Strategy Field Study: Students

What is the Schulich Field Study?

• The Strategy Field Study, or the ‘601’, is the capstone course of the Schulich MBA program. It is an intensive, eight-month project where groups of six to seven second year graduate students undertake a comprehensive strategic analysis of an organization and its environment.
• Each group is comprised of students with a strong grounding in management and a variety of background and specializations.
• The group finds a company or organization that is willing to take part in the study (80 organizations participate every year) and then spends the remainder of the eight months analyzing the company and preparing its report.
• An Advisory Panel of three Schulich professors provides direction and oversight throughout the project.
• The Strategy Field Study is broken into five Phases. In the final Phase of the Strategy Field Study the student group presents its final report to the client’s senior management. The client is left with a report and presentation that:
  • exhibits a thorough understanding and analysis of the client and its internal and external environment;
  • provides a detailed financial analysis of the organization;
  • identifies the key strategic issues that it is facing;
  • analyses and evaluates the strategic alternatives;
  • provides recommendations to effectively address the key issues facing the organization; and
  • furnishes a detailed implementation plan to execute the recommended courses of action.

Faculty Chairs

James Mackay
Alan Middleton
Kelly Lecouvie
Jane-Michele Clark
Barbara Henders
John Milne
Larry Ginsberg
Steve Pulver
Kostas Tsambourlianos