MBA in Canada – What Every Student Should Know

Why Study in Canada?

For many students deciding on the study abroad destinations can be very confusing, as without much information and the local knowledge of that country it might raise concerns for students and as well as for the parents. However, in saying that there are certain countries that are preferred choice of many students because of its lifestyle, job opportunities, multicultural and of course its quality of education. Based on such criteria’s there are many countries that not only offer quality of education but also high employment rates and a quality lifestyle. So, on what basis one can decide on which country to opt for?

The overall cost of education is an important factor, or I must say an element that they consider before making their final decision. Cost of education in countries like CANADA, USA, UK, Australia is very high as compared to some European countries. Apart from the cost of education, which country offer pathway to immigration or PR. If in case students wants to settle in that country after getting their qualification, will it be easier for them to get the immigration or would be difficult? Another important aspect for students to consider is the job opportunities while studying. Is it easy to get part time or casual jobs on student visa, and what pay rate one can expect from such jobs? As most of the students would want to afford their living expense and other costs from such odd jobs.

So, if we must keep the above factors in mind than Canada is no doubt would be an ideal destination for students to study. CANADA not only offer immigration to international students once they graduate and meet the eligibility criteria. International students can do part time or casual jobs while on student visa’s also most importantly the pay rate for such odd jobs in CANADA is decent. By doing part time jobs and other casual work, students can easily afford their study cost and living expense.

Top universities to Study MBA in Canada

There are hundreds of colleges and universities in CANADA alone, but not all of them can claim to be the best. For any university or college to be ranked as top university or college they must fulfil many requirements and at the same time maintain their quality of education, which itself depends on many aspects. Talking about the top or best universities in CANADA, then there are only few name’s that comes to your head. For example, University of Toronto, University of Waterloo, York University or Queens are few that are considered as the ideal university for any international student to get in to. These universities are popular for various reasons, their locations, quality of education and the employment rate of graduates from these universities.

University of Toronto

Rotman Business School is what comes to your mind when you are considering of doing an MBA from University of Toronto. The business school of Rotman was formed in 1950, and is located in downtown Toronto. Rotman offers undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programs in commerce and management. The business school offer number of different programs to both local and international students for master level. A quick snapshot of the programs being offered by the business school can be seen below.

Talking about the MBA program itself, the business school has number of different options for its MBA program only that may be suitable for many different students. The list of different MBA degrees that one can get into and their time duration is provided below.

York University

The Schulich MBA is what you enroll in when applying for an MBA from York University. Schulich is the business school that offer MBA program to its students, its ranked as # 1 in CANADA by the Economist, Forbes & CNN expansion. Students have the option to customize their MBA program, they can also do it as part time and full time students. Its main campus is located in Toronto Canada, with the management center in Downtown Canada.

With the MBA program from York University, students can opt to specialize in any one particular area out of 17 specializations. Students can make their unique career objectives and can have a competitive career advantage. The tuition fee for full time international students considering doing their MBA from York university are looking at $26730 CAD / semester, with the estimated program total to be $106,900 CAD.

University of Waterloo

The university of Waterloo was formed in 1957, with only a handful of students enrolled in engineering degree. Now in 2022 the university has over 42000 students who are enrolled annually. The university is among the top universities of Canada for its business programs. Both local and international students can choose from 300+ programs to do their major from.

Source: University of Waterloo

Planning to do an MBA from university of Waterloo, all students should and must meet the basic eligibility criteria to get into the MBA program. The program is offered by the Lazaridis School of Business.

The entry requirements to secure admission to University of Waterloo MBA:

• An undergraduate degree from a recognized university in any discipline with at least 70% marks
• Minimum 2 years of work experience is required for admission to University of Waterloo MBA courses
• GMAT score should be 550 and above, IELTS 7.0,/ TOEFL 85 and above.

McGill University

For those who are considering doing their MBA from McGill University, than they are looking at one of the top universities in CANADA that not only offer excellent quality of education to its students. But it also offers an opportunity to students to diversity their learning experience, by enrolling in their full-time MBA program.

MBA in McGill University is a full-time MBA program that lets the students choose whether they want to pursue it for 1 year or 2 years. They offer a choice between 48-credit and 54-credit programs. But the difference in credits depends on the time you spend in the internship, not the classroom. The 48-credit program can be completed in 12 months. The 54-credit takes 20 months, while some students are also able to finish it in 16 months.

Documents Required to Apply in any University for MBA program.

The following documents are required for seeking admission at Boston University MBA:

• CV/ Resume showcasing the skills and work experience
• Financial documents
• Academic Transcripts
• Statement of Purpose
• GRE/ GMAT and IELTS score
• 3 letters of recommendation (2 professional letter of recommendation and 1 academic letter of recommendation)

But how easy or difficult it is for international students to get into these universities for MBA?

Applying for an admission in world class universities is never easy, as the universities not only look at your CGPA which must be at least 3.2 but there are various other aspects that they consider in candidates’ profiles. Such as the student overall profile, his co-curricular activities, certificates (if any), resume, writing skills, communication skills, GRE or GMAT test results and most important if he/she has any work experience.

Documentation Required

Applying in any of the mentioned universities for MBA, your first step is to compile all your documents together. Make a list of all the requirements that are required from that universities. The most required documents by any university would be the student academic transcript, official degree, Certificates, language proficiency document i.e. (ielts of toefl), GMAT or GRE, experience letter of at least two years and reference letters from your colleagues. These are the essential documents that the university will require, regardless whichever university you apply into.

When and how to apply?

There’s no right time to apply for your MBA program in CANADA as different universities have different deadlines for admissions. However, what you need to keep in mind is that you need to fulfil the basic eligibility criteria of admission to be able to apply. For that, you have to have at least two years of POST STUDY WORK EXPERIENCE. Talking about the post study work experience, it simply means that for MBA admission, universities require candidates to have two years of professional work experience, that they have gained after their graduation and not while they were doing their bachelors degree. The post study work experience of two years can be in the same company or can be in 2 different companies. Once you are sure that you are meeting the key requirements of admission you can than apply for MBA admission.

Fund’s Required for MBA in CANADA

MBA degree from one of the top universities in CANADA isn’t cheap at all. It comes at a price that not every student can afford, as you are easily looking at $95,000/- CAD per year. Just to give you a rough idea on the MBA course fee of different universities, we have included the list below.

The follow breakdown of the fee’s is from the Queens university, that offers MBA program through Smith business school. An initial deposit is required at the time of enrolment, the pending amount is usually required in three different instalments.

On the other hand, the tuition fee of MBA that one would incur from university of McGill would be:

You can see that there’s not much of a difference in the cost of MBA program that is offered by Canadian universities. Though you might be able to find much cheaper options for your MBA program, but that probably won’t be from the same level of universities. To give you better understanding below is another break down of MBA cost that a student will incur is he/she opts to do it from the University of Toronto.

Another key aspect that every student should keep in mind is that the above-mentioned cost is only the tuition fees of the program that need to be paid to the universities directly, these costs does not include or consist of the cost of living or other expenses that students will incur such as.

Career Prospects

The career prospect for an MBA is endless, with an MBA degree a candidate can opt for any profession that he/she would like to. However, what needs to keep in mind that landing a job with an MBA degree is not always easy and guaranteed. There are many other things that one has to consider making sure that he/she will secure a decent job after completing his/her MBA degree. Things like, past work experience, communication skills, his online presence, skills that he/she know and most importantly what difference can the candidate bring to the job. Once you successfully complete your MBA from Canada there are many local and international universities that are always on the lookout for exceptional candidates. Companies like Microsoft, EY, General Mills, Google, Morgan Stanley, Deloitte and many others.

Work Rights During MBA

International Students in CANADA can work while enrolled in their studies, either they doing bachelor’s degree, or master program. International students can work off Campus if they meet the eligibility requirements such as:

• You have to be a full-time student at a designated learning institution.

• Must be enrolled in a post-secondary academic, vocational or professional training program or a secondary-level vocational training program (Quebec only)

• The enrolled study program should be for at least 6 months long that further leads to a degree.

What important to note is that during regular school terms/semesters, international students are allowed to work up to 20 hours per week, that can be of any nature. Casual jobs, part time or on hourly basis.

So if you are as confused as hundreds of other students or you have already done your research but not sure about the option and need some professional advice for your study abroad destinations, degrees, overall application process than you can simply book in a FREE 1-to-1 consultation session with one of the consultant’s at Edvise Hub. The session can be arranged online or in person, and you can discuss all the option’s and clarify any ambiguity that you may have in mind.