Admission Requirements and Tuition Costs​

The CBU MBA is an accessible program, open to Canadian citizens and permanent residents of Canada who do not have an undergraduate degree and show potential for success in graduate level study.  Extensive career and/or volunteer experience are expected. These candidates will be assessed individually in such areas as experience and performance in a number of education/training courses.

Potential applicants can send their resumes and unofficial transcript(s) to mba@cbu.ca for a preliminary assessment of their program eligibility and potential for GMAT waiver.

Admission Requirements

  • Bachelor’s Degree with a B+ (75% average) from a recognized University
  • A completed application form, with the non-refundable application  fee
  • official transcripts for all previous post-secondary study
  • a resume detailing employment experience, skills, community involvement, and interests
  • a 500-800 word statement on the desire to enter the program
  • three reference letters, preferably including one professional and one academic reference, each accompanied by a completed reference form
  • Satisfactory scores on GMAT or GRE
  • Satisfactory scores on the TOEFL/IELTS(for students whose native language is not English)
  • Satisfactory performance in an interview
  • For Canadian candidates who do not have an undergraduate degree:

Canadian candidates who do not have an undergraduate degree, and show potential for success in graduate-level study, may be admitted to the MBA in CED as non-traditional students. Extensive career and/or volunteer experience are expected. These candidates will be assessed individually in such areas as experience and performance in a number of education/training courses. Applicants must provide all documentation listed above and a 4-6 page essay outlining their desire to enter the program.

Reference letters must be originals, and sent directly by the referees. Only official transcripts sent by the Registrar of the issuing institution will be accepted. The Educational Testing Service must forward GMAT, GRE, and TOEFL/IELTS score reports. Photocopies of any of these documents will not be accepted. 

To submit your references or to learn more about CBU’s Master of Business Administration in Community Economic Development program, please email mba@cbu.ca.

Tuition & Fees

Tuition is charged on a ‘pay as you go’ basis, where students only pay tuition for course registrations on a semester-by-semester basis.

2024-2025 tuition is $1,774.50 per course for online courses and courses delivered in-person on campus in Sydney, Nova Scotia, and $2,528.70 per course for in-person courses delivered off-campus (specifically, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Brandon, Toronto, and Kingston in-person courses).

A one-time MBA program fee of $440 is charged when students register for their first course, and a ‘seat confirmation’ fee of $300 is levied to secure space for students in their chosen cohort (the $300 seat confirmation fee is refunded or applied to the tuition of the first-course registration unless the student does not take courses after confirming enrolment, in which case the $300 fee is non-refundable).

These numbers are an estimate for planning purposes only. These numbers include tuition & fees for the entire MBA program.*

  • Canadian Residents
    • Studying on CBU campus (traditional Fall/Winter semester & July residency): $29,680.00
    • Studying in person, off-campus (weekend delivery): $41,200.00
      • This includes the Brandon, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Kingston and Toronto weekend delivery cohorts.
  • International Residents
    • Studying on CBU campus (traditional Fall/Winter semester & July residency): $49,290.00

*Tuition and fees are based on 2024-2025 academic budget in Canadian funds. Current exchange rates can be found at bankofcanada.ca

For detailed MBA tuition and fees, visit https://www.cbu.ca/future-students/tuition-fees/graduate-tuition/

Attend our Information Session

Upgrade your career online, on weekends with CBU’s MBA.

Canadians and Permanent Residents can now study CBU’s MBA in Community Economic Development on weekends in 6 cities across Canada in-person, or online anywhere in Canada where you live and work.

Join the Director any Thursday for an Online information session to learn more about our program’s flexible delivery.