Higher education in Canada and Ukraine - the difference in price and system
What is the difference between university and college? What about diploma and degree? Or is it better to get a year's worth of Post Graduate certificates? We'll figure it out together.
The cost of education for foreigners in Canada is quite high. But it should be taken into account that this amount is still significantly lower than in other English-speaking countries: the United States, Australia or England.
The average year of study at a Canadian university costs about $25,000 CAD. Engineering and medicine are more expensive at about $29,000 CAD, and arts and humanities are cheaper.
If you choose not one of the top universities, in the international rankings, the cost will be very different. Let's first list the universities included in the QS World University rankings for 2021:
- University of Toronto;
- McGill University;
- University of British Columbia;
- University of Montreal;
- University of Alberta;
- McMaster University;
- University of Waterloo.
It is not cheap to study there. The table below shows the cost of undergraduate programs.
| Name of school | Price of tuition per year, including insurance and fees, $ CAD |
| University of Toronto | 54,900 to 68,750 |
| McGill University | 23,989 to 72,810 |
| University of British Columbia | 38,959 to 53,701 |
It is also important to consider the cost of room and board. University of Toronto campuses range in price from $16,699 CAD to $19,877 CAD when meals are included. McGill University has a wider range of prices, from $14,605 CAD to $24,554 CAD.
And how much does it cost to attend more budget-friendly universities and colleges?
We recently wrote about a promotion at a college in Toronto. Even without the scholarship, the tuition for short-term programs is about $17,500 CAD per year. You can get a bachelor's degree at Georgian College for a fee of $12,487 CAD to $21,304 CAD per year. On-campus housing costs about $14,000 CAD per year.
$21,722 CAD is the average cost of a year of study at St. Lawrence College, which has campuses in three Ontario cities. The college recommends that housing, food, communications, and entertainment costs be based on $1,100 CAD per month.
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Centennial College in Toronto offers undergraduate programs ranging in price from $17,985 CAD to $28,350 CAD per year, with each subsequent year being less expensive for four-year programs. This price includes psychological support for international students — 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as stated on the college website.
Why is there such a difference in price?
Note that the difference between university and college in Canada is quite blurred, unlike in the CIS countries. A Ukrainian college is not yet a bachelor's degree, but a specialized secondary education.
In Canadian provinces such as British Columbia and Ontario, there are post-secondary baccalaureate programs that take two to three years to complete. This is called an Associate degree, a degree of qualification between a high school graduate and a bachelor's degree.
But usually at Canadian colleges, people get a Graduate diploma, Post Graduate (PG) diploma, or PG certificate. The Graduate diploma is a bachelor's diploma, but in rare cases, it may also be a master's diploma, depending on the school. The PG diploma is a master's degree and you can only get it if you have a bachelor's degree. The PG certificate is equivalent to a master's degree, but often when you enter a shortened program of study you need to prove your work experience in your chosen specialty, a year or better two.
What is the difference between a degree and a university? If you want a degree and you want to do science, you should choose a university. There you will study for four years, get a bachelor's degree and then move on to a master's degree.
After you graduate, you can go to graduate school, and then you can become a doctoral student. And even if you change your mind about going to graduate school, a master's degree from one of the best universities in the world will open more doors for you than a college degree.
There is another important nuance for immigrants. The PG certificate and even the PG diploma in college you get faster and cheaper than the Master's degree in a Canadian university. But if you have a Master's degree, you will get a work permit for three years. If you have a PG diploma, only one.
You can find out more about how to stay in Canada after studying in higher education in a separate article.
How much would you pay to a Ukrainian university?
Here are the tuition fees at three popular universities in Ukraine — in UAH and in Canadian dollars.
| Name of school | The price of education for the year, UAH | Tuition price per year, $ CAD |
| Taras Shevchenko National University of Kyiv | 31,000 to 66,700 | 1311 to 2823 |
| Ivan Franko National University of Lviv | 23,642 to 38,255 | 999 to 1617 |
| Kyiv National University of Trade and Economics | 28,820 to 34,050 | 1218 to 1439 |
As you can see, studying in Canada is still expensive, even with two years of study instead of four. But it is an investment in the future. In addition, in Canada you can work part-time in parallel with your studies, it will only increase your chances of staying for permanent residence, and the salaries in Canada are also markedly higher than in Ukraine.
