How to apply for a master’s degree in Canada?

13 May 2021

In this post, our experts are aimed to give you some essential information and guidance for applying for a master’s degree in Canada. We try to guide you simply without any nonessential and complex information.

Study in Canada

High education such as a master’s degree in Canada is one of the most important popular approaches in Canada and about 5% of Canadian GDP spend on education. . Therefore, it is not surprising that Canada is the most educated country in the world which is reported by the OECD in 2019.

There are lots of available study programs in Canada where the students can improve their academic and research skills for their future academic careers. Moreover, about 1.5 million students per year study in the different study subjects in 98 Canadian universities.

At the first step, you should find your matched study program and Universities.

List of top Universities in Canada

There are lots of high-quality cities in Canada which are 5 of the top 100 best cities for international students worldwide. It makes Canada one of the most popular destinations for international students around the world.

Toronto and Montréal are the two largest cities in Canada with two highly ranked universities such as the University of Toronto (28th) and McGill University (33rd). The other high-ranked universities in Canada are the University of Alberta, McMaster University, Université de Montréal, the University of Waterloo, and Western University.

  1. The University of Toronto, City: Toronto
  2. McGill University, City: Montréal
  3. The University of Alberta, City: Edmonton
  4. McMaster University, City: Hamilton, Ontario
  5. Université de Montréal, City: Montréal
  6. The University of Waterloo, City: Waterloo, Ontario
  7. Western University, City: London, Ontario

In the second step, you should check the requirements of the study program.

What are the general requirements of a master’s degree in Canada?

Each university in Canada has its general requirements. However, the most of requirements are the same in all Canadian universities. You can simply check it on the university Websites. Here is an example, we have listed the general requirements of a master’s degree at the University of Alberta.

Baccalaureate Degree

Applicants are normally required to have completed a four-year baccalaureate degree, or its academic equivalent, from an academic institution, recognized by the University of Alberta.

Grade

An admission grade point average of 3 on most 4-point grading systems or B on most letter grading systems, based on your most recent two years of full-time study (or equivalent) is required. You can check the Minimum Academic Requirements by Country .

Proof of English Language Proficiency

Here in the following list, you can see the average language score required for a master’s degree in Canada. It should be noted that this required score could be very different in various universities or study subjects.

  • a minimum TOEFL score of 92 (Internet-based) with at least 21 in each section or equivalent;
  • an overall band score of 7.0 on IELTS with at least 6.0 on each band;
  • a minimum overall score of 70 on the CAEL with at least 60 on each subtest;
  • a minimum score of 62 on the PTE Academic.

Other requirements:

  • Statement of research interests
  • Previous work experience in the field
  • Educational tests such as the Graduate Record Examination (GRE), Graduate Management Admission Test (GMAT), or Miller Analogies Test

Scholarships and Student loan in Canada

As it is known, a study in Canada is not free and the students have to pay tuition fees. If you need financial support you have two different options. You can apply for a scholarship or a student loan. It should into account, that the student loan should be repaid after graduation and finding a high salary job.

In 2017  around 1.700000 students studied at universities in Canada, with about 11 per cent of full-time international students in undergraduate programs and around 28 per cent of full-time international students in graduate programs. The number of international students on scholarships increased from 350000 students in 2015 to 500000 students in 2020.

Tuition Fees

The tuition fee value is depending on the study subjects, level of study degrees, and the universities. However, we can have a simple average value of tuition fees in Canada.

Thesis-Based Programs with Standard Fees

Full-Time Yearly Program Fee
(*9 per term in Fall/Winter and *6 per term in Spring/Summer)		$8,700.00
• Fall Term (1/3 of total program fee)$2,900.00
• Winter Term (1/3 of total program fee)$2,900.00
• Spring Term (1/6 of total program fee)$1,450.00
• Summer Term (1/6 of total program fee)$1,450.00
Part-Time Yearly Program Fee
(less than *9 per term in Fall/winter and less than *6 per term in Spring/Summer)		$4,350.00
• Fall Term (1/3 of total program fee)$1,450.00
• Winter Term (1/3 of total program fee)$1,450.00
• Spring Term (1/6 of total program fee)$725.00
• Summer Term (1/6 of total program fee)$725.00

Course-Based Programs with Standard Fees

Cost Per Credit$621.44
• Each standard *3 course will cost:$1,864.30

Deadline

There are also some deadlines for a master’s degree in Canada. These deadlines are different in various universities but in some of them the deadlines are:

 MEngMSc & PhD
FallInternational:
March 15thCanadian:
May 1st		International:
May 1stCanadian:
June 1st
WinterNo winter applications International:
August 1stCanadian: 
September 1st

Finally, you can apply directly to the university website and upload your required document.

Would you like to know the salary amount of PhD and postdoc positions in Europe? 

You can find all the available full-funded PhD positions in different countries here.