Queen's University

Program Basics

• • Queen's Executive MBA, National Program
  • Queen's School of Business
  • Goodes Hall
  • 143 Union Street
  • Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6
  • Canada
  • Status:
    • Public
  • Length of program (months): 15

• Classes meet:

  • • Other

• Tuition and fees for entire EMBA program:

  • Resident: $88,000.00

• Graduate business school is accredited by:

  • • EQUIS
    • Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)
    • European Foundation for Mgt. Development (EFMD)
    • Association of MBAs (AMBA)

SCHOOL BASICS

• Graduate business school enrollment:

  • Total: 768
  • Full-Time MBA: 119
  • Part-Time MBA: n/a
  • Executive MBA: 485
  • PhD Program: 62
• • Undergraduate business school enrollment: 1,268
  • Other graduate degree programs: other, Master of Finance, Master of International Management/Business

ADMISSIONS - Getting Into the Institution

• • Rolling admissions? Yes
  • GMAT Required? No
• • Is the TOEFL required for non-English speakers? No
  • Applicant interviews are: Required
  • Applicants (admitted and denied) who were interviewed: 100 %

CLASS PROFILE

• EMBA students in newest entering class who are:

  • Female: 29 %
  • International: 27 %
• • Average months of work experience: 166

• Middle 80% range work experience in months:

  • From: 98
  • To: 312
• • Average age: 37

• Work background:

  • Have advanced degrees: 13 %
  • Work in the nonprofit sector: 1 %
  • Work at an organization with 100 or fewer employees: 33 %
  • Have title of president, CEO, or chairman: 7 %

• Students work in these industries:

  • Consumer Products: 11 %
  • Government: 10 %
  • Manufacturing: 24 %
  • Media/Entertainment: 2 %
  • Non-Profit: 1 %
  • Petroleum/Energy: 10 %
  • Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology/Health Care: 8 %
  • Real Estate: 0 %
  • Technology: 14 %
  • Other: 0 %

STUDENT LIFE

• • Does the program include a mandatory international trip or project? Yes
  • Description: Global Business Project to any city outside of North America
  • Does the school offer pre-program orientation for all EMBA participants? Yes
  • Does the school offer temporary housing/accommodations for EMBA participants? Yes
  • Description: Executive education facility
  • Do EMBAs have access to a health club or gym? Yes

TEACHING/ACADEMICS

• Estimated hours per week in class and outside classwork:

  • Hours per week in class: 6
  • Hours per week outside of class spent on classwork: 25
• • Last revision of core EMBA curriculum: 2007
  • Distance-learning EMBA via the Internet, videoconferencing, or some other medium? Yes

• Graduation Requirements:

  • • Students must have attended a minimum number of classes
    • Students must have earned a pre-determined GPA/Letter grade average
    • Class participation accounts for some percentage of students' grades
    • Write a complete business plan
    • Present final
    • company-specific project results to relevant parties

• TECHNOLOGY

  • Technology improvements in the last three academic years: Adobe Connect for videoconferencing; Learning Management System (Desire2Learn); Web streaming & multi-media capture of classes; New digital videoconferencing studio; Smart Boards / Sympodiums

B-SCHOOL ALUMNI

• • Living MBA alumni: 6,376
  • Active MBA alumni clubs: 8
  • Countries in which MBA clubs exist: 4
  • Does the main university offer career placement services for alumni? Yes
  • Does the main university have an alumni networking Web site? Yes
  • University alumni networking site: http://alumni.queensu.ca
  • Does the B-School have an alumni networking Web site? Yes
  • Business school alumni networking site: http://queensbusiness.ca
  • Do current MBA students have access to an alumni database? Yes

• • Queen’s has high-quality professors all the way. In addition, they are heavily practiced in teaching adults. They understand difficulties of learning in later years and how to simplify concepts so they stick. Instructors are readily available around the clock: cell, blackberry, sometimes home phone number. And there’s a "lifetime-guarantee" that they’ll be accessible after the program as well.
    
    
    
    This is where Queen's really can't improve: Their administrative staff at the Ottawa campus was attentive, intuitive, and extraordinarily able to manage logistical issues such that we never knew there were issues to begin with.
    
    
    
    The professors' strengths included professionalism mixed with up-to-date knowledge of their respective subjects, which allowed direct application of concepts to current issues, which could then be applied to our respective industry. As CEO, I had the privilege to apply some of these concepts with great benefits. As for weaknesses, not much to say... Except perhaps that for some instructors it was impossible to go in-depth due to time constraints, but that is more of a weakness inherent in an EMBA program, as opposed to the instructors themselves.
    
    
    
    The Queen's EMBA program provided me not only with the education I expected to receive but also a personal journey that I hadn't anticipated. The additional tools and support offered by the Queen's program along with the team-learning model provided insight and practical experience that is not available in any other forum I can think of. Being part of a team of high-energy and success-driven individuals, not ranked above or below you on an organizational chart, provides a unique opportunity to learn more about yourself in a safe environment. The faculty at Queen's is the best in the field. The responsiveness of professors both during and after the program is exceptional. I cannot say enough positive things about my experience at Queen's. If I had to do it over again knowing what I know and my company would not sponsor me a penny's worth, I would find a way to do it. It's worth every cent.
    
    
    
    The program offered students a choice to specialize in finance, marketing, or global business. I would have liked operations if it were available.
    
    
    
    They gave me the analytical and management (soft) skills that I really need to get to the next level of management.
    
    
    
    The career services and the coaching/mentoring program can greatly be enhanced. With career services, organizing job fairs (similar to the full-time programs') would have been useful. By setting up a career fair, employers can be brought face-to-face with EMBA students. The mentoring/coaching received could also be enhanced by ensuring that there are good mentoring services available throughout the program.
    
    
    
    Queen's is the top business school, from program execution to the finer details of each course. Queen's is simply the best.
    
    
    
    I would have liked to have had a few more classes on international business and more of an international component.
    
    
    
    Coordination of workload in courses could be enhanced. I occasionally had several courses with demanding workloads concurrently.
    
    
    
    The format of the program at Queen's with the Kingston sessions and the team building exercises made me a better person that is more adaptable to any type of situation. The rapport with the other students and the profs was an invaluable experience. The "across Canada" boardroom sessions created in-depth conversations with a diverse range of experiences from other students.
    
    
    
    A better IT system to help support the program. The current system (based on IBM Lotus Notes) is problematic, slow, and difficult to interface with other software. Its piggy response is a painful experience.