What Toronto MBA Can You Earn in the Least Amount of Time?
It’s easy to see why earning an MBA could be a huge boost to your career—but if the thought of putting those things on hold for two years while pursuing your degree is a source of great anxiety, you are not alone. Many who might otherwise have the ambition and skills to thrive in an MBA program may simply not have the option of putting their life on hold for two years and enrolling in school full-time. This can mean that many talented and driven individuals won’t have access to the kind of opportunities for advancement and growth that an MBA provides.
Not every MBA program requires two years of full-time work. But part-time and weekend programs can often have the opposite problem for individuals eager to earn their degree and reap its benefits. While such programs allow students to continue working full time while earning their degree, they can often take up to three years or more to complete.
For individuals driven to earn their degree quickly, there are a number of programs that allow students to earn an MBA in under one year, reducing the amount of time without an income and moving allowing for a quick path to the salary increase and advancement opportunities an advanced degree is likely to offer.
In Toronto, many top business schools offer accelerated or abridged versions of their MBA programs that can be completed in as little as eight months.
The Fastest Toronto MBA Programs
Ivey Business School – Western University Canada
The Accelerated MBA at the Ivey Business School is available for students who have recently graduated from Ivey’s HBA program, allowing students to earn their degree in just eight months—without needing to take the GMAT exam. This makes it not only among the fastest Toronto MBA programs you can find, but also among the most unique.
The program takes place over the course of eight months, building on the base of knowledge earned during the HBA program. The courses are designed to refresh students on business fundamentals, while also providing career-centered electives in fields like marketing, finance, entrepreneurship, and more. The program also allows students to pursue study abroad through an optional trip to China, South East Asia, or South America.
The benefits of Ivey’s Accelerated MBA are evident for graduates: 97 percent of students earned an offer of employment by within three months of graduating, reporting an average post-graduate salary of $107,116. About 65 percent of employment offers were also facilitated by the university, demonstrating the indelible benefits of the connections made while in school.
DeGroote School of Business – McMaster University
The DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University also offers an Accelerated MBA for students graduating from a Canadian university with their undergraduate degree in business. Attending full-time, the program can be completed in as few as eight months, making it one of the most time-efficient MBAs available to students in Canada.
By exempting students from the required first year MBA courses, students can earn their degree quickly while also cutting their overall tuition expenses in half and accelerating their path to employment. The program is designed for students who have earned their undergraduate business degree in the last ten years, and have at least one year of professional experience. Students may start the program in either September or January.
Wilfrid Laurier University – Lazaridis School of Business & Economics (Toronto Campus)
The One-Year MBA at Wilfrid Laurier’s Lazaridis School of Business & Economics is a unique program that immerses students fully in an integrated model of business education, asking students to constantly make use of the knowledge gained during the program through team projects, case study analysis, and as consultants for a real business. The degree is designed for graduates from any four-year university with at least two years of professional work experience.
Wilfrid Laurier University also offers one of the fastest MBAs you can earn in Canada, with the One Year Lazaridis School of Business & Economics MBA.
The Lazaridis MBA can be completed in just twelve months, offering one of the best return on investments of any Canadian MBA program. Located in Waterloo, a center of technology and finance within Canada, the One-Year MBA also allows students to choose from over 10 different MBA concentrations, such as entrepreneurship, strategic management, supply chain management, and organizational behavior.
Schulich School of Business – York University
The Schulich School of Business‘ Accelerated MBA allows students to bypass many of the Year 1 MBA requirements, cutting the time it takes to complete the degree by half. The program can be pursued either on a full-time or part-time basis, and can be completed within just eight months with the full-time option. The program is reserved for students who have earned a BBA or BCom degree in Canada within the past ten years. With 89 percent of all Schulich MBA students earning a job offer within three months of graduation from their respective programs, the Accelerated MBA gives students the chance to join the workforce much sooner and quickly reap the benefits of their education.
Rotman School of Management – University of Toronto
For prospective MBAs with several years of professional or managerial experience, another way to quickly earn an MBA is by pursuing an Executive MBA, designed specifically for senior managers and executives. Executive MBA programs, such as the One-Year EMBA at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, can typically be earned in 13 months or less and are designed to accommodate the schedule of a busy professional. While executive programs typically cost more than other MBA variations, the Rotman One-Year MBA stands out as the fastest EMBA you can earn in the Toronto metro.
Saïd Faculty Member Andrew Stephen Receives Research Award
At the Oxford Saïd Business School in London, it’s not too uncommon to see professors winning numerous awards. Most recently, Associate Dean of Research Andrew Stephen did.
The American Marketing Association’s Innovation, Technology and Interactivity Special Interest Group (TechSIG) and the Lazaridis Institute of Wilfrid Laurier University in Toronto, Canada, awarded the marketing professor the “Best Paper Award for Research on the Practice of Marketing,” according to a press release. This award came with $1,500. Stephen wrote the paper with Dr. Cait Lamberton, an Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Pittsburgh.
“I am very pleased that Drs. Lamberton and Stephen have won this inaugural award,” said Nicole Coviello, Research Director at the Lazaridis Institute and committee member, in the press release. “Their rigorous review and assessment is a pivotal foundation for research across the digital, social and mobile marketing space.”
The paper, titled “A Thematic Exploration of Digital, Social Media, and Mobile Marketing: Research Evolution from 2000 to 2015 and an Agenda for Future Inquiry,” touches on innovation, technology, and interactivity. More specifically, it follows the changing perspectives of scholarly researchers on three major social media, digital, and mobile marketing themes from 2000 to 2015.
Winners Stephen and Lamberton found out about their victory at the American Marketers Association’s summer meeting. There, during its joint TechSIG/Teaching and Learning SIG reception, the association announced the winners.
“My hope is that this work helps inspire more great research that shapes marketing in years to come,” Stephen said in the press release.
Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford is known for its award-winning faculty. Stephen won a different award earlier this year, also from the American Marketing Association. The Shelby D. Hunt/Harold H. Maynard Award was for the same paper, but he’s not the only one receiving accolades. Dr. Janet Smart won the 2017 OxTALENT Award for her innovative teaching in June. In May, a group of Oxford Saïd academics won a prize for their research.
Wilfrid Laurier Appoints Dr. Mitali De, New MBA Director
The Lazaridis School of Business & Economics at Wilfrid Laurier University offers one of the top MBA programs in Canada. Whether you’re looking for full-time or part-time study, the school has an MBA program that should fit your schedule. Home to more than 120 faculty members, the Lazaridis MBA program is known for distinguished research as well as engaged teaching. Recently, one of those professors, Dr. Mitali De, was appointed as the school’s new MBA Director. Continue reading…
Laurier’s Lazaridis School Entrepreneurial Education Honored
For its commitment to creating and incubating business innovation and fostering entrepreneurship, AACSB International—the world’s largest global education network—recognized Wilfrid Laurier University’s Lazaridis School of Business & Economics. They were one of only 35 business schools from around the globe to receive this distinction for helping the next generation of business leaders. Continue reading…
Toronto MBAs that DO NOT Require Work Experience
Getting into a top-notch MBA program is a huge undertaking. You have to ace your test scores, provide glowing academic transcripts, garner appropriate letters of recommendation, write intelligent essays and somehow impress the admissions office during an interview. It’s a daunting task to say the least. And it’s even more intimidating if you’re a recent bachelor’s grad with little to no work experience.
If you’re sweating over getting into an MBA program, we’re here to make your decision a little bit easier. We understand that it’s enough to sweat the GMAT/GRE, you don’t need to sweat a job too. So, to help simplify your application process, we’ve vetted the top Toronto MBA programs to find the ones that don’t require you to have work experience.
If you’re interested in more schools that don’t require work experience for their MBA programs then see our MBAs without work experience guide or our Canadian schools that don’t require work experience for their MBA programs page.
DeGroote School of Business – McMaster University
Work experience is required for all international applicants and for domestic applicants applying for the full-time MBA and accelerated MBA programs. Domestic applicants do not need work experience when applying to the co-op program. However, only one year of full-time, continuous work experience is required. Also, for graduates from a North American university, DeGroote will consider an undergrad co-op or internship placement (totaling 12 months) in place of work experience.
As for why DeGroote requires work experience, they feel that their students are most effective when they’re able to pull from their own professional experiences and background. It helps its MBAs to be able to contribute to group work and discussions.
Ivey Business School – Western University Canada
The full-time and accelerated MBA programs require a minimum of two years of work experience. However, don’t let that stop you. The key for Ivey is that they want MBA candidates who can contribute to the classroom experience and discussions with maturity and context. Also, Ivey admits that they will accept applications with slightly less than two years of work experience. So, if you’ve only worked for a year and a half, you can still apply.
Rotman School of Management – University of Toronto
At the Rotman School, while two years of work experience are recommended, there is no minimum requirement for the full-time MBA program. That means that recent undergraduates are more than welcome to apply. However, all applicants should be aware that the average full-time MBA candidate has 4.1 years of work experience. As for the part-time MBA program, applicants are required to have two years of experience and most students have at least six years behind their belt.
Schulich School of Business – York University
If you’re interested in attending Schulich, a minimum of two years of relevant post-degree full-time work experience is required. However, that doesn’t mean you’re out of luck if you don’t have the necessary experience. The admission committee also accepts life experience. In special cases, you can apply for the MBA program is you have two years of experience volunteering overseas or you successfully completed a 2-year masters program. Also, co-ops or internships that were completed as a formal part of your degree, and noted in your transcript, can be counted for up to 12 months of work experience.
Ted Rogers School of Management – Ryerson University
While the Ted Rogers School requires two-years of work experience, there doesn’t appear to be a full-stop if you apply directly after undergrad. According to the school’s FAQ page, students can apply to the MBA program directly after undergrad, they just have to understand that preference will be given to applicants who have a minimum of two years full-time work experience.
Lazaridis School of Business and Economics Wilfrid Laurier University – Toronto Campus
If you’re a recent undergrad, the Lazaridis School can be a viable MBA of choice with no work experience, at least for those that decide to attend the full-time MBA program with co-op. For both domestic and international students, no work experience is required for the co-op and, in fact, the maximum amount of work experience allowed is two years (no exceptions). As for the full-time MBA program, two years of work experience is required and, unfortunately, part-time and summer employment does not count. However, the school will accept six co-op work terms during your undergrad.
So, to recap, for recent undergrads the best “no work experience” schools in Toronto are:
- The DeGroote School of Business does not require work experience for domestic co-op MBA applicants.
- The Rotman School of Management has NO work experience requirement for the full-time MBA.
- The Lazaridis School does not require work experience for domestic and international co-op MBA applicants.
