HEC Montréal

History

HEC Montréal was founded in 1907 by the Chambre de commerce de Montréal with the help of the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society. Built on the model of Grandes Écoles French style, the School was autonomous and had no link with a university.

Programs and trainings

HEC Montréal offers undergraduate, graduate and postgraduate programs, along with executive training and a platform for online courses.

PROGRAMS

HEC Montréal's BBA is offered in 3 different formats:

- French: core courses in French, followed by options which may be in French, English or Spanish. A semester abroad is optional but encouraged.

- Bilingual: core courses in French and in English, followed by options in French, English or Spanish. A semester abroad (or Campus Abroad program) is mandatory.

- Trilingual: core courses in French, Spanish and English, followed by a mandatory semester abroad (or Campus Abroad program), and options in any of the three.

The degree lasts 3 years for students from the province of Quebec (as they have completed a mandatory 2-year generalist college education before attending the school), or 4 years for foreign students, who need to take a preparatory year consisting of classes in calculus, algebra, languages and an introduction to the business world and economics. The preparatory year may just be taken in French.

After a series of core courses (microeconomics, macroeconomics, sociology, statistics, math, accounting, etc.) students can choose to take a specialization, a joint major (choice of 2 specializations) or a personalized major.

Student exchanges are very popular: over 350 students attend some of the 124 partner universities in 38 countries (Australia, Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, UK, Spain, Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, China, Japan, Sweden, etc.) and another 350+ students come from these universities to HEC Montreal.

International students make up a significant proportion of the student population (around 35%), and the most common origins are France, Northern Africa and Latin America.

Certificates are professional development programs lasting at least one year. They are diplomas in a specialized field of management, worth 30 North American university credits. HEC Montréal offers more than 25 certificates.

The MSc degree usually lasts between 18 and 24 months, and it can be taken with a research thesis or with a supervised project and additional courses. Candidates should hold a bachelor's degree (Master 2/Bac +5 for French candidates, exceptionally students with a Master 1/Bac +4 can be admitted, but not with just a Licence) in a field such as management, mathematics, engineering, psychology, economics or another field. Most students need to complete a few additional "preparation courses" from the final year of the BBA in order to prepare for their option.

Compared to most European master's degrees in business schools, the degree at HEC Montréal tends to be more focused on research and detailed understanding of the theory, and can be both a preparation for jobs as an analyst/consultant, as well as a preparation to pursue a PhD.

MSC students at HEC Montréal have a choice of 2 specializations in English, and 18 in French. For the specializations offered in English, students enrol in the thesis stream, consisting of 7 courses and a major research paper.

-Specializations in French: Affaires internationales, Analytique d'affaires, Comptabilité professionnelle, Contrôle de gestion, Développement organisationnel, Économie appliquée, Économie financière appliquée, Finance, Gestion des opérations, Gestion des ressources humaines, Gestions en contexte d'innovations sociales, Ingénierie financière, Intelligence d'affaires, Logistique internationale, Management, Marketing, Stratégie, Technologies de l'information

-Specializations in English: Global Supply Chain Management, International Business

Students enrolled in the Global Supply Chain Management may enroll in a double-degree with the Melbourne Business School: after 1 year spent at each institution, they obtain both the M.Sc. Global Supply Chain Management and a M.Sc. in International Business from Melbourne.

HEC Montréal offered four professional Masters, all in French:

-Maîtrise en droit, option fiscalité (LL. M.) (Master of Laws, Taxation option)

-Maîtrise en management (M.M.) des entreprises culturelles (Master of Management in Cultural Enterprises)

-Maîtrise en management (M.M.) et développement durable (Master of Management in Sustainable Development)

-Maîtrise ès sciences (M. Sc.) en commerce électronique (Master of Science (MSc) in Electronic Commerce)

The Masters in International Arts Management is jointly delivered by HEC Montréal, SDA Bocconi (Milan) and Southern Methodist University (Dallas). Students begin at SMU, studying international cultural policy, law and the economics of arts markets. They then continue at HEC Montréal, learning about project management, arts branding, marketing for cultural industries and other aspects of the arts business. Finally, they study strategy for the arts business and complete a masters thesis at SDA Bocconi. The program lasts one year.

The School also offers specialized, one-year graduate diplomas called D.E.S.S (diplômes d'études supérieures spécialisées) in French, for people who already hold a bachelor's degree and a small amount of work experience. Compared to the Master of Science degrees, the D.E.S.S tend to be more applied and focused on professional skills, whereas the MSc combines these with an extensive study of theory. The D.E.S.S are offered in E-Business, Financial Professions, Management, Management and Sustainable Development, Management of Cultural Organizations, Marketing Communication, Professional Accounting - CPA, Supply Chain Management, Human Resources and Taxation.

Two D.E.S.S. are offered overseas:
-D.E.S.S. in Management of the Energy Sector, offered together with the Sichuan Electric Power Corporation in China, entirely in English, exclusively for candidates who hold a bachelor's degree, have 2+ years of experience in the energy sector, and are sponsored by their employer. In 2014, the degree was also offered in Brazzaville (Congo) with support from the Congolese government.
-D.E.S.S. in Management, offered in Lebanon, taught in the facilities of USEK (Université du Saint-Esprit de Kaslik). Students can take additional credits after finishing the D.E.S.S. and obtain an MBA from USEK as well.

The HEC Montréal Short Graduate Programs (in French only) answer the needs of the business community by focusing on practical training and developing skills specific to a profession or field. These programs consist of 15 credits and are recognized with an attestation of studies.
-Microprogramme en amélioration de la performance des processus du système de santé et des services sociaux (Process Performance Improvement - Health and Social Services System)
-Microprogramme en analytique d'affaires – Énergie (Business Analytics - Energy Sector)
-Microprogramme en expérience utilisateur dans un contexte d'affaires (User Experience)
-Microprogramme en exploitation de données en intelligence d'affaires (Business Intelligence Data Applications)
-Microprogramme en gestion – Entrepreneuriat/Introduction or Avancé (Management - Entrepreneurship/Introduction or Advanced)
-Microprogramme en gestion de la chaîne logistique (Supply Chain Management)
-Microprogramme en gestion des arts et de la culture (Arts and Culture Management)
-Microprogramme en gestion des ressources humaines (Human Resources)
-Microprogramme en gestion et développement durable (Management and Sustainable Development)
-Microprogramme en internationalisation des affaires (Business Internationalisation)

The CPA Canada Professional Education Program (PEP) is offered by the Ordre des comptables professionnels agréés du Québec (CPA) in partnership with HEC Montréal and the Faculté des sciences de l’administration at Université Laval (FSA ULaval). It is a graduate-level university course lasting 16 to 24 months, and equips students to write the Common Final Examination to become CPAs. They can study part-time while continuing to work.

The École des dirigeants HEC Montréal offers five types of programs:
-Degree programs (MBA, EMBA McGill-HEC Montréal, MBA-ITC)
-Qualifying programs (MBA essentials, Parcours Experts series)
-Short training programs on a range of themes
-Customized training programs
-Customized lectures and support programs

The School offers MBA programs in French (full and part-time) as well as in English (full-time).

The Executive MBA Program is delivered for executives with over 15 years of experience, in collaboration with McGill University.

Offered in collaboration with Polytechnique Montréal, the MBA-ITC is exclusively for engineers.

POSTGRADUATE PROGRAMS

HEC Montréal offers a bilingual PhD program jointly with three other Montreal universities (McGill, Concordia and UQAM). The School PhD program offers 10 specializations: Accounting Studies, Applied Economics, Finance, Human Resources Management, Information Technologies, International Business, Logistics and Operations Management, Management, Management Sciences, Marketing

EDUlib is an online platform of free courses available to everyone around the world. Polytechnique Montréal and Université de Montréal are teaming up with HEC Montréal to produce and distribute open courses on health, educational studies, sciences, engineering, management and other subject matters.

Accreditations and distinctions

ACCREDITATIONS

DISTINCTIONS

-Since the Commerce Games (Jeux du commerce), an inter-university competition, were founded in 1989, HEC Montréal's students have brought home first place eleven times, second place four times and third place four times.
-HEC Montréal students also stand out at many international inter-university competitions, in all areas of management.

HEC Montréal Rankings

CANADIAN BUSINESS

FORBES

BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK

THE ECONOMIST

QS GLOBAL 200 BUSINESS SCHOOLS REPORT

INTERNATIONAL NEW YORK TIMES

The Decelles Campus : 1970–today

In 1970, Robert Bourassa inaugurated the Decelles building of HEC Montreal, named “the School on the mountain”. The students sometimes use the expression “Bunker” to refer to it. Indeed, its form, the (some say excessive) use of concrete for the exterior facade, and the absence of windows, quickly imposed this expression in the vocabulary of the students.

In 1976, the PhD program was proposed, in collaboration with McGill University. The MSc program was created the same year. This was perceived as a major evolution for the students and professors of HEC Montreal.

Under the presidency of Pierre Harvey (HEC 1948), the 75th anniversary of the School was celebrated in 1982 with René Lévesque, then Premier of Quebec, in attendance. The 7th floor of the Decelles building was inaugurated on this occasion.

As of 2012, the entire building has been renovated.

The Côte-Sainte-Catherine Campus: 1996–today

HEC Montréal's main building was constructed in 1996 and has since won an award for "institutional architecture. The building was designed by Dan Hanganu and Jodoin, Lamarre, Pratte and Associates The building is situated at 3000 Côte-Sainte-Catherine (Map), next to the Université-de-Montréal Metro Station. The former main building at 5255 Decelles (Map) is now used as a secondary building. The first building used by HEC Montréal was located in downtown Montreal but is no longer used by the school.

The trading floor of the School was inaugurated in 1997: it is conceived to be able to be used in case the Montreal Stock Exchange ever had major engineering problems. Now known as the Salle des marchés Financière Banque Nationale, it was renovated in 2007 in order to remain technologically avant-garde.

Notable alumni