Welcome to DeGroote! We’re so excited to have you join our community as an incoming MBA student.
This webpage will help you prepare for what’s coming with information on key dates, deposits, visas and more. It will be updated for each cohort and feel free to reach out to us at mbadmis@mcmaster.ca with any questions.
For general information about the steps to take after accepting your offer, please be sure to review the information on the School of Graduate Studies website. Please note that there may be information on this page that does not apply to MBA students, but much of this information is very helpful for new grad students!
In order to secure your acceptance, you are required to pay a tuition deposit. The amount and deadline can be found on your offer letter. You will be able to pay your deposit after you have received your MacID activation. When you have your activation, proceed to Mosaic, where you will go to the Finances tab. Under the Finances tab of your Student Centre in Mosaic, you will see the Make a Payment Button located on the right-hand side of this section. Please follow the instructions to pay your deposit.
Please visit the Student Accounts and Cashiers website for instructions on how to pay your deposit using your preferred payment option.
As you prepare to start the program in a few months, we know that there are various aspects to consider, including the visa approval process. Ensuring that your visa is in order is a crucial step to guarantee a smooth transition to campus life and academic studies. To facilitate this process, we kindly request you to fill out the Visa Update Form.
Completing this form will allow us to keep track of the progress of your visa application and set you up for success as you embark on your DeGroote MBA pathway. It is important for us to have up-to-date information, so that we can effectively prepare for your arrival!
You will also see questions about your passport process. Although it may be a little early to have your passport stamped now, we have included these questions so you can update the form after each step you complete on your journey to Canada and starting the program.
Please keep a copy of your form link, so you can edit your response any time. After submitting all your answers, you will see a hyperlink labeled Edit your response and can use this to update your answers in your form in the future. Please save this link.
Chandani Sheth will be your Onboarding Officer and she will provide you with support as you transition into the program! Add her email to your safe sender’s list (mba.studentexperience@mcmaster.ca). You can expect to receive a follow-up email with your Welcome Guide shortly!
See below for your 2025 Onboarding Dates. Be sure to mark these dates in your calendar as attendance is mandatory.
Closer to your September start, more detailed information regarding your Onboarding programming will be available through this website.
All Onboarding events will be taking place in-person at the Ron Joyce Centre in Burlington, ON
Dates are tentative. Any updates to these dates will appear on this webpage as they become available.
International Students: Your full-time program commitment starts on August 25th, 2025. Plan to arrive in Canada prior to this date to begin the program.
Domestic Students: Your full-time program commitment starts on September 2nd, 2025.
Mandatory Onboarding: Program orientation and onboarding is scheduled on TBD. Attendance is mandatory.
MBA Students Mandatory Onboarding Program orientation and onboarding is scheduled on TBD. Attendance is mandatory.
Attention Full-Time MBA, MBA with Co-op, and Accelerated Full-Time students – To help to prepare you for your career journey, our Career and Professional Development team will deliver a virtual career launch course prior to the program starting in September. These sessions will be virtual and more information will be provided closer to the start of the course.
For those Full-Time & Co-op students that received our 2025 GMAT Waiver: you are required to attend a virtual Quantitative Skills Refresher course in August. These will be offered over 2 half-day sessions, offered on two Saturdays.
The 2025 dates for the Quantitative Skills Refresher course are TBD. More information will be provided via email over the coming weeks.
BLPT MBA incoming students are strongly encouraged to attend a Quantitative Refresher course to help build their quantitative knowledge prior to the start of the program. The course will be virtual and there will be a short assessment to complete both pre- and post-course. Attendance is expected and will be monitored.
As part of the BLPT program, there are on-site academic components (residencies) that each student must attend (these are mandatory). The residencies take place once per month during a weekend at the Ron Joyce Centre in Burlington. The dates are outlined below for the next three years:
| Academic Year 2025-2026 |
Academic Year 2026-2027 |
Academic Year 2027-2028 |
|
| Fall | September 20-21, 2025
October 18-19, 2025 November 15-16, 2025 |
September 19-20, 2026
October 17-18, 2026 November 14-15, 2026 |
September 18-19, 2027
October 16-17, 2027 November 13-14, 2027 |
| Winter | January 10-11, 2026
February 7-8, 2026 March 7-8, 2026 |
January 9-10, 2027
February 6-7, 2027 March 6-7, 2027 |
January 8-9, 2028
February 12-13, 2028 March 11-12, 2028 |
| Spring/Summer | May 9-10, 2026
June 13-14, 2026 July 11-12, 2026 |
May 8-9, 2027
June 12-13, 2027 July 10-11, 2027 |
May 13-14, 2028
June 17-18, 2028 July 15-16, 2028 |
At DeGroote, we’re committed to doing business differently. We develop thoughtful leaders who are committed to challenging and rethinking the status quo. Our mission is to make a meaningful impact through knowledge creation, student-centred learning and community engagement.
