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Canada is a unique perch for MBA students to view the global business world. The U.S., Europe, and emerging markets hog the spotlight when it comes to business school teaching examples. York University’s Schulich School of Business, in Toronto, offers a different backdrop for students to take in those lessons.
“Canada in general has a great deal of financial stability,” says Krista Larson, director of admissions and recruitment at Schulich. “We haven’t seen the swings you’ve seen in the U.S. during the most recent economic crisis. Our banking policy is much more conservative.”
The marriage of Schulich’s unique vantage point with Toronto’s diverse population makes for lively classroom discussion and the consideration of many different perspectives, Larson says. And international students may benefit from Canada’s Post-Graduation Work Permit Program, which allows graduates to stay in the country for up to three years.
Larson spoke with Bloomberg Businessweek’s Erin Zlomek about what it takes to get accepted to the Schulich program and what students can expect once they’re in. Below are edited portions of their conversation.
Does being in Canada offer any advantages over U.S. or European MBA programs?
There is definitely an advantage. Schulich strikes a good balance of looking at business from a global perspective and a North American perspective. Internationally, though, a lot of people don’t know about the high standards in Canada’s public education system.
Toronto is one of the top multicultural cities in the world. There are Italian, Indian, Greek, and Chinese communities represented in the city’s population and in our program. Some European and U.S. cities have less diversity than Toronto. Toronto is also a strong business center and a strong financial market. Every major international company has a presence in Canada.
For international students, our visa regulations can be an opportunity. A permit may allow a student to stay in Canada for up to three years.
Describe the makeup of your MBA student body.
It ranges between 57 percent and 64 percent international students. Students have, on average, about five and a half years of industry experience. What makes our program unique is that we are not strictly focused on finance. We have a three-sector philosophy: private, public, and nonprofit. Because we offer programs in those areas, we see people come to us from those backgrounds. It makes for a very unique classroom environment; you may have someone with a hospital background in the same classroom as someone who came from the arts and media industry. I’d say about 65 percent or more of our students come from a background that was not in business. They may have come from science, engineering or liberal arts.
What are the most important components of your MBA curriculum?
There are three primary aspects. The first is choosing a specialization. We offer 18 specializations, and students can choose two. This allows for the marrying of a functional option, such as marketing, finance, or accounting, with an industry option, such as arts and media, health industry management, or real estate.
Also, right at the start, students are enrolled in a class on leadership skills. These courses are all about understanding diversity and working in teams. There are lots of projects and group assignments. We start out with the students focused on successful team building and team management.
The third aspect is our strategy field study, which is a six- to eight-month group project that takes place throughout the second half of the program, and it is a real, live consulting project. There are usually six to eight students, and the students select their groups. They usually try to select people from different disciplines. The group then obtains a client and does a multiphase analysis of an issue the client puts forward. For example, students one year did a project in Africa where they helped a client evaluate the needs of the area’s employee base, which was largely affected by HIV/AIDS.
