To help you find the cheapest universities in Canada, we have compiled this list of low tuition universities. Many people shy away from applying to universities in Canada, because they feel that the tuition fees is too high. Well, the truth is that a lot of Canadian universities are cheap; their tuition fees are very low compared to universities in places like USA, UK and Australia. We have many articles on low tuition universities in Canada, so you can check the archives section of this blog to access these articles.
Canada is a North American country stretching from the U.S. in the south to the Arctic Circle in the north. Major cities include massive Toronto, west coast film centre Vancouver, French-speaking Montréal and Québec City, and capital city Ottawa. Canada’s vast swaths of wilderness include lake-filled Banff National Park in the Rocky Mountains. It’s also home to Niagara Falls, a famous group of massive waterfalls.
Important Facts about Canada that Students Should Know
Canada ranks high as one of the world’s leading destinations for international students, a home of international students from diverse cultural background and experiences, it is known for cities with large ethnic mix and furthermore it’s a beauty place to study.
This popularity Canada enjoys is largely due to the fact that unlike other parts of the world, the cost of tuition and living in Canada is very affordable, though not cheap but affordable and with planning students can make preparations ahead for a life of studies in Canada.
Unlike Australia, United Kingdom and USA that are like counterparts, Canada ranks rank in providing affordable tuition and living expenses.
Canada offers the lowest tuition fees for foreign students unlike its counterparts.
Tuition rates at U.S public varsities for bachelor degree course for example are 30% higher than those in Canada, while fees of private universities are much higher
In today’s post I shall be providing an updated list of top 10 cheapest universities in Canada with their respective tuition fees for undergraduate and postgraduate programs.
Before I do this, will like us to look at benefits of studying in Canada, cost of living, admission requirements, possibility of working and studying in Canada etc.
Why many student choose Canada?
You may be asking yourself this question. Why thousands of students worldwide prefer or choose to study in Canada. Find the reasons below:
The first reason is that many international students are attracted to the high rankings of colleges and universities in Canada. Universities like University of Toronto, McMaster University, and University of British Columbia rank almost the same with the Ivy Leagues and prestigious universities in the United Kingdom and other places. While the education system in Canada is fantastic, it’s still cheaper compared to those in other developed countries such as USA, United Kingdom and Australia.
The second reason why international students choose to study in Canada is the beautiful nature in Canada. Canada is known for its beauty and has fascinating animals and plants. Since places like Vancouver, Quebec, and Nova Scotia are popular tourist attractions, alot of international students wish to study in Canada to feed their eyes and view the beautiful and magnificent nature.
The third reason is that Canadian universities and colleges offer undergraduate, Master’s, and PhD programs with very low and affordable tuition fees. Apart from this, professional degrees such as MBA and Medical doctors can be obtained by paying low tuition fees. I need to state that these tuition figures change according to your program or course of study, so numbers are an average.
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Cost of living in Canada for students
Cost of living can be defined as the amount an individual student needs to take care of his/her feeding, accommodation, transportation, buying of books, recreation etc in a period of time. This amount usually changes depending on the lifestyle an dispending habit of a students. In Canada, it is estimated that a student needs about $600 to $800 per month for his/her day to day living. Here’s the breakdown:
- Accommodation (bedroom apartment) – $400 approximately per month.
- Books and supplies – $1000 per year
- Movies – $8.50 – $13
- Average restaurant meal – $10 – $25 per person
- Groceries – $150 – $200 per month
HOUSING
Most universities offer on-campus residences designated for international students, although
acceptance of study does not guaranty automatically you will get accommodation on campus. Students have to apply separately for on-campus housing.
The cost for on-campus housing varies across provinces and institutions and depends if students want a private apartment or shared apartment, meal course also must be taken into effect.
Students can choose to live in apartment’s off-campus. Rents vary ranging from $400 CDN to $1,500 CDN per month depending on apartment choice, city and neighborhood. Remember that utilities have to be put into consideration, utilities such as electricity, phone, internet, cable television, and insurance as well as personal expenses.
Most universities provide assistance in getting accommodation both on and off campus.
These services are provided through the housing office or student services.
TRANSPORT
Depending on proximity, many students walk or take bike to campus daily. Public transportation in form of buses, commuter trains, ferries are readily available for transport. On the average students can plan $100 Cdn monthly for transportation even though discounts are offered by many transport providers.
For students that intend to own a car and drive themselves to campus daily, it should be noted that provincial government are responsible for provision of drivers’ licenses so upon arrival students will have to contact ministry of transportation in theprovince of study to check if they are eligible and then apply.
HEALTH INSURANCE
All foreign students must have an health insurance in Canada. Medical insurance are available to all international students from province to province.
Provinces like Saskatchewan, Labrador, British Columbia, New foundland, Manitoba and Alberta provide medical cover for international students under their health care insurance plans but this depends on length of stay too.
Admission intake periods
Almost all programs in Canadian colleges and universities have 3 intake periods in a year. These three intakes are winter, spring and fall. You will need to contact the school and find out the available intake periods for your chosen program. You can do this by calling or sending a mail to the admissions department. Remember that you need to apply as early as possible, for instance, if your program intake period is by January (winter), ensure that you apply 6 to 8 months in advance so you will have enough time to process your visa.
Work while studying
International students are allowed to work while studying in Canada. You can work up to 20 hours per week during regular academic sessions, and full time during scheduled breaks (for example, winter and summer holidays, and spring break). A work permit does not guarantee that you will find a job. It is your responsibility to look for work. Even if you work off campus, your studies must be the main reason you are in Canada.
Visa application
To gain entry for studies, a visa is mandatory. The documents required to obtain a Visa are as follows:
- You must be given an acceptance letter from a recognized institution
- Next stop is to get a Canadian student visa application package their online using CIC website or walk into a local visa office or consulate in your country. In other to get the visa application package, questions will be asked to determine if you are eligible for a student Visa.
- If found to be eligible, you will be sent a personal check list code with a page containing a code needed for submitting your application online which is only valid for 60 days. The printed out page also contain tuition fee amounts, a guide to applications, a list of documents to submit along with your application.
- Create a MyCIC account by providing your checklist code, where you will be given your personal document checklist which allows you upload all your documents to CIC.
- After uploading the necessary document and paid your fees, submit your completed application to CIC
- Some students from certain countries require biometric caption.
- Applying for student visa would need a proof of funds to sustain yourself during your study.
Read also: Complete Overview Of The Academic Grading System In United Kingdom
Now lets look at a list of top 10 lowest tuition universities in Canada with tuition fees ranging from $2,000 to $15,000 per year.
List Of the Cheapest Universities in Canada
| University | Average Undergraduate Tuition/year | Average Postgraduate Tuition/year |
| Canadian Mennonite University | $9,600 | $5, 600 |
| Brandon University | $8,000 | $6,000 |
| Memorial University of Newfoundland | $11, 500 | $5,000 |
| Simon Fraser University | $11, 500 | $2, 500 |
| University of Saskatchewan | $19,000 | $7, 500 |
| University of Prince Edward Island | $12,000 | $8,000 |
| University of New Brunswick | $14,000 | $10,000 |
| University of Winnipeg | $13,000 | $12,000 |
| Mount Royal University | $15,000 |
Steps on how to apply for admission into Canadian university
Now we have seen the universities in Canada that offer low tuition fees for international students, so let’s take a look at the application process for international students wishing to study in Canada. Please note that it’s not possible to outline the specific application procedure since the information is different for different schools. I will only provide you with the basic information and how to find the information yourself.
Locate the university website online application portal.
You will have to find out the particular university in Canada that you want to apply for admission and then go to their website. All university’s websites have an apply online or application section, so you will need to click on that. Ensure that you have read over BOTH the general application procedure and the specific procedures required for international students. Here is an example from University of Ottawa. You can see that they have very specific information for the international student. Like the page linked before, you will need to locate guides that are intended for international students.
Check for eligibility
Once you have found out the information on their website, next you will have to check if you are eligible or qualified for admission into the university. Most universities in Canada will have a requirement for GPA, and some will have for English Proficiency Tests. If you do meet the requirements, good! If not, you will need to either meet the requirements or look for other universities with lower requirements that you can meet.
Application Type
The third thing that you must find out is the type of applications that the university use or accept. They will have it stated on their website, so you will need to find the information that is for you. For example, University of Ottawa requires that undergraduate international students should use Ontario Universities Application Center. Similarly, other universities will also have different application methods, so make sure to check how to apply.
Gather all required documents, fill out the application form, and apply!
So these are the four methods to apply for admission into a Canadian university. Though it sounds extremely simple and easy, you might take weeks and even months to apply for admission. Why that long? Because some international students are not eligible in areas such as the English proficiency exams and need time to increase their scores. So, make sure to give yourself plenty of time!
Brief review of some low tuition universities in Canada
Brandon University
- Tuition fees link
- Brandon University was founded in the year 1889 and is one of the cheapest or low tuition universities in Canadian with very affordable tuition fees in the fields of arts, science, education, music, and nursing. The university has about 3,000 undergraduate students currently attend, and you can become one too!
University of Ottawa
- Tuition fees link
- The University of Ottawa is a very big public university that’s situated in Ottawa, Ontario. Lectures are provided in both English and in French which makes it one of the largest bilingual universities in the world. It’s also the prestigious member of U15, which is a group of Canadian Universities that has been acknowledged for their research efforts. Presently, there are about 35,000 undergraduates and 5,000 graduate students currently pursuing their study at this prestigious university.
Canadian Mennonite University
- Tuition fees link
- Canadian Mennonite University is a relatively new university. It was established in the year 1999 by combining three different universities to make it a bigger university. Canadian Mennonite University offers strong study programs in the fields of MBA, business, fine arts, and theology and boasts of various athletic programs such as soccer, basketball, and volleyball. CMU is one of the cheapest universities in Canada for international students.
Dalhousie University
- Tuition fees Link
- This is yet another popular Canadian university. This public research university is situated in Nova Scotia. It provides great research programs to its students so that these students might be prepared for the future. Apart from this, Dalhousie University is ranked approximately 300th university globally. When compared to other universities in US or UK that are ranked around the same, it provides its undergraduate, Master’s, and PhD degrees for a cheap tuition.
University of Saskatchewan
- Undergraduate tuition Link
- Graduate tuition Link
- University of Saskatchewan boast of a high acceptance rate of about 70%. This high acceptance rate is good news for international students who wish to study in Canada since it’s easier to be accepted to this excellent university compared to others. Also, international students can take advantage of the fact that University of Saskatchewan is a cheap Canadian university with great academics.
Concordia University
- Tuition fees link
- Concordia University has a total of 45,000 students in its campuses and is one of the largest Canadian universities. Apart from this, it has an affordable MBA program in Canada, and its MBA program is one of the best. Also, there are hundreds of thousands of alumni that are successful in different fields which would help future alumni to be successful as well.
University of Alberta
- Undergraduate tuition link
- Graduate tuition link
- University of Alberta was founded by two men with the names ; Rutherford and Tory. These men were influential in establishing other universities in Canada. It’s huge endowment of 1.2 billion dollars assists the university to operate and also lower the tuition. It has some departments that are ranked in the top 100 programs in the world.
List Of Other Universities in Canada Plus Tuition Fees
Concordia University Edmonton
Concordia University of Edmonton which was formally known as Concordia University College of Alberta is a public funded private University that is situated in Alberta and Edmonton. The University receives its primary funding from private donations and some funding from the Government of Alberta. A tuition fee in this university is equally low and usually ranges from $10,000 to $12,000 per year for all undergraduate and graduate study programs.
McMaster University
McMaster is a public university situated in Ontario and Hamilton, Canada. It’s main campus located on 121 hectares of land close to the residential neighborhoods of Wesdale and Ainslie Wood which is adjacent to Royal Botanical Gardens. This university is one of the 4 Canadian Universities that is ranked among the world’s top 75 universities. Tuition fees in McMaster University range from $14,000 to $16,000 per year for all study programs.
Dalhousie University
Dalhousie is a public university in Canada which was founded in 1818. It is situated in Halifax and Nova Scotia –ranked one of the friendliest cities in the world. The university is one of Canada’s oldest universities and has attracted more than 19,000 students around the world. Tuition fees in Dalhousie University range from $14,000 to $16,000 per year for undergraduate and graduate study programs.
University of Western Ontario
The University of Western Ontario is one of the best universities in Canada that offer over 400 programs in the fields of Sciences, Social Sciences, Health, Management etc. In the year 2012, the university was corporately branded as western University which is commonly shortened to western. It has its campuses in London and Ontario. Tuition fees in this university range form $12,000 to $16,000 per year for all study programs.
St Paul University
St Paul University, which is located in the heart of the nation’s capital, is the founding college of the University of Ottawa, which has been federated since 1965. It’s a bilingual university that offers a lot of undergraduate and graduate study programs. Tuition fees in St Paul University range from $5000 to $6000 per year.
So we hope that the information provided here in this article about low tuition or cheap tuition universities in Canada has been helpful to you. If you follow this information, you should be able to process your admission and visa to study in Canada. If you cannot do it yourself and want us to assist you get a very affordable university in Canada.
Note that we charge money for our services, so only send your documents when you are ready to pay our service charge of $1000 for the admission and visa processing.
