<p>Hi, I am a Canadian. I want to pursue a master in Economics in the States. Due various reasons, i have to attend a uni in Canada. Which of these programs would best prepare me for grad school?</p>
<p>1) University of Toronto- Rotman Commerce (Rotman MBA is very good but its undergrad program is so-so)</p>
<p>2) York University- International Bachelor of Business Administration (one of the most selective business program here in Canada, personally i don't buy into the hype since i'm not a big believer in "learning" to run a company)</p>
<p>3) University of Waterloo- Mathematics/Charted Accountant (I would receive a Bachelor of Mathematics for this program. I think Waterloo math is world renowned. Accounting is like the official business language so i assume that it'd be beneficial to learn)</p>
<p>I'm sure that you guys will have a significant different perception of these programs and i'd like to hear them. If you have to pick one, which one would it be?</p>
<p>If you want to go to grad school, not business school, I would say Waterloo. A good math background is important for economics. You also don’t sound too excited about your other choices.</p>
<p>LOL don’t give advice if you don’t know the schools!
McGill’s management isn’t that great.</p>
<p>UT’s Rotman also isn’t one of Canada’s top business schools. From what I’ve heard, the best are usually Western’s Ivey and also Schulich.
Thus among those three choices, I’d pick the iBBA at York’s Schulich.
(of course, you might get some more informed responses on a Canadian forum haha.)</p>
<p>These are all business programs, not econ programs.</p>
<p>Most of the top American econ departments do not offer master’s degrees. They only award them to Ph.D. candidates on track to earn the Ph.D. In fact, there really are no elite master’s programs in econ in the U.S., many Americans end up going to Canadian (UBC, Queen’s) and European schools (LSE) if they need a master’s degree to fix up their profile for Ph.D. admissions (although the best can obviously be admitted straight out of undergrad). Unlike in Canada, a master’s degree in economics in the U.S. isn’t for people who don’t want to work in academia.</p>
<p>None of these programs will prepare you for econ grad school or for good admissions results to econ grad schools. You’ll need to study mathematics and economics at a high level (and these business programs will require you to take fluff business courses that will waste your time), usually up to real analysis and graduate courses in economics. Also keep in mind that econ grad school is extreme quantitative and difficult. It’s nothing like economics you may have studied in high school. It may or may not be for you.</p>
<p>I think you’re slightly confused about your interests. Just know that if you intend to study econ in grad school you’ll need to take and succeed in rigorous courses far beyond the undergrad business curriculum (which comparatively speaking is easy) and be the best student your school has seen in a long time if you want to break into the top five or so grad schools. Basically, you at least need to be a student who should have gotten into MIT for undergrad to have any chance of getting into their Ph.D. program, for example.</p>
<p>I suspect that your interest is in business and not in economics since you’ve selected pre-professional programs. If you want to work in business you should go to U of T or York. If you actually want to become an economist, UBC and Queen’s are the best undergrad schools for econ in Canada.</p>
<p>PM me if you want to know anything else. I’m pretty knowledgeable; my sister’s an econ grad student and we talk about things like this all the time.</p>
