Taking forward our exploration of the maze of intakes and deadlines of universities and colleges, in our series of study-abroad counselling for major destinations for international students like you, today we examine Canada. If you are planning for higher studies in Canada, you are, in many ways, in the same league with aspirants aiming for the other major destination in the North American continent, viz., the US. Let us take a quick look at the landscape of intakes and deadlines for universities and colleges in Canada.
Intakes: Canadian Universities
Similar to the US, universities and colleges across Canada enrol students three times in an academic year: Fall, Winter, and Summer/Spring.
| INTAKE | STARTS FROM | DURATION | NATURE | PROS AND CONS |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FALL
(Also known as September intake) |
September | September–December/early January | Primary/Major intake | Most popular intake for international students, including Indian students because
|
| WINTER
(Also known as January intake) |
January | January–May | Secondary intake |
|
| SUMMER/SPRING
(also known as May intake) |
May | May-August | Least preferred intake |
|
Which Intake for Me?
You need to decide carefully which intake best suits you. You must consider the fact that the deadlines for applying to an intake are usually a few months before the date of the starting of the semester.
Also, note that
- For a master’s level study, your deadline may vary depending on your program/subject. For example, deadlines for intensely competitive subjects such as Computer Engineering, Data Analytics, or an MBA at a top School can be as early as November of the previous year
- Schools/Departments/Faculty within the same university may have different deadlines
Ideally, if you are aiming for a top Canadian university, you should start your applications 12-15 months before the intake. Universities usually take about 8-10 weeks to process the applications.
Fall vs. Spring: Undecided?
We suggest that before you decide on your university intake, consider the following.
| PROGRAM | CONSIDER |
|---|---|
| MS in Canada |
|
| PhD in Canada |
|
| MBA in Canada |
However, a few B-schools such as Sauder School of Business, DeGroote School of Business, Desautels Faculty of Management, Molson School of Business do offer Winter intake for part-time MBA |
So, with Winter/January intake being the harshest time of the year to start class at a Canadian university and therefore a less viable option, the upcoming intakes in Canada for you should be Fall 2021 and Summer/Spring 2021.
Deadlines
Application deadlines are important milestones in your application process. Hence, you must have a very clear idea about the different deadlines of universities you are applying to. Here is a general guideline for the deadlines of Canadian universities. Top universities normally set their deadlines 8-12 months before the commencement of the program. Also, here you will get to know deadlines for Diploma courses in colleges in Canada which have similar intakes those of the universities
- Fall/September Intake
- Top Universities (A, A+): Between December and March of the previous year
- Colleges: Between February and April of the same year
- Winter/January Intake
- Top Universities (A, A+): Between September and November of the previous year
- Colleges: Between August and September of the previous year
- Summer or Spring/May Intake:
- Top Universities (A, A+): February of the same year
- Colleges: Between January and February of the same year
Also, like many US universities, many Canadian universities offer rolling deadlines.
Types of Deadlines
UG: In case of the UG, the deadlines for Fall are between December and March and for Winter are between September and November
Note that
- For UG admission through the Ontario Universities’ Application Centre, refer to your university’s website.
MS: In the case of a Master’s, there are generally two types of deadlines.
- Financial Aid/Scholarship deadline
- Regular deadline
MBA: Most B-Schools have various rounds of deadlines: Round 1, Round 2, Round 3, etc.
- Round 1 deadline for B-schools is generally in September or October
- Round 2 deadline is usually in January
- Round 3 deadlines are usually in March
Also, note that
- Most Business schools in Canada either have a fixed deadline or process applications on a rolling basis
- Most B-Schools strongly recommend international students to apply “no later than” Round 3 to allow enough time for visa processing.
Here we chart out the representative deadlines for full-time MBA admission to a few leading Canadian B-Schools. However, owing to the extraordinary situation because of the CoViD-19 situation, we strongly recommend that you check out your target university website before applying.
| BUSINESS SCHOOLS | DEADLINES FOR 2021 INTAKES (INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS) |
|---|---|
| Sauder School of Business, University of British Columbia | Winter/January 2021 (Extended):
Application deadline August 18, 2020 Document Deadline: November 2020 Fall: February 28 (Representative) |
| DeGroote School of Business, McMaster University | Fall/September 2021:
Round 1 Application: October 15, 2020 Round 2 Application: January 15, 2021 Round 3 Application: March 31, 2021 Fall: May 26 (Representative) |
| Desautels Faculty of Management, McGill University | February 15 previous year (Representative) |
| Rotman School of Business, University of Toronto | Fall/September 2021:
Early Round: August 7, 2020 Round 1: October 5, 2020 Round 2: January 11, 2021 Round 3: March 8, 2021 Round 4: April 26, 2021 Between September 1 and April 30 (Representative) |
If you are still feeling a little confused, you can reach out to us at Manya Education. We would be happy to answer the questions that you may have.