The Master’s of Business Administration program at McGill University will be moving to a completely self-funded model this fall, effectively privatizing the program. McGill had announced in September its intentions to transition a related program, the executive MBA, to a self-funded model. Both programs will forfeit public funding and increase tuition to $29,500 per year, up from just over $3,200. Tuition for most students at McGill is set at just over $1,100.
In January, the provincial government threatened to decrease McGill’s operating grant if it went ahead with its plans for the executive MBA. Education Minister Michelle Courchesne has said that the university didn’t seek the government’s permission to increase fees.
According to the Desautels Faculty of Management, the two MBA programs were running a deficit of about $10,000 per student, which has required other faculties to heavily subsidize them.