Vocational education and community colleges
Canada also has professional, technical or vocational
institutions, as well as community colleges (often referred
to as just "colleges"), which tend to provide more special-
ized courses of study.
Colleges are government-regulated institutions oering
various degrees, including pre-professional certicates,
two-year associate’s degrees and, in some cases, four-year
specialized bachelor’s degrees. There are more than 150
colleges in Canada, with approximately 900,000 full-time
and 1.5 million part-time students. With this option,
students can graduate from college and be prepared
for a career or transfer to a four-year institution to get a
bachelor’s degree. Colleges tend to be less expensive
than other types of institutions. As college faculty gener-
ally do not conduct research, there is a stronger emphasis
on teaching, but there are fewer research opportunities
for students.
Accreditation
Canada does not have an accreditation system that
assesses the quality of higher education institutions,
although some provinces have charters or legislation that
serves as a substitute. Without a national system, howev-
er, you should verify that your degree is recognized in the
specic province to which you are applying.
University rankings
There is no ocial ranking system for higher education
institutions in Canada, but there are independent bod-
ies that conduct subjective rankings annually. Canadian
universities are commonly ranked among the highest
globally. For example, the QS World University Rankings
2014/15 listed ve Canadian universities among the top
100 universities in the world.
Applying to Canadian universities
Who to contact
There is no centralized application procedure for Canadi-
an institutions; students apply to each institution indi-
vidually. While some provinces have general admissions
requirements for their public institutions, each institution
will outline the requirements on its website, alongside
any additional requirements for that specic school.
The exception is the province of Ontario, which uses a
standardized application system to the public institutions
in that province; the Ontario Universities’ Application
Centre allows students, including international students,
to submit one application that is sent to their chosen
institutions in Ontario.
Choosing an area of study
While many institutions allow students to study a variety
of subjects, most application processes require students
to choose a programme or area of study that is intended
to be their focus throughout their education. Specic
programmes or faculties within a university might have
their own admissions requirements, which may include
additional application materials or specic grade or IB
score requirements. Because of this, it is important for
students to focus on their academic performance and
search for institutions that match their interests and level
of academic rigour.
The application
There is no national university entrance exam, and each
institution has its own admissions standards and evalua-
tion process. Most applications can be completed online,
and most institutions require biographical information,
education background (including transcripts, IB predicted
grades, and IB nal grades when available) and intend-
ed area of study. Some universities might ask for letters
of recommendation, personal essays or test scores, so
students should nd out what an application will require
well in advance of the application deadline.
Timeline
It is important to check the application deadline for
each institution, as deadlines may vary, but many are in
December or January. Some institutions have a rolling
admissions process, which means that there might not
be a strict application deadline. Decisions from a univer-
sity might be sent out as early as three weeks after the
application is received, or they may take several months.
Some institutions oer conditional acceptances, and
when nal grades and/or IB scores are sent, the oer is
either rescinded or made ocial.