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Prashant Modha [MBA/91] earned his master of business administration with a major in business administration at UM. He is one of the founding partners of Mondetta Clothing.
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“So much of the technical knowledge I gained at the University of Manitoba—particularly in areas like Finance and Accounting—I now apply directly to my work.”
-Prashant Modha
The Asper MBA is more than a degree
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75%
Percent of students employed full-time after graduating
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$88,298
Average salary for all MBA graduates
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36%
Average percent salary increase of MBA graduates
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83%
Percent of graduates who indicated that the Asper MBA met or exceeded their expectations
Program details
The Asper MBA program design will arm you with the skills, knowledge and experience you need to excel in today’s business world. We offer online preparatory courses, business fundamentals and strategy, and foundations for leadership development using experiential learning methods and critical and creative thinking.
Expected duration: 1 to 6 years
Estimated tuition and fees:
| Total tuition fees* | Additional fees/year** | Total book fees | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canadian citizens and permanent residents | $35,000 | $2,000 | $3,000 |
| International students on a study permit | $47,200 | $3,000 | $3,000 |
*Under the Manitoba-Minnesota Reciprocity Agreement, Minnesota residents may qualify for Canadian tuition fees.
**These are estimates. Please refer to Graduate tuition and fees for more details.
Learn more about Asper awards and scholarships for graduate students.
Program core
Our program core consists of 30 credit hours of business fundamentals and strategy, and a foundation in leadership, decision-making methods and contemporary themes that inform decisions in today’s business world.
Sample course offerings
Business foundations
- GMGT 7200: Critical and Creative Thinking (1.5 credit hours)
- ACC 7010: Accounting Fundamentals (3 credit hours)
- FIN 7000: Managerial Economics (1.5 credit hours)
- FIN 7020: Corporate Finance (3 credit hours)
- GMGT 7220: Managing People in Organizations (3 credit hours)
- OPM 7120: Operations and Supply Chain Management (3 credit hours)
- MKT 7010: Marketing Management (3 credit hours)
- ACC 7020: Managerial Accounting (1.5 credit hours)
- MIS 7120: Management Information Systems (1.5 credit hours)
- GMGT 7210: Strategy (3 credit hours)
The Strategy Capstone Course, to be taken in the last term of the program, provides a holistic perspective on managing an organization or business by integrating all the functional areas and themes explored in the Program Core.
Leadership
- IDM 7120: Executive Leadership and Responsibilities (3 credit hours)
- IDM 7510: Strategic Leadership and Managing Change (1.5 credit hours)
Business themes
- IDM 7130: Contemporary Themes in Business (1.5 credit hours)
Contemporary Themes in Business focuses on three themes: International and Emerging Markets, Sustainability, and Entrepreneurship and Innovation. These themes also inform the two Leadership courses and the Strategy Capstone Course. Together, they prepare you for the realities of business – and give you a distinct advantage in today’s competitive job market.
For full course descriptions, please visit the Academic Calendar.
Flexible program options
Complete your 60 credit hours of course work:
- Full Time: 12 months or up to two years
- Part Time: Take up to six years (the average is three)
Flexible course offerings
We offer Asper MBA classes at the following times to fit your schedule:
- Monday to Friday: daytimes and evenings
- Saturday and Sunday: daytimes
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Asper Master's Co-op Program
Asper MBA degree students can choose to include a four-month paid full time (420 hours) work term add to their program, in which students gain hands-on experience in a supportive and dynamic leadership environment. Students have the opportunity to apply their academic learning in a real-world context while building a professional network. These placements are made possible by the Asper Career Development Centre’s network of connections within Manitoba and across Canada.
Concentrations and themes
Tailor your MBA to your passion, your experience and the career you want. Focus your studies on two functional areas, two themes, or a combination of area and theme. To earn a concentration or a theme, you will need to complete 12 credit hours in the chosen area (with the exception of the Financial Analyst concentration). Not all elective courses are offered every year, so it may not always be possible to complete a desired concentration if choosing to complete the program over 12 months
Functional concentrations
Finance
A functional concentration in finance includes courses such as: Financial Intermediaries and Capital Markets, Investment Policy, International Finance, Portfolio Management, Financial Modeling, Behavioural Finance, Fixed-Income Securities, Alternative Markets and Instruments and Readings in Accounting and Finance (Ethics).
Leadership and organizations
A functional concentration in leadership and organizations includes courses such as: Interpersonal Processes, Negotiations, Business Venture Analysis, Business Analysis and Strategic Development, Business Case Competitions, Leadership for a Global Environment, Strategic Leadership and Sustainability and Managing Innovation.
Marketing
A functional concentration in marketing includes courses such as: Cultural Brand Management, Digital Marketing, Marketing Innovation, Consumer Insights and Social Change and Sustainability Marketing.
Supply chain management
A functional concentration in supply chain management includes courses such as: Quantitative Analysis, Project Management, Sustainable Lean Management and Business Process Management Using ERP Systems.
Specialized concentration
Financial analyst
The Asper MBA Financial Analyst specialized concentration prepares you to write all three levels of exams needed to obtain a Chartered Financial Analyst® designation, with a focus on the Level 1 exam.
The Chartered Financial Analyst® Institute sets professional and ethical standards for financial services professionals worldwide. We worked with the CFA Institute to map over 70% of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge into our concentration.
You will graduate as a highly skilled and sought-after management professional fully versed in, and committed to upholding, the ethical standards and practices of the financial services sector.
All students pursuing this concentration will have to complete 30 credit hours of core MBA courses, as well as 22.5 credit hours of specialized Financial Analyst courses and 7.5-9 credit hours of other electives. At this time, this concentration can only be completed in 20 months or more.
Themed concentrations
International and emerging markets
Gain the skills and mindset you need to operate a business in international and emerging markets at various levels of economic and social development. This MBA theme shows you how to identify the opportunities, risks, growth potential and challenges you may encounter as businesses evolve in the developing and developed regions of the world.
Sustainability
Explore business from a triple bottom line perspective of People, Planet and Profit. Sustainable development recognizes the interconnectedness of economic prosperity, environmental integrity and social equity, and seeks to balance multiple forms of wellbeing (including financial, ecological and social) for stakeholders such as owners, employees, customers, suppliers, partners, government, society, and future generations.
Entrepreneurship and innovation
Whether your goal is to start a company or innovate in an existing organization, this MBA theme will hone your understanding of value creation and re-creation by exploring creative, innovative and entrepreneurial perspectives and behaviours.
Interdisciplinary concentrations
Health administration
An interdisciplinary concentration in health administration includes courses such as: Organization and Financing of the Canadian Health Care System (mandatory), Principles of Epidemiology (mandatory), Current Topics in Community Health, Research and Evaluation, Epidemiology of Health Care, Health Policy and Planning, Economic Evaluation of Health Care and Industry Project.
Management of public enterprises
Asper MBA students interested in the interface between private sector business and community/state governance and administration will be interested in this concentration, which is offered in partnership with the Masters of Public Administration program at the University of Manitoba.
Individual interdisciplinary program
Under the Individual Interdisciplinary Program option, students can create their own course package by selecting four courses that are relevant to them from other graduate programs at the University of Manitoba.
The package of courses must have a cohesive management theme and each course must be relevant from a management perspective. The package must be approved by both the host departments and the MBA Program Committee at Asper prior to taking the first course in the package.
Bootcamps and workshops
Our preparatory bootcamps and workshops help you develop the necessary skills to succeed in the Asper MBA program and in the business world.
- Math bootcamp: online number crunching primer.
- Information Technology bootcamp: online course that provides you with the basics of common productivity software packages used in the business world, with particular focus on Excel.
- Career development workshops: opportunity to develop soft skills such as business etiquette, networking, resume-building and behaviour-based interview skills.
Take Asper MBA courses as an occasional student
Find out if the Asper MBA is right for you by taking an Asper MBA course as an occasional student. Earn up to 12 credit hours of exemptions from MBA core and elective courses when you decide to formally apply to the Asper MBA. That’s 12 credit hours toward your MBA degree, before you even commit to the program.
Learn more about studying in Asper as an occasional student
As an occasional student applicant, you do not need to submit your resume, references, nor a GMAT score – you must only complete your online application to occasional studies and submit past academic transcripts (you must hold a university degree to apply as an occasional student).
You will have one academic year of occasional student status from the time you start. Occasional student status expires August 31 each year and must be reapplied for in each new academic year within which you wish to have occasional status.
- The courses that are available to Occasional Students are:
- GMGT 7200 Critical and Creative Thinking
- GMGT 7220 Managing People in Organizations
- IDM 7510 Leadership and Change
- MKT 7010 Marketing Management
- IDM 7130 Contemporary Themes in Business
- OPM 7120 Operations and Supply Chain Management
- and a limited few Asper School MBA electives (that either don’t have a prerequisite or for which you took the core course first).
To get credit for occasional studies courses in the MBA, you must start the MBA no later than 5 years from when you took the first occasional studies course (to get credit for them all).
Only occasional studies courses with grades of C+ or higher qualify for exemptions. Occasional studies courses taken prior to admission to the MBA program will not count toward the MBA degree GPA. International students interested in taking a course as an OS will be part-time students and will not be in a degree program and must thus be familiar with all IRCC regulations surrounding their status in Canada as an occasional student.
Please also note that if you decide to start as an occasional student and later apply for the MBA program proper, that will be a new and separate application and a new $100 application fee. Also, the tuition fees for occasional student courses are the same per course as for MBA students.
Admission requirements
To qualify for admission to the Master of Business Administration program, you must have a minimum of:
- A three-year bachelor's degree with a minimum GPA of 3.0* (on a 4.5 scale) in the last 60 credit hours or 2 years of study (GPA of minimum 2.5 may be considered in some circumstances) *International student GPA calculation
- Two years of full-time work experience is typically required.
- Minimum GMAT or GMAT Focus Edition (or equivalent GRE) score of 550 (See below for GMAT exemption qualifications)
- One of the following English language proficiency test scores, if applicable:
- AEPUCE: 85% if entering AEPUCE with an IELTS of 6.0
- IELTS: 7.0, with no band less than 6.0
- PTE Academic: 65
- TOEFL- iBT: 100, with a score of 20 in each of reading, writing, listening and speaking
A GMAT score is valid for five years, while the English language test scores are valid for two years.
Meeting these requirements does not guarantee acceptance into the program.
In addition to the admission requirements described here, all applicants must meet the minimum admission and English language proficiency requirements of the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
Each year, the program admits a small number of highly experienced and gifted individuals who do not hold a baccalaureate degree or whose GPA falls below 2.5. These individuals have significant professional background and a strong GMAT score. Preference in filling these limited spaces is given to local applicants.
GMAT exemption based on GPA
High GPA applicants may be eligible for entry via an alternative assessment process.
If you have an admission GPA of 3.3 or above (based on a 4.5 scale, in the last 60 credit hours or two years of study), you may consider this alternative assessment path.
You will be invited to complete a recorded, computer-based assessment that will test your verbal communication, reasoning, logic, and quantitative skills. A reliable internet connection and video camera are required. You will receive further details and a timeline via email after submitting your application.
The assessment consists of five separately timed tasks (questions), two of which test your ability to reason and solve problems with quantitative methods. The assessment takes 30 minutes to complete, and you must complete all questions in one sitting.
Many applicants find it helpful to study in more depth for the quantitative reasoning component. You can refer to the GMAT Exam Content to help prepare for the quantitative section of the Alternative Assessment. The sample questions listed there will give you a sense of the types of questions we will ask.
Additional study resources are below. Since the Alternative Assessment questions are timed, you may also want to practice answering questions under time pressure.
*If you already have a GMAT score of 550 or higher, you can submit your results to be exempted from this process. Please note that eligibility to take the GMAT Alternative Assessment is solely based on a minimum admission GPA of 3.3 or above.
GMAT exemption for CPA, CFA, and P.Eng. designation
MBA applicants who hold the CPA designation (CPA Canada), the CFA designation, or the Canadian-based P.Eng. designation, are in good standing with their professional body, and have been practicing in their respective field for the past two years or longer would be exempt from the GMAT/GRE requirement.
GMAT exemptions for Asper Bachelor of Commerce graduates
MBA applicants with a degree GPA of 3.5 or higher who have graduated from the University of Manitoba with a Bachelor of Commerce in the last 5 years would be exempt from the GMAT/GRE requirement.
GMAT exemption for University of Manitoba graduates
- MBA applicants with a degree GPA of 3.5 or higher who have graduated from the University of Manitoba with a B.Sc. in the last 5 years and have a grade of B+ or higher in Math 1230, 1500, 1501, 1510, 1520 or 1690 or another course in calculus with permission of the Asper School of Business MBA Admissions Committee and a grade of B+ or higher in Statistics 1000, 1001 or 1150 or another course in statistics with permission of the Asper School of Business MBA Admissions Committee would be exempt from the GMAT/GRE requirement.
- MBA applicants with a degree GPA of 3.5 or higher who have graduated from the University of Manitoba with a B.Eng. in the last 5 years and have a grade of B+ or higher in ENG 3000 and a grade of B+ or higher in Math 1230, 1500, 1501, 1510, 1520 or 1690 or another course in calculus with permission of the Asper School of Business MBA Admissions Committee and a grade of B+ or higher in Statistics 1000, 1001 or 1150 or another course in statistics with permission of the Asper School of Business MBA Admissions Committee would be exempt from the GMAT/GRE requirement
- MBA applicants with a degree GPA of 3.5 or higher who have graduated from the University of Manitoba with a B.A. in the last five years and have a grade of B+ or higher in two of ECON 2010, 2030, 3010, 3020 and have a grade of B+ or higher in Math 1230, 1500, 1501, 1510, 1520 or 1690 or another course in calculus with permission of the Asper School of Business MBA Admissions Committee and a grade of B+ or higher in Statistics 1000, 1001 or 1150 or another course in statistics with permission of the Asper School of Business MBA Admissions Committee would be exempt from the GMAT/GRE requirement.
How to apply
The MBA program accepts, reviews and processes applications on a rolling basis throughout the year, for two entry points – Fall (August) and Winter (January). All applicants, but especially international students, are encouraged to apply months in advance of the deadline date. Applying early will lead to an early admission decision and will allow the time required to apply for and secure student permits and student visas. Applications are submitted online and must include the following before they will be reviewed by the admissions committee:
- Application fee (non-refundable)
- Uploaded copies of transcripts from all post-secondary institutions attended
- Names and emails of two individuals whom you have worked for professionally (they will be contacted directly to complete a provided reference questionnaire about you)
- Resume
- GMAT/GRE score report
- Proof of English language proficiency, if required
- FIPPA for Agents form
Download the Asper MBA application checklist
Please read the Faculty of Graduate Studies online application instructions before beginning your application.
GMAT and GRE resources
The Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT) and Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) are standardized tests used to demonstrate academic qualification for graduate programs. Applicants to the Asper MBA must provide one of these test scores as part of the admissions process.
Application deadlines
INTERNATIONAL APPLICANTS - Due to current significant delays in study permit processing times, international applicants are encouraged to complete their application (with all required documents, including a GMAT/GRE score) at least 2 months before the above stated deadline date.
We process applications on a rolling basis and do not wait until deadlines pass to review files. Applying early will ensure an early admission decision, which in turn will allow applicants the time required to obtain their study permit on time to arrive for the start of their program.
We process applications on a rolling basis and do not wait until deadlines pass to review files. Applying early will ensure an early admission decision, which in turn will allow applicants the time required to obtain their study permit on time to arrive for the start of their program.
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Contact us
Admission and application inquiries
Faculty of Graduate Studies
Room 500 UMSU University Centre
65 Chancellors Circle
University of Manitoba (Fort Garry campus)
Winnipeg, MB R3T 2N2 Canada
graduate.admissions@umanitoba.ca
Phone: 204-474-9377
Monday to Friday
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Program inquiries
Stu Clark Graduate School
Asper School of Business
Room 360, Drake Centre
181 Freedman Crescent
University of Manitoba (Fort Garry campus)
Winnipeg, MB R3T 5V4
Phone: 204-474-9847
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