Canada is the largest country in the Western Hemisphere and the second largest in the world, with a total area of 9,970,610 Km sq. Canada contains an extremely wide variety of geographical features: the flat Prairies, the rugged north and the gently rolling landscape of the east.

The Canadian education system encompasses both publicly funded and private schools, from kindergarten to university level. Education is a provincial responsibility under the Canadian constitution, which means there are significant differences between the education systems of different provinces. However, standards across the country are uniformly high.

In general, Canadian children attend kindergarten for one or two years at the age of four or five on a voluntary basis. All children begin Grade One at about six years of age. The school year normally runs from September through the following June, but in some instances, January intake dates are possible. Secondary schools go up to Grades 11, 12 or 13, depending upon the province. From there, students may attend university, college or Cégep studies. Cégep is a French acronym for College of General and Vocational Education, which is two years of general or three years of technical education between high school and the university.

The following section provides an overview of Secondary Education system. Please note that Ontario requires students to complete Grade 13, or Ontario Academic Credit (OAC) as it is now called, before proceeding on to university and that the Québec has the Cégep system.

Universities
University Colleges
Community Colleges
Career Colleges
Language Schools
Public Schools
Private Schools

Canadian Colleges Advantages

• Courses are very cost-effective
• Courses have the best selections at Graduate and Post graduate levels
• Courses have Credit Transfer options with Universities
• Courses are job-oriented
• Courses are time saving
• Courses are Internationally recognized
• Courses have a very less admission requirements
• Canadian studies offer ample scope to gain a footing
• Canada has been voted the "best country" to live in
• Canada offers the Best Visa success rate

Getting Approval to Study in Canada

Studying in Canada requires a student authorization or Student Visa. This authorization allows you to remain in Canada to take an academic, professional or vocational training course at an approved University, Community college, University college, Career College, Public or Secondary school or private ESL/FSL School. If you are from a country that requires visas, these will be issued at the same time as your student authorization.

A student authorization is not required if the course you are taking is an English or French language course that lasts a maximum of three months and is not academic, professional or vocational in nature. However, students from some countries may require a visitor's visa.

If you are interested in studying in the province of Québec, you are required to obtain a Certificate or Acceptance (CAQ)* from the Québec government and a student authorization from the Government of Canada. Applications for a CAQ are available at educational institutions in Québec. A processing fee will be incurred when applying for the CAQ. Students must apply for a CAQ before applying for a student authorization. Students wishing to study in other provinces or territories do not need CAQ's.

*Students intending to study at a Québec language school for less than 12 weeks do not need to obtain a CAQ.

CANADA

Canada is a huge country of diverse peoples, lifestyles and landscapes, offering a multiplicity of top quality educational programs for international students. Canadian educational institutions welcome international students providing special services designed to assist their integration into the academic community and help them throughout their stay.

Canada does not have a national education system. Public education is under the jurisdiction of each of the ten provinces and two territories. Therefore, there are both differences and similarities in the systems across the country. Admission requirements, programs, courses offered and fees vary from one institution to another. Regulations governing international students differ from those of Canadian students. Information can be obtained from your chosen institution's Office of the Registrar (for undergraduate studies), the Dean of Graduate Studies or from the International Student Adviser, on campus. In case of secondary study, information can be obtained from your selected school board's international student office, or for private schools, from the school principal or director. Provincial governments have lists of high schools.

Post-secondary Institutions

In Canada, post-secondary institutions are divided into two major types: Universities and Community colleges. The university provides academic and professional training, and research leading to degrees (BA, B.Sc., MA, M.Sc., Ph.D., etc.). The community college offers certificate and diploma programs in career and vocational training. College-level institutions may also be known as colleges of applied arts and technology or technology institutes. Academic transfers from community colleges to universities are sometimes possible. In Quebec, colleges renseignement general et professional (cegeps) offer two types of program: vocational programs for three years and pre-university programs for two years.

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For more information please visit:

http://www.justcolleges.com/canada/canvisa.phtml

http://www.p4k.org/cgi-bin/links.pl?category=1

http://www.tcyonline.com/gre/canada-universities.htm

http://www.studycanada.ca/

http://www.studyincanada.com/

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/

http://www.uwaterloo.ca/canu/

http://www.campusaccess.com/

http://www.scholarships-bourses-ca.org/

http://www.studyincanada.com/

http://www.canadianembassy.org/education/studyincanada-en.asp

http://www.lib.uwaterloo.ca/~awmchan/cancam.html

http://www.schoolfinder.com/

http://www.scholarshipscanada.com/

http://www.aucc.ca/programs/scholarships/alphabetical_e.html

Student Visa Process:

For information on Student Visa to Canada please visit:

http://www.lsi-canada.com/Content/student-visa-canada.asp

http://www.vec.ca/english/9/

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/

Services for International Students

Most post-secondary institutions have a person to assist international students, the International or Overseas or Foreign Student Adviser, who normally works in the Department of Student Services. Most secondary schools which charge fees for international students offer the services of an International Student Adviser or similar counselor. Students should make themselves known to the Adviser soon after arrival on campus.

Canadian Bureau for International Education
220 Laurier Avenue West, Suite 1100
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5Z9 Canada
Web site: http://www.cbie.ca

Association of Canadian Community Colleges
1223 Michael St. N., Suite 200
Ottawa, Ontario K1J 7T2 Canada
Web site: http://www.accc.ca

Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada
350 Albert Street, Suite 600
Ottawa, Ontario K1R 1B1 Canada
Web site: http://www.aucc.ca

Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Public Inquiries, Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0J9 Canada
Web site: http://www.cicnet.ingenia.com