Recently, visa rejection rates for international students stood between 40 to 50 percent in Canada. With gold medalists also being part of the students whose applications were rejected, visa consultants are flabbergasted and attribute this issue to the high number of applications that are pending. Even with that being the case, as of now, there are more than 388,000 (in colleges and universities) international students in Canada and with over 180,000 students, Indians students accounts for the major share of the overall international student population in the country. At the same time, unlike in many other top-tier international study destinations, more students are pursuing BHASE (business, humanities, health, arts, social science and education) programs in Canada. Out of this, management education in Canada has always been popular among international students and let’s analyze why this is the case and what makes Canada an ideal management education destination for international students.                         

World-class Universities and innovative programs   

Top universities and b-schools in Canada like the University of Toronto – Rotman School of Management, Smith School of Business at Queen's University, and UBC Sauder School of Business are amongst the best in the world. Apart from these world-class educational institutions, Canadian business management programs prioritize on imparting a job-centric curriculum that is both diverse and engaging to the learners. Aside from that, some of the other unique parameters most Canadian management institutions follow are experiential learning, mentoring from subject matter experts, regular industry exposure and a wide alumni network that offers special access to the corporate realm for their ongoing students.      

Ivey School of Business at Western University is a great example that showcases the uniqueness and ingenuity of some of the best management education institutions in Canada. In the MBA program offered at Ivey School of Business, the educators are involving a case-based approach that can accelerate the success of the students in real life. Also, Ivey Business School’s MBA is the only one of its kind in Canada as they incorporate 300 cases (real world scenarios and examples) per year into the curriculum to train their students. Apart from just being a string of topics/concepts, the action-oriented learning model followed at the school allows the students to develop their decision making, data analyzing, problem solving, and critical thinking capabilities. This rigorous one year program is custom-designed to create a skilled workforce and help them to enter the corporate realm within a shorter span of time. Other than Ivey School of Business, Smith School of Business at Queen's University offers one of the best commerce programs in Canada and here, students also have the opportunity to combine their business degree with a degree in arts, science or management.  

Affordability and Cross-cultural Learning

For most students, cost of education plays a major role when it comes to determining their international higher education destination. When compared to the cost of other top management education destinations like the US (USD 45,000), Australia (USD 43,000), and the UK (USD 44,000), the course fees for many top-notch MBA programs in Canada ranges between USD 8000 and 28,000. Aside from the tuition fee, the cost of living in Canada is also comparatively cheap and the cost of accommodation can vary between INR 2, 70,000 and 5, 40,000 per year depending on its type and location.  Aside from the cost aspect, Canada is home to international students from all different parts of the world and this can help students to learn about/from each other and become global citizens.     

Some of the best value for money MBA options in Canada are: a) University of Northern British Columbia where the students have the option to pick from different MSc in Business Administration specializations including HR, finance, marketing etc and till last year, they offered their two year MBA program to international students for USD 3604, b) Memorial University of Newfoundland offers their students a unique opportunity to complete their program in eight years. This AACSB accredited institution offers their management program to international students for USD 2859, and c) University of Manitoba has a two year Master of Science Program in Finance that requires the learners to complete a thesis and research practicum. The course fee for this program was USD 4456 for international students. 

Plethora of Career Development and Stay Back Options

Canada has a thriving economy which is expected to reach USD 1740 billion by the end of this year. Recently, more than 50 companies in the country were also ranked amongst the Forbes global 2000 which showcases the diverse career options the country can offer. Even with all this, Canada is a small country in terms of its population and to attract more man power from outside the country, the Canadian government offers the students a post-graduation work permit. Also, unlike many other top international study destinations, that require companies to sponsor its employees, after graduating from a post-secondary Canadian institution, students can remain back in the country and take up a full time work for up to three years. This is a highly attractive option for international students and apart from that, Canada also offers immigration support to graduates who are from accounting, HR, or financial background.     

Over the last decade, the international student population in Canada has tripled and now the country is regularly finding a place in the top five international higher education destinations in the world. A recent study conducted by the Canadian government also found that international students help sustain over 195,000 jobs and contributes nearly USD 22 billion annually to Canada’s economy. Going forward, the country aspires to continue this growth and attract more students from across the globe to its higher education institutions.