Sobey School of Business

Sobey School of Business
Established	1934
Type	Public Business School
Dean	Patricia Bradshaw [1]
Undergraduates	available
Postgraduates	available
Location	Halifax, NS, Canada
Campus	Urban
Affiliations	AACSB, CPA, CGA, CFA, CIM, EFMD, BGS
Website	www.sobey.smu.ca

The Sobey School of Business is the AACSB-Accredited business school of Saint Mary's University (SMU), located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Originally established in 1934 as the Saint Mary's University Faculty of Commerce, the program was one of the first business programs in Canada. The school is consistently ranked as one of the top undergraduate business schools in Canada. It is the most comprehensive business school in Atlantic Canada.^[2] In 1992, the Faculty of Commerce was renamed the Sobey School of Business after Frank H. Sobey, the founder of Empire Company Limited and Sobeys. The Sobey School of Business offers a well-respected Bachelor of Commerce program, with a wide range of specialties, including finance, accounting, computing and information systems and human resource management and industrial relations, graduate-level programs including a business administration master's degree, a master of finance and a well-respected Ph.D. program.

The bright, modern Sobey Building, along with the joined Loyola building, house most of the School's classes. This Sobey-Loyola complex hosts classrooms, computer labs, faculty and administration offices, seminar rooms, research spaces, Doctoral student offices and separate student lounges for the MBA, MFin and B.Comm students. The Sobey School of Business also maintains a Business Development Centre on campus. The EMBA program and executive education facilities are housed in suites at the Halifax World Trade and Convention Centre, located in the core of downtown Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Accreditations & Recognition

Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB)

The Sobey School of Business is accredited by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International. Less than 5 percent of business schools worldwide (about 20^[3] in Canada) have earned this accreditation, the highest standard in management education.^[4]

Ranking

• The Sobey School of Business has been recognized as one of the top 5 business schools in Canada. The Bachelor of Commerce program at the Sobey School was ranked 5th among 47 Canadian universities.^[5]
• Corporate Knights' MBA rankings in 2012 ranked the Sobey School of Business 9th in the country,^[6]
• Canadian Business magazine’s 10th annual survey of Canadian MBA programs named the Sobey MBA program the best in Atlantic Canada and 6th overall in the country.^[7]

Beta Gamma Sigma

The Sobey School of Business is also a member of Beta Gamma Sigma. Beta Gamma Sigma is the honour society serving business programs accredited by AACSB International. Membership in Beta Gamma Sigma is the highest recognition a business student can receive in a business program accredited by AACSB International.^[8] Only five other Canadian Business Schools have attained membership in Beta Gamma Sigma.

Degree Programs—Undergraduate

The Sobey School of Business offers a comprehensive range of business degrees, starting with a reputable Bachelor of Commerce with 10 major options or specializations.

The current building of the Sobey School of Business

• Accounting
• Computing and Information Systems
• Economics
• Entrepreneurship
• Finance
• General Business Studies (Custom-Design)
• Global Business Management
• Honour Economics
• Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations
• Management
• Marketing

Certificate Programs

• Human Resource Management
• Financial Instrument Analysis

Admission - Undergraduate

Admission to the undergraduate level is very competitive. The Bachelor of Commerce program requires the successful completion of grade 12 English academic, Mathematics 11 and 12 or Advanced Mathematics 11 and 12 or Pre Calculus 12 or Calculus 12 and three additional academic grade 12 courses. Students are also required to hold a minimum 70% (applicants usually hold an average of high 70s to low 90s to be admitted to the program) coming from high school with no mark less than 60% required in the above courses.

Degree Programs—Graduate

The Sobey School of Business offers a wide array of graduate and doctorate level programs, including

• Ph.D. (Management)
• MBA program with concentrations on Finance, Management, Human Resources, Marketing, International Business, and Information systems.
• MBA (CPA Stream)
• Master of Management, Co-operatives and Credit Unions
• Graduate diploma in Co-operative Management
• Master in Finance
• EMBA
• Master of Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation
• Master of Applied Economics

Admission - Graduate Level

Admission to the Master of Business Administration program requires the applicant to have a four year degree in any discipline with at minimum a “B” average, a minimum score of 550 (average is 600) on the GMAT with a minimum competency in both quantitative and verbal skills and no less than a 5.0 on the GMAT essay; at least two years experience working full-time (including relevant post-degree experience)*; a strong proficiency in the English language; two professional references and "motivation and leadership potential".^[9]

• Applicants to the part-time MBA program are preferred to have at least four years of relevant post-degree experience.

Admission Requirements, MBA (CPA Stream)

• An undergraduate degree from a recognized university with a minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0 with the last 2 years GPA of 3.3 or higher.
• Two years of business-related work experience (any field) with a current position in an accounting related area.
• For non-English language candidates, minimum TOEFL 100; IELTS 7.0
• Must have successfully completed the course equivalency of the entry level pre-professional accounting education requirements of the CPA profession as outlined by the prevailing Canadian CPA competency map (minimum acceptable grade in these prerequisite courses is a C+ (67%) with an overall minimum average of B (73%))
• Must be in good standing with a provincial CPA professional body
• Upon admission, students are also required to register with the CPA Atlantic School of Business.

The Master of Finance, Master of Technology Entrepreneurship and Innovation, Master of Applied Economics and Master of Management, Cooperatives and Credit Unions each have special entrance requirements as well. For more information, check the webpage of each program.

Notable Alumni

• Robert P. Kelly – CEO of The Bank of New York Mellon (Former)
• Saeed El-Darahali – President & CEO of SimplyCast.com
• Dan LeBlanc – President & CEO of SportsDirect Inc.
• Wilfred P. Moore – Canada Senator, Nova Scotia
• Rania Llewellyn - Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking and Growth Development, Scotiabank
• Irwin Simon - President and CEO of Hain Celestial Group
• Mike Durland - CEO of Scotiabank, Global Banking & Markets division

References