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What are your career goals? Canada's a huge place, and and MBA experience in Toronto is going to be vastly different from one in BC (as are career possibilities.)

And do you speak French? If not it might be an issue if you want to work in MTL post-graduation.

I do speak French!

I work in manufacturing, but would like to eventually transition into being an entrepreneur and launching new business ideas. I've heard that Montréal is a good city for this, that's why it's my focus.

Vancouver is also on my rader, as well - any good programs out there besides UBC?

<blockquote>Vancouver is also on my rader, as well - any good programs out there besides UBC?</blockquote>
There's the SFU Beedie program that's in Vancouver - not as highly ranked as the UBC program but it's good. You also do an internship at the end of the program, which makes it 16 months long in total.

Thanks, I'll look into that.

Would there be any benefit to doing a 2-year program instead of a 1-year - considering my goals of working as an entrepreneur? My thinking was that I could get out of the program much quicker, and hit the ground running in Canada.

But now that I look at McGill's MBA program, and seeing how many of their graduates go into start-ups, I'm not so sure anymore...

One of the biggest differences between one- and two-year MBA programs is that the latter allow you to gain much more hands-on experience, through exchanges, internships, etc. This is especially important for those (like you) who want to transition into different industries or functional roles.

The McGill program, for example, offers an internship, and opportunities for international exchanges and study trips.

If you did this you could do an internship in one of MTL's start-ups - and use the second year to hone a business plan. McGill does tend to feed the local start-up scene, perhaps even moreso than HEC.

Ok, thank you. In either case, what do you think the odds are for an international student to complete one of these MBAs and then go on to be able to launch a start-up (For either Montréal or Vancouver or somewhere else?)

The reason I ask is that a friend of mine is dissuading me, saying that it's hard to create a new business if you are not from Canada, even with an MBA.

The French language is often a hurdle for most international folks, but if you speak French, you should be able to manage without many problems. I guess you should start researching your options as soon as you can - the Québecois bureaucracy can be challenging even for locals.

Canada is fairly liberal with visas so that aspect should not present any difficulties. The key would be to build a working business plan in b-school and start looking for funding early.

Thank you for pointing that out. Does anybody have any insight on starting a business in Vancouver post-MBA? I'm torn between Vancouver and Montréal right now. There is the 1 year MBA at UBC that I am still looking at.

I don't know much about how reasonable it is to start a business in Vancouver, but the UBC MBA does have a career track in "Business Innovation and Entrepreneurship" - which is supposed to assist in just this. You may want to contact the school to ask them about previous MBAs who have gone on to start businesses in the region.

Ok, thanks. It looks like Vancouver is substantially more expensive than Montreal, so that could play a part, especially if I am going to start a business there.

Interesting thread! I'm also looking at one year MBAs in Canada, so this is very helpful info.

<blockquote>You also do an internship at the end of the program, which makes it 16 months long in total.</blockquote>
Do you recommend that everybody who is interested in entrepreneurship do an internship? I'm curious because some of the programs that I'm looking at don't offer internships as part of the curriculum.

I generally think they are a good idea, especially for students who want to change industries or functional areas - or for students who don't know what they want to do after they graduate - because they can give hands-on experience in a new field. Plus, an internship can lead to a job in the company you work for, in some cases.

However, most one-year MBAs don't offer them, simply because of the time constraints. That's why I pointed it out.

what about if someone has extensive experience in accountancy & audits and wants to start management consultancy in future, which Canadian Business school will you recommend both in terms of
1. Value addition
2. ROI

Ivey and Rotman top for nett value; Desautels and Schulich top for RoI.

<blockquote>I generally think they are a good idea, especially for students who want to change industries or functional areas - or for students who don't know what they want to do after they graduate - because they can give hands-on experience in a new field. Plus, an internship can lead to a job in the company you work for, in some cases.

However, most one-year MBAs don't offer them, simply because of the time constraints. That's why I pointed it out.</blockquote>
Got it, thanks - that makes sense. I'll probably go for a two-year program that does have an internship (Rotman, maybe) since I'm more of the industry-changer type.

I'm also leaning towards a 2 year program - the more I hear about McGill, the more it seems like the right school for me. Plus, I like the idea of doing an internship in a Montreal startup.

Probably a solid plan. It seems like McGill is building out its curriculum in innovation and entrepreneurship - and it also has a dedicated center for entrepreneurial studies, which puts on a business plan competition as well as a start-up bootcamp each year. You could do a lot worse if you're aiming to start your own business after graduation.

Thanks for the info!