The North American edge: Invest in your future at a leading business school

A Master of Business Administration (MBA) has been the most popular graduate degree since 2010 – even back then, many saw it as an opportunity to upskill or advance their careers. The same still applies today, but with a twist; the best MBAs today offer something more, boosting careers in traditional and non-traditional industries and preparing graduates to navigate rapidly developing fields. 

The reason? Employers in almost every industry are keen to recruit those with the business acumen to navigate emerging technologies and help spur digital transformation. From artificial intelligence and blockchain to e-commerce and affiliate marketing, these areas are transforming businesses globally. The best business schools are recognising this shift and revamping their curricula to equip graduates for a rapidly changing world.

Keen on joining the ranks? The headstart you seek can be found at one of these leading business schools: 

Source: Brock University- Goodman School of Business

Goodman School of Business, Brock University

Entering the global workforce with the academic knowledge, real-world experience and confidence to make a difference is a great way to set yourself apart from the competition. That’s what an MBA at Brock University’s Goodman School of Business promises. The school is a globally oriented, community-dedicated institute that takes a bold approach to business education, engaging students and challenging their aptitude through scholarly initiatives, quality education, and a hands-on approach.

Forget placements or co-ops. At Goodman, experiential education is done through teaching-learning methods that connect classroom theory with real-world business challenges. Through the MBA, you will participate in experiential learning projects, earning course credit by working as consultants with community partners within your classes to solve pressing problems and develop innovative solutions. Develop social media strategies, run a search engine optimisation (SEO) campaign, or run numbers – the MBA lets you do all of this and produce tangible results that not only provide professional experiences for resume-building, but also benefit Goodman’s community partners.

Here, learning comes alive. It’s a first-hand experience that develops skills, clarifies values, and contributes to local and global communities. The MBA is further strengthened by the school’s community, which encompasses a diverse range of ages, academic backgrounds, and professions in small-sized classrooms. Your international background will be synthesised with a North American business education – this makes for a collaborative business approach with a truly global outlook.

The Goodman MBA is just as diverse in its curriculum. It is customisable and offers six specialisations: accounting, business analytics, finance, human resources, marketing, and operations management. If none of the school’s specialisations interest you, opt for the general MBA, which will still enable you to take courses that fit your career aspirations. The school’s Master of Professional Accounting  is a standout programme that is tailored to provide international students with North American accounting knowledge and the business competencies that are needed to excel in the field. The has Chartered Professional Accountants of Ontario (CPA Ontario) program is a great option for students looking to enter the accounting field.

Apply for the Goodman MBA at the Goodman School of Business today.

The Haas School of Business offers innovative academics for students to launch a transformative career. Source: University of California Berkeley: Haas School of Business

Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley

One thing that Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley has to offer is an MBA schedule that could fit anyone’s time. Be it on the weekdays or weekends, students will earn the same life-changing MBA degree here.

As the second-oldest business school in the US, the school also offers a flex option which is primarily based on online learning. This allows students to learn from anywhere and at any time though they can choose to attend elective courses in person. Whether you’re looking to advance within your organisation, make a career change, fulfil a personal goal, or start a business, Haas School of Business, University of California Berkeley, provides an MBA experience that will get you there – on a schedule that best fits your life.

The Berkeley Haas Alumni Network is a community of more than 40,000 alumni all around the world. Composed of lifelong learners, friends, and colleagues, students here take advantage of the network by strengthening relationships, building partnerships, and advancing a career with professional resources from employees already in the field.

“Haas exposed me to a lot of different industries and gave me different skills,” says graduate Dominic Bea, now Vice President at Guggenheim Partners. “This exposure opened up the possibilities of what rewarding work would be. What does it mean to be fulfilled in investment banking, or consulting, or operations? It helped me see how I’d fit into these different industries in a meaningful way.”

Penn State Smeal College of Business allows you to stack your MBA with other master’s degrees. Source: Penn State Smeal College of Business

Penn State Smeal College of Business

An MBA typically requires two years to complete, but the Penn State Smeal College of Business offers a streamlined, STEM-designated program that can be completed in only one year. Divided into two semesters at Penn State’s University Park campus, the first two seven-week modules of core coursework are completed in the fall. The remaining coursework is finished in the spring, culminating in graduation in May.

The MBA is part of Smeal’s suite of residential master’s degrees, each taking 12 months or less to complete while offering in-demand skills and real-world, experiential learning that makes an immediate impact. These degrees include the Master of Accounting, Master’s in Business Analytics, Master of Finance, Master’s in Real Estate Analysis & Development and Master of Supply Chain Management, which is consistently ranked as one of the top graduate supply chain programs in the U.S. by Gartner, Inc. All programs are STEM-designated, do not require a GMAT score, and offer the opportunity to travel abroad on a global immersion trip in the spring.

At Smeal, students have the ability to earn two master’s degrees in two years and add specializations, “Stacking my degrees has opened so many doors for me,” said Sofie Lutfy, who earned her MBA along with a graduate certificate in management consulting.

Upon graduation, graduates join the nation’s largest alumni networking community. With more than 92,000 fellow Smeal alumni and over 760,000 Penn State graduates worldwide, they join a community who are ready to open doors, offer advice and cheer each other on at every career stage.