Tuition: $22,350 (+3%) Length: 16 months
Program Highlights Quality specialties | Part-time option | Local connections | International connections
Website: www.business.ualberta.ca
For years, students have chosen the University of Alberta's MBA program for its strong reputation, respected faculty, and close ties to the province's robust economy. The energy boom has attracted people from around the world, bolstering the school's international street cred and diversifying the classroom experience. U of A's natural resources and energy specialization remains a popular choice, and is the chief draw for foreign students, who flock from China, India and South America.

"The school's got a significant portion of international students," says Aaron Rogers, who completed a joint law and MBA degree this spring. "It gives you a lot of perspective when you see how they do it in China, Iran, Nigeria. It's got a really global aspect."

But proximity to the oilpatch isn't U of A's only draw: it also offers degrees with specializations in international business, leisure and sport management, public management, and technology commercialization. The two-year program boasts small classes — about 45 students in the full-time program — and close relationships with business leaders. In the past three years, guest speakers included Vancouver billionaire Jim Pattison, Imperial Oil CEO Tim Hearn, New York Times columnist Paul Krugman and former Alberta premier Ralph Klein. A part-time program is also popular with those who have careers already in full swing, and the school recently established an outpost in Fort McMurray, where professors fly in on a monthly basis to bring the classroom experience to part-time students working directly in the oilsands region.

Field trips are also popular; last year's, to meet with energy industry insiders in Houston, got rave reviews. "We got a feel for how the energy market works down there, and how the U.S. market drives the world market," says Blair Jarvis, a process engineer with Syncrude in Calgary. "We met with an energy distribution company and learned about some of their more sophisticated business practices. It's good to get out of the bubble and see some other perspectives."