if($_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']=='/' || $_SERVER['REQUEST_URI']=='/index.php'){?>
...for what may lead to a life altering association!
The full-time MBA at the DeGroote School of Business at McMaster University traces its roots to the first graduating class in 1962. Designed for early-to-mid-career professionals, the program spans 20 months (approximately 16 months in class) and operates from the Ron Joyce Centre in Burlington, Ontario, near the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area. Its curriculum combines core management disciplines, a major consulting project of eight months, optional summer internship, and comprehensive career and leadership support. The program emphasises experiential learning, with students engaging in hands-on consulting assignments, part-time employment roles such as teaching assistantships or research positions, and optional co-op tracks. With a recommended work-experience range of one to seven years and an intake mixing domestic and international talent, the DeGroote full-time MBA offers a compact, action-oriented graduate business education. Graduates leave with strong professional momentum anchored in real-world consulting deliverables, analytics capability, and a network situated in Canada’s innovation-rich corridor.
When you need professional help for your MBA applications, our seasoned MBA admission consultants are ready with authentic, end-to-end mentoring for the complete MBA application process. Through our MBA admission consulting model, a team of five specialist mentors assists with brainstorming and storyboarding, essay finalization, application work, and interview preparation. To know more and claim a free profile evaluation and strategy session, please inquire about our MBA admission consulting offering.
| DeGroote McMaster MBA Class Profile | |
|---|---|
| Average Work Experience | 4.5 Years |
| Class Size | 27 |
| Women | 63% |
| Tuition Fee | Domestic:$53,000 International: $107,300 |
| DeGroote McMaster MBA Placements | |
|---|---|
| Average Base Salary | $82,464 |
| Average Joining Bonus | $8,782 |
| Employment on Graduation | 95% |
| Employment by Function | Branding, Business Development, Marketing: 24% Finance: 22% Consulting: 15% General Management: 15% Planning, Strategy: 9% Product Development: 5% Operations: 4% Procurement: 4% Others: 2% |
Affinity Health, Amazon, CIBC, Deloitte, Ernst & Young (EY), Ford Motor Company, GSK Canada, Hamilton Health Sciences, KPMG, Loblaws Companies Ltd., Mackenzie Health, Medline Canada, Microsoft Canada, PepsiCo, RBC (Royal Bank of Canada), Scotiabank, Siemens Canada, TD (Toronto-Dominion Bank), TELUS, TJX Canada, Whirlpool Corporation
The employment data above is for the class of 2022.
DeGroote McMaster MBA program page
DeGroote McMaster MBA application details, essay questions, deadlines, and more…
DeGroote McMaster MBA admission consulting by Experts’ Global
Start the program by clarifying your post-MBA goal with precision: whether it is strategy consulting in North America, finance in Canada, healthcare management in the GTHA region, or analytics in a technology firm. The DeGroote MBA’s design—core courses, major consulting project, optional internship—can only work effectively if your anchor is clear. Write a one-page career narrative: your destination, your unique value proposition, and the three differentiators you bring (e.g., engineering quantitative skills + prior healthcare experience + consulting interest). Keep this narrative visible and revisit it each term to ensure alignment.
In your second academic year you will undertake the eight-month industry consulting project. Treat this not as merely an academic requirement but as your professional showcase. Choose a client project aligned to your career focus. For instance, if you aim to pivot into healthcare strategy, opt for a project with a hospital or health-tech startup in Ontario. Document your role: problem definition, methodology, deliverables, outcomes, learning. This becomes a key story in your internship search and job interviews. Aim to spotlight measurable impact—cost savings, process improvement, market entry, analytics model built—and link it to your broader career narrative.
Beyond the core curriculum, DeGroote allows you to tailor your MBA via electives. Choose two or three areas where you want to stand out—such as strategic business valuation, innovation analytics, or healthcare operations. For each elective, commit to one applied component: a case competition, research paper with faculty, or club-led initiative. If you are targeting digital analytics, for example, join the analytics club and lead a data challenge. These applied tangents build your repertoire of “done-work” rather than just “studied concepts”.
Though the full-time program emphasises the consulting project, many students also pursue a summer internship. Begin preparations early—start résumé revision and target employer research by the end of your first term. Use the DeGroote Career & Professional Development (CPD) office effectively: schedule mock interviews, attend employer events in the GTHA, and create a short list of target companies aligned with your narrative. During the internship deliver a measurable contribution—e.g., built financial model, led process improvement, supported market entry—and secure a mentor internally. Your internship becomes a bridge into full-time employment.
Located 45 minutes from Toronto, and within the Hamilton innovation belt, DeGroote sits in a valuable ecosystem of technology firms, healthcare organizations and consulting offices. Plan at least three meaningful employer interactions each term: company visits, alumni coffee chats, and campus-run employer seminars. Use the alumni network to book meetings in your target industry—arrive prepared with your one-page career narrative and two insightful questions. These contacts often lead to project referrals, summer internships and job interviews.
Joining student clubs—Health Services Management, Consulting Club, Finance Club, Innovation & Entrepreneurship—is one way to stand out. Choose a leadership role and set a concrete initiative: host an industry panel with six executives in your target field, run a data analytics case competition, or lead a pro bono consulting engagement for a local startup. These contributions enhance your résumé, broaden your network and provide real projects to reference in applications and interviews.
Given DeGroote’s emphasis on experiential learning, you can bolster your technical skillset early: enrol in Microsoft Data Fundamentals course offered by the program, engage in TA roles, and work with faculty research. This technical credibility complements your consulting or strategy narrative. When interviewing, speak about not only what you led but how you extracted insights, built models or leveraged data. Concrete examples such as “I used SQL and Tableau to build dashboard for client segmentation” signal credibility.
Every semester schedule a one-hour review session—ask yourself: What skill did I build this term? Which leader or mentor did I connect with? How does my consulting project narrative align with my target career? Update your one-page career narrative quarterly. Log your network map: 20 alumni, 10 employer contacts, 3 guest speakers. Track how each interaction aligns to your goal. Reflection keeps you coherent and prepared as you move into placements.
By graduation you will have the MBA credential, a consulting project, perhaps an internship, club leadership and electives. In interviews, frame your story around concrete accomplishments: “During my major consulting project I reduced operational cost by 12% through redesigning process chain at a manufacturing client.” Then pivot to: “I aim to bring that process-improvement mindset into the strategy team at [target employer].” Employers value clear outcome-based narratives. Use the Burlington-Toronto-Hamilton network to source referrals and access hidden roles.
The DeGroote alumni community spans thousands of professionals across Canada and internationally. Post-graduation continue to engage: participate in regional alumni events, volunteer for your entering class, offer guest talk, host coffee sessions. These actions reinforce your network and keep your profile active. Your MBA becomes a lifelong platform—not just a two-year credential.