University studies

Admission requirements

To gain admission to a higher education establishment in Quebec you must be able to show that you have qualifications equivalent to those demanded of students in Quebec. At undergraduate level this means that you must have earned the equivalent of the Diploma of Pre-university College Studies (DCS), which recognizes two years of schooling following secondary school, i.e. 13 years in all.

Some universities may accept students who have completed 12 years of schooling, in which case the university programme is extended by one year.

Structure of the University Course

University studies in Quebec are divided into three stages. Stages two and three are at the graduate level.

• Level one (three to four years) leads to a bachelor's degree. A bachelor's degree provides access to the job market or to stage two university studies. Another programme available at level one is the 'certificate' programme'. Certificate programmes last one year and can be accumulated to form the equivalent of a bachelor's degree.

• Level two (two years) studies lead to a master's degree. There are also one year programmes leading to an advanced degree (diplôme d'études supérieures spécialisées (DESS)) or Graduate Cerificate.
• Level three studies (three years) usually involve research and the writing of a dissertation. Level three leads to a doctoral degree (Ph.D).

Universities and courses

Quebec has four French-speaking universities, comprising 15 establishments, and three English-speaking universities. There are higher eduactaion establishments in the following eight towns: Gatineau, Montréal, Québec city, Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda, Saguenay, Sherbrooke and Trois-Rivières.

A limited number of programmes are also offered by sub-branches of various universities.