Queen’s School of Business and Richard Ivey School of Business have been named CFA Program Partners, recognized for curriculum that is closely tied to professional practice, the CFA Institute announced this week.

The Institute, which is the global association that awards the CFA designation, partners with institutions that cover a significant portion of the CFA Program Candidate Body of Knowledge and that embrace the CFA Institute Code of Ethics and Standards of Professional Conduct in their degree programs. Around the world, the CFA Institute has 105 program partners.

Recognition as a CFA Program Partner signals to potential students, employers, and the marketplace that the university curriculum is closely tied to professional practice and is well suited to preparing students to sit for the CFA exams. As part of the partnership, students in the partnering programs are entitled to scholarships, access to CFA Institute curriculum, journals, webcasts, and other educational resources. In addition, each student will have access to a specially prepared online Level I sample exam.

“We are thrilled to have two of Canada’s premier business schools join us in this partnership initiative and we look forward to working with both prestigious institutions in the future,” said Peter Jarvis, executive director for the Toronto CFA Society.

At Queen’s School of Business, three programs have been aligned as partner programs: the Bachelor of Commerce, MSc in Finance and the MBA program.

“The CFA designation is the gold standard for investment professionals and we are privileged to be one of an elite group of the CFA Institute global university program partners,” said Sean Cleary, BMO professor of finance and director of the Master of Management in Finance at Queen’s School of Business. “I am confident that our students, faculty and corporate recruiting partners will reap the benefits of this important relationship.”

Steve Foerster, professor of finance at the University of Western Ontario’s Richard Ivey School of Business, said, “Ivey is pleased to be joining with CFA Institute, such a highly-regarded partner, to provide this valuable opportunity to our students, particularly those who are seeking to obtain the CFA charter.”