Successfully completing a McMaster MBA program can increase a business
graduate's salary by 183 per cent, the highest percentage of any MBA
program in Canada. The figure represents the percentage increase in
students' average salaries from the time they entered the MBA program to the time they found work. The finding is part of a recent MBA rankings survey conducted by Canadian Business magazine.

In its annual MBA report published in the magazine's Oct. 30 issue,
McMaster MBA students see their average entering salary of approximately $20,000 rise to an average starting salary of $57,000.

“While the formula used by Canadian Business to rank the schools overall tends to work best for schools that attract older students who enter the program with a higher salary, explains Paul Elliott, director, business career services,School of Business, it is very gratifying to see that in terms of percentage increase in salaries between the time students enter the program, to the time they graduate with their MBA, the Michael G. DeGroote School of Business has ranked number one for the past two years.”

Twenty university business schools from across the country participated in this year's ranking survey, which included such factors as quality of education and alumni satisfaction in addition to financial return.

While the survey relies heavily on the payback factor, business dean Vishwanath Baba says it is only one possible criterion for assessing an MBA program.

At McMaster, emphasis
is placed on experiential learning, as demonstrated by the School's co-op program. It allows younger students with only two or three years' work experience an opportunity to go into the workplace during three work terms, to experience first-hand application of knowledge gained in the classroom, he explains.

According to Baba, McMaster has the largest co-op MBA school in Canada, and one of the most successful. “For the past nine years, 100 per cent of co-op MBA graduates have been employed upon graduation.”