Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business (JMSB) full-time MBA offers a well-rounded core curriculum and a wide variety of electives that enable students to customize and specialize their MBA to meet the demands of employers. The in-classroom and beyond-the-classroom experiential learning allow students to learn through hands-on experiences and project-based community initiatives. Located in the heart of the “#1 Student City in the World”, JMSB is one of Canada’s largest business schools. For those interested in penetrating the financial sector, JMSB also offers a three (3) – year MBA in Investment Management, which integrates the “Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA)® Body of Knowledge™ into its curriculum.” Offered through the Goodman Institute of Investment Management, the MBA-CFA candidates are “prepared to write all three levels of the CFA” while simultaneously earning their MBA.

To learn more about the JMSB MBA programs, its culture, admissions, and alumni, we connected with Beth McKenna, Graduate Student Recruitment Officer with JMSB’s MBA programs. Her insights are outlined below.

Understanding the culture of an institution is integral in projecting one’s fit within the university. Can you describe the culture of JMSB?

JMSB’s MBA culture focuses on practical hands-on learning and skills for the real world. Our MBA students learn skills that are sought by employers, as our faculty continues to be active in the business community, providing students with insight on real-world skills and issues. The MBA program offers a wide variety of experiential learning, including out-of-classroom elective options that enable learning focused on real business cases. JMSB is devoted to developing next-generation business leaders, who have the education needed to find innovative solutions to solve 21st-century problems. We also pride ourselves on providing a comprehensive core MBA curriculum to develop well-rounded graduates with the flexibility to meet every student’s needs, career goals and specializations in a collaborative environment. At JMSB, we offer a wide variety of graduate programs designed to meet the needs of our students at any level, providing them with the tools for success and advancement in their future career.

Located in the #1 Student City in the World, JMSB distinguishes itself by engaging students in applied, hands-on learning in the industry, learning skills that are highly sought by employers. We have a diversified community of students and faculty from over 140 countries around the world. Students at JMSB create and have access to unique global networks and connections after graduation. Our full-time/part-time MBA program offers a comprehensive overview of all parts of business administration with a wide variety of electives (1/3 of the degree’s credits) to specialize the MBA to the interests of the student.

What distinguishes JMSB from other top MBA programs?

JMSB is home to the largest MBA International Case Competition in the world. Students who are organizers of this event receive elective credit towards their MBA for their work with leading and organizing all aspects of the event. We are proud to have faculty who are invested in student success, provide interactive and hands-on classroom learning and collaboration opportunities to solve industry issues and learn first-hand. Our program promotes cross-disciplinary themes, customizable curriculum in the full-time/part-time MBA program and flexibility to meet the needs of students.

Students also participate in competitions and engage in development and collaboration projects worldwide during their studies. Our program focuses on networking, integrating the students actively and collaboratively into the business community in Montreal and beyond.

On the academic side, our students continue to reach success in the workforce after graduation. 87% of our graduates land jobs within three months of graduation, and 95% of them stay and work in Canada. We recently changed our program from 57 to 45 credits, making the program possible to complete in between 16 months and two years in total (full-time studies).

What are recent developments in your program you are most proud of?

• Our MBA-CFA program continues to show excellence in the CFA exams. Our program shows a consistent nearly-double pass-rate for the CFA Level 1 exam over the past 15 years.

• Our students continue to find hands-on-learning success in our International Exchange Program, Community Service Initiative, Co-op, Small Business Consulting Bureau and MBA International Case Competition (for which JMSB has one of the oldest and largest in the world!).

• Concordia University was recently ranked in the top 1.6% of universities worldwide and continues to climb rankings within Canada and internationally today.

• We maintain our AACSB accreditation, making our degrees and diploma programs recognized worldwide.