Eligibility Criteria
The program seeks prospective candidates with an excellent scholastic record and a strong interest in research related to their chosen field of business studies. Potential students must have at least a bachelor’s degree, which may be from any undergraduate program. Applications are evaluated by an admissions committee on the basis of academic potential as evidenced through past grades, the GMAT, letters of recommendation, and a well-written statement of purpose. There are no fixed cutoff levels for consideration (beyond the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research minimum admission requirement) but as a guideline, past entrants have scored at least in the ninetieth percentile of the GMAT with a 3.5 grade-point average (on the 4-point letter grading system). International students, who do not have English as a first language, must submit scores on the Test of English as a Foreign Language or the International English Language Testing System test (IELTS). A minimum TOEFL score of 550, or a minimum overall band score of 6.5, with at least 5 on each test band, on the IELTS, is required. There is no additional language requirement.
All doctoral students must have an appropriate business background for their particular area of study. Where this background is necessary, the number of courses required will vary for individual students. Students without an MBA but with an undergraduate business degree, completed within the five years prior to commencing the PhD program, will normally have this business background but may require additional courses in preparation for their major and minor areas of doctoral study. These additional courses will be decided upon by the students and their respective PhD supervisory committees.