When she finished university with a humanities degree, business school was nowhere on Suzanne Spragge’s radar. She worked as a charity fundraiser and considered law school. Now, she’s an assistant dean at U of T’s Rotman School of Management, one of the top business schools in Canada.
A new program aimed at arts and science students called Rotman Bridge to Business, set to launch this year, plans to produce similar success stories. The program will pair motivated undergrads who lack business skills with top employers who need the creative thinking that frequently comes with a humanities education.
Based on an American model, Bridge to Business is described as an intensive “MBA boot camp.” Over five weeks in June, talented liberal arts students will learn marketing, advanced financial analysis, presentation skills, and other staples of business training.
The program also offers professional mentoring with Rotman alumni (MBA students and current senior managers alike) and concludes with a round of job interviews that could see students landing full-time corporate positions right away-a platform to the rest of their career that a philosophy degree might not be able to muster.
Rotman is not looking to train battle-tested commerce students, stresses program director and Rotman prof Joe D’Cruz.
“The program is made for liberal arts and science students who have done it in a broad way. Employers really like these people because these people are the best thinkers and the best writers,” he says.
Sticking with a liberal arts education demonstrates initiative and self-confidence, explains D’Cruz.
“Students have taken on what looks like a risky road,” he said.
Like Spragge, Katie Atkinson didn’t have business on the radar when she graduated from U of T with a linguistics degree.
“I had no idea that Rotman even existed,” laughs Atkinson, who eventually joined the school as a data-entry clerk and is currently the Bridge to Business director of operations.
She sees the potential for a substantial job at the end of the program as a big draw. “When I was graduating, I felt like, ‘I will take any job that offers enough money,’ since there is no real specialization with an arts degree.”
Spragge, who eventually earned an MBA at the urging of friends, wishes that such a program had existed for her upon graduation.
“What was missing was the human contact to inform students of the possibilities,” she said.
To fill that need, program reps are currently running info sessions in the hopes of attracting the articulate, dedicated liberal arts students that employers covet but don’t know how to contact-students like Aaida Mamuji.
“I had this misconception of the business world being full of greedy rich people,” admits Mamuji, a fourth-year human bio and bioethics student who is also a VP with the Muslim Students’ Association.
After attending several info sessions about the program, however, her fears were assuaged.
“They are looking for socially aware students with a broad range of extra-curricular activities,” she said.
Though her eventual goal lies outside of business, Mamuji knows that she will need business skills when working in international health.
“The prospect of an MBA does look good, especially since there is the non-profit sector training,” she says.
This altruistic approach to helping students reach their potential may at first seem out of character for a business school, but Spragge explains that introducing students to business is ultimately good for Rotman.
There currently exists little knowledge about the MBA outside the commerce department, she said.
“This program will help dispel the myth that a lack of a background in business will close that door,” while also attracting “terrific applicants” to the MBA, she explained.
So far, students are listening. Melissa Lantsman, a third-year student in urban studies and economics, cites the lack of a set path for most liberal arts undergrads as a good selling point.
“What happens after fourth year? This program helps bridge that gap and open up a realm of possibilities,” she said, adding that taking the Bridge to Business after third year will help her “gear the arts and science knowledge to what really happens out there.”
At just under $5,000 per monthly session, the Bridge to Business program doesn’t come cheap, but Rotman administrators feel that the high quality of instruction from Rotman profs and the opportunities offered will provide a good return on the investment.
“The fees may look high, but the way to look at it is that this is the best investment you can make in yourself,” adds D’Cruz.
“Nothing good comes without some sort of sacrifice,” agrees Mamuji.
Corporate interest about this program in Canada is growing slowly. But Spragge hopes that Rotman’s industry reputation and the U of T brand will help sell the program to major companies, who would ideally help subsidize the training of their future employees.
Though hoping for a strong start, D’Cruz says that enrollment will be capped at 200 to allow for teamwork and peer feedback-key components of the training that he feels are lacking in today’s undergraduate experience. In Bridge to Business, he says, “each individual will have a rich opportunity to connect with quite a few people and will be really well-positioned to get a job.”
The Bridge to Business program’s inaugural session is slated to run this June 1-29. Applications are still being accepted, and more information can be found at http://b2b.rotman.utoronto.ca
