Cost and structure of education in Canada
Type of study | Age | Duration | Min. cost | Avg. cost | Min. language levelEnglish / French | Exams |
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Summer Camp | 6-17 | 1-4 weeks | 110 USD/week | 1,830 USD/week | A1 | - |
Language School | 16+ | 2-24 weeks | 110 USD/week | 2,928 USD/week | A1 | - |
Secondary education | 6-18 | 11-12 years | 5,857 USD/year | 8,053 USD/year | B1 | IELTS 5.0-5.5 / DELF B1 |
Foundation | 16+ | 1 year | 7,321 USD/year | 18,302 USD/year | B1 | IELTS 5.0-5.5 / DELF B1 |
Colleges | 17+ | 1-4 years | 1,464 USD/year | 7,321 USD/year | B2 | IELTS 6.0-6.5 / DELF B2 |
Bachelor’s | 17 + | 3-4 years | 14,641 USD/year | 1,977 USD/year | B2 | IELTS 6.0-6.5 / DELF B2 |
Master’s | 20+ | 1-3 years | 7,321 USD/year | 12,958 USD/year | C1 | IELTS 7.0-7.5 / DALF C1 |
MBA | 20+ | 2 years | 28,551 USD/year | 38,653 USD/year | C1 | IELTS 7.0-7.5 / DALF C1 |
Doctoral | 20+ | 3-6 years | 7,321 USD/year | 10,981 USD/year | C1 | IELTS 7.0-7.5 / DALF C1 |
Additional expenses
Expenses | Average cost |
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Language testIELTS / DELF | 143 USD |
Evaluation Service | 110 USD |
Study permit | 110 USD |
Flight from Mumbai / Beijing / Los Angeles | 1180 / 1440 / 198 USD |
Accommodation | 3,660 USD per year |
Health insurance | 512 USD per year |
Food | 256 USD per month |
Public transport | 73 USD per month |
Study materials | 878 USD |
Options for admission to Canadian universities
College in Canada — Vocational education
Unlike degree-granting universities, colleges grant mainly diplomas, certificates and in some cases, bachelor’s degrees. Colleges focus more on specific employment skills, career training, and trades. They provide students with practical learning in a variety of technical and professional fields such as agriculture, business, engineering, information and communication technology, health, hospitality management, language, social services, and arts and design.
University colleges also offer degree programs where a student can take courses and earn credits that can be later transferred to a university. However, college-level education is already enough to get a job that does not require an in-depth four-year study.
Bachelor’s in Canada — Undergraduate
Bachelor's degree is the first stage of classical university education, which takes 3-4 years to complete, depending on the province. Students can get here directly after graduating from school (11 years)except for universities in Quebec or Canadian college. For foreign applicants, it is also possible to spend the first year of study in a separate institution — an international college — followed by admission to the second year of undergraduate studies.
An academic year usually runs from September to May, divided into two semesters, some universities also offer a summer one. In addition to compulsory subjects, bachelor students have the opportunity to choose additional courses that are not related to the program. In the learning process, the main emphasis is on seminars and independent study of the subject, which requires a student to have a high degree of interest in the chosen program. In order to graduate from a Canadian university, you need to get a certain amount of creditsdifferent from European ECTS , which is individual for each university.
Most universities in Canada provide students with practice (1-2 months) in a Canadian company, which usually becomes a significant advantage for further employment.
Several universities in Canada offer cooperative education options. Co-op students combine study with work, for which they can get up to 50 percent of credits. Such programs usually take about 4.5 years to complete.
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Master’s in Canada — Graduate / Postgraduate
Master’s degreeMA, MSc, MFA, MEng, MBA, in contrast to undergraduate studies, involves a narrower subject focus. An applicant can choose between two types of master's degrees. Research-based master’s programs emphasize conducting original scientific research, while professional master’s programs focus more on applied education, offering a set of courses in a particular subject area. Duration varies from 1 to 3 years.
Most programs include a dissertation that makes up a large proportion of the course’s credits. Upon completion of training, students can also take a comprehensive examination, including both written and oral parts. Each of them is assessed on a pass/fail basis. Due to its size, the exam can be administered in several days.
Some Canadian universities offer co-op programscooperative education programmes which enable students to gain hands-on, paid internships related to their field of study. They are usually between 2 and 4 months long. They are often used by employers for getting to know potential employees.
Doctorate in Canada — Postgraduate
As in many other countries, the highest level of academic qualification a student can achieve in Canada is doctorate. In addition to the traditional academic PhD, professional doctorates are also available. Those include DBADoctor of Business Administration and EdDDoctor of Education. Most programs require 3 years of full-time study, but some may be extended up to 6 years.
Unlike the United States, doctoral studies in Canada are research-based from the outset. In the first year of study, students complete general courses focusing on techniques and methodology of research, teaching, presentation or publication, sit a comprehensive exam, and then move on to write their thesis. As for professional programsDBA and EdB, they include a lot of practice and case studies also ending with doctoral thesis.
Some Canadian universities offer a collaborative route to PhD involving students studying for some time at another international institution within cotutelle(ENG) co-tutored programs. Unlike other joint PhDs with ongoing partnerships between universities, cotutelle arrangement is usually specific to each student’s project.
Admission to doctorate after undergraduate
In most cases, a master’s degree is required in order to gain admission to a
PhD program. However, some universities offer doctoral stream Master’s routes for those holding a
bachelor's degree. Such programs begin with one or two years of additional training, making up for the lack of master's education.
Academic career in Canada
You can start your academic career in Canada already at the stage of obtaining a doctorate as a graduate teaching assistant, or instructor. Holding this position assumes a certain amount of teaching (usually at the undergraduate level) and significantly enhances a CV. In return, a PhD student either gets paid a salary or has some of his doctoral fees waived by the university.
Those who have already earned their PhD can be considered for the positions of Graduate Research Associate, Postdoctoral Instructor, or Junior Researcher. It is also possible to become an Assistant Professor. Unlike European countries, there is no limit to the number of people holding higher academic ranks within a university in Canada. Therefore, competition is much lower. The most important criterion affecting career advancement is scientific research. Besides, almost all academic staff typically spend from 6 to 20 hours a week teaching.
After a probation period (usually 6-7 years), the Assistant Professor may be promoted to Associate Professor and receives tenure. And after another 5 years, based on continuing accomplishments in the areas of teaching and research, the candidate may be promoted to Full Professor.
Salaries typically depend on the budget of the university itself. On average they would be 5,857 USD for Assistant Professor, 7,540 USD for Associate Professor, and 9,590 USD for Full Professor. At the same time, the average wage in the country is much lower — about 2,928 USD.
Work while studying in Canada
According to a study permit, an international full-time student may be able to work on- or off-campus, without a work permit, which can significantly reduce the cost of staying in the country. During regular school semesters, a student is allowed to work up to 20 hours per week, during winter and summer holidays — full time. It is also necessary to get a Social Insurance Number (SIN), which provides students with a right to work and get government benefits and services.
The minimum wage of an international student depends on the province and can be 8-11 USD.
Opportunity to stay and immigration to Canada
Upon graduation, international students have the right to temporarily work in Canada with a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP). It can be valid for 3 years, provided that the training program was more than 2 years. In other cases, a PGWP is issued for up to the same length as a study program completedfrom 8 months to 2 years. The cost of a PGWP is 187 USD.
To be eligible for this opportunity, a student must have completed a PGWP-eligible program:
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At a designated learning institution (DLI)[9];
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That was at least 8 months long;
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That led to a degree, certificate or diploma.
A student is strongly advised to apply before his study permit expires90 days after official date of completeion. The processing time is about 3.5 months. During this period, applicants can work full time if they:
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Had a valid study permit at the time of submitting an application;
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Completed a study program;
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Was eligible to work off-campus without a work permit while studying and did not work more hours than was allowed to.
The experience gained with PGWP can help you qualify when applying for immigration through Express Entry. Both federal and provincial programs are available. To participate, you will need to submit your profile in the online system. Then you will be ranked in a pool of candidates using a points-based system. Those with the highest scores will get an invite to apply for permanent residence within 90 days.
Employment prospects
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In Canada. Immediately after graduation from a Canadian institution, a person has an opportunity to get a PGWP and stay in Canada for up to three years for the purpose of finding a job. In the future, provided he has an extended contract, a candidate is eligible to receive a residence permit under one of the immigration programs.
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In America. Canadian qualifications are in no way inferior to the American ones, and the higher education systems of the two countries are very similar. Therefore a graduate can easily find a job in the United States.
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In other countries. A Canadian degree is recognized worldwide. It serves not only as proof of excellent English language proficiency but also as an indicator of advanced knowledge in a certain field.
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