Hi All,

I would be indeed grateful If anybody can provide me guidance on Master of International Business from Queen's University, Canada. As per my understanding it has one of the best business school in the country. One very attractive deal about the course is that it offers dual degree option where a student can get second degree from top Business schools of the world ranging from ESADE, SDA Bocconi, Maastrict University, Cass Business School etc.

My Profile:

7 years of work experience with EY and Deloitte ( I was working for Deloitte- Canada from the Indian office) in Research Analyst role. I am looking for transformation into management consulting role. I understand I might be more fit for the MBA programme but if we see the brochure for MIB programme, it has successfully placed lot of candidates into management consulting roles (27%). I am especially inclined towards MIB due to these reasons: My strong networking with Deloitte Canada, Dual Degree from Maastrict, International Business course students getting placed in management consulting roles and Canada's easy route to work permit.

97% of the students acquire job in 6 months. Out of this 47% in Canada and 37% in Europe...which sounds excellent to me since I am not looking to come back to India at least for 3-4 years of graduation. Average salary of the graduates is 66,741 which is not bad considering lower salaries in Canada.

As a second option, I have MBA offer from Lancaster University.

I am very clear about the role which I want i.e. Management Consultant but not sure if MIB from Queen's (dual degree with Maastrict) is a better option than FT 35th ranked Lancaster.

Please suggest.

Did Queens admit you?

Hi Duncan,
Thanks for showing interest in my post. Your consistent help to aspiring students is significant and I wont shy from admitting you and others helping students here to make decision has a role in all the aspirants future success.
Yes, I have got an admit from Queen's but unfortuantely not for the dual degree prg but for the single degree. However 6 Months compulsory exchange at some of the best Business Schools still makes it a attractive deal. Do you suggest to go ahead with Queen's or you think Lancaster would be a better choice? I don't have any preference in the choice of location where I want to work post graduation since both UK and Canada are English speaking countries. But the most imp thing is to find work and minimize the probablity of coming to India immediately after graduation.
Your advise would be much appreciated.


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The time abroad is interesting but won't help you find work in Canada or the host country. I'd just stay in Canada. Courses in international business are normally more qualitative and less oriented to help people find work in the country. That course certainly looks like that. You'll perhaps be much older and more experienced than the other students. Why not an MBA?

Thanks for your reply Duncan. Could you please throw some light on "ourses in international business are normally more qualitative and less oriented to help people find work in the country. That course certainly looks like that". As per the website of the University, they do help MIB students to find work with 97% being placed into jobs 6 months after graduation. Yes i understand majority of the students would be more younger and less experienced than me. But i checked with Queen's , they told me they do get application from older students. However percentage of class would be more of younger students. But should this thing really bother me so much to opt out of the course choice? I mean should this matter so much to influence my decision to pursue this course? I am not really considering MBA from Queen's since It would be out of my budget completely. Now, the choice is between MIB at Queen's OR MBA at Lancaster. Which one would you suggest?

[Edited by dareee_2_b_different on Mar 09, 2016]

I mean that those programmes tend to be less quantitative, less skills-based (rather than academic), more critical (rather than positivist), and more focused on helping people find out outside the country rather than inside it. 97% after six months doesn't seem unusually high or low (most schools tend to measure at three months) but the percentage that would interest me is the percentage of *international* students that find work in Canada. Half the cohort is Canadian, so the fact that less than half of the students end up working in Canada sas to me that that particular course is not likely to integrate most international students into the Canadian work force. I spent 12 minutes speaking with Jessica there, and could not get a straight answer about whether international students tended to work in Canada. She said that "those who would like to stay in Canada typically are able to".

Given Lancaster's top 30 ranking for international mobility, and that fact that salaries for MBAs will be so much better than for students in a course aimed at pre-experience student, I think Lancaster or a better MBA is the rational choice. I notice, for example, that Lancaster ranks better for international mobility than the MBA at Toronto, perhaps the best programme in Canada. But there are schools with better mobility and higher employment than Lancaster, and those that are lower-ranked than Lancaster could be similarly affordable: Bath and Strathclyde stand out, for example. https://www.dropbox.com/s/e69c84g9qq4wb7p/Screenshot%202016-03-09%2019.47.31.png?dl=0

[Edited by Duncan on Mar 09, 2016]

Thanks a lot for your post Duncan. The only reason I am thinking about MIB is due to ease of obtaining work visa in Canada.1 year work permit after graduation would give a good time to find job. I understand an MBA would pay more but my point was it's better to find little less salary job than returning back to your home country without a job. However I got your point that MBA from Lancaster, Bath etc would be a more rational choice considering my experience. Do you think if i pursue Queen's University to give me dual degree option in MIB course ...let's say dual degree programme with Maastrict or Maybe Cass...Do you still think an MBA from Lancaster, Bath, Strathclyde etc would make more sense.......How would you rate MBA from Edinburgh or Birmingham since I have these 2 choices too.

If you want security of finding work rather than best outcomes then perhaps Canada is the best choice. But in that case take the best course you can in Canada: A masters in management or finance rather than international business. The dual degree just gives you less time for internships and job hunting.

Masters in management at HEC Montreal is a also one option to look at if your aim is just to find a work visa in Canada. with that aim, I would rather go for a program that is more than a year, considering the fact that with study duration for a year or less you will get a visa for one year. The program at HEC is 16 months which will give you post study work visa of at least 2 years or even 3 years. It was in FT rankings some years ago for MIM. Fees would be less than queens I am sure (27 K). They claim 100% placement in three months which is great. Cons would be knowledge of French. So , you might have to check with school , how many non French speakers got placed within 3 months. #JustMyTwoCents

[Edited by Aditya Dawlekar on Mar 14, 2016]

Worth arriving early and learning some French. This is one famous option: https://oraprdnt.uqtr.uquebec.ca/pls/public/gscw030?owa_no_site=1073

Also, If budget is your only obstacle in pursuing MBA at queens. Then this might help you.

https://prodigyfinance.com/queens-school-of-business/loan

Prodigy Finance offers loans for Queens entrants. It will cover cost of tution. As Duncan said MBA would be better than masters for you.