Do I have a chance for the MIRHR program at UofT?

[Serene6]

Anyone receive acceptance or rejection offers from UofT for the Master of Industrial Relations & Human Resources program? 

 

Also, if you don't mind, can you please share what your GPA was from the last two years? I'm afraid I'm slightly below the minimum requirement (3% below), so I was wondering if I might have a chance. Over the course of my undergrad studies, I've completed one internship, and had a business case accepted for publishing - mainly for the use of a course, and am in receipt of an offer from Queen's University's Business School. Would any of this boost my application? 

 

Extremely nervous and anxious because this is the program/career I want to pursue. 

 

 

[ghr]

Hello,

 

I intend to apply to MIRHR program at University of Toronto for September 2014 admission. I wonder if you have been admitted, and what is your opinion about the school?

 

I am an international student with solid 2 years experience in Human resources. My bachelor degree is in Education/Languages, GPA 3.71/4 . 

 

Any input will be much appreciated!

 

Best

[semitch]

I am also applying. I am a bit worried about my GPA as I have a 3.34/4 coming from a B.comm management major. Any input? Have you submitted your application yet?

[ghr]

Hello Semitch,

 

I have submitted my application a week ago. All supporting documents have been received by admission office. In which stage is your application? I think your GPA is good for this program. 

 

Glad to be connected! 

[semitch]

Ghr,

I have also submitted everything and all supporting documents have been received except one academic reference. That should be completed soon. I was a bit nervous as it's a small program and I do have above the minimum requirement but wasn't sure.

[ghr]

Semitch,

 

Good luck! 

 

I will appreciate if you share your opinion about this program. I am applying from Armenia, and it has been very hard for me to get connected with already enrolled students to learn their experience. How competitive is this school in Canada?

 

Best 

[semitch]

Ghr,

I'm in Canada, not Toronto, but I don't know many people in the program. I hear it's quite competitive as it is a very small program (30-40) students from my understanding are admitted, which is why I was worried about my GPA

[zyphere]

Semitch,

 

Good luck! 

 

I will appreciate if you share your opinion about this program. I am applying from Armenia, and it has been very hard for me to get connected with already enrolled students to learn their experience. How competitive is this school in Canada?

 

Best 

 

Hello. I am a recent graduate of the program (within the last 3 years).

 

The program has been under a fair amount of expansion since the time I applied. Even as a student there, I noticed that the class sizes have gradually increased over the last several years, and they continue to do so. So in that sense, it's possible it may be easier to get into the program now (but the fact that there are more spots might also be offset by a larger applicant pool).

 

When you ask about how competitive it is, are you asking about the admission process? Based on my experience, I would say that it is NOT as competitive as most other graduate/professional programs, especially the ones at UofT.

 

A 3.3 GPA will get you a decent chance of being admitted. I do know of people with a 3.3 GPA (or in percentage terms, high 70s) who were admitted to the program.

[semitch]

Thanks for your insight Zyphere, 

 

Yeah, I spoke to a current student in the program (in the 12 month) and she said it was expanding. However, your right it might mean a larger applicant pool which will lead to the same competitiveness overall. 

 

I was asking about the admission process and more about how it works. I do have a 3.3 GPA and (if you calculate my GPA for the past 2 academic years, it's slightly higher at around 3.4). Along with that, I believe I wrote a fairly good personal statement and got some good recommendations from two professors at my current university. 

 

I was also wondering how experience is taken into account for admissions. They say none is required but they do require a resume. If you can give your insight into that, it would be helpful. 

 

As well, do you know when people usually hear about their offer of admission or rejections?

 

Thanks.

[ghr]

Zyphere, thank you for sharing your experience.

 

Best,

Ghr

[zyphere]

Quite honestly I don't think the experience counts for much. My hunch is that they look at your academics first. And then when there are two individuals with similar academic achievements, they might use the work experience as the differentiator (i.e. giving preference to the one with HR/IR work experience). The vast majority of the students that are admitted to the full-time program (both the 1 and 2-year programs) do not have any significant HR experience. Typically, the only ones that do are the ones that studied HR in undergrad and were fortunate enough to land a summer job/co-op job in HR.

 

Having said that, it's possible some preference may be given to students who have some level of professional work experience (be it HR-related or not). It's just that there aren't too many of these applicants. Maybe they look for transferable skills into HR. Or they might just be making a simple assessment of the applicant's employability later on after graduation. In turn, if they admit more employable students, graduates of the program will have higher success rates finding jobs. This will contribute to the reputation/success of the program. As an example, I did have some peers who were admitted to the program with very little work experience and consequently were not very employable. They had a rather difficult time finding jobs (some taking up to a year after graduation, and many of them jumping around in contract/temp jobs, with others simply being employed in very junior-level administrative roles). You might argue that it's the program's job to make the students employable, but maybe they look at work experience just to get a preliminary idea of that.

 

The work experience may count for more when it comes to decisions for admitting part-time students. Many such applicants have been in the workforce/out of school for some time, so gleaning valuable information from their transcripts, letters of reference, etc. may be difficult. In such cases the admissions committee may refer to work experience to identify more high potential applicants and select from those. In this sense, I suppose the MIRHR program is aspiring to achieve what business schools do -- boost the number of students/alumni with significant standing in the industry and professional community in order to increase the reputation of the program by virtue of association.

 

This is all just speculation. But if it were me and I was trying to increase the program's respectability, this is what I'd do.

Edited March 22, 2014 by zyphere

[semitch]

Thanks again for the insight. I do not have much HR/IR related experience, so that is why I asked. However, I did study Management and, therefore, took some HR classes throughout my undergrad. I hope to hear soon as I am still anxiously waiting, but I believe they only start telling people at the end end of March and into April. 

[zyphere]

The timing in my case was that I received notice from them in around mid-March. I did have a very competitive application though so they might have sent out my acceptance as part of an early batch.

 

I think you should be hearing from them soon. 

[semitch]

Thanks. I hope so!

[ghr]

Syphere,

 

Your insight regarding work experience is very helpful to understand the selection that the admission will make.

 

Did you have international students in your class? If yes, what percent of the class are foreign students?  

 

Thanks!

[skippy12]

Hey guys, I'm also interested in applying for the MIRHR program at uoft. I did my undergrad at uoft - earned a Honours Bachelor of Arts degree with Distinction. I have a 3.36 CGPA and a 3.55 gpa for last 2 year combined (3.38 and 3.72). I'm quite worried about my gpa since it's not very high, and I know that the program is extremely competitive to get into. Also, I do not have any experience in HR. Do you guys think I have any shot of getting in? I plan to apply to the 2 year program. Thanks

Edited June 11, 2014 by skippy12

[OneC]

The timing in my case was that I received notice from them in around mid-March. I did have a very competitive application though so they might have sent out my acceptance as part of an early batch.

 

I think you should be hearing from them soon. 

 

.... Has anyone heard of the earliest offers of admission that the MIRHR program sends out?

I applied November 1st, just wondering if they look at earlier applicants vs later applicants in any priority sequence?