Masters Study: USA vs Canada

Hosting a staggering 1.2 million international students between them, the USA and Canada are certainly major players in the world of overseas study. These two neighbours share a language, a border and countless cultural similarities – but what important differences should prospective Masters students keep in mind?

We’ve taken a look at how the USA and Canada compare for postgraduate study, covering course types, fees, post-study visas and more.

Universities

One obvious comparison between universities in the USA and Canada is number – the USA has a staggering 3,982 universities (around 1,500 of which offer postgrad programmes) to Canada’s 223.

So, choosing the USA as your study abroad destination will afford you far more choice – but we seriously doubt you’ll be able to conduct a postgraduate search encompassing 1,000s of universities (not that we’d fault you for trying!).

What’s more important is the diversity of educational opportunities in each country – and we’d say there’s plenty to be found in both. In Canada, there is no federal ministry of education, meaning responsibility for higher education lies with individual provinces and territories. This has led to impressive variety in course portfolios and specialisms across its many institutions.

It goes without saying that American universities also come in many shapes and sizes – institutions can be either public or private, and there are whole host of specialist universities such as technical and Liberal Arts schools, as well as world-famous groupings such as the Ivy League.

Course types

Both the USA and Canada offer postgraduate (or ‘graduate’ as they are known in both countries) courses that follow a relevant Bachelors degree. They either offer the chance to study a subject in more depth or provide advanced vocational training.

Courses themselves function similarly. In both countries, Masters degrees can be separated into two broad categories: professional and academic programmes (known in Canada as ‘course-based’ and ‘thesis-based’ courses respectively).

Professional programmes provide the vocational training needed to follow a particular career path, while academic programmes combine taught modules with independent research, culminating in a dissertation. The latter can often open the door to PhD study.

While most Masters courses in the USA are delivered in English, Canada is a bilingual country, with many universities offering programmes in both French and English. Institutions with two teaching languages may only ask applicants to demonstrate proficiency in either one or the other. You may also be able to take a course taught in two languages – an excellent opportunity to broaden your linguistic skills!

Fees and funding

Canadian Masters degrees are generally cheaper than their American equivalents, costing an average of USD $1,862- 13,412 for international students, compared to $12,000-26,000 in the USA. Of course, it goes without saying that both countries are pretty large (the 2nd and 4th largest in the world, in fact), and are each home to many universities – so you can expect considerable variation in tuition fees!

Though American Masters degrees are generally more expensive, international students in the USA will usually pay the same as local students (although tuition fees at public universities will be cheaper for ‘in-state’ domestic students). In Canada, however, fees can be up to twice as high for international students.

The good news is that it’s rare for students in either country cover the entire cost of their Masters degree – there are a wide variety of funding options available in both the USA and Canada. Universities in both countries offer their own scholarship packages, and there are many organisations that provide funding for international students (the Fulbright commission, for example, runs schemes supporting students studying the USA). The Canadian government lists a number of international scholarships on the official Study in Canada website.

Read more about Masters fees and funding in Canada or the USA.

Post-study visas

If you’re looking to stay abroad after graduation, you’ll need to attain a visa. This is easier in Canada than in the US – most Masters students will be eligible for a post-graduation work permit, valid a period equal to the length of their study programme. .

You’ll be able to apply for permanent residence under the Canadian Experience Class after gaining at least 12 months of work experience.

Scholarships often ask for applicants to have taken the GMAT, so having the required score to your name is guaranteed to widen your funding options. Even if eligibility criteria do not explicitly include a GMAT score, an extra accolade certainly won’t hurt.

For those intending to stay in the USA after finishing a Masters, things are a little trickier. There is no visa route specifically for graduates, so you’ll need to apply for either a permanent or temporary worker’s visa. Keep in mind that earning a Masters degree (even a professional one) at an American university won’t automatically mean that your application will be successful.

To learn more, you can read our full guides to Masters study in the USA and Canada.

Ready to start applying? We list hundreds of American and Canadian Masters agrees here on our website.

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