Cost of studying

Tuition fees

Tuition fees for international students are the same at all public institutions for studies at the same level, but vary according to your chosen discipline. Fees are set each year by the Ministry of Education, Sport and Leisure and are adjusted annually.

Full-time students in Quebec only pay fees at the university level: primary and secondary state schools provide free education to Quebec residents.

For international students, university charges are as follows:

• tuition fees (payable by all, including home students). Tuition fees at level one in 2006-2007 were 1 668 $CAN

• a supplementary, international student's fee; in certain circumstances it is possible to gain an exemption from this fee. The international fee was 8 760 $CAN for level one students in 2006-2007, rising to 9960 $CAN for students of medicine, arts and pure and applied sciences.

At graduate level the tuition fee is the same for levels two and three, but the international fee is slightly lower.

Financial assistance

There are various grants and scholarships which might help towards financing your studies in Quebec. Here are one or two possibilities:

International fee exemption grant

On the basis of reciprocal agreements between Quebec and a number of countries around the world, a set number of students from the following countries/areas are exempt from the international student fee, i.e. they pay only tuition fees:

Algeria, Andorra, Belgium (French-speaking parts), Benin, Bolivia, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, China, Colombia (ICTEX), Congo (Brazzaville), Democratic Republic of Congo, Equador, Egypt, Gabon, Germany (Bavaria), Germany (DAAD), Guinea, Haiti, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Korea, Lebanon, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico (CONACYTE, SEP, SRE), Marocco, Niger, Panama, Peru, Rwanda, Senegal, Spain (Catalonia), Togo, Tunisia, Uruguay, Vietnam

Other grants and scholarships

You can request additional information from the Candian Ministry of Education or the Canadian Embassy in your home country. You could also find out if your chosen institution in Quebec has scholarships available for international students. You should bear in mind that scholarships are most often awarded to postgraduate (i.e. second and third levels of the university structure) and usually according to merit.

Other expenses

Other costs to consider include admission and enrolment charges, the cost of teaching materials and subscription to student organisations. Health and hospital insurance is obligatory unless you are covered by a reciprocal social security agreement between Canada and your home country, in which case you will be covered under Quebec's health insurance system.

If your chosen institution does not offer a health insurance scheme, you will need to buy a private health insurance policy or show that you are already covered by such a policy.

Living costs

Living costs come to about 10 000 $CAN per year.