Have a question? Please check our Frequently Asked Questions below. If you don't find what you're looking for, Contact Us.
- Why Ivey HBA?
- Secondary Students & AEO Pre-Admission
- HBA Admission for Years 3 & 4
- Transfer & International Students
It stands for Honours Business Administration.
All leading business schools now use cases. In fact, many other Canadian business schools currently use Ivey cases. All business schools also teach technical business skills. The true distinction of an Ivey HBA is in the Ivey Leadership Essentials that are strongly developed in every HBA grad - they are at the core of everything we do at Ivey. These Leadership Essentials are developed through a powerful combination of five interlinked elements, ranging from how we select our students all the way through to how we train and support our HBA graduates for their careers.
The Ivey HBA and the Bachelor of Management and Organizational Studies Programs at Western are structured differently and prepare students with different knowledge and skills. The BMOS Program is made up of a wide variety of courses from the Faculties of Arts, Social Science and Science. The true distinction of an Ivey HBA is in the Ivey Leadership Essentials that are strongly developed in every HBA grad - they are at the core of everything we do at Ivey. These Leadership Essentials are developed through a powerful combination of five interlinked elements, ranging from how we select our students all the way through to how we train and support our HBA graduates for their careers.
Ivey does not offer a co-op program but it does have summer internship opportunities for students. Ivey has outstanding career management support for both summer and permanent employment. It is part of our HBA 1 curriculum to teach career strategies to students. For the HBA Class of 2018, 95% of our students found summer employment with an average weekly salary of $940. These summer internships allow students to gain work experience without taking any time away from their classes. Approximately, 33% of the graduating class of 2017 who reported their status, translated their summer employment opportunity to a full-time role with the same organization. Please note that statistics vary with the economy and that students must also work hard to secure positions.
Ivey has outstanding career management support for both summer and permanent employment. In 2017, approximately 20% of students went into consulting, 9% pursued accounting, 33% went into finance/corporate banking, 10% went into Technology/Telecommunications, 7% pursued marketing/consumer-packaged goods roles and the remainder obtained employment in a wide variety of roles in non-profits, NGOs, arts organizations, entertainment, etc. Please note that statistics vary with the economy and that students must also work hard to secure positions.
Some students choose to complete a three year degree in their initial program before coming to Ivey. As well, Ivey does offer a dual degree with several programs. Please see /hba/program-details/dual-degree-opportunities/ for more information.
The Ivey HBA program, in combination with the Western Graduate Diploma in Accounting, provides students with all of the required courses for the CPA designation and results in advanced standing in the CPA Professional Education Program.
HBA students are eligible to apply for financial aid and scholarships through both Ivey and Western. Bursaries and Scholarships available through Ivey are only available upon entering the HBA Program. Ivey Scholarship decisions will generally be released with your offer of admission. Flexible banking opportunities are also available to HBA students. Learn more.
Also see:http://www.registrar.uwo.ca/student_finances/bursaries.html for more information.
The financial commitment of the HBA Program is an investment that holds great potential for significant personal and professional returns. Program value is important to consider. We deliver an integrated program with sections, dedicated faculty teams, case method teaching and events. For comparison purposes, it is important to look at the four year cost of a degree. For the first two years students pay regular Western tuition (approx. $8000/year) and then Ivey tuition for years three and four (approx. $28,000). We are about equal to our nearest competitor and HBA graduates’ published higher starting salaries (2017 average Ivey starting compensation was $68,873) as compared to our nearest competitor, typically about $5,000 higher. Most schools do not publish their employment stats. Quality summer internships can also help offset HBA 2 tuition. Read more on our employment report.
The Ivey HBA program finished its expansion in 2013 with 8 sections of 75-76 students. In order to grow the program while maintaining the quality of applicants and to increase diversity in the classroom, Ivey broadened its recruitment activities geographically. In the early 2000s, almost all of Ivey’s HBA students came from within a two-hour drive of London. Now almost 15% of the class comes from outside Ontario. The competitive averages for AEO and HBA have not changed during our period of growth and in respect of HBA in particular have gone up in the last two years. Further, in spite of the growth in the number of students in the program, career placement results have remained as strong as ever with 94% of 2017 HBA graduates being placed within three months of graduating with average starting compensation on average of $68,873.
At this time we will not be offering in-person Ivey HBA campus tours. We invite students to complete the Book a 1:1 Call request form. A member of our HBA Recruiting and Admissions team would be pleased to connect with you directly.
Calls are available Monday - Friday only (9 a.m. - 3 p.m. EST).
Click here for more information.
AEO stands for Advanced Entry Opportunity.
Go to Application Process - Secondary School Students for information on what we look for in AEO applicants.
For Ontario students, any one of the three "U" level grade 12 math courses (MHF4U Advanced Functions, MCV4U Calculus and Vectors, or MDM4U Math of Data Management) will fulfill the math requirement for the Ivey HBA program. One is not preferred over another. The admission requirement for students outside of Ontario is similar: any grade 12 equivalent math course for university bound students. Please also ensure that you meet any math requirements for the program you choose to study for your first two years at Western or its affiliated colleges.
For Ontario students, your average is calculated using your top 6 U or M level courses, including 4U English. Western will not use your math grade in your average for AEO unless it is one of your top 6 grades.
Please note that Western may use different courses to calculate your average for the program to which you’ve applied for years 1 and 2, depending on that programs requirements.
Go to Application Process - Secondary School Students for Ivey AEO Progression Requirements.
Please note that applying for AEO status is a two-step process:
- Apply for the Advanced Entry Opportunity (AEO) using Ivey's application form. Ivey AEO status is a separate decision and notification process from your admission to Western. The 2023 AEO Application will open October 1, 2022.
- Apply for admission to Western or one of its affiliated university colleges through the Ontario Universities Application Centre (OUAC) at www.ouac.on.ca. Choose any academic program or module at Western for your first two years of university study. Please indicate your interest in Ivey AEO status on your Western application.
The Ivey AEO extends conditional, pre-admission to the HBA Program to students who choose to study at Western or one of its affiliated university colleges (in a faculty of their choice) for their first two years of university. Approximately 2/3 of our Ivey HBA class have AEO status. The remaining 1/3 are students from Western and other universities who discover an interest in business during their first two years of study. There are additional benefits to having AEO status other than the conditional pre-admission to the HBA Program. The Ivey HBA Program Office hosts several events during your first two years so that you have the benefit of being familiar with the school before entering in third year.
No, checking the Ivey AEO box on the OUAC website indicates to Western that you also intend to apply for Ivey AEO status. You must still complete the Ivey AEO application found on our website. This application allows you to provide details of your achievements in extra-curricular activities.
We want you to pursue your personal interests and we value each area of leadership equally, from student government, to athletics, to music, to community events, just to name a few. For example, if you are passionate about athletics - lead within your chosen sport(s), if you are passionate about student government - lead within your student councils. What is most important to us is that you show a well-rounded dedication to your community and that you can achieve in positions of leadership and increasing responsibility. It is not the number of leadership involvements you have that are important to us, but rather the degree of achievement, commitment and balance.
No, your Ivey AEO status offer will be communicated separately and is an independent admission decision from your Western offer. However, Ivey only extends offers of Ivey AEO status to students who have received an offer of admission from Western.
Current Ontario high school students will have their grades sent to Ivey by OUAC. Out of Province and International applicants (105) can send updated transcripts to hba@ivey.ca in order to ensure their most up-to-date grades are received and assessed.
Your achievement outside of the classroom is very important to our decision. In fact, only at Ivey is your achievement outside of the classroom as important to us as your academic achievement - it is truly a 50/50 balance between academic achievement and leadership contribution.
Yes, you can use a teacher at your school as the contact for an activity. Please include an up-to-date email address and phone number for your teacher.
It is not necessary to have entrepreneurial experience to apply to AEO, nor will a lack of entrepreneurial experience affect your chances of being selected. The admissions committee will look at the whole individual when making their decision.
Both are Ontario high school level courses. U level courses are in the "university bound" stream and M level courses are in both the university and college stream. You can take any combination of U and M level courses in high school. For AEO, you will need to meet the U level math requirement only; however, you should ensure that you are taking the correct courses for the faculty you are applying to at Western.
Ivey doesn't calculate the admission average, Western central admissions does. In addition, they will calculate several different averages throughout the admission process. For Ontario students, they will calculate your admission average using your 6 highest courses including English. They will also include the required prerequisites for your program as specified by Western. Western will also provide Ivey with the average of your 6 highest courses including English and we will typically use the highest average. For more details about the admission average calculation, please contact Western Central Admissions at welcome@uwo.ca or 519-661-2100.
You should receive a confirmation as soon as you submit your Ivey AEO application online.
Grades for AEO applications are reviewed at a few different points, grade 11, first term and mid-year. We do not make offers on Grade 11 grades, but will make offers to some students with strong applications with competitive first term Grade 12 grades.
Ivey's admissions team will review each application carefully. Once we receive, from Western's Registrar's Office, admission averages and notification that you have been admitted to Western, we will begin making offers. As a result, the first round of AEO offers is made mid March while the majority of offers are made in April and May.
It is important to follow the requirements of your particular program. Review the First Year Calendar, attend Summer Academic Orientation, or consult with an academic counsellor to make sure that your course selection in first year will allow you in second year to enter the module/program that interests you. If possible, Business 1220E, while not mandatory, is a useful introduction to Ivey's case method.
Approximately 80% of AEO students wanting to continue on to the HBA program make it to the program. Some students decide that their interests lie elsewhere and they pursue Masters programs or professional programs like Medicine, Law, etc.
As part of the Ivey AEO status, you will be required to complete 10.0 full university credits during your first two years at Western. While credits may be obtained through Advanced Standing, these credits cannot be counted towards the 10.0 full courses required for Ivey AEO progression, as each year you will be required to enroll in 5.0 full courses. You may decide to apply after one full year of university if you have 10.0 full courses, (for example, 5.0 Advanced Standing credits and 5.0 Western credits) but you would no longer have AEO status and would be considered with the regular HBA applicant pool. We find students who pursue this option are rarely competitive for the HBA program as they do not have the breadth of extracurricular involvement we are looking for. In addition, some students will overextend themselves with their courses and hence do not perform academically as well as they could have if they had enrolled in a more balanced course load.
Generally, a competitive IB score for AEO consideration is 38 points and higher (including bonus points). For more information on Western and the IB, please click here or you can contact Western Admissions directly at 519-661-2100 or e-mail welcome@uwo.ca.
Students can have AEO status at Western or one of its affiliated university colleges (Brescia University College, Huron University College and King's University College).
Please request a deferral from your program at Western first. Please tell them the reason you want the deferral, what you plan to do in the year off and that you do not plan to attend another university in that time. Please forward a copy of Western's approval along with an email from you outlining the reason for your request to hba@ivey.ca.
You should take a first year university math that is one of the "pure" math subjects - Calculus, Algebra/Geometry or Finite. Please note, Western’s Introductory Calculus (Mathematics 0110 A/B) course or a pre-university level math course taken at a transfer university does not count towards the 10.0 credits required for admission to the HBA Program.
If you take a course during the Summer Intersession, the grade is not included in your overall average providing you have a total of 5.0 credits in both year one and year two. However, if Business 2257 is one of the courses that you take during Intersession, this grade will be included in your overall average since Business 2257 is a pre-requisite to apply to the HBA program. Your average would then be based on 11.0 credits (5.0 credits year 1, 5.0 credits year 2 and 1.0 credit Intersession). For a competitive application you should be enrolled in a full course load (5.0 credits each year). If you have taken a course during Intersession, it is still recommended that you are enrolled in a full course load the following school year. The Admission Committee carefully reviews the average that was maintained while in a full course load. This grade gives them a good indication if you will be able to handle the rigour of the Ivey HBA Program. If you apply to the HBA program after two years of university, all first year courses will be included in your average. You do not have the option to remove some grades from the overall average calculation. However, if you apply to the HBA program after your third year, your average is based on the 10.0 most recently completed courses. This would be the courses from your second and third year and none of your first year course grades would be included in your overall average (provided you have completed 10.0 credits during years 2 and 3). Your first year average would still be noted on your file but not calculated in the overall average.
Students can study in any program at any university and be considered for admission to the HBA Program. Students typically apply for admission to the HBA Program during second year but can also apply during their third or fourth year of university. Please note, students in their third year or higher of a commerce program at another university are not eligible for the HBA Program. Grades from the most recently completed 10.0 university credits are included in an HBA admission average calculation. It is important to enroll in a full course load each year and follow the requirements of your current program. The Admission Committee reviews your grades, the level and difficulty of your course selection and the grade achieved in Business 2257 or the equivalent courses. To be eligible for admission to the HBA Program, Business 2257 (or equivalent) must be repeated if the final grade is less than 70.0%. A competitive overall average is 80% or higher based on your most recently completed 10.0 credits. It is important to remember that your leadership/extracurricular profile is equally as important as your academic achievements.
To complete combined degrees, study in one of the faculties listed on this site for your first two years (with the exception of Law). While in your first year at Ivey (HBA 1), apply for one of the combined degree programs. If admitted, you will spend your fourth and fifth years of university studying a combination of business courses and required courses in your second degree area. In five years (with the exception of Law), you will have completed two degrees.
An overall average calculation includes grades from all courses completed during the past two academic years – not on the ‘top’ 10.0 grades.
Students should consider whether it is worthwhile to repeat a course to improve their overall average for application to the HBA Program. Both the original grade and repeated grade are included in an overall average calculation. Ivey does not take the best grade of two attempts at one course. For example, a student earned 70% in Business 2257 and had a 10-credit average of 78% over his/her first two years. This student decides to repeat the Business 2257 course and earns 85%. The student’s new overall 11-credit average for the two years will be 78.64% using a weighted average calculation.
Transferable credits will be determined by Ivey Admissions after the HBA application deadline for students currently studying at Canadian and US universities. Please note, courses with a final grade of less than 60% or a course weight less than .5 credit are not considered for transfer.
Applicants to the HBA Program who are studying at international universities are required to apply to Western through the Ontario Universities Application Centre (www.ouac.on.ca) in addition to submitting the online HBA application (www.ivey.uwo.ca/hba). The Central Admissions Department at The University of Western Ontario will assess international transcripts to determine transferable credits after the application deadline. Applicants from an international university must meet Western's admission requirements before they can be considered for admission to Ivey's HBA Program.
There is a lot of student housing available within walking distance from the campus or downtown which is about a 10 minute bus ride (Western students get bus passes automatically). Ivey HBA Transfer Applicant Facebook groups can help you find roommates. The following links are also helpful:
Off-Campus Housing: https://offcampus.uwo.ca/
London FreePress: https://classifieds.lfpress.com/london/for-rent-condos-apartments/search
Western News: http://communications.uwo.ca/com/classifieds_menu/
Western Housing: https://offcampus.uwo.ca/
Ivey has a great orientation week including Transfer Day where transfer students get to network, learn how to use cases, get a campus tour and find out where to get their student card. HBAs are in a section of 75-76 students for their entire first year at Ivey. This allows students to get to know each other quickly and form lifelong friendships. There is a family feel to the section and students are readily willing to help each other.
Students in a co-op program are ineligible to apply to the HBA Program in second year if they are unable to complete 10.0 transferable credits, Business 2257 (or approved equivalent courses) and the math requirement by June 29th of second year. Final grades/transcripts must be received at Ivey by the end of June.
Students completing a co-op while in a Commerce or Business Program (including double majors) are ineligible to apply to Ivey if they have completed more than two years (4 semesters) in their program.
All combined degrees, with the exception of HBA & Law (JD), must have all credits completed at Western. HBA transfer students are able to pursue the HBA & Law (JD) program since the first two years of university can be completed in any program at any university.
Unfortunately, we cannot accept exchange students into the 3rd year--which is the first year of the Ivey HBA program. Ivey has a bilateral exchange program where exchanges take place between Ivey and other business schools where we have an established exchange agreement. Ivey does not participate in university-wide exchange agreements.
We like to see the average that was maintained while enrolled in a full course load. If you have completed a total of 10.0 credits at the end of year two, we do not include grades from any courses taken during the Summer or Intersession. If, however, the applicant only has 9.5 credits due to a fail or a withdrawal, we would then use the course that was taken during Intersession in order to have enough credits to meet the pre-requisites of the HBA program. If Business 2257 is taken during Intersession, this grade will be included in your overall average since it is a prerequisite of the HBA program. If you had a full course load in years one and two and took Business 2257 during Intersession then your average would be based on 11.0 credits.
When you submit your HBA application you should also ask your University to send interim transcripts to our office. This will provide us with your grades from first year and will be used in calculating your average.
You must complete both parts of financial and managerial accounting courses in order to use them in place of our Business 2257. You may apply to our HBA program during your third year of studies if you need to complete the Business 2257 equivalent requirement. You could check with other universities in Canada to see if there is a managerial accounting course that you could take during May and June so that the mark will be available in time for our admissions decisions. We do not use work experience in place of academic prerequisites.
Because of the integrated and dynamic design of the HBA 1 timetable, it is not possible to take a course at Western during HBA 1.