Finding the Best Toronto Executive MBA Programs

An MBA offers immeasurable help if you’re trying to climb the oft-mentioned corporate ladder. But what about getting right to the top? Executive MBA programs are tailor-made for reaching that higher-than-high career point, but how do you know which one may be right for you? We’ve outlined some of the best Toronto Executive MBA programs to help.

Many EMBA students have been identified as potential leaders at their companies. Some employers may allow students to pursue their education while still being fully-employed, and many employers will even pay for the degree. EMBA classes are typically offered on weekends, ensuring that those enrolled in these programs don’t miss much, if any, work.

If you want to break into the C-suite, gather strategic insights for your organization or meet a network of other professionals, an EMBA program may be the right option for you. Here’s some background on the EMBA offerings in the Toronto metro.

DeGroote School of Business – McMaster University

Founded in 1887 in Toronto, McMaster University is one of four Canadian schools ranked among the world’s top 100. The MBA program was established in 1962, offered by the university’s DeGroote School of Business. The business school currently offers a 16-month full-time MBA degree, a co-op MBA and an eight-month accelerated degree for students with an undergraduate degree in business. As far as Executive MBA offerings go, McMaster features an executive management program and an Executive MBA in Digital Transformation.

The school’s Executive Education MBA offers professional development for middle to senior-level managers, comprised of courses designed to take an in-depth look at strategic planning, organizational change management, leadership, performance management and finance. The flexible program gives students the option of choosing a single course, or a package of three or five courses and recently added three streams of specialization to the program:

• Leadership development
• High-impact coaching
• Strategic management.

After all courses are completed, participants receive a certificate of completion. There are no prerequisite requirements to enroll in this program, which runs during the fall and spring.

Meanwhile, the DeGroote’s Executive MBA in Digital Transformation is the first EMBA in the world focused on managing digital systems, and using those systems to make data-driven decisions, lead complex and diverse teams in digital environments and recruit exciting new talent. The program is divided into four residential modules held in Canada and Silicon Valley. Students will study core EMBA topics such as finance, marketing and strategy, while also learning technical data science and business analytics content. With the help of leading industry experts from TheScore, CIBC, IBM and SAS, students will be able to broaden their technical and managerial knowledge while deepening their strategic thinking skills and leadership capabilities.

Ivey Business School – Western University Canada

While the School of Business Administration was established at Western University in 1950, the university took the Ivey School of Business name officially in 1995. Today, the school offers a full-time MBA and Executive MBA program. Ivey School of Business is AACSB accredited and was ranked as the best international full-time MBA by Bloomberg in 2015.

The Ivey Executive MBA program is split into three terms spread out over 15 months. Each term has a number of themes associated, including:

• Decision-making
• Accountability
• Governance
• Integrating across the enterprise
• Balancing stakeholder interests
• Crossing borders
• Collaborative strategies.

Each of the three terms begins with a one-week residential module at the Ivey Spencer Leadership Centre in London, Ontario. The remainder of the class modules take place at the Tangerine Leadership Center in downtown Toronto. Students can also take part in an international trip while completing their degree.

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, part-time morning and evening MBA, a one-year Executive MBA program and an 18-month Global Executive MBA.

Rotman’s EMBA program minimizes time away from work, with classes on Friday and Saturday every other week plus four one-week residential modules. The one year program incorporates self and team-development planning with strategy, and uses acceleration and applied-learning methods to ensure students are putting their education to practice.

Meanwhile, the Omnium Global Executive MBA is a global leadership program that focuses on increasing leadership competency and accelerating global professional performance. The innovative program offers mid to senior-level executives from all over the world the opportunity to travel to international cities on four continents while studying emerging markets. Students live and work in their home countries and meet together six times over 18 months.

Schulich School of Business – York University

Known as “Canada’s Global Business School,” 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 a full-time and part-time MBA, Executive MBA, MPA, MAcc, MF, MBA/JD, MS, MBA/MS and Ph.D.

The very competitive and critically acclaimed Kellogg-Schulich Executive MBA in Toronto is in partnership with the Northwestern University Kellogg Graduate School of Management global network of EMBA programs, which has locations in the U.S., Germany, Israel, China and Canada.

Classes meet every third weekend over a period of 18 months, which minimizes time away from work and maximizes in-class learning. The program also features a Global Strategy Project capstone project that requires an overseas trip to an emerging market for experiential learning. The program begins in January and ends June of the following year.

regions: Toronto

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