According to the Greater Toronto Marketing Alliance, the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) is one of North America’s fastest-growing economic regions. The metropolitan area covers more than 7,000 square kilometers and consists of 25 municipalities and four regions with a total population of over 6 million. Toronto features a workforce of about 2.9 million people, more than 100,000 companies, and a gross domestic product of U.S $109 billion. All of this adds up to Toronto being Canada’s undisputed business and manufacturing capital.
With lots of business comes a need for marketing, and Toronto business schools are home to several marketing programs that can prepare MBAs for a career in that industry. Here are a few of the top Toronto marketing MBA programs:
DeGroote School of Business – McMaster University
Founded in 1887 in Toronto before relocating to Hamilton in 1930, today McMaster University is one of four Canadian schools ranked among the best in the world. An MBA program was first established by the school in 1962. DeGroote currently offers a 16-month full-time MBA degree, as well as an executive-management program, a co-op MBA, an Executive MBA in Digital Transformation and an eight-month accelerated degree for students with an undergraduate degree in business.
DeGroote offers an MBA specialization in Strategic Marketing. Students in this track are prepared for careers in marketing management, new product marketing, brand management, services marketing, marketing research, retailing, sales, advertising, promotion and more. Courses — such as International Marketing Management and Strategic Marketing Analysis — provide students with a holistic education in both consumer and business marketing situations as well as to effectively operate in domestic and international markets.
Ivey Business School – Western University Canada
While the School of Business Administration was established at Western University in 1950, the university took the name Ivey School of Business in 1995. Today, the school offers full-time graduate MBA and Executive MBA programs. Ivey School of Business is AACSB accredited and was ranked as the best (non-U.S.) full-time MBA by Bloomberg in 2015.
Ivey’s MBA program features various career-focused electives, including marketing. These elective courses provide students with an understating of how the marketing function is affected by other issues and departments across an organization and help prepare students for leadership roles at marketing firms. By the end of the track, students will learn how a company’s bottom-line is affected by the decisions made in the marketing department.
Rotman School of Management – University of Toronto
Consistently ranked as one of the premiere business schools in Canada, the Rotman School of Management offers a variety of MBA formats, including a full-time MBA degree, part-time morning and evening MBA programs, a one-year executive MBA program and an 18-month Global Executive MBA.
Rotman offers an MBA in brand management, their version of a marketing track. The program allows students to select courses from a broad range of marketing areas such as advertising, internet marketing and international marketing. Over the course of the program, students develop an understanding of how customers make decisions and how to influence them, how to analyze markets and the strategies of competitors, how to develop successful advertising and promotional strategies, and how to successfully develop and manage a brand.
Schulich School of Business – York University
Known as “Canada’s Global Business School” and ranked among the world’s leading business schools by a number of global surveys, the Schulich School of Business currently offers 19 specializations at the Master’s level and offer part-time and accelerated degree options, and is fully accredited with AICTE (India), AMBA (UK), EQUIS (Europe) and OCGS (Ontario). Schulich business students can earn a number of graduate degrees including MBA, Executive MBA, International MBA, MPA, MAcc, MF, MBA/JD, MS, MBA/MS and Ph.D.
According to the school’s website, Schulich has one of the top Consumer Marketing departments in the world. It provides courses in General Marketing, Brand Management, Marketing Research and Marketing Communications, which are designed to help students develop an understanding of the elements of marketing strategy, the details of marketing tactics and the general principles of marketing.
Wilfrid Laurier University – Toronto Campus
The Lazaridis School of Business & Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University offers a part-time alternate weekend MBA with or without two additional degree options: CPA and Master of Finance. They also offer a part-time alternate weekend Master of Finance and an Accelerated MBA.
Wilfrid MBA students have the option to specialize their general MBA degrees, including Marketing. In order to complete a specialization, students must complete of a minimum of four elective courses that are listed for that field. Marketing courses include Managing Competitive Intelligence, Creativity and idea Generation in Marketing and Strategic Brand Management.