The Master of Business Administration (MBA) has always attracted a different kind of student.
Unlike an academic MA designed to help students go further into primary research in a field in the sciences, social sciences or humanities, or a professional degree designed to prepare students to be licensed as lawyers or physicians, the MBA blends theoretical and practical learning to produce students who are ready to make a difference in fields like marketing, financial management, accounting, or supply chain management.
For this reason, MBA programs have always attracted more dynamic students. Many who enter these programs already have several years’ experience in their industry, and bring a body of practical knowledge into the classroom.
MBA students tend to be ambitious and motivated. They want to gain the skills and knowledge frameworks that can equip them to revolutionize their industry, and they are increasingly seeking out schools that can demonstrate their ability to foster innovative thinking and whose alumni have a demonstrated track record of excellence.
This is one of the reasons why the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics is increasingly becoming such a magnet for Ontario MBA students.
Not only does Lazaridis offer a wide range of specializations to help students understand the particular dynamics of their own profession and industry, its students consistently go on to careers at some of the largest companies in the world, or become trailblazing entrepreneurs.
Rachel Ostrander (MBA 2017) is one such student. Ostrander, who is now an Advisory Consultant at Global Infrastructure Advisory, KPMG, chose the Lazaridis MBA because she valued its emphasis on practical experience (those who are interested in Lazaridis’ co-op program can learn more at the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics about how students can receive high quality placements at international businesses and NGOs).
In addition to the high quality of the education, she found that the contacts and community support she experienced while at Lazaridis made all the difference.
“The Lazaridis MBA was fantastic for helping me make some great industry connections,” she says, noting that the community culture at Laurier University “develops well-rounded graduates that can excel in any environment.”
While Ostrander’s background was not in business — she had started out in the sciences — the MBA gave her the skills and credentials she needed to move into the world of consulting, where she uses the global experience she gained working in Johannesburg, South Africa to help her clients.
Like Ostrander, most students pursuing an MBA want to get more than just a credential. They want to unlock a new career for themselves, one that will help them use the knowledge and skills they already have to build innovative solutions to the world’s most pressing problems, be they economic, environmental, or technological.
At the Lazaridis School of Business & Economics in Waterloo, Ontario, such students can find the support, teaching expertise, networks, and placements that will help them excel in whatever industry they choose to enter. And whether they opt to pursue full-time studies with a co-op option or study part-time while pursuing their careers, they will find the flexibility they need to become the innovative business-leaders of tomorrow.
