Canada’s MBA schools are ranked highly in the world, a recent survey in the Financial Times shows.
In the ranking report, five Canadian MBA schools broke the top 100 in the world, with three of those schools breaking into the top 50.
The University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management and the Richard Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario led the way tied for 47th place while York University’s Schulich School of Business placed right behind them at 49th place in the overall rankings.
The Sauder School of Business at the University of British Columbia nabbed 71st place while the University of Alberta School of Business came in 77th.
When ranked according to research, the Canadian schools did even better, all coming in the top 35 around the world.
Jim Fisher, vice-dean of the Rotman School of Management, said the rankings reveal that Canadian schools on the whole are on the cutting edge of business.
“It shows that, in Canada, we have really good business schools to offer,” Fisher said.
The MBA surged in popularity in the 1990s and salaries ballooned. While current MBA salaries have remained relatively steady since then, Fisher says the increase in salary an MBA usually garners is still considerable.
“People, on average, double their income when they take an MBA. It remains a very valuable degree,” Fisher said.
Nevertheless, the challenge of obtaining an MBA cannot be understated, Fisher says, but taking the effort can be well worth it, particularly since many types of upper-level jobs in the business world tend to require an MBA. The business contacts you can garner alone can make a huge difference in your future prospects.
“It is one hell of a lot of work to get an MBA — it is years of absorption — but it enables you to do your job better and you end up with friends and contacts for life,” Fisher said.
Randy Pilon, CEO of Virox Technologies Inc. in Oakville, decided to do an MBA despite already owning his own company. He believes his MBA was crucial in helping him run his business better.
“I just believe that education is a continuing process and you need to stay current. An MBA is a mechanism by which you create value for a company. It’s a tool,” Pilon said.
Pilon says he sees an MBA as an asset when hiring, although you still have to show you can take what you’ve learned and excel.
“An MBA’s going to get your foot in the door, but you still have to prove that your value is sustainable, that you can add value to the business.”
