Pursuing an MBA was something I had been considering for a while. I had completed my undergraduate degree in Economics and Sociology at McGill University in 2012 and then discovered a career in an industry I truly considered a hidden gem…the insurance industry. I was specializing in directors and officers liability insurance (often called D&O insurance), but after several years working in the same role, I felt like my career was stagnating. I felt that I needed a boost in order to differentiate myself in the job market, to help me take the next step and take my career to the next level in Toronto’s competitive financial sector. Continuous learning has always been a goal of mine and so, in 2015, I felt ready to start looking into Canadian business school programs.
At the QS World Grad School Tour in Toronto, I remember exploring all that the different business schools had to offer when Concordia University’s John Molson School of Business caught my attention. To me, John Molson had a unique value proposition and, having family members who had attended Concordia University, I was already familiar with John Molson and its reputation as being one of the best business schools in the country.
John Molson’s MBA in Investment Management with complete CFA integration
John Molson has an MBA in Investment Management program that felt tailor-made for me. I had already started to pursue the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation on my own and had just passed the CFA Level 1 examination within the previous year. I also wanted to enroll in a program that would allow me to continue living and working full-time close to my family in downtown Toronto. My decision was made easy and it ended up being the only program I applied to.
Not only does the program have an excellent MBA curriculum that integrates the CFA Candidate Body of Knowledge™, meaning that you are able to pursue two world-recognized designations simultaneously, but it also allows you to study either in Toronto or Montreal. Having classmates in both cities has been a great experience. The help we provided each other in understanding the MBA and CFA curriculums has been crucial to the experience. What’s more, classes are scheduled so as to be able to shoulder a full-time course load while working full-time.
On top of the curriculum which is based on the CFA program, John Molson also offers prep classes in the summer for all three CFA exam levels. So, on one hand, the MBA component provides students with a comprehensive business education to set them up for success in the business world. On the other hand, the CFA component allows students to add valuable tools to their knowledge base in the highly competitive financial sector.
