Professional Master of Business Administration
The Professional Master of Business Administration (PMBA) is intended for students who expect to continue their professional employment during the completion of the program. The PMBA is designed to prepare graduates to analyze problems, to make decisions, and to manage, motivate, and lead people and organizations. Year one of the program provides students with a broad understanding of the business context in the following disciplines: accounting, economics, finance, marketing, organizational behaviour, supply chain, statistics, and strategy, so that students can immediately start to relate cross- functional perspectives to their current professional roles. In year two, students will deepen their understanding in an array of business disciplines by exploring core business skills through a series of advanced modules. Students will continue to apply cutting edge knowledge and business skills to real life business problems in both their classroom and workplace settings.
Students with limited management background or who lack adequate background preparation will be recommended to participate in Sauder Program Preparation courses--online non-credit courses on basic business education, completed prior to the formal PMBA program. Topics include economics, quantitative methods, and business statistics. Since backgrounds vary, the extent of a student's required participation should be determined in consultation with a program advisor.
Admission Requirements
Admission to the Professional MBA Program is competitive and takes into consideration a variety of criteria: previous academic performance, GMAT/GRE test scores, professional experience, maturity, and fit. Enrolment is limited; admission to the program is competitive and generally requires an academic standing higher than the published minimum.
To be considered, applicants must hold an undergraduate degree with a minimum overall B+ average or 76% or recognized equivalent from an accredited institution. If the applicant has sufficient professional experience or presents sufficiently high GMAT/GRE scores, a lower average may be accepted, subject to approval of the Director of the Robert H. Lee Graduate School.
Normally, applicants must hold the equivalent of a four-year bachelor’s degree. Three-year bachelor’s degrees are accepted from Australia, New Zealand, the U.K. and Europe. Additional details on acceptable international credentials are available here.
Applicants must present minimum GMAT or GRE score:
- 550 GMAT with at least a 50th percentile in the quantitative and verbal sections of the test; or
- 150 GRE score on each of the verbal and quantitative sections.
Applicants from a university outside Canada in which English is not the primary language of instruction must present evidence of English language proficiency prior to being extended an offer of admission. Tests must have been taken within the last 24 months at the time of submission of your application. Acceptable English language proficiency tests for the PMBA are:
- TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language): 100 (Internet version)
- IELTS (International English Language Testing Service): minimum overall band score of 7.0 with no other component score less than 6.0
- MELAB (Michigan English Language Assessment Battery): minimum overall score of 84
- PTE (Pearson Test of English - Academic): minimum overall score of 70
Applicants must present a minimum of 2 years of full-time work experience gained after graduation from the bachelor’s degree.
An applicant’s suitability for the program will also be assessed through essay questions, resume, professional references and interview. A list of required application documents and further information on admission criteria is available on the program website.
Upon accepting an offer of admission to the Professional MBA Program, students will be required to pay a non-refundable deposit, which is applied to the first installment of tuition fees.
Program Requirements
The Professional M.B.A has 42 credits of coursework which is completed in 24 months. The program can be broken down into the following types of modules:
Professional Residencies – Three 8-day residencies, each valued at 5 credits, are required:
- BA 501: Professional Residency I
- BA 502: Professional Residency II
- BA 503: Professional Residency III
Foundational Modules – Professional MBA students are required to complete the following foundational modules, each for 1.5 credits:
- BAAC 550: Foundations in Accounting
- BABS 540: Data Utilization
- BAFI 500: Introductory Finance
- BAFI 511: Investment Theory and Asset Pricing
- BAHR 560: Building High Performance Teams and Organizations
- BAMA 550: Marketing Fundamentals
- BAPA 560: Foundations of Managerial and Business Economics
- BASC 550: Operations and Logistics
Advanced Modules – The following advanced 1.5 credit modules are offered in the Professional MBA Program. Students may opt to replace any of these with modules from the Full-time MBA or the International MBA.
- BAAC 500: Financial Reporting
- BAAC 510: Cost Analysis for Decision Making
- BAFI 502: Advanced Corporate Finance
- BAFI 532: International Financial Management
- BAIT 510: Project Management in Delivering Business Solutions
- BAIT 511: Managing Information Technology
- BAMA 508: Market Research
- BASC 500: Process Fundamentals
- BASC 525: Supply Chain Strategy and Analytics
- BASM 514: Strategy in Organizations
Study Abroad Options
A variety of short study abroad and term exchange options are available.
Academic Policies
Refer to the Academic Calendar for academic policies.
Contact Information
Please see the MBA website for further program and contact information
