japan, and Australia.

Concordia MBA Rankings

Concordia is not currently ranked in the major MBA rankings (FT, QS, Business Week). However, Concordia is one of the most international schools within Canada, offering affordable tuition and numerous visiting exchange opportunities for foreign students. 46 different countries were represented in the MBA program in 2009.

Concordia MBA Student Profile

Average GMAT: 634
Average Age: 29
Average Work Experience: 6 yrs
Male/Female Ratio: 32% Female

Concordia MBA Admission

The admission criteria are fairly similar to other Canadian Schools. The requirements are:
GMAT – 550 minimum
Official Transcripts – Minimum B (3.0) GPA
Work Experience – 2 years min

Concordia MBA Main Competitors

Schulich MBA
McGill MBA

Rotman MBA 2009

2009-08-31T20:58:00.000-07:00

Rotman MBA (University of Toronto) 2009/10

Location: Toronto, ON
Tuition: $69,384 (CDN), $89,358 (Intl)

The Rotman MBA is a two year (20 month) MBA program based in Toronto, ON. An AACSB accredited school, Rotman hosts an international class and extols the virtues of Integrative Thinking. At Rotman, Integrative Thinking goes beyond basic business knowledge and encourages students to explore creative alternatives and take risks.

A typical Rotman class is fairly large by Canadian standards (over 250 students), but as one of the best known Canadian schools attracting potential applicants is not difficult. Not surprisingly for a school based in Toronto, a majority of Rotman grads end up working in the financial services and consulting sectors (these are also two of the best paying sectors).

Rotman MBA Rankings

Rotman is one of the largest and best known MBA programs in Canada. Located in Toronto (or the centre of the Universe J) it is not surprising that the school is well known and one of the best ranked Canadian schools internationally.

In the Financial Times Rankings, the University of Toronto ranks 47th Internationally, 23rd within North America, and tied with Ivey for tops in Canada. The FT rankings attempt to take in a complete picture of both the academic side of an MBA and the career progress of MBA grads.

In the Business Week Rankings, Rotman ranks 8th internationally. Two Canadian schools (Queen’s – 1st internationally and Ivey – 4th) rank ahead of Rotman in the Business Week rankings. Business Week focuses their rankings more towards surveys of recent graduates and corporate recruiters to get a sense of how graduates from different MBA programs are viewed.

QS ranks Rotman as the 2nd best Canadian business school behind HEC Montreal (which says something to the international and European nature of the QS rankings).

Rotman MBA Student Profile

Average Class: 262
Average GMAT: 653
Average Age: 28
Average Work Experience: 4 yrs
Male/Female Ratio: 29% Female
International Students: 44%

Rotman MBA Admission

The admission criteria are fairly similar to other Canadian Schools. The requirements are:

GMAT – 550 minimum
Official Transcripts – Minimum B (3.0) GPA
Work Experience – 2 years min.
TOEFL/IELTS – For students who don’t have an English undergraduate degree
References – 2 letters of Reference

Rotman MBA Main Competitors

Ivey MBA
Schulich MBA
McGill MBA
Degroote (McMaster) MBA

Ryerson MBA - 2009

2009-08-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

Ryerson MBA - Ted Rogers School of Management

Location: Toronto, ON

Ryerson is located in the heart of downtown Toronto. Ryerson has the reputation as a very hands on and industry friendly University, where as much importance is placed on the real-world skills as on academic theory. The full-time MBA program is a 12 month program. The part-time MBA program can be completed in 2 years. Preference is given to applicants with at least 2 years of full-time work experience after completing their undergraduate degree, but this is not an absolute requirement.

As Ryerson is a fairly new MBA school, it is difficult to get a sense of how strong the MBA program is overall. As the MBA is a 1-2 year degree, the target student is likely only a few years removed from their undergraduate degree.

Compared to most Canadian MBA programs, especially those based in Toronto, the tuition is very reasonable. The 1-year MBA is approximately $12,500.

Ryerson is not accredited by any of the 3 main MBA accreditation bodies (AACSB, EQUIS, AMBA)

Ryerson MBA Rankings

Ryerson is not currently ranked by any of the major MBA rankings (Financial Times, BusinessWeek, EIU, or QS).

Part of this can easily be attributed to the relative young age of the Ryerson MBA program.

Ryerson MBA Student Profile

Full Time Class
Average Class Size: 60
Average GMAT: 615
Average GPA: B+ (3.3)
Average Age: 30
Average Work Experience: 6.25
Male/Female Ratio: 37% Female

Ryerson MBA Admissions

GMAT: 550 min.
GPA: min. of B- average in last half of undergraduate degree
Work Exp: 2 years preferred
English Language Proficiency: required for international students

Ryerson MBA Main Competitors
Schulich (York University)
Rotman (University of Toronto)
Ivey (University of Western Ontario)
Degroote (McMaster)

Simon Fraser MBA Program

2009-08-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

Location: Vancouver, BC

Tuition: $27,000

The Simon Fraser MBA is a condensed 12-month degree MBA degree program. Introduced in Vancouver in 2007, the program has not been around as long as some of the better known Canadian schools. However, Simon Fraser does hold dual accreditation with both AACSB and with European Quality Improvement System (EQUIS). Class size within the program is kept to 45 and the target candidates have less than 5 years of post-degree work experience. After the 12 months of dedicated learning, students complete a 3-8 month paid internship to complete their degree requirements.

Simon Fraser MBA Rankings

As a fairly new MBA program (2007) Simon Fraser is new to the MBA rankings. However a prime location (Vancouver) and dual accreditation leave Simon Fraser in good stead for future rankings.

Simon Fraser MBA Student Profile

Average GMAT: 620
Average Age: 26
Average Work Experience: 3 yrs
Male/Female Ratio: 55% Female

Simon Fraser MBA Admission

The admission criteria at Simon Fraser are fairly similar to other Canadian schools. The requirements are:

GMAT – 550 minimum (although the average score is 620)
Official Transcripts – Minimum B (3.0) GPA
Work Experience – 5 years or less
TOEFL/IELTS – For students who don’t have an English undergraduate degree
References – 3 letters of Reference

Personal Statement

Simon Fraser MBA

Vancouver MBA

2009-08-11T18:21:00.000-07:00

In addition to looking at some of the best known MBA programs within Canada, it is helpful to look at some of the different MBA options available within the major metropolitan centres within Canada. First up, let's review some of the options available in Vancouver.

Vancouver MBA Programs

Simon Fraser MBA Program

Simon Fraser offers a 12-month MBA program in downtown Vancouver. SFU is accredited by both AACSB and EQUIS. The MBA program in Vancouver is limited to 45 students and to be eligible you must meet the following requirements:

5+ years of work experience
550 min. on GMAT
3.0 min. GPA in Undergraduate Degree

The total cost for the SFU MBA in downtown Vancouver is $27,000

University of British Columbia - Sauder MBA Program

One of the best known programs in Canada, the Sauder MBA is currently ranked 71st worldwide according to the Financial Times. The Sauder MBA is a 15-month program and carriers a higher tuition than SFU, coming in at $39,746. A competitive applicant would meet the following admission criteria:

5+ years of work experience
3.3 GPA in undergrad degree
630+ GMAT score

Queen's MBA in Vancouver

Queen's has rolled out MBA classes in most of the major cities in Canada. Through video conferencing, students are able to complete their MBA's in their hometown from Queens. In Vancouver, Queen's offers both an Executive MBA program and an accelerated MBA for business graduates. The accelerated MBA carries a fairly high price tag of $64,000. This includes all tuition and books as well as the costs of the residency periods you would need to complete at Queen's in Kingston. The accelerated MBA can be completed in 12 months. Business grads would need to meet the following requirements:

3.0 or greater GPA in undergrad
GMAT score of 550 or greater (or QMAT equivalent)
2 years of work experience

Online MBA in Canada

2009-08-07T08:57:00.000-07:00

The number of online or distance MBA options available has increased substantially over the last number of years. With the rising cost of business education in general, the opportunity to continue to work full-time and be able to work at your own pace on your own time has made these options more appealing than ever. Obviously, there are some notable advantages and disadvantages to pursuing an MBA online. Assuming that the curriculum is the same and both schools are accredited, some advantages and disadvantages are:

Advantages of an Online MBA

Flexibility: perhaps the greatest advantage is the ability to complete courses and work through the program at your own pace. If you work best at 5am, that's when you can work. There are no time or location requirements to further your education
Cost: In some cases, an Online MBA can be a lower priced alternative to the high cost of business school. However, some online education options can be quite expensive and may not offer the value of a traditional business school.
Travel: with an Online MBA, you are not constrained by location. If you have a job where you do a lot of travelling or live a long distance away from a business school, you can complete your degree from home.

Disadvantages of an Online MBA

Interaction: completing your degree online dramatically reduces the amount of interaction you will have with your instructors. Even when you are able to interact with the instructors, the medium of interaction may not be as valuable as face to face contact.
Networking: one of the biggest benefits of business school is the countless networking opportunities and relationships that are developed. Whether it with class mates, guest speakers, or school connections, members of your network can go a long way to furthering your career. An Online MBA does not offer the same opportunities as a traditional MBA program.

Is an Online MBA Right for You?

The ideal candidate for an Online MBA is someone who is very happy in their current position and needs the MBA credential to move ahead in their organization. The Online MBA option allows individuals to continue to work in the current capacity, while furthering their education on their own time. The networking and interaction tradeoff isn't as much of a concern to those who are attached to their current organization.

The other prime candidates for an Online MBA are those who either have to travel a lot with work and can't committee to a part-time MBA program or those who are tied to a location that is a considerable distance from a business school. When moving away for a couple of years or going jobless isn't an option, the Online MBA is a tailor-made solution.

For those who are looking for a career change, the traditional MBA school is still the best alternative, especially in the mind of employers and campus recruiters.

What to Look For in an Online MBA?

The most important thing to look for when considering Online MBA programs is the programs accreditation. Within Canada, accreditation is determined by the province where the program is based. Within the U.S. 6 regional associations handle accreditation for their specific regions.

Major accrediting groups for MBA programs are AACSB, EQUIS, and the Assocation of MBAs. Most Online MBAs would struggle to meet the interaction requirements some of these agency's use in deciding accreditation.

The major American advocate of distance learning is the Distance Education and Training Council (DETC). Approval by the DETC for an Online MBA is something to look for.

Schulich MBA 2009

2009-08-03T20:03:00.000-07:00

Schulich (York University) MBA 2009/10

Schulich MBA – York University
Location: Toronto, Ontario

Schulich offers a number of variations on both the Full-Time MBA and the Part-Time MBA. For Full-Time students, a MBA program, an International MBA, and an Accelerated MBA for Business Undergraduates are available. The Full-Time MBA can be completed in 16 months and has both a January and September intake. The Part-Time MBA is offered at both the Keele Campus as well as at Schulich’s campus in downtown Toronto. There is also a weekend only part-time program offered at the Keele Campus. The Part-Time MBA can be completed in 40 months and has September, January, and May intake.

Schulich is not AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) Accredited. Schulich also does not hold EQUIS or Association of MBA’s accreditation.

Schulich MBA (York) Rankings
Schulich is ranked 49^th in the Financial Times MBA Rankings 2009. Over the last 3 years, Schulich has been stuck in essentially the same spot (49,48,49). Schulich’s large drop in the rankings corresponded with an increased presence from International Schools in the FT rankings. Compared to other Canadian schools, Schulich is 3^rd, although both Rotman and Ivey are only 1 place ahead of Schulich.

Schulich ranks very poorly on the QS Global 200 Business School rankings. Given the stature of Schulich and its high rankings with FT this is very surprising. This could indicate the Schulich grads tend to stay within Canada post-graduation.

Schulich MBA Student Profile

Average GMAT: 664
Average GPA: B+
Average Post-MBA Salary: $93,000
Average Work Experience: 6 years
Male/Female Ratio: 65:35

Schulich MBA Admissions

The admission criteria at Schulich is pretty similar to that at most Schools. You require:

GMAT Score
Undergraduate degree with a B average
2 years of work experience
English Language Proficiency

Schulich Website

EQUIS Accreditation

2009-08-03T15:48:00.001-07:00

EQUIS - European Quality Improvement System

EQUIS is an international accreditation (based out of Europe) that reviews academic institutions. MBA programs, while not specifically reviewed, are the main flagships for EQUIS accreditation. EQUIS is maintained by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD).

As this is a European based accreditation (and requires a strong international component), not all Canadian schools pursue EQUIS. Those that do likely have a strong connection to either Europe or International recruitment. The standard accreditation for North American schools is AACSB.

EQUIS Requirements

To gain EQUIS accreditation, schools must show a strong balance between high academic quality and professional relevance through close interaction with the corporate world. In addition to requiring a certain quality level in all activities, Schools require a high degree of internationalization in their programs to also qualify for EQUIS accreditation.

Canadian Schools with EQUIS

Universite du Quebec au Montreal
Universite Laval
Simon Fraser University
University of Victoria
HEC Montreal
Queen's
Ivey
Sauder (UBC)

QS Global Top 200 Business Schools Rankings

2009-08-02T11:20:00.000-07:00

QS (or Quacquarelli Symonds) is an international education and career group who are best known for putting on global MBA tours. The main offices for QS are in London, Paris, and Singapore. QS offers more of an overall global view of MBA programs than other organizations based in the United States.

QS publishes a list of the Top 200 Global Business Schools. The rankings are determined through employer surveys. Employers from across the globe (604 companies participated in the 2008/09 survey) participated.

Regional Distribution of Responding Recruiters 2008

Source: QS Global 200 Business Schools 2009: The Employers’ Choice

To determine the rankings, employers are first asked to identify MBA programs from which they have attempted to recruit MBA grads. Each time a school is listed, the MBA program is credited with one point. Employers are also prompted to list the schools they find attractive for recruiting MBA students, from a list of 400 MBA programs. Again, each time a school is listed, it receives one point. School rankings are broken down by region.

Canadian MBA School Rankings

Canada is included in the North America region, so its rankings are relative to both US and Canadian schools. Canadian schools are ranked by QS as follows:

University of Western Ontario (Ivey) -19

Queens - 23

HEC Montreal - 28

University of Toronto (Rotman) - 30

McGill - 31

University of British Columbia (Sauder) - 32

University of Alberta - 40

University of Calgary (Haskayne) - 47

McMaster (Degroote) - 50

University of Victoria - 59

York University (Schulich) - 60

Global Top 200 MBA Programs - Analysis

It is important to point out that the QS MBA rankings are based on employer lists of both self-identified MBA programs where MBA recruiting has taken place and from employer selection of MBA programs they would consider recruiting students from. Obviously, this will favour the larger schools where bigger class sizes make it more favourable for recruiters.

That being said, these rankings do give a good idea of how well known and popular Canadian MBA programs are to employers both within North America and around the world. Ivey and Queens are both very aggressive in promoting their students to employers, so its not surprising that they are high on the list. It is somewhat surprising to HEC Montreal ranked ahead of both U of T and McGill, however I would venture that which both English and French programs, HEC Montreal scores high with European and Global employers.

The most surprising result is how poorly Schulich scores, compared to virtually all of the other schools across Canada. With a size advantage over a lot of other schools and a prominent location, I would expect Schulich to rank higher. Clearly, this should be an area of concern for Schulich.

MBA Job Search

2009-07-27T19:39:00.000-07:00

Searching for your first job after graduation is never the easiest task. However, the current economic situation has made it ever harder. Fewer firms are coming directly to campus to hire MBA grads. Internships are harder to come by and even with an internship, there is no guarantee that students will be offered a job upon graduation.

Career vs. Job

Traditional MBA careers, such as investment banking, are scarce. Increasingly students in the graduating class of 2009 are left to look into non-traditional MBA careers, such as non-profit organizations and retailers. A large number of grads are also turning to short-term contracts and post-grad internships to keep busy while trying to land their dream job. All of which begs the question, whether it makes more sense to look for the best job after completing your degree, the job where you will gain the most experience and then move on somewhere else, or whether its better to hold out on a high profile investment banking job that may take a year or two to materialize. With the forecast job market for the class of 2010 not looking much brighter, recent grads may be better off seeking experience first and then starting out on their career.

Online MBA Communities, MBA Job Boards, and MBA Executive/Corporate Recruiters

Business schools, and the business community at large, are smart enough to realize that the traditional MBA job search approach isn't working. Alternative options are quite numerous. Linked In, the business version of Facebook, has an entire community dedicated to 2009 grads (although not MBA specific grads). Other job search sites, such as the Canadian run MBA Jobs.ca offer both job seekers and employees a place to search and advertise MBA level jobs. A final trend, which is spreading quickly through US schools is the use of corporate recruiters and executive communities where alumni and recent grads from leading business schools can seek out new opportunites. Business Week has an interesting article about this.

Jobs for MBA Grads

All in all, there are many different avenues recent grads can pursue to try and find a post-grad job. Sure, there might not be as many positions advertised, especially those in traditional fields through traditional sources, but if you can effectively tap into some of the other sources of jobs, Canadian MBA grads shouldn't struggle to anywhere near the same level as their American counterparts.

GMAT vs. GRE

2009-07-23T14:15:00.000-07:00

Business Week posted a new article about some very large and well known US Business Schools (Harvard, Wharton, Stanford, MIT) beginning to accept the GRE exam instead of the GMAT. Given that the GMAT costs $250US to write, compared to $150 for the GRE, it is a strong alternative for some individuals.

While it may take a couple of years before Canadian schools come out and make the same blanket statement that they will accept the GRE, simply asking if you can use the GRE instead of the GMAT may be successful. If you have already written the GRE, especially recently, asking is not a bad idea at all.

MBA Job Prospects 2009

2009-07-21T21:12:00.000-07:00

Graduates from Canadian MBA Schools are fairing well despite the Economic Turmoil

According to a recent article from the Financial Times Canadian MBA graduates are facing a much better job market than those graduating from American schools. While US business schools are reporting hiring drop offs as high as 50% from previous years, Canadian schools are seeing drop offs in the 5-15% range. Obviously, it would be better to see hiring levels increasing over previous years, but if the hiring trends continue, Canadian MBA hiring in 2009 would be on par with 2005 levels.

A major reason for the huge drop off in US hiring is the tough times faced by major banks and financial institutions. Canadian banks, through tighter regulation, have fared much better over the last year and are in a strong position to hire new grads. As the FT article mentions, the Canadian banks are able to attract higher level talent this year, compared to previous years.

So while the news coming from the US may seem all doom and gloom, there is a reason for some optimism from recent Canadian MBA grads. Over the next couple of years, its more difficult to predict how Canadian grads will fare compared to their American counterparts, but barring a Made-in-Canada economic collapse, it would be hard to see Canadians grads trailing well behind Americans in hiring rates.

University of Saskatchewan MBA Program (Edwards MBA)

2009-07-19T19:50:00.000-07:00

Edwards MBA – University of Saskatchewan

Location: Saskatoon, SK

Tuition: $23,550 (Canadian), $31,750 (International)

The MBA program at Saskatchewan is available to both full-time and part-time students. Full-time the program can be completed in 12 months, while the part-time option would take 3 years to complete. The courses for both full-time and part-time students are identical; the difference comes from the timing and scheduling of the required modules.

All students are required to complete both an international study tour and a management consulting project. Students can choose from electives in 5 Edwards school of business areas:

Biotechnology
Finance
International Business
Human Resources
Marketing

The only other options for electives would fall under other Graduate level departments at U of S and would be:

Health Services Management
International Trade
Agricultural Economics
Education Leadership
Public Policy

Saskatoon is a city of 230,000 located in the prairie province of Saskatchewan. While Saskatchewan might not be considered the most glamorous province in Canada, it has had one of the fastest growing economies in Canada. Main industries include mining, agriculture, forestry, and manufacturing. The recent rise in resource prices, including potash and uranium, has helped to propel the economy.

Edwards MBA (University of Saskatchewan) Rankings

Edwards is not included in the Financial Times, Business Week, EIU Which MBA Rankings, or the QS Global 200 Business Schools 2009: The Employers’ Choice Rankings.

Edwards MBA (University of Saskatchewan) Student Profile

Average GMAT: 540 Average
GPA: B+ (3.3)
Average Work Experience: 7 years
Male/Female Ratio: 35% Female, 65% Male
Average Post-Grad Salary: $68,682

Edwards MBA (University of Saskatchewan) MBA Admissions

The admission criteria at Saskatchewan are fairly similar to most other MBA programs in Canada. There is no formal work experience requirement. In addition to 3 letters of reference and a resume, applicants need to show:

GMAT – Minimum of 500
Official Transcripts – Minimum 70% GPA (U of S equivalent)
TOEFL – 100 Internet-based (for students who don’t have an English undergraduate degree)

Saskatchewan MBA Website

MBA Admissions Essay

2009-07-14T07:50:00.000-07:00

Most schools will require you to write at least one essay as part of your application to an MBA program. Business Week has an interesting article offering some advice above the standard advice offered by business schools. According to Business Week, the important points include:

Honesty: as obvious as it sounds, schools review hundreds of essays and are pretty good at picking up untrue statements.
Career Plan: using the essay to show that you have a specific career plan, as opposed to simply stating that you want to be a consultant, will boost your application. Ideally, you would also be able to state why an MBA from that business school will help you to meet your goal as opposed to other MBA options.
Individuality: try to include something that makes you stand out from the crowd. You won't be the only engineering grad applying to business school, so if you can include a few interesting or unique points about yourself, you can really stand out from the crowd.
Communication: Overlooked, but usually most important, proofreading your essay to make sure it is easy to read, follows a clear line of thought, is free from grammar and spelling errors, and gets across the message you want to make can make all the difference between admission and rejection.

While Business Week is an American publication, a lot of the resources they have available to students are valuable to Canadian applicants as well. They have a lot of information about MBA programs, the admission process, and the career search post-MBA.

Degroote (McMaster) MBA 2009

2009-07-07T11:38:00.000-07:00

Degroote MBA – McMaster University

Location: Hamilton, Ontario

There are 3 main MBA options offered by Degroote, the Co-op MBA, the Full-Time MBA, and the Part-Time MBA. The Full-Time MBA is a 20 month program. The Part-Time MBA is based around evening courses with schedule flexibility. The Co-op MBA is somewhat unique in Canada and consists of 4 academic terms and 3 co-op work terms.

Degroote is AACSB (Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business) Accredited.

If you are considering doing your MBA shortly (or immediately) after completing your undergraduate degree, Degroote is a very appealing option. The Co-op option allows you to gain relevant professional work experience. At graduation you would likely have a salary on par, if not higher, than you would have after putting in 3 years of work and would already have a Master’s degree under your belt.

Degroote (McMaster) Rankings

Degroote is not included in the Financial Times, Business Week or EIU Which MBA Rankings. Degroote ranks 50th in North America in the QS Global 200 Business Schools 2009: The Employers’ Choice Rankings.

Degroote promotes the fact that their grads have 118% increase in income after graduation (the highest in Canada from the 2007 Canadian Business Survey). However to put that in perspective, they have one of the lowest average entering salaries of approx. $32,000 CDN. After grad, the average salary increases to ~$69,000, which lags behind the big Toronto-area schools.

The low entering salary is a function of the average age of students entering the program. With the Co-op MBA option, most students will likely have little work experience prior to joining the MBA. The lower starting salaries (and lower graduating salaries) are strongly related to the limited pre-MBA work experience of students.

Degroote (McMaster) Student Profile

Average GMAT: 620
Average GPA: B+ (3.3)
Average Age: 26 (Full-Time), 24 (Co-op), 26 (Part-Time)
Average Work Experience: 2 yrs (Full-Time), 1.2 yrs (Co-op), 4 yrs (Part-Time)
Male/Female Ratio: 45% Female(Full-Time), 48% Female (Co-op), 38% Female (Part-Time)

Degroote (McMaster) MBA Admission

The admission criteria at Degroote are fairly similar to most other MBA programs in Canada, the slight exception being the requirement for only 1 year of post-degree work experience (most schools ask for 2). No work experience is needed for the Co-op program. In addition to 2 letters of reference and a resume, applicants need to show:

GMAT – No minimum (although the average score is 620)
Official Transcripts – Minimum B (3.0) GPA
TOEFL – 100 Internet-based (for students who don’t have an English undergraduate degree)

Degroote Website
QS MBA Rankings

Canadian MBA Salary - 2009

2009-07-01T18:12:00.000-07:00

Business Week - Five Years to MBA School

2009-02-09T08:27:00.000-08:00

Business Week has put together a 5-year plan of sorts, for students to map out their path to getting into the MBA School of their choice. While following every step of advice offered would probably be overkill, following even part of the advice would put you a leg up on the competition.

The individual articles are below:

Year One
Year Two
Year Three
Year Four
Year Five

2009 FT MBA Rankings

2009-01-25T21:42:00.000-08:00

The 2009 MBA rankings are now published. The full listing can be found at the FT website, but the results for the 5 Canadian Schools who made the top 100 are available below:

A quick look at the rankings shows that the Canadian schools on the list are gradually starting to bunch together - unfortunately the bunching is coming towards the middle of the top 100 list. While the three big schools in Ontario won't be happy that they are essentially in a three way tie, the Western schools should be fairly satisfied with a large jump in the rankings from last year. McGill on the other hand, will be very disappointed to have dropped off completly.

University of Toronto: Rotman - 2009 Financial Times MBA Ranking: 47
Salary: 97,413
Salary Increase: 92%
Value for Money Rank: 63
Career Progress Rank: 98
Aims Achieved Rank: 54
Placement Success Rank: 67
Employment Rate (3 months): 90%
Alumni Recommended Rank: 19

University of Western Ontario: Ivey - 2009 Financial Times MBA Ranking: 47
Salary: 104,456
Salary Increase: 98%
Value for Money Rank: 37
Career Progress Rank: 72
Aims Achieved Rank: 57
Placement Success Rank: 40
Employment Rate (3 months): 91%
Alumni Recommended Rank: 20

York University: Schulich - 2009 Financial Times MBA Ranking: 49
Salary: 88,609
Salary Increase: 97
Value for Money Rank: 43
Career Progress Rank: 65
Aims Achieved Rank: 71
Placement Success Rank: 87
Employment Rate (3 months): 90%
Alumni Recommended Rank: 29

University of British Columbia: Sauder - 2009 Financial Times MBA Ranking: 71
Salary: 89,682
Salary Increase: 83
Value for Money Rank: 38
Career Progress Rank: 75
Aims Achieved Rank: 80
Placement Success Rank:78
Employment Rate (3 months): 92%
Alumni Recommended Rank: 49

University of Alberta - 2009 Financial Times MBA Ranking: 77
Salary: 75,084
Salary Increase: 95
Value for Money Rank: 29
Career Progress Rank: 30
Aims Achieved Rank: 51
Placement Success Rank: 84
Employment Rate (3 months): 98%
Alumni Recommended Rank: 78

Financial Times MBA Rankings 2009

2008-12-29T09:04:00.000-08:00

The newest FT rankings will be released to the public on January 26th, 2009. These rankings might not fully reflect some of that changes that have occurred following the continued economic decline as the Alumni surveys took place in the August/September time period, before things looked truly bleak.

That being said, it will be interesting to look at the overall salary numbers for the top schools as a number of the truly high paying jobs have fallen by the wayside in 2008. Whether this will take a toll in 2009 or show up more dramatically in 2010 remains to be seen.

For the Canadian schools, there shouldn't be any tremendous changes in terms of the general order of Canadian schools. I'd imagine that Sauder (UBC) and McGill could move up in the rankings from previous years and one or two of the Ontario schools might fall further. As we get closer to the 26th, I'll offer previews of each school that is likely to appear in the rankings. In the mean time, here's some links to previous rankings:

2008 FT Rankings Summary 1
2008 FT Rankings Summary 2
2008 FT Rankings Summary 3

Updated Link:
Financial Times MBA Rankings 2009

BusinessWeek MBA Rankings

2008-12-07T14:48:00.000-08:00

Business Week magazine publishes it's bi-annual list of the top ranked MBA programs in the United States and the top ranked MBA programs outside of the US. The Business Week rankings combine the results of graduate surveys (45% of the overall ranking) with results from an employer survey (45%) and an intellectual capital rating based on published articles from business schools (10%) to compile the rankings.

Canadian business schools are included on the international list. The Canadian schools and their overall rankings are:

Queen's University - 1st
Ivey - 4th
Rotman - 8th
McGill - 2nd tier
Schulich - 2nd tier

Schools in the 2nd tier are not ranked, only the top 10 schools are given a formal position.

As a survey focused more on graduate opinions and the opinions of employers, these results may give a better indication of how likely students are to succeed after they complete their MBA. However, as Business Week is a US magazine, the results may be somewhat skewed by the opinions of US recruiters, which for Canadian MBA schools is not the most relevant base.

Risk Management Looms Large

2008-11-26T09:27:00.000-08:00

An interesting article in the Financial Post yesterday about the lessons that can be learned from the current financial crisis and likely changes to the curriculum at schools. With a great deal of trouble stemming from mortgage backed securities at financial institutions, part of the article outlines what changes are coming to MBA programs to learn from the debacle. An increased focused on regulations and compliance is likely to come in Risk Management courses.

Perhaps more reassuring though is how quickly schools are able to incorporate real-world changes into the curriculum. This is certainly good news for students who want to make sure they are learning relevant skills and not best practices that are no longer applicable. When looking into schools, making sure that they are able to update courses and their curriculum to reflect industry and real-life changes is very important. Since you're committing a large amount of time and money towards improving your skill set, you want the skill set to be what the market is demanding.

Another interesting link to the Financial Post is their executive blog where MBA students from across the country are able to post articles and stories about their experience and learning's.

CEO: MBA and International Experience

2008-11-19T13:13:00.000-08:00

QS Top MBA published a story about the role of the MBA degree in becoming CEO of a company. The full story is available through their website, but I'll quickly summarize the main points.

Since 1980, CEO's (on average) are now younger than their counterparts in 1980, have slightly more education (17.3 years compared to 17) and all carry with them some international experience. Among US CEO's, 38% held MBA degrees.

It's not surprising that as younger and younger people make their way up to CEO that their MBA is playing a key role in their move. As more and more baby-boomers move into retirement, CEO roles tend to go to the best qualified candidate rather than those who have been with the company the longest. Candidates with an MBA certainly demonstrate some ability to manage a company.

As for international experience, it's usually a very good way for an up and comer to get major responsibility very quickly. Operating outside of the company's headquarters allows international managers some leeway to try new things and face managerial decisions and experiences that would normally fall to those higher up if they were at home. When it comes to being selected for international assignments, being able to demonstrate some ability to work outside of your home country and/or experience with foreign cultures is a major advantage. Travelling to a foreign country to complete your MBA is certainly a great way to gain international experience. However, for those who live in Canada and want to get a Canadian degree, most schools offer exchanges, study tours, and courses geared towards working abroad.

One of the more interesting options is at the University of Alberta. Rather than complete a single term on exchange, students can complete an MBA in Edmonton and spend a year in France at EDHEC earning a European master's degree at the same time. So for those who are willing to travel, the Double Degree is a great way to earn two degrees on two continents and only be out of the workforce for two years.

MBA Admissions on Facebook

2008-11-04T10:18:00.001-08:00

The latest trend in student recruiting efforts involves Facebook. That's right, now you can not only keep in touch on the day-to-day affairs of your 300 closest friends, you can also contact admission officers and learn about Canadian MBA programs.

Why?
The general thought would be that, for MBA Schools, it another cost effective way to reach potential applicants and any chance to let them know about your program is a good thing. Plus it lets applicants to voice their issues and concerns and see what other students are going through in the admission process.

What?
The Facebook groups are typically run by an admissions officer from the MBA school and feature some application info, news stories, and links to different program information that may be of interest. They are also very good for answering questions posted by students. By joining one of the groups, individuals let the school know of their interest in the MBA program and their friends can also see that they are interested in pursuing their MBA.

Who?
The following schools have MBA Admission groups on Facebook:

Rotman (University of Toronto)
Ivey (University of Western Ontario)
John Molson (Concordia University)

So with a few of the leading schools moving their recruiting efforts into Facebook can you expect to be evaluating all the different schools this way in a couple of years? One the one hand, its very easy for schools to add a Facebook group for their MBA program and its a good way to interact with applicants. However, it requires a fairly strong time commitment as those who use Facebook to communicate are likely to expect quick, almost instantaneous responses. A bigger concern might be the applicant who is in the "Rotman" group on Facebook and is rejected from the program. All of their personal friends on Facebook would see when they leave the group and would know that their friend was rejected. It could be rather embarrassing for some people.

Personally, I think its great that schools are trying different ways to reach out and connect with potential students. However, Facebook makes it very easy for anyone to start a group. A lot of student groups are set up to connect classmates at virtually every MBA school in the country. For the admission officers its impossible to review what others are saying about your school and what thoughts/pictures students will post on their own site.

Canadian Business - 17th Annual MBA Guide

2008-10-30T11:44:00.000-07:00

The November 10th issue of Canadian Business features their 17th annual MBA Guide. While only the 2007 guide is currently available online, I'd imagine that the new version will quickly make its way online and replace the 2007 guide.

While the guide doesn't offer a formal ranking of MBA programs in Canada, it does over 50 pages (including advertising) dedicated to stories about recent MBA grads and students as well as brief profiles of the MBA schools in Canada. The guide also includes a section dedicated the EMBA programs in Canada. I won't summarize the entire 50 pages dedicated to MBA programs in Canada, but I will mention one interesting item:

Graduation During Recession = Lower Career Earnings
Those students who graduate during a down economic period will, on average, earn less than those who graduate when times are good. While the numbers are based on graduates from Stanford's MBA program, the difference in career earnings can be startling ranging from $1.5 to 5 Million dollars over a life-time. The main reason for this Investment Banking.

Careers in Investment Banking, with its very lucrative pay packages, are more prevalent during boom times. While there will always be jobs for quality MBA grads no matter the economic conditions, graduating during a slow time may mean you are not able to land that Investment Banking job. So, if you are interested in Investment Banking, starting your MBA at the onset of a recession and finishing up as the economic outlook brightens could be a very wise decision.

Applying to MBA Schools during the Economic Downturn

2008-10-29T21:32:00.000-07:00

With a Global recession looming, you may be thinking that now is a good time to go back to school and complete your MBA. With fewer opportunities available and some positions even disappearing, it couldn't be a better time to step away from the rat race and go back to school right???

Well a number of people will likely have the same idea as you. Full-Time MBA programs are usually counter-cyclical in that there are more applicants when times are tough and fewer potential students vying for places when larger salary and more opportunities are available to those staying in the workforce.

Here are few things you should consider if you are considering business school next year:

Apply early: most schools offer rolling admissions and/or phased admissions. Getting your application in early will boost your chances, especially if there are lot of applicants.
Study Hard for the GMAT: this might sound like a no brainer, but with schools awarding scholarships and awards based on merit, doing extremely well on the GMAT could open up more financial benefits.
Sell Yourself: Rather than offering up a vague reason or saying that since you have been laid off now is the perfect time to do your MBA, offer a compelling reason why you should be in the program. Maybe you've always wanted to start your own business, or improve the way your local charity is run. The fact is schools like to have a diverse class with many different backgrounds so if you offer up some interesting reason why you should be admitted it will help your chances.

2007-08 Application Numbers

2008-10-13T10:30:00.000-07:00

Thought some of these numbers might be of interest. They are from the Graduate Management Admissions Council (GMAC) application trends survey and show the cumulative average summary numbers on both the program size of Canadian schools as well as application trends for the 2007-08 year. Very interesting to get an idea of how many people you would be competing with for admission or how attractive your program is to potential students.

75% of MBA programs in Canada have a new class size of 100 students or less.
58% of applications were from domestic students in 2007/08, compared with only 51% the year before
The quality of applicants appears to be going up as 84% of schools viewed the applicant class as more qualified than the previous years applicants
Schools received an average of 295 applications for their program in 2007/08 (median of 225) down from 325 (222) the year before
Overall, there was a greater increase in domestic applicants (up at 73% of schools) than in foreign applicants (down or constant with last year at 70% of schools)

Perhaps of most interest for those of you considering your MBA in the next year, 56% of applicants to a school were offered admission (Median = 58%). Of the students offered admission 63% decided to enroll at that school.

See how your school compares to the Canadian average:

Rotman (University of Toronto)
Schulich (York University)
McGill University
Ivey (University of Western Ontario)
Sauder (University of British Columbia)
Queen's University
University of Victoria
Degroote (McMaster University)
Asper (University of Manitoba)
Haskayne (University of Calgary)
John Molson (Concordia)
University of Alberta

Global MBA Trends

2008-07-14T16:45:00.000-07:00

The Graduate Management Admissions Council conducts an annual poll of MBA graduates to get a sense of what's happening to MBA programs around the world. The 2008 survey was recently released. While the entire survey offers interesting information to admissions advisers and MBA programs, some of it can be useful to students as well.

2008 Global Salary Trend

Always one of the most interesting statistics, MBA grads expect to receive a salary nearly 67% higher than the salary they had going into an MBA. This is up by a wide margin from previous years, and is the highest since grads were expecting to get close to 80% more after their MBA in 2001. Globally, the mean salary of those who had accepted job offers was over $80,000 US. Even with a slowing global economy, it seems that there is still a strong demand for knowledgeable business grads.

What to Look for at a School
Overall, students seem to be pleased with the level of education they have received. Over 90% of students would recommended or probably recommend their school to prospective students. With the ability to meet and/or exceed student expectations and the quality of the curriculum being the main drivers in determining a schools value, strong recommendations show the strength of business education around the world. With most of the top schools in Canada offering a similar quality of education, the intangibles and career benefits are that much more important to consider in deciding on where to take your MBA.

Ivey MBA Program - Student Information

2008-05-20T11:54:00.000-07:00

Typical Class Profile
Average Age - 28 years
Average GMAT - 650
Average Work Experience - 5 years
Middle 80% of GMAT Scores - 590 to 720

Ivey Case Method
One aspect that sets Ivey apart from virtually all other Canadian MBA Schools is their focus on the case method. All schools will use the case method to some extent, however the focus at Ivey is on case based learning. A conservative estimate is that by the end of the program, you will have looked at 300 different cases.

Students are given the cases ahead of time and are expected to have not only read the case, but to have prepared responses to the issues given in the case. During class, the instructor doesn't lecture as such, instead he/she typically acts as a moderator of class discussion. The class, with the direction of the instructor work through the case presenting their ideas and thoughts on different aspects. At the end of the day, there is never one right answer at the end of the case. The learning stems from being exposed to the different viewpoints and being able to prepare reasonable approaches to solving the issues presented.

Ivey Campus
Located in London, ON, Ivey is much less of a commuter campus than other schools. As opposed to Rotman, Schulich, and other schools located in major cities, there is a greater opportunity to spend time together with fellow students. Of course, at any school, this would depend on the students. But with Ivey being more of a lifestyle choice for the one-year program, there is a greater focus on learning and student clubs than you might find elsewhere.

Student Resources

Ivey MBA Students Association
Ivey Marketing Club

More Information
Ivey School Profile
2009 Financial Times MBA Rankings

Financial Times MBA Rankings Summay (3 of 3)

2008-04-20T13:14:00.000-07:00

This is a final part of a 3-part series that looks at Canadian MBA programs and their rankings in the different Financial Times Categories. The first post looked at the overall rankings for 2008 and the salary numbers. The 2nd post expanded upon the initial post and looked at how the schools fared in salary increase after the program, career progress, and the value for money of completing your MBA at that school. The final post looks at placemnet success, alumni recommendation, international sutdents and international mobility, and doctoral (research) rankings.

Financial Times Placement Success Rankings

Placement success is a measure based on how satisified grads are with the career services of their school during their job search. Not surprisingly, Rotman and Ivey are the two most consisten schools in Canada in this regard. They are probably the two largest schools in Canada in terms of resources. It is also interesting to note that, like other categories, McGill is continuing to drop in the rankings and in 2008 is the lowest rated out of all Canadian schools.

Financial Times Alumni Recommended Rank

The alumni recommended rank is based on graduates responses when asked to name 3 MBA programs from which they would recruit graduates. This is one ranking where there is little variance from year to year as the best known schools continue to score highly. Most intersting to note is how there is a very large one year drop in UBC's ranking. This probably goes to show some of the variance can exist when dealing with some of the "smaller" MBA programs in the world.

Financial Times International Mobility Rankings

Before introducing the International Mobility ranking, it makes sense to look at the number of international students in each program. Schulich has by far and away the largest number of international students in it's class - consistently 70% of each class is made up of students born outside of Canada. UBC also has had fairly consistent classes with a large number of international students. Ivey, with their change to a one-year MBA has had a large drop off in the number of international students within a class (20%). Most other schools average around 40% international students within each class.

Now, taking a look at international mobility, which is based on whether grads surveyed work in another country before, during, or after their MBA most schools seems grouped fairly close together. Only Alberta lags behind the rest of the Canadian schools, and they are still in the top 60 worldwide. Why do Canadian schools fare quite well in this measure? I'd imagine it has something to do with not only the number of international students brought into the program, but the fact that unlike graduates of American schools, Canadian MBA's are more willing (or depending on their career interests, faced with the need to move abroad to fulfil their career goals). Whether this is more indicitative of Canadian grads wanting to work abroad (and escape the occasional cold winters), being faced with the need to move abroad to be at the top of their field, or the more multicultaral background of Canadian students, Canadian schools score quite highly compared to their American counterparts.

Financial Times Research Ranking

The FT Research (or Doctoral) ranking is based on a weighted average of the number of top 40 journal publications that faculty at a business school have recently produced. This is intended to be a measure for how cutting-edge and innovate the research at a program is and by extension how this would translate into what is taught in the classroom. Not surprisingly, with it's repuatation at one of the leading business schools in the world, Rotman is ahead of the other Canadian schools. Perhaps somewhat more surprising is how well the Western schools (Alberta & UBC) are doing comparitively.

Updated Link:
2009 Financial Times MBA Rankings

Financial Times MBA Rankings Summary (Part 2 of 3)

2008-04-02T23:24:00.000-07:00

After a small delay, here is the 2nd part in a 3 part series breaking down the comparative rankings of Canadian Schools in the 2008 Financial Times MBA Rankings. Part 1 looked at the schools overall ranking and the rankings on salary 3 years after graduation. Part 2 looks at Salary Increase, Career Progress, and Value for Money.

Financial Times Salary Increase Rankings

Salary increase is a fairly straightforward measure that simply states the increase in salary from prior to entering the MBA program to 3 years after graduation. Or to extend the idea further, the number is a rough guide to forecasting how much you could expect to be earning above your current salary 3 years after completing your MBA.

A number of years ago, the salary increases being reported were fairly astronomical with most Canadian schools bringing an increase in salary of over 125%. Rotman and Ivey both had increases of over 180%. A lot of the variation amongst Canadian schools has disappeared and today the average salary increase is 93%. This reflects not only the greater importance that schools have placed on admitting students with considerable work experience (and hence a higher entering salary), but also some of the reduction in a premium paid to MBA graduates to a more reasonable level.

Financial Times MBA Career Progress Rankings

The Career Progress ranking takes into account changes in the level of seniority and changes to the size of the firm that graduates are working at. Depending on your current position within an organization and where you want to move in your career, this is a good measure to see what sort of advancement opportunities different schools offer you.

That being said, the career progress rankings are among the hardest to actually compare schools on. The ranking is based on changes in the level of seniority, so if you enter a school from a high level position and leave to a similar level position but with a much higher salary or in a more dynamic field this would not be reflected in the career progress rank. No Canadian school did incredible well overall in career progress, but Schulich probably deserves some mention. In 2003, they ranked 2nd overall in career progress and now in 2008 they are ranked 49th globally. Does that imply that they have become a worse school compared to their peers in the last 5 years? No, I'd actually venture a fairly sound guess that they have been able to attract much more qualified candidates who are higher up on the corporate ladder when they returned to school to pursue their MBA.

Financial Times Value for Money Ranking

A look at the true benefit of completing an MBA wouldn't be complete without examining the cost that goes into completing the degree. The Value for Money measure attempts to incorporate the cost of the program into the program rankings. The measure compares the salary earned 3 years after graduation to not only the cost of the program (tuition) but also the opportunity cost of not working while pursuing the MBA.

Value for Money is interesting to take a look at because you can see how changes to a schools tuition affect their ranking in this category and also how improvements to the program are improving the schools reputation. With low tuition, the University of Alberta has claimed the top spot among Canadian schools in Value for Money. Traditionally among the lowest tuition's at major schools across Canada, an improvement in the other rankings has helped moved Alberta up. Rotman has fallen a fair bit in the last 5 years, although that is likely down to an increase in tuition.

One caveat to focusing solely on Value for Money, this doesn't take account of the potential networks and connections that you can build in a program. If you have your heart set on becoming an Investment Banker in Toronto, considering Alberta (27) or McGill (33) might not be your best choice simply because they won't have the connections that Rotman (69) would have. Similarly, if you want to work on the West Coast, an MBA from Schulich wouldn't have the same effect as an MBA from UBC. Value for Money only takes salary into account and doesn't have a way to differentiate based on other factors.

Updated Link:
2009 Financial Times MBA Rankings

Financial Times MBA Rankings Summary (1 of 3)

2008-02-25T13:47:00.000-08:00

Below is a summary of the Financial Times MBA rankings for Canadian schools from 2003-2008. You can get a very good sense of how schools have done in the rankings over the last 6 years and see how the Canadian schools are trending. With most Canadian schools dropping in the rankings in 2008, hopefully this year is more of an outlier than a trend for Canadian Schools.

Financial Times MBA Ranking

As you can see from the chart on the left, Queens has fallen from a fairly high ranking to outside of the top 100 in 4 years, while schools like McGill, Ivey, and UBC have dropped fairly noticably in recent years. The one school that seems to have bucked their trend is Alberta, which has actually moved up to an all-time high in the rankings in 2008.

Financial Times MBA Salary Ranking

As you can see, Ivey continues to have the highest paid graduates out of the ranked MBA programs in Canada. Rotman is also ahead of the pack when it comes to salaries in Canada. A number of schools are huddled together in the $80-$90k / year mark, with Schulich and McGill grads outearning UBC grads. Alberta grads are usually the lowest earning out of Canadian grads.

Updated Link:
2009 Financial Times MBA Rankings

Reaction to the Financial Times MBA Rankings 2008

2008-02-07T10:33:00.000-08:00

With the release of the latest rankings comes a flurry of reaction from schools. I found the response from Rotman particulary interesting as Dean Martin raises an interesting point about being punished in the standings from bring in students who are earning higher salaries than in the past.

Below are links to some of the reactions to the latest FT rankings

Rotman Reaction:

Dean Roger Martin: http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca/news/FT.htm

Alberta Reaction:

Dean Mike Percy: http://www.business.ualberta.ca/ext-relations/media/releases/2008/20080128.htm

McGill Reaction:

http://media.www.mcgilltribune.com/media/storage/paper234/news/2008/02/05/News/Campus.Desautelss.Mba.Program.Slips.Remains.In.Top.100-3187266.shtml

Ivey Reaction:

Dean Carol Stephenson: http://www.ivey.uwo.ca/about/rankings.htm

Financial Times MBA Rankings 2008

2008-01-27T18:54:00.000-08:00

Perhaps the best known and most quoted measure used to rank or select MBA programs is the Financial Times MBA rankings. Schools and potential students looking forward to the updated rankings need not wait any longer.

The 2008 Financial Times Rankings have been released and not that surprisingly, International schools have fared very well in the rankings. Wharton stills ranks as the top MBA program in the world, but coming in at number 2 is London Business School. Only 57 US schools are in the top 100, with the remaining 43 coming from outside of the States.

This year 6 Canadian schools managed to crack into the top 100, with the University of Alberta joining Rotman, Schulich, Ivey, Sauder, and McGill in the top 100. The University of Alberta actually scored incredibly well in rejoining the FT top 100, coming in at 88nd and ahead of both McGill and Sauder. Somewhat surprisingly, most Canadian schools actually fared worse in this years rankings than in recent years.

Rotman MBA FT Ranking 2008 - 40

Dropping down to 40th will probably not sit well with members of the Rotman (University of Toronto) MBA program. Reported salary figures for Rotman actually grew compared to 2007 and their Aims Achieved rank grew by a fair margin up to 42. However, Rotman fell by a large margin on value for money (down to 69th), placement success (down to 48th), and fell to 100 for career progress.

UofT will likely be somewhat disappointed to fall down to 40th overall, especially given the rise of other International schools at the expense of large American schools, but will be very glad to retain the highest ranking in Canada.

Schulich MBA FT Ranking 2008 - 48

Schulich (York University) is only one of two Canadian schools that moved up in the FT rankings in 2008. Granted they only moved up 1 place to 48th, but ranking ahead of Ivey as they fall down, will make the school fairly content. Total salary for Schulich grads increased slightly from last year and the school rose in value for money (28th), and moved up over 20 places in Aims Achieved.

On the whole, even though they didn't move up, Schulich will be quite happy to move ahead of Ivey and move closer to Rotman. After being the top ranked school in Canada in 2006 and falling substantially in 2007, Schulich will be content to rank 2nd in Canada.

Ivey MBA FT Ranking 2008 - 53

Ivey drops down 12 places to 53rd overall and 3rd in Canada in the 2008 FT MBA rankings. Ivey can take some solace in the fact that their grads still pull down the highest salaries of graduates from any Canada school, with the average salary rising to over $105,000 this year. Aside from an increase in salaries, Ivey essentially held the course relative to their peers this year, with little movement up or down in any of the other main categories. However, they did manage to drop over 10 places in value for money down to 42nd.

Ivey will not be pleased to drop down to 53rd overall in the rankings, which is a very low ranking by their normal lofty standards. They have actually been on a downward trend in recent years and its a safe bet that program administrators will try to reverse the trend in the FT survey in the next couple of years. On a bright note, they still score fairly well on other MBA rankings.

University of Alberta FT MBA Rankings 2008 - 88

The UofA will be quite pleased to not only rejoin the FT top 100 in 2008, but to move in as the 4th school in Canada and as the top Canadian school outside of Ontario. The UofA has always been a school to score very well on research and program quality rankings, it has historically been grad salaries that have held the school down in the rankings. While they still rank on the lower end of salaries ($74,250) they have closed the gap considerably against rival Canadian schools and 2008 represents an increase of roughly $10,000 in salary from last year. Part of that is undoubtedly attributable to the falling American dollar, but the booming economy in Alberta certainly helped matters.

With the highest value for money ranking of a Canadian school (27th) and an FT research ranking of 37th, Alberta will certainly be pleased to sit as the 4th best MBA program in Canada according to the Financial Times.

Sauder FT MBA Ranking 2008 - 92

Sauder (University of British Columbia) will be somewhat disappointed to fall to 92nd in the MBA rankings. They will be somewhat more disappointed to rank 4 spaces behind Alberta, especially since Alberta is tied with 3 other schools, leaving Sauder one real place behind but 4 places in the rankings. The largest drop off that led to Sauder falling in the 2008 rankings was value for money, where UBC dropped 28 places, down to 40th overall. With Value for Money representing both the gains from and opportunity cost of completing your MBA, that's a fairly high drop off over a single year. Aside from Value for Money, UBC essentially held the course in most other categories and manage to move up in the alumni recommend rank.

McGill (Desautels) FT MBA Ranking 2008 - 96

McGill is another Canadian school that didn't seem to a whole lot different from 2007, but has fallen in the rankings. Salaries are around the same level, however like Sauder, their biggest drop has come in Value for Money. Similar to UBC, and most other Canadian schools, this is most likely attributable not to any change in the program, but in the increased tuition cost as the Canadian dollar has come close to par with the American dollar.

Falling 6 places in the rankings isn't the end of the world, especially since McGill remains in the FT's top 100 MBA programs and retains the exposure that comes from ranking in the top 100. However, the biggest disappointment has to be ranking behind not only the big 3 schools in Ontario, but also coming in behind Alberta and UBC from the West.

Detailed Summary of Current/Past FT Rankings for Canadian Schools
Part 1 - Overal Rankings & Salary
Part 2 - Salary Increase, Value for Money, Career Progress
Part 3 - Placement Success, Alumni Recommendation, International Students & Mobility, Research

Updated Link: 2009 Financial Times MBA Rankings

MBA Graduate Salary

2008-01-20T17:20:00.000-08:00

The number one reason most students enter an MBA program is to get further ahead in their careers. Since no two people have exactly the same goals, its somewhat difficult to state whether one school is better than another in regards to helping students reach their goals. That being the case, the main measure used to differentiate schools is the starting salary of graduates.

I'll start writing a series of posts outlining the graduate employment reports for a number of Canadian schools shortly and try and offer some analysis about the job prospects of grads from different schools.

In the mean time, below is the most recently reported average starting salary for an MBA graduate from a number of different Canadian schools.

MBA Starting Salary - 3 months after Graduation

Rotman (University of Toronto) $83,067
Queens $87,000
Schulich (York University) $86,000
McGill $80,000
Sauder $80,000
Ivey $93,949*****

***** Represents the total average compensation, including signing bonuses and other guaranteed compensation. All other figures represent average starting salary

Financial Times MBA Rankings 2008 - Preview

2008-01-17T10:51:00.000-08:00

With the latest Financial Times MBA Rankings coming out in a couple of weeks, now is a good time to review where programs currently stand and offer some what of a forecast of how they will rank in the newest rankings.

On the whole, Canadian schools are shaping up to do somewhat better in this years rankings, due in large part to the strength of the Canadian dollar. This will help schools on the overall salary figures as these numbers are reported in US dollars.

Updated
2008 Financial Times MBA Rankings 2008
Rotman - 40
Schulich - 48
Ivey - 53
Alberta - 88
UBC - 92
McGill - 96

Financial Times MBA Rankings 2008 - School Preview
(actual results are linked to above)
Rotman FT Ranking
Schulich FT Ranking
McGill FT Rankings
Ivey FT Rankings
Sauder (UBC) FT Rankings
Queens FT Rankings
Haskayne (UofC) FT Rankings
Alberta FT Rankings

Also being released shortly is the QS Top MBA Global Recruiters Top 100 Business Schools. These results are being released on January 20th and should contain some surprises as 22 new schools have entered the list.

Updated Link:
2009 Financial Times MBA Rankings

Wall Street Journal MBA Rankings 2007

2008-01-11T11:16:00.001-08:00

Annually, the Wall Street Journal and Harris Interactive conduct a survey of corporate recruiters. Based on the responses of corporate recruiters, a list of the top MBA programs both in the United States and Internationally is put together. Schools are ranked based mainly on the corporate recruiters ratings of 21 different attributes of the school. Recruiters intentions to recruit from the school in the future and the number of companies hiring a large number of the Schools grads outside of the US are also factored into the rankings.

Overall, three Canadian schools rank in the top 25 International Schools according to WSJ/HI. The top ranked international school is ESADE which is based out of Spain. It's not very surprising to see which three Canadian schools cracked the top 25 - Rotman, Ivey, and Schulich.

Rotman MBA Ranking
2007 - 25
2006 - 24
2005 - NR

Ivey MBA Ranking
2007 - 12
2006 - 9
2005 - 6

Schulich MBA Ranking
2007 - 11
2006 - 13
2005 - 15

As you can see, Schulich is currently the top ranked school in Canada according to the Wall Street Journal, just ahead of Ivey with Rotman in 3rd. Unlike the Financial Times Rankings, which take into account a large number of factors, the WSJ rankings are based mainly on responses from corporate recruiters.

On one hand, it would make perfect sense to rely on recruiters rankings, because most students going to a business school are looking for rewarding and high quality jobs upon graduation. Graduating from a school that is well liked by recruiters would obviously increase your chances of landing a top position.

That being said, relying on the opinion of recruiters does have some drawbacks. Recruiters may be somewhat biased based on their past experiences with one or two students from a school, may favour their Alma mater, or the recruiters surveyed may not be recruiting in the specific industry that a school specializes in. Also, from a Canadian schools point, the number of graduates being recruited outside of the US is included, so if your from Rotman or Ivey and can take a position in the United States, that would actually hurt your schools international ranking in the WSJ survey.

Ryerson University - Ted Rogers School of Management

2008-01-07T11:15:00.000-08:00

Location: Toronto, ON

Tuition:$12,000 (Canadian Resident)

Notable Rankings: None to date

Brief Overview of the School: Ryerson University's MBA program is one of the newest in Canada. Obviously with the MBA program being relatively new and the school only having a very small number of alumni it's difficult to draw an assessment on the quality of program and the perception of the school in the business community.

That being said, Ryerson is located in the heart of Toronto, right on Bay street. Ted Rogers, the CEO of Rogers, is a well known and high profile businessman who has given his name (and plenty of money) to school in order to set up the program. Both of these bode fairly well for Ryerson to establish itself as a decent MBA school.

The program itself is geared up so that students with previous business education can finish the program in 12 months, with those who don't have a business education requiring 16 months to finish the program. Those without business education complete a business basics term during the summer. Students with previous education then join the class for the core courses in Term One. Students specialize or complete electives during Term Two. During the Final Term, students integrate what they've learned into wrap up projects which can include a major research project, thesis, internships, or exchanges.

Ryerson offers specializations in:

International Business
Human Resources Management
Marketing
Retail and Commercial Development

With Ryerson entering the MBA market, it will be interesting to see how their graduates compete in the job market. Toronto is already a main area for most Ontario MBA schools, so how employers react to the Ryerson offering will be very interesting.

More Information ...

University of Alberta MBA FT Rankings

2007-12-28T15:44:00.000-08:00

The University of Alberta MBA program was not included on the Financial Times top 100 MBA Schools list in 2007. Alberta has been perennially ranked at the tail end of the FT top 100, sometimes managing to appear on the list and sometimes coming just short. The highest Alberta has managed to rank in 95th in 2001.

Without a doubt, the main factor keeping the UofA from moving up in the rankings is salary. There are number of reasons why the salary reported by Alberta grads is lower than most other ranked schools in Canada including:

- low cost of living in Edmonton
- fewer corporate head offices in Edmonton compared to Toronto, Montreal, etc.
- greater proportion of government jobs (typically lower paying that private sector jobs).

The low salary figures reported even hurts Alberta in the value for money ranking (44th in 2006). With a low tuition relative the Eastern Canadian schools (Ivey, Rotman, Queen's) a moderate increase in salary would boost Alberta not just in the salary rankings, it would also be a decent multiplier in the value for money rankings.

University of Alberta FT MBA Ranking 2008

It would be quite surprising in the University of Alberta fails to rank in the top 100 in the 2008 FT MBA Rankings. The faculty and research rankings for Alberta have improved since they were last ranked in 2006 (as seen in the FT Executive MBA Rankings). Most importantly, salary figures should be higher than those reported in the past couple of years. The entire province of Alberta has been experience a rather large boom based around the oil sands in Ft. McMurray and salaries and the cost of living has gone up considerably in the last couple of years. This should be reflected in the most recent numbers. Also, the Canadian dollar has reached par with the American dollar, so salary figures should also get a boost since the Financial Times reports in American dollars.

The University of Alberta should be able to post its highest ranking ever in the Financial Times MBA rankings (95th) when the 2008 FT MBA Rankings are released in January.

Alberta FT MBA Rankings 2001-2007

2007 - N/R
2006 - 98
2005 - N/R
2004 - 97
2003 - 100
2002 - N/R
2001 - 95

University of Alberta MBA Program

Updated Link: - 2009 FT MBA Rankings

McGill Financial Times MBA Rankings

2007-12-23T08:28:00.001-08:00

McGill took a huge drop in the 2007 Financial Times MBA Rankings, sinking 46 spots from 44th to 90th overall. The funny thing, however, is that compared to 2006, McGill hasn't dropped off substantially in any one category. Salary figures are still around the $88,000 mark, although the salary increase percentage has fallen from 110% down to 87%.

The Value for Money ranking (return based on program and opportunity cost) has always been a strong point for McGill and in 2007 they ranked 14th overall, compared to 4th overall in 2006.

The one area where McGills ranking dropped at a comparable rate to their overall ranking was career progress - dropping from 48th down to 77th. Overall it would appear as though while other schools were getting stronger and more recognition for their alumni, McGill seems to be staying the course.

McGill FT MBA Ranking 2008

McGill will certainly be hoping for a quick turnaround in the annual rankings. Again, as with all Canadian schools, you would expect the salary figures to increase somewhat, although with McGill being an international student school, perhaps they won't have as dramatic an increase as other schools in Canada. Whether 2007 was simple a bad graduating class relative to previous years, or the beginning of trend, will determine how McGill ranks in 2008.

McGill FT MBA Rankings 2003-2007

2007 - 90
2006 - 44
2005 - 39
2004 - 39
2003 - 37

McGill MBA Program

Updated - FT 2009 MBA Rankings

York University - Schulich Financial Times MBA Rankings

2007-12-22T16:01:00.000-08:00

Schulich, like most Canadian MBA Schools took a fairly large drop in the 2007 FT MBA Rankings. The salary for Schulich grads 3 years out has always been somewhat lower than the other two large Ontario schools (Ivey and Rotman), so the lower Salary figure isn't surprising. Two areas where Schulich fared much worse in 2007 compared to 2006 and earlier was value for money and career progress.

Value for money is a measure used by the Financial Times that compares the salary earned by grads today to the tuition of the program and the opportunity cost (or salary forgone) by students when they were enrolled in the program. Schulich went from 8th in 2006 to 33rd in 2007.

Career progress is another item used by the Financial Times that represents the change in seniority and the size of a company that a graduate is working in now as compared to what they were doing before their MBA. Schulich went from 14th in 2006 to 37th in 2007.

Schulich FT MBA Ranking 2008

As with most Canadian schools, one would expect the salary data reported by Schulich to have increased this year based on the strength of the Canadian dollar. That would help the overall salary data but it might not be helpful in the value for money category because tuition and salary forgone will also increase.

Schulich FT MBA Rankings 2003-2007

2007 - 49
2006 - 18
2005 - 22
2004 - 22
2003 - 26

York University Schulich MBA Program

Updated - FT MBA Rankings 2009

Haskayne - University of Calgary Financial Times MBA Ranking

2007-12-17T22:03:00.000-08:00

Haskayne's MBA program was last in the Financial Times Master's of Business Rankings in 2003, when they placed 93rd. Prior to that they debuted on the FT MBA Rankings in 2002 at 83rd.

Since then, it's been a tough time for Haskayne to make it back onto the FT Rankings. However, the joint Executive MBA program with the University of Alberta has been extremely well ranked. The UofC was ranked in 2002 and 2003 on the strength graduate salaries (Calgary is home to large number of head offices and is the centre of Canada's oil and gas industry) and salaries are one of the highest ranking categories on the Executive MBA rankings. However, one area where I would imagine UofC has been struggling in recent years is on the Idea generation portion of the FT survey. Compared to the University of Alberta (in Edmonton) and eastern schools, UofC doesn't have the same reputation for research. In the Executive MBA rankings, UofC is able to draw on their strength in salary and the UofA's strength in research to rank fairly high.

When the latest FT rankings are released in January 2008, it wouldn't be out of the question for UofC to jump back onto the list based on graduate salaries 3 years out. The oil patch is booming in Calgary and the high salary score on the Executive MBA ranking gives a fairly good idea of how the MBA program will score. Whether the strength in salary will be enough to compensate for other deficiencies will be interesting to find out.

University of Calgary - Haskayne MBA Program

Updated - FT 2008 MBA Rankings

Queen's FT MBA Rankings 2002-2007

2007-12-09T18:47:00.000-08:00

Over the last couple of years, Queen's has fallen off of the FT MBA Rankings a fairly alarming rate. In 2003 they were ranked 40th in the world and fell to 87th in 2006. The school was unranked in 2007.

Why has Queen's falling so quickly? It's rather tough to say, especially since Business Week considered Queen's the top International MBA school in 2006, beating out Ivey, Rotman, London Business School, and INSEAD. My guess is that in the Business Week survey, Queen's grads from previous years are held in high regard and as a result Queen's scores very well on the Recruiter portion of the Business Week Survey. Why has Queen's fallen so quickly from the FT Rankings ... my guess is that as a large number of MBA programs ramp up their offerings, Queen's historically low rating in the FT Doctoral and Research Rankings are starting to hurt them.

Queen's FT Ranking Summary

2007 - unranked
2006 - 87
2005 - 75
2004 - 42
2003 - 40
2002 - 46

Queen's MBA Program

Updated - FT MBA Rankings 2008

Sauder UBC MBA Rankings

2007-11-28T09:12:00.000-08:00

UBC is generally in what the Financial Times would call the fourth tier in their MBA rankings. That is to say that there is little difference between the select MBA program, the next 20, then the top 50, and then the remainder of the top 100.

In 2005, Sauder actually moved up into the Financial Times 3rd tier, but has returned down the past two years. Fundamentally, UBC offers a very solid education, with a strong doctoral and research ranking by the FT. Regionally, they are very well known and recommended, the big push seems to be centred around building their reputation outside of Western North America. With an increased presence around the world, including a new MBA program offered in China, the hope is that their grads will be better able to move around internationally and attract the larger salaries. Like most Canadian schools, it would seem logical to expect UBC to move up somewhat in this years ranking because of the more favourable exchange rate to the US dollar which will boost the salary figure reported.

Rank in 2007 - 77
Rank in 2006 - 71
Rank in 2005 - 55
Rank in 2004 - 67
Rank in 2003 - 73

More on Sauder

Updated - FT MBA Rankings 2009

A Few MBA Links

2007-11-28T08:34:00.000-08:00

I stumbled across the following two articles, one from Business Week and one from QS Top MBA:

GMAT Preparation - Verbal:

http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/content/nov2007/bs20071125_638122.htm

MBA Return on Investment - One Year vs. Two Year MBA:

http://www.topmba.com/mba_admissions/mbaselection00/article/the_two_year_mba_is_it_worth_it/

One offers some advice on how to improve your score on the Verbal portion of the GMAT. The other, while not discussing Canadian programs, provides some useful information about your Return on Investment from undertaking an MBA program

Ivey MBA Rankings - Financial Times

2007-11-25T16:14:00.000-08:00

Ivey has fallen in recent years from it's perch as the highest ranked MBA program in Canada. As recently as 2002, Ivey was the number one school in Canada according to the Financial Times and was ranked 18th in the World.

Since then, Ivey has been surpassed by Rotman (University of Toronto) while Schulich (York University) jumped passed Ivey only to fall sharply in 2007. Ivey's rankings over the past 5 years are:

Ivey FT MBA Rankings

2003 - 22
2004 - 29
2005 - 34
2006 - 31
2007 - 41

Ivey FT MBA Salary

2003 - $106,144
2004 - $101,668
2005 - $100,638
2006 - $99,553
2007 - $100,420

The trend has certainly been towards a steady decline. One possible explanation has to do with the fact that the two main competitors for Ivey (Rotman and Schulich) are both based in Toronto, while Ivey is in London, ON. Others would argue that Ivey was getting fairly complacent sitting as the top school in Canada and didn't really imagine that Rotman would quickly move up the rankings and pass them.

No matter why Ivey has been falling recently in terms of the FT rankings, it will be very interesting to see what will happen now that Ivey has moved to their 12-month case based MBA program. Whether its considered a desperate move to reverse a downward trend (in both rankings and national pedigree) or forward thinking and a innovative decision, it will certainly affect Ivey's rankings going forward. How employers react to the change will probably be the biggest indicator of whether or not the move was successful, since at the end of the day salary increases and career progress are the main reasons people undertake their MBA.

Key Ivey Rankings Summary - 2007

Value for Money - 31
Career Progress - 66
Placement Success - 51
Alumni Recommended - 21
International Mobility - 33
Doctoral Rank - 68
Research Rank - 23

Ivey MBA Program

Updated - FT MBA Rankings 2009

Rival Schools
Rotman
Schulich
McGill
Sauder - UBC
Alberta
Queens

Rotman (University of Toronto) MBA Rankings - Financial Times

2007-11-21T16:53:00.000-08:00

With the 2008 FT MBA Rankings coming out in approx. 2 months, now seems like a good time to review how Canadian schools have been ranking over the last 5 years.

(Note: the 2008 FT MBA rankings have now been released)

Rotman Financial Times MBA Rankings

2003 - 21
2004 - 21
2005 - 21
2006 - 24
2007 - 27

Rotman Financial Times Reported Salary

2003 - $99,341
2004 - $103,039
2005 - $98,261
2006 - $98,055
2007 - $96,643

As you can see from the rankings over the last 5 years, Rotman appears to have peaked at 21st overall and is slowly beginning to fall as other schools are jumping ahead. Part of this has to do with the growth of MBA programs outside of North America, but the salary data is also a cause for concern. Normally, you'd like to see the salary number going up year after year, but in the case of Rotman it has been a downward trend as of late.

FT MBA Ranking in 2008

I'd be willing to bet that the salary figure reported in the 2008 rankings is higher relative to Rotman's recent reports. With the Canadian dollar reaching parity with the US Dollar and now trading above the US dollar, all Canadian schools will get a boost in the rankings. However, I wouldn't expect Rotman's performance to be as dramatic as some of the other schools in Canada. The financial sector in Toronto, generally a big employer for Rotman hasn't been experiencing the same level of growth relative to other parts of Canada. I would imagine that the gains for Rotman in 2008 won't be as dramatic as some of the Western Schools. However, compared to the 2nd tier American schools, I would believe that Rotman will reverse their slight downward trend in 2008.

Key Rotman FT Rankings Summary - 2007

Value for Money - 38
Career Progress - 93
Placement Success - 48
Alumni Recommended - 18
International Mobility - 37
Doctoral Rank - 18
Research Rank - 23

Rotman MBA Program

Updated - FT MBA Rankings 2009

Rival School Rankings

Ivey
Schulich
McGill
Alberta
Sauder - UBC
Haskayne

MBA Tours, MBA Fairs, and MBA Information Sessions

2007-11-13T10:54:00.000-08:00

November and December are very busy months for recruiting directors at MBA Schools. This is typically when a large number of National and International MBA Fairs/Tours/Information Sessions take place.

In most cases, representatives from a host of schools get together in a large hall, set up their individual booths, and provide an opportunity for students to learn about the offerings at different schools at the same time. Some of the larger and better known tours include:

The MBA Tour: www.thembatour.com
The World MBA Tour: http://www.topmba.com/mba_fairs/wmtevents/

Both of these events bring together representatives from schools from North America, Europe, and select international schools. Most Canadian schools are representated at at least some of the tour stops.

These events can be a valuable opportunity for those who are gathering information about MBA programs in general, but are typically more important for those who are considering a number of different schools. Some pointers on how to make the most of an MBA Tour are below:

Information Gathering
While it would be ideal if you did some research ahead of time so you had an idea of what's expected in the MBA application process, it's okay to show up and have some general admissions questions (such as, What's the GMAT?). However, it would be a good idea to not ask one school all of your questions.

A good option is to write down some of the questions you may have, or get a list of requirements from one school and then ask one question at a number of different schools. Not only do you get to find out about different schools and what they offer, but you'll have all your questions answered. Schools would also prefer this as it's generally very difficult to spend a large amount of time answering one person's questions when there is a line of interested students.

Targeted Approach

Pre-Fair
Before the fair, it's a good idea to come up with an idea on where you want end up when you are done your degree. If you have a very strong interest in Finance, it's easier to tailor your search requirements to schools with a strong finance background.

The Internet is an invaluable tool during the selection process. It's easy enough to get the basic information for schools in your target set ahead of time (i.e. strong finance program, located in Ontario, low - medium tuition). If there are a couple of schools that will be at a fair that you are especially interested in talking too, get in touch with them before the fair. More often than not, representatives from the school would be happy to set aside some time to talk to you one on one before or after the fair.

At the Fair
Fairs are usually very busy, with a large number of attendees trying to get in to visit all of the schools they are interested in. The last thing a School wants to end up with is one or two people who ask them question after question, preventing other interested parties from getting some information.

If you've done some work pre-fair, this is where you can come up with one or two questions about something that is important for you when it comes to selecting a school. Perhaps one school you are interested in has a student group that does consulting work. If you are interested in participating, asking more questions about the group is a very effective thing to do. It's not something that can easily be found out on line or through a brochure and it tells the School representatives that you are interested in their School and have done some leg work ahead of time. It's a good way to make an impression with the School and you might even get to spend more time talking directly with the Schools representatives.

It's also a good idea to show up at the fair dressed respectably. You are making a first impression with the School and showing up in an old t-shirt and wrinkly jeans is probably not going to lead to the Schools representatives spending much time learning about your background and answering your questions. Business casual is usually a good bet.

Finally, even if you aren't sure about a school, it's a better approach to just introduce yourself to a representative and say what you are interested in rather than just grabbing a brochure and walking away. Chances are, you aren't going to read the brochure line for line and letting a representative know what you are interested in could lead to them sharing something that you weren't aware of (such as a new major being offer, a new marketing professor joining the school, new internship partners, or scholarship opportunities).

CanadianMBA.com Website

2007-10-30T08:10:00.000-07:00

This website provides a quick overview both Canada and 9 MBA schools in Canada. I'd take the information with a slight grain of salt as the website is actually a consortium of Canadian business schools, including:

Rotman - University of Toronto
Ivey - University of Western Ontario
Queens
Sauder - University of British Columbia

Why would 9 different MBA schools work together on a website? Well clearly the website is geared towards International students who may not be that familiar with Canada. By uniting to promote Canada, I'm imaging the thought is that by convincing international students about the quality and relevance of a graduate degree in Canada it's easier to then convince them to come to their specific school.

For a quick overview of life in Canada and a short profile on some of the major cities, this isn't a bad website, but I certainly wouldn't consider it a main source of information.

www.canadianmba.com

Canadian MBA Programs vs. American MBA Programs

2007-10-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

Canadian Business posted an interesting article on Canadian students choosing to go to American MBA programs rather than Canadian schools:

http://www.canadianbusiness.com/managing/education/article.jsp?content=20061110_115628_4620

It's interesting although not very surprising that some of Canada's top students choose to go to the US for their graduate program. Most of Canada's best and brightest will have already done their undergraduate degree at a top Canadian school. Their work experience will also have been in Canada. To expand their career internationally, moving to an American school makes sense.

Canadian MBA Schools Are Well Ranked Internationally

At the end of the day, the top Canadian schools do compete internationally with the upper tier American schools, so I don't believe it's Canadian students making some sort of quality statement about American schools. I believe however students are seeking to diversify their education internationally and still have something that will be well recognized domestically and abroad.

All I take away from the article is the value of choosing an MBA school that is well positioned in the area or regional location where you would like to work. It's the best way to get a head start on your career path and won't involve you having to do as much lead work to get into the industry.

Career Services for Part Time Students

2007-10-24T21:26:00.001-07:00

An interesting article published through Business Week (Part-Time MBAs: Job Fairs for Us, Too) raises some interesting questions about what part-time students can expect from their MBA program. The main problem seems to stem from schools selectively only allowing their full-time students to participate in employer networking sessions and other recruiting efforts. The argument being that part-time students are in a different situation and in some cases it's not appropriate for students who may be sponsored by their employers to be looking for another position. Personally, I think some of it has to do with the fact that schools tend to be ranked on their full-time students and their after degree salaries.

I disagree with argument. Part-time students pay the same tuition as full-time students. They complete the same classes. Most employers are smart enough to have their employees sign agreements to continue with their company for a certain number of years post-MBA. Those who leave early are required to return their funding. If nothing is signed, the sponsorship is more of a condition of continuing employment during the degree period. Why should any of these things effect what a student is allowed to participate in during their MBA.

Financial Times Executive MBA Rankings - 2007

2007-10-23T21:58:00.001-07:00

This blog hasn't touched on Executive MBA programs very frequently, but I thought it would be worth pointing out how Canadian Schools fared in the most recent FT EMBA rankings.

Kellogg / York University: Schulich - FT Rank #17

This joint program offered between Kellogg (Northwestern in the United States) and York is the highest ranked program in Canada. As the program is fairly new, it was not ranked in the previous two FT EMBA rankings.

University of Alberta / University of Calgary: Haskayne - FT Rank #28

This joint program has moved up the rankings in the past three years, going from 65 to 46 and finally up to 28.

University of Toronto: Rotman - FT Rank # 32

The UofT EMBA program has actually fallen relative to the last two years, dropping down from it's prior ranking of 26.

Queens - FT Rank # 84

Queens is in danger of slipping out of the Top 90 ranking next year as they have been trending down about 10 spots a year over the last 3 years.

University of Ottawa: Telfair- FT Rank #87

Unranked over the past two years, Ottawa debuts at number 87 in the FT rankings.

Concordia - FT Rank #89

Concordia dropped substantially from number 68 last year and barely stays in the rankings as it is tied for the last spot with Brigham Young.

It's interesting to see the performance of some of the schools, especially the high ranking of the combined Alberta Haskayne EMBA program. York can probably thank it's relationship with Kellogg for the highest ranking of a Canadian school. Kellogg is a joint partner of the top ranked EMBA program (with Hong Kong UST), a joint partner with the 12th ranked program (with WHU-Otto Beisheim) and the 13th ranked program individually. The rest of the Canadian schools essentially fared worse than in previous rankings.

To view the complete rankings:

http://rankings.ft.com/emba-rankings

MBA Application Deadlines

2007-10-16T08:44:00.000-07:00

One interesting thing about MBA programs across Canada is the different approaches they take to admission deadlines. Some schools have numerous rounds where a certain number of people will be admitted at specific dates throughout the year, while others have a rolling admissions process with one official deadline.

Of course, most schools will be happy to admit well qualified applicants after the deadline, they even leave a few places unfilled for such late applicants. It would be interesting to see just how many applicants each school will take after their official deadline, although I'd imagine that would be somewhat indicative of how many applicants they've had and whether or not they are prepared to lower their admission standards. I suspect most schools would rather keep that information private.

A quick summary of admission deadlines for select programs in Canada is below.

University of Toronto - Rotman MBA Application Deadline
April 30th, with two early admissions deadlines of November 15th and February 1st

Ivey MBA Application Deadline (University of Western Ontario)
Round 1 - September 1st
Round 2 - November 5th
Round 3 - January 7th
Round 4 - April 7th
Round 5 - June 2nd

Queens MBA Application Deadline
Round 1 - November 15th
Round 2 - February 1st
Round 3 - March 15th

University of Alberta MBA Application Deadline
International Applicants (China & Nigeria) - March 31st
All Other Applicants - April 30th

McGill MBA Application Deadline
March 15th

Schulich MBA Application Deadline (York University)
International Applicants - February 1st
North American Applicants - May 1st

Sauder MBA Application Deadline (University of British Columbia)
International Applicants - February 28th
North American Applicants - April 30th

Beyond Grey Pinstripes

2007-10-11T11:56:00.000-07:00

The Beyond Grey Pinstripes Top 100 MBA rankings were released yesterday. These rankings are intended to rate schools on the degree of Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management available in a schools curriculum. The rankings also includes the research publications of Business School Faculty in these fields.

Canadian MBA Schools Rankings

Canadian schools did very well in the Beyond Grey Pinstripes Rankings, with Schulich (York University) placing 3rd overall behind leaders Stanford and Michigan. Other Canadian schools in the rankings included:

16 - University of Calgary
21 - University of Western Ontario (Ivey)
23 - University of British Columbia (Sauder)
39 - Dalhousie
45 - McGill
53 - University of Alberta
59 - Concordia (Molson)
65 - Wilfrid Laurier University

The Beyond Grey Pinstripes rankings offer a slightly different look at business schools, in that rather than focus on student and career factors, these rankings take into account what is taught in the classroom. With an increasing numbers of court cases bringing into question the integrity of business leaders and increasing concerns relating to the environment, the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility is continuing to grow.

Study Permit for an MBA in Canada

2007-10-08T22:16:00.000-07:00

Over 130,000 international students come into Canada to study every year. However, the application for a study permit can be tiresome depending on where in the world you are applying from. One way to avoid some of the hassle is to understand what is required to get a study permit and making sure everything is in place before applying.

What do you need for Study Permit?

1. Your original letter of acceptance from a University in Canada. That's right, you need to first be accepted by a University before you undergo the process to apply for a study permit. Your original letter of acceptance will need to be submitted along with your application for a study permit.

2. A valid passport (or other travel document) as well as two passport sized photos. The passport is needed to make sure you can leave your country and enter Canada. The photos will be used in your documention for a study permit.

3. Proof of Financial Support. Before you will be allowed to enter Canada on a study permit, you will need to show that you have the means to support yourself. Typically, the Canadian government is looking for proof that you can pay your tuition and have at least $10,000 to cover living expenses over a 12 month period. If you are applying with your spouse, you would need to show an additional $4,000 in finances ($14,000 plus tuition). For any additional family members you would need to document that you have $3,000 in financial support. You can show proof of your financial support in a number of ways including your bank statements for the previous 4 months, a letter from the person or institution providing you with money, or a bank draft in convertible currency.

The easiest way to ensure that your study permit application is processed smoothly is to ensure that you have all three of the above requirements. While this won't guarantee that you'll receive a study permit, it will certainly improve your chances and cut down on your processing times.

More information about study permits can be found on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada Website.

Working after your MBA - International Students

2007-09-03T21:08:00.000-07:00

As an international student considering a Masters of Business Administration degree in Canada, a number of important questions spring to mind. Aside from specific concerns about adapting to life in a new country and what MBA school is the right one to choose, the biggest challenge would be the ability to live and work in Canada post-degree.

Most international graduates from MBA programs in Canada are now eligible for a two year work permit after their degree. Previously, the limit was one year post-degree. This offers students the ability to gain considerable international work experience to go along with an international degree.

Students who are also interested in settling in Canada on a permanent basis would have the ability to live, study, and work in Canada for 4 years. During this time, an application for permanent residency or Canadian citizenship would have plenty of time to work its way through the system. The only downside would be the extra tuition that most schools charge to international students as opposed to Canadian MBA students.

MBA Salary

2007-08-26T22:11:00.000-07:00

MBA Salary 2009

With the economic climate having changed considerably since last years class of MBA students graduated, it should be interesting times for the most recent grads. While final salary numbers won't be available until the fall, I'd expect the final numbers to fall well below the 2008 grad class figures. US schools are having a very difficult time finding placements for all of their grads and the story is somewhat similar in Canada. Regionally, Ontario schools may be the hardest hit. To give you an idea of where the schools are coming from, 2008 grad salaries are presented below.

MBA Salary

Rotman (University of Toronto) $89,698
Queens $80,000
Schulich (York University) $93,000
McGill $87,000
Sauder (University of British Columbia) $78,000
Ivey (University of Western Ontario) $103,000
Alberta $75,000
DeGroote (McMaster) $65,026
John Molson (Concordia) $75,000
Telfer (University of Ottawa) $81,346
Asper (University of Manitoba) $75,000

Looking back on the original post below, I still think it is more important to follow your interests rather than chasing the highest starting salary possible. The FT rankings, which present salary figures 3 years after graduation, are somewhat similar. I'd venture a guess that over 10-20 years the salary for those that followed their interests is higher than those who didn't.

Rotman MBA Salary

Today I took a look at the MBA Graduate & Internship Career date from the University of Toronto. For the graduating class of 2006, the mean salary of a graduate was just over $85,000 with the mean salary being around $80,000. It was also interesting to see that roughly 75% of the graduating class found employment in the Greater Toronto Area. With Toronto being the centre of the financial industry in Canada, it's not surprising to see a number of students finding employment in the finance sector and getting paid very well.

In my opinion, this just underscores the importance of checking out the MBA schools in Canada from more than just a name or ending salary perspective. While Rotman is a very well known school in Canada and well ranked internationally, it may not be the ideal school if your dream job is to work in the marketing industry in Vancouver. Having a good idea what you want to do when you finish your MBA and making sure that the school you apply to will help you get there is probably the best advice out there.

Ivey MBA Blog

2007-08-19T17:26:00.000-07:00

Master's of Business Administration Blogs

I stumbled across the following blog put out by members of the Ivey MBA class:

http://ivey2008.blogspot.com/

Marks a bit of an interesting trend among MBA schools. I've noticed a number of the American schools putting more money and effort into attracting students through various mediums, but this marks the first main effort from a Canadian School that I've come across using a larger un-moderated student blog about the program. Unlike some other school blogs, this one appears to focus on some of the recruiting aspects rather than just an explanation of student life.

As an impartial third party, I'll be the first to question whether the students are running the blog on their own initiative to help boost the reputation of the school, or whether Ivey has encouraged the students to publish the blog. Either way, I'd imagine that we'll be seeing a number of other schools coming out with something similar.

McGill MBA– Desautels Faculty of Management

2007-08-12T15:14:00.000-07:00

Location: Montreal, PQ

Tuition:$9,143 (Canadian Resident)

Duration: 16 months

Full Time Enrolment: 125

Average GMAT: 645

Minimum Work Experience Required: 2 years

Notable Rankings: McGill is not ranked in the FT Top 100 Rankings in 2009. McGill ranked 96th (2008) on the Financial Times Top 100 list, and has ranked as high as 39th in 2005

Brief Overview of the School: Following the current trend amongst the upper-tier MBA schools, McGill focuses on teamwork, integrated course work, the use of multiple teaching methods including case-based classes, and allowing students a great deal of flexibility in their program. The MBA program at McGill is a two-year program where students complete a first year consisting of required courses. Rather than a two-term approach, the first year is split into 3 terms (September – November, November – February, February – April). In the second year of the program, students have the flexibility to tailor their course choices to the best fit for their interests or complete a concentration in a specific area. Students can concentrate in:

Entrepreneurship
Finance
Information Systems
International Business
Management for Development
Marketing
Operations Management
Strategic Management

McGill also offers students the option to go on exchange and the school has a number of well-known international exchange partners including HEC in Paris, Tsinghua University in China, and the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. McGill also offers students who have already completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree from a North American university the option of having advanced standing in the MBA program and entering the program in the 2nd year.

McGill is one of the oldest and best-known universities in Canada. An MBA (or any other degree) from McGill will likely be recognized around the world and likely helps to explain why McGill manages to attract a fairly sizeable international student population.

Notable Alumni
Seymour Schulich, MBA 1965
Chairman, Newmont Capital Ltd. (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Ngit Liong Wong, MBA 1970
CEO, Venture Corporation Ltd. (Singapore)

Roman Oryschuk, MBA 1993
CEO, GE Commercial Finance (London, England)

More Information …

AACSB

2007-08-02T16:42:00.000-07:00

One acronym you might hear a lot of when looking through MBA programs is AACSB. AACSB stands for Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. The AACSB accredits business schools on the overall quality of the education they provide.

As a student, attending an AACSB accredited school ensures that you are going to business school that provides a great education, and also gives you the ability to transfer to another AACSB accredited school and have your previous work recognized.

AACSB is the general standard for business school accreditation in North America. Schools are required to undergo an audit every 5 years to ensure that they are maintaining the education standards set forth by the AACSB.

In addition to AACSB you may also see EQUIS and AMBA, which are two other international MBA accrediting agencies.

Cape Breton University

2007-08-01T08:40:00.000-07:00

Location: Sydney, NS

Tuition:$18,944 (Domestic), $25,000 (International)

Duration: 12 months

Full Time Enrolment: 58

Average GMAT: 530

Minimum Work Experience Required: None

Notable Rankings: N/A

Brief Overview of the School: The Cape Breton University MBA is focused on the area of Community Economic Development. The program is geared entirely around the CED field and would appeal to those already involved in CED, individuals working in organizations related to CED (government, First Nations), and students interested in this area.

For someone looking to expand their career options in Community Economic Development, an MBA from Cape Breton University would be a logical choice, however the program is rather limited in the benefits for students looking to move in other career directions.
More Information …

Ivey School of Business – University of Western Ontario

2007-07-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

Location: London, ON

Tuition:$62,000 (Domestic)

Duration: 12 months

Full Time Enrolment: 173

Average GMAT: 648

Minimum Work Experience Required: 2 years

Notable Rankings: #2 – Business Week International Schools, Top Canadian School – Wall Street Journal, 47th – Financial Times Top 100

Brief Overview of the School: Ivey has consistently been one of the top ranked MBA schools, not just in Canada, but world-wide. Ivey students were pretty much assured of walking out of the program with a well paying job at one of the top organizations in Canada and beyond.

However, Ivey has recently taken a somewhat radical departure from the normal MBA program format. They introduced a Cross-Enterprise Leadership program and brought the length of the MBA program down to 12 months. The new course structure is case-based and attempts to integrate all the traditional business subjects into a comprehensive learning approach through case work. Students are still able to specialize in:

Finance
Marketing
Corporate Strategy & Leadership
Entrepreneurship
Health Sector
International Management

The Ivey MBA also includes a major team based consulting project for an actual business. While Ivey grads have traditionally fared very well in the job market, there is some debate as to whether or not their new direction will produce students of the same calibre. It will be interesting to see how Ivey students perform on the job market and whether or not the switch away from the common 2 year MBA program works out in the long run.

Notable Alumni

Tim MacDonald, MBA'88
President of A.T. Kearney Ltd.

Henry Cheng, MBA'72
Managing Director, New World Development Company Ltd.

Andrew Chisholm, MBA'85
Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs & Company

Ivey Student Information
Student Life
More Information …

John Molson School of Business – Concordia University

2007-07-29T15:38:00.000-07:00

Location: Montreal, PQ

Tuition:$10,228 (Canadian Resident), $25,490 (International Student)

Duration: 16 months

Full Time Enrolment: 161

Average GMAT: 614

Minimum Work Experience Required: 2 years

Notable Rankings: Concordia ranks well internationally and has been included in past FT top 100 rankings, Forbes, Wall Street Journal, and Economist MBA rankings.

Brief Overview of the School: Concordia is an AACSB accredited English speaking school in Montreal. The MBA program is one of the most international in Canada, with close to 70% of students coming from outside of Canada to study. The school encourages students to pursue a more entrepreneurial style education than other programs in Canada and is home to an international MBA case competition every year.

Students at Concordia have the choice to specialize in a number of different areas, but also have the option of completing a business research project and a practicum consulting projects for credit. With Montreal being a very diverse city in terms of business ventures, and the student being drawing on a large number of international students, it’s not surprising that the specializations available cover a wide range of areas. Students can choose from specializations in:

Supply Chain Management
Global Business
Corporate Governance
Entrepreneurship
Investment Finance
Marketing
Strategy
Accounting
MIS

Students also have the option of including an internship into their program. With Montreal being one of the major cities in Canada, students have a very strong record of being placed with large and well known organizations, including a large number of Fortune 500 companies.

Notable Alumni

Lloyd F. Darlington MBA 74

President and CEO Technology and Solutions, Bank of Montreal

Ed Marra MBA 76

Executive VP, Strategic Units & Marketing, Nestle SA

More Information …

Alberta MBA - University of Alberta

2007-07-21T11:59:00.000-07:00

Location: Edmonton, AB

Tuition:$23,500 (domestic), $46,000 (international)

Duration: 16 months

Full Time Enrolment: 103

Average GMAT: 600

Minimum Work Experience Required: 2 years

Notable Rankings: 77th in 2009 Financial Times Rankings

Brief Overview of the School: The Alberta economy is currently booming on the back of the oil sands in Ft. McMurray. Similar to the University of Calgary, the University of Alberta is a great place to go to set yourself up for success in the province. The UofA is held in higher regard as an academic institutions across Canada, and the Business School ranks very high in terms of research internationally. However, salaries in Edmonton tend to be lower than the equivalents in most major cities across Canada, a factor of the lower cost of living.

The specializations on offer at the University of Alberta are intended to tap into the strengths of Edmonton. The Natural Resources and Energy specialization ties in well with a province flush with oil revenue, the University of Alberta is home to some of the top researchers in the health and engineering fields making the Technology Commercialization specialization particularly practical. The full list of specializations includes:

Natural Resources & Energy
International Business
Technology Commercialization
Leisure & Sport Management
Public Management

The Alberta MBA positions students well for careers in Alberta, and the school tries to harness it’s national reputation to help in the job hunt across Canada to mixed results.

More Information …

Sobey's MBA - Saint Mary's University

2007-07-15T20:48:00.000-07:00

Location: Halifax, NS

Tuition:$14,137 (domestic), $26,147 (international)

Duration: 16 months

Full Time Enrolment: 98

Average GMAT: 590

Minimum Work Experience: 2 years

Notable Rankings: N/A

Brief Overview of the School: Located in Atlantic Canada, the Sobey’s School of Business has a unique dispersal of graduates after the MBA program. For a number of years, a large number of graduates from the MBA program would end up finding jobs outside of Nova Scotia and Atlantic Canada (mainly in Southern Ontario). As the entire Canadian economy has started heating up in recent years, fewer and fewer graduates are finding the need to leave Atlantic Canada to find jobs. The Sobey’s School of Business is very good getting students in contact with the local business community, through guest speakers and networking events among other activities.

The MBA at Saint Mary’s offers a few standout points relative to other Canadian MBA schools. Firstly, the school has a relationship with CMA Nova Scotia where students can complete the educational requirements for both the MBA degree and the CMA designation in one go (students are required to write the CMA entrance exam prior to enrolling in the MBA-CMA program). The Sobey’s School of Business also has a relationship with the Canadian Association of Management consultants, whereby students who complete selected courses and electives can meet the academic requirements for the CMC designation.

The Sobey’s MBA is structured in much the same way as most MBA schools in Canada. Students complete the core business requirements and are then able to finish off their degree with a number of electives. At Sobey’s students can specialize in:

Finance

Management Consulting

Human Resource Management

Information Systems

International Business

Marketing

Small Business & Entrepreneurship

More Information …

Schulich - York University

2007-07-15T14:48:00.000-07:00

Location: Toronto, ON

Tuition: $44,000 (domestic)

Duration: 16 months

Full Time Enrolment:552

Average GMAT: 661

Minimum Work Experience Required: 2 years

Notable Rankings: 49th in Financial Times 2009 MBA Rankings

Brief Overview of the School: Schulich offers classes at both it’s York University campus and their downtown Toronto campus. The Schulich MBA is a normal course-based MBA program where students complete 33 credits (11 courses) of required courses and complete their degree with 27 credits (9 courses) of electives. Through the electives, students can choose to specialize in numerous functional areas of management and special programs. The functional areas of management cover off normal business areas like finance and accounting, while the special programs cover a range of unique areas such as:

Arts & Media
Business & Sustainability
Business Consulting
Business Ethics
Financial Engineering
Financial Services
Health Industry Management
Real Property Development

Schulich also offers graduate exchange opportunities with a number of schools around the world. They currently have partnerships with schools in 28 countries around the world. As a school that ranks consistently in the upper half of the Financial Times MBA rankings, Schulich is well recognized around the world. With a strong presence in Toronto and Eastern Canada, Schulich grads are well positioned to find employment at top firms.

More Information …

Haskayne - University of Calgary

2007-07-12T13:39:00.000-07:00

Location: Calgary, AB

Tuition: $23,960 (domestic)

Duration: 16 months

Full Time Enrolment: 84

Average GMAT: 610

Minimum Work Experience Required: 3 years

Notable Rankings: EMBA program - top 50 in the world (Financial Times), Corporate Knights - top 30 socially responsible school in 2005

Brief Overview of the School: The UofC offers both a course based and a thesis based MBA program. The thesis based program is designed mainly for students who are interested in pursuing a PhD after they have completed their MBA. Haskayne attempts to integrate students in the business community in Calgary through their strong use of a mentorship program. 2nd year students are paired up with business leaders and prior Haskayne graduates from around Calgary to get advice and insight into the corporate world and building their futures.

The best known MBA program at the University of Calgary is actually the Alberta Haskayne Executive MBA program that is run in conjunction with the University of Alberta. The EMBA program ranks in the top 50 EMBA programs world wide – as ranked by the Financial Times.

Students in the MBA program can specialize in 4 main areas, or work in conjunction with the MBA office to create a customized specialization to better match their interest. The four specialized areas are:

Global Energy Management and Sustainable Development
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Finance
Marketing

For students with an interest in the Energy and Oil and Gas sectors, the University of Calgary is a great choice for an MBA school. With the booming oil sands development in Ft. McMurray in Northern Alberta, Calgary has grown into a financial centre for Western Canada. Numerous corporate head offices for major energy firms in Canada and regional offices for multi-national firms are located in Calgary.

More Information …

Sauder School of Business - University of British Columbia

2007-07-11T14:21:00.000-07:00

Location: Vancouver, BC

Tuition: $38,967 (all students)

Duration: 15 months

Full-Time Enrolment: 242

Average GMAT: 630

Minimum Work Experience Required: 2 years

Notable Rankings: 71st in the Financial Times 2009 MBA Rankings

Brief Overview of the School: The Sauder School of Business is located in downtown Vancouver, a city that consistently ranks at the top of the best places in the world to live. The Full-Time MBA program is designed to be completed in 15 months. The program is built around a 13 week core instructional session where the “basics” of business are covered off.

After the core module, the program becomes very flexible for students. Courses and subject areas are taught in 6 week modules. During this time, students can elect to specialize in 8 different areas, 4 sub-areas, or complete a sampling of elective modules from all of the program offerings. Specializations are available in:

Entrepreneurship
Finance
Information Technology & Management
Marketing
Organizational Behaviour and Human Resources
Strategic Management
Supply Chain Management
Sustainability & Business

As a top ranked school on the Financial Times annual MBA rankings, UBC grads fare very well in the job market. Vancouver itself is one of the largest cities in Canada and is a centre for trade with the Pacific. The student body is also very international and alumni end up working all over the world.

More Information ...

Asper School of Business - University of Manitoba

2007-07-10T07:09:00.000-07:00

Location: Winnipeg, MB

Tuition: $19,100(domestic)

Duration: 11 months

Full Time Enrolment: 80

Avergage GMAT: 590

Minimum Work Experience Requirement: none

Notable Rankings: N/A

Brief Overview of the School: At Asper, full-time students can complete their MBA in one year, while part-time students typically take on average 3 years to complete their degree. The degree program is broken down into three components, the largest of which covers off Management Essentials. The two other components cover off Executive Leadership and an Advanced Specialization. Students can specialize in any of the following:

Finance
Marketing
Human Resources Management & Organizational Behaviour
Supply Chain Management
Health Administration

Being based in Winnipeg, the Asper School of Management is a very sound choice for students looking to further their career in Manitoba. Naturally, the school is plugged into the community and for those looking to move up the corporate ladder in Winnipeg it’s a sound destination.

More Information ...

DeGroote MBA - McMaster University

2007-07-09T12:09:00.000-07:00

Location: Hamilton, ON

Tuition: $24,000 (domestic)

Duration: 16 months

Average GMAT: 620

Full-Time Enrolment: 203

Minimum Work Experience Requirement: 1 year

Notable Rankings: DeGroote ranks strongly in return on investment rankings

Brief Overview of the School: Degroote offers students the chance to complete a MBA with a Co-op designation. Unlike most MBA programs in the country where students can take one internship or co-op period, Degroote offers the chance to complete a 28 month MBA Co-Op degree. Under the co-op program, students would complete 4 work terms as well as 4 academic terms, typically alternating between a school component and a work component. This would clearly be targeted towards students who have recently completed their undergraduate degree and don’t have a considerable amount of work experience or those who are seeking a major career change and would like some work experience in their future field prior to graduation.

The Degroote MBA isn’t entirely geared towards the Co-op path, and students who won’t benefit as greatly from extended work internships, can complete their degree in a normal fashion. During the MBA program, students can specialize in:

Accounting & Financial Services
CMA – Management Accounting
eBusiness
Finance
Health Services Management
Management of Innovation & New Technology
Strategic Business Valuation
Strategic Marketing
Supply Chain Management

Being located in Hamilton, Degroote is able to focus on building strong local ties with the community but isn’t isolated to their geographic region. The school is close enough to Toronto that MBA graduates can compete for placements in the big city with graduates from larger local schools. Of course, it depends entirely on the individual student as to how they fare in job placements.

More Information …

University of Victoria

2007-07-08T14:49:00.000-07:00

Location: Victoria, BC

Tuition: $20,706

Duration: 17 months

Full Time Enrolment: 40

Average GMAT: 559

Minimum Work Experience Required: 2 years

Notable Rankings: n/a

Brief Overview of the School: The University of Victoria MBA can be completed in 17 months as a full-time student. The program is laid out in to a 9-month foundation module, where business fundamentals are covered off, a 4 month summer co-op term, and a 4 month specialization module to round out your education. There are three specializations available:

Entrepreneurship
Service Management
International Business

Each module includes a professional development course, where guest speakers and specific topic seminars are available for students. Modules conclude with an integrative management exercise, which are multi-day case studies presented by real organizations. Students are also required to complete a major research project to meet their degree requirements.

95% Graduates of the UVic MBA program are hired within 4 months of graduation and the average salary of a new hire is $73,000. The UVic MBA program consistently ranks high on value for money and return on investment in MBA program rankings.

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Queen's University

2007-07-04T21:52:00.000-07:00

Location: Kingston, ON

Tuition: $58,000 (Canadian Citizens and landed immigrants); $63,000 (international)

Duration: 12 months

Full-Time Enrolment: 75

Average GMAT: 674

Minimum Work Experience Required: 2 years

Notable Rankings: #1 Business School Outside of the US – Business Week

Brief Overview of the School:Queen’s offers a MBA that can be completed in 12 months. Upon arrival on campus, students are assigned into a “team” and they will be with that entire group through out the duration of the program. Students are also introduced to a “Personal Learning Pathway” where certain parts of the program are tailored to their individual needs. Students work with their team through the 9 separate modules that are required to complete their degree requirements. Students can take an elective stream in one of four areas:

Consulting and Project Management
Marketing
Finance
Innovation & Entrepreneurship

Queen’s a well-established University in Canada and historically have had a fairly well known MBA program. In addition to their regular program offering, Queen’s has branched out across the country offering a distance learning option for an MBA where students can continue to work full time and take classes via video conferencing on the weekends.

Notable Alumni

Gord Nixon, BCom 79

President and CEO of RBC Financial Group

Donald Sobey, BCom 57

Chairman of Empire Corporation

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University of Toronto - Rotman MBA

2007-07-03T16:55:00.000-07:00

Location: Toronto, ON

Tuition: $63,078

Duration: 16 months

Full Time Enrolment: 545

Average GMAT: 659

Minimum Work Experience Required: 2 years

Notable Rankings: 47th in the 2009 Financial Times MBA Rankings

Brief Overview of the School:

Being located in Toronto, gives the Rotman School of Business a good advantage when it comes to placing students after graduation. With Toronto being the largest city in Canada and the financial centre, UofT MBA students are in a good position to land some of the most coveted jobs in the country.

Rotman is well known for it’s Finance program, with is again very useful being located in Toronto home to the Toronto Stock Exchange. Students complete a set of core courses before they are able to branch out and specialize or major in a specific area of interest. Rotman offers a number of majors, including:

· Brand Management
· Consulting
· Funds Management
· Innovation and Entrepreneurship
· Investment Banking
· Risk Management & Financial Engineering

With fairly sizeable tuition, it’s not surprising that Rotman offers some very valuable scholarships. They offer a number of full-tuition scholarships to incoming students and offer 50% tuition to top candidates from select foreign countries.

Notable Alumni

John Cassaday, MBA 81

President and CEO of Corus Entertainment

Kevin Dougherty, MBA 98

President of SunLife Financial Canada

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The GMAT

2007-07-02T21:38:00.001-07:00

Most MBA schools require their potential students to write the GMAT. The GMAT stands for Graduate Management Admissions Test and is used by schools as a tool to help judge the potential success of students in an MBA program. That being said, it is not the only factor that schools consider when evaluating applicants and in some cases is a minor item of consideration.

The test itself is run by the Graduate Management Admissions Council and costs students $250 US to write. You can expect to spend at least 3 and a half hours sitting to write the exam. It is broken down into 3 sections. The first section is the essay portion of the exam, and require takers to complete two 30 minute essays and measures your analytical writing ability. The score for the analytical writing portion doesn't appear in the typical score that people mention when they say how good they did on the GMAT. The analytical writing portion is reported seperately on the score report.

The second and third sections are both 75 minutes long and cover both verbal and a quantitative performance. These sections are computer adaptive. That means that the next question you get on the test depends on whether or not you answer the previous question correctly. To put it simply, both sections seem to harken back to high school math and high school english. These are the two sections that make up the final score that schools report when they state the average GMAT score of their entering class. The highest score possible is 800.

Before registering for the exam (online at www.mba.com) it's best to make sure that the schools you are hoping to attend require you to write the GMAT. Most of the top schools in Canada, North America, and the rest of the world will require applicants to report a GMAT score, whether or not it is used in assessing your application.

Quick Overview of Canada

2007-07-01T09:13:00.000-07:00

Canada is the second largest country in the world in terms of land area and is home to approximately 33 million people. Home to ten provinces and 3 territories, the majority of Canada’s population lives within 100 km of the US border (Map of Canada). The weather in Canada varies depending on your location, but you could typically expect warm summers and cold winters.

While there are MBA schools located across the entire country, most schools tend to be located in major population centres. The Canadian cities best known around the world are Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. However, there are a number of other large cities in Canada including Victoria, Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Quebec City, and Halifax.

Each city or region in Canada is home to it’s own unique industry or economic/political status. Vancouver is consistently ranked upon the top cities to live in the entire world, Edmonton and Calgary are both benefiting tremendously from the booming oil sands in Northern Alberta, Ottawa is the political capital of Canada, Toronto is the financial centre and home to the Toronto Stock Exchange, Montreal is the largest city in Quebec and the second largest French speaking city in the Western world, while Halifax is the financial centre for the maritime provinces.

Depending on what you want to do with your MBA or where you want to end up, it’s important to pick the right school. You should consider not just the academic reputation of the school (although an MBA from the top schools will be fairly valuable wherever you go), but also the implications on your career after you have completed your degree.

Why do your MBA in Canada?

2007-06-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are already familiar with Canada, whether living there or not, the benefits of doing an MBA in Canada are fairly obvious. Canada is a large multicultural nation, with a very strong economy, solid financial institutions, a very high quality of life, and one of the top education systems in the world. Canada’s GDP has been growing at a steady rate over the last number of years, and the country is home to not only a strong technology and knowledge based sector, but an abundance of natural resources that are in demand through out the world.

Canada is home to 7 business schools that are consistently listed in the Financial Times Top 100 MBA programs (although only 5 made the cut for 2007) which places Canada third behind the United States and the United Kingdom in terms of programs represented on the list. The lower cost of living in Canada is an appealing factor relative to both the US and UK as a destination for you MBA.

Most MBA schools in Canada are English, however some schools in Quebec are based in French. Canada is a very friendly and open country when it comes to allowing foreign students into the country to complete their studies. In fact, more than 130,000 students come to Canada every year to study. Rules are in place to allow students to work in the country for a number of years after their degree, although a number of students seek permanent residency or citizenship in Canada while they are also studying in the county.

The number of schools offering MBA programs and the size and diversity of the country mean that no matter what your area of specialization, you’ll be able to find at least one school in Canada that is able to help you realize your goals.

Why do a MBA?

2007-06-24T17:11:00.000-07:00

There are many good reasons to consider doing an MBA. There are also many good reasons why you shouldn't undertake an MBA. There are quite a few websites that list some of the reasons for and against signing yourself up for at least a year of late nights, group work, and excel spreadsheets. Some of them are listed below.

From a personal point of view, I'd suggest that one of main reasons people choose to an MBA is a big paycheque at the end of the process. However, a big bonus and a high salary post-mba isn't guaranteed. It's a very cut-throat industry in some of the highest paying professions and more than a few people determined to become investment bankers have quickly discovered that after putting in two years of hard work to get there, the job of an investment banker isn't for them.

An MBA is ideal for someone who's been out in the workforce for at least a couple of years since they graduated from University and looking to either push their career forward or change their career path. Engineers looking to move into the management side of the field, science majors looking to get the business skills needed to float their own product, or entrepreneurs looking for the skill set to maintain and grow their current venture are all ideal candidates for an MBA.

Your best bet is to think long and hard about what you expect to achieve from doing an MBA and then checking with a few of your ideal schools to make sure your goals are realistic. Chances are if you upfront about what you hope to achieve, schools will be very honest and let you know if your best served not spending two years returning to the life of a student.

Either way, here are some links to other posts about considering an MBA:

http://www.workthing.com/career-advice/training-development/mba_isitforyou.html

http://www.mbajungle.com/main.cfm?inc=inc_article.cfm&chid=1&schid=5&WT=15

http://www.mba.com/mba/AssessCareersAndTheMBA/SeeYourselfasanMBA/FirstStepCareerLeader/WhatMakesaGoodMBACandidate.htm

Doing Your MBA in Canada

2007-06-24T16:58:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest steps you can take in your life is deciding to return to school to get your MBA. An MBA can do wonders for your Career. This website will hopefully outline the different MBA schools in Canada, what an MBA can do for you, what you need to do to prepare for and be admitted into an MBA program, and cover off other MBA related topics.