Scheduled Break

[sector18]

Hi,

I am now enrolled in a Master's program. It is a 2-year program starts from Sep 2018 and ends on April 2020. It mentioned that the program length is 16 month (4 terms). Additionally, the summer is not a regular term and non-mandatory enrolment in summer required for my program.

In my case, is the summer term considered as a scheduled break?

 

[selvakk]

Hi,

I am now enrolled in a Master's program. It is a 2-year program starts from Sep 2018 and ends on April 2020. It mentioned that the program length is 16 month (4 terms). Additionally, the summer is not a regular term and non-mandatory enrolment in summer required for my program.

In my case, is the summer term considered as a scheduled break?

Summer is usually a scheduled break unless you have a course without scheduled breaks. So, in your case since you don't need to do any courses in the summer, the summer term is a scheduled break for you.

 

[lferfga]

I would check with your department to see if it's considered a scheduled break.
I'm also in a master's program where summer is not mandatory, but the department does offer a few classes and if you choose not to take any it's not considered a scheduled break.
I'm still doing a full time load over the summer just to be safe for PGWP.

 

[sector18]

Summer is usually a scheduled break unless you have a course without scheduled breaks. So, in your case since you don't need to do any courses in the summer, the summer term is a scheduled break for you.

Thank you for your information! That sounds great!

 

[sector18]

I would check with your department to see if it's considered a scheduled break.
I'm also in a master's program where summer is not mandatory, but the department does offer a few classes and if you choose not to take any it's not considered a scheduled break.
I'm still doing a full time load over the summer just to be safe for PGWP.

Hi there,

I have checked with my department, they cannot give me a clear answer on that OTZ. They just told me that "It’s hard to say exactly – it’s not mandatory to take courses through the summer but it’s also not an outright scheduled break in the sense that holidays are marked as such."

I know that undergraduates have scheduled break (the summer term). Similarly, summer is not mandatory for undergraduates, and again their summer is not an outright scheduled break in the sense that holidays are marked as such. I really get lost with the term, scheduled break.

Other than asking the department, are there any other ways to check if the summer is a scheduled break? Will the T2202A be helpful in this case? Thanks!

 

[lferfga]

Hi there,

I have checked with my department, they cannot give me a clear answer on that OTZ. They just told me that "It’s hard to say exactly – it’s not mandatory to take courses through the summer but it’s also not an outright scheduled break in the sense that holidays are marked as such."

I know that undergraduates have scheduled break (the summer term). Similarly, summer is not mandatory for undergraduates, and again their summer is not an outright scheduled break in the sense that holidays are marked as such. I really get lost with the term, scheduled break.

Other than asking the department, are there any other ways to check if the summer is a scheduled break? Will the T2202A be helpful in this case? Thanks!

I guess your school's immigration advisor would be your next option.
In my case he was the first one I asked. He told me to ask the department, and they were very clear about it.
It went basically like this:
Me: "I know summer is not mandatory, so if I don't take any classes is that considered a scheduled break?"
Department: "No, it's not considered a scheduled break."

It's annoying that CIC doesn't have their own precise definition of what a scheduled break is. They don't even have a definition for "full time studies".
I'm being extra careful to meet the PGWP requirements so I'm not taking any chances, even though an internship in the summer would have been ideal.

 

[selvakk]

I guess your school's immigration advisor would be your next option.
In my case he was the first one I asked. He told me to ask the department, and they were very clear about it.
It went basically like this:
Me: "I know summer is not mandatory, so if I don't take any classes is that considered a scheduled break?"
Department: "No, it's not considered a scheduled break."

It's annoying that CIC doesn't have their own precise definition of what a scheduled break is. They don't even have a definition for "full time studies".
I'm being extra careful to meet the PGWP requirements so I'm not taking any chances, even though an internship in the summer would have been ideal.

You can only do internships if it is required as a part of your studies. If it is required as part of your studies you will be given a letter from your college/university, and you need to use that letter to apply for a co-op work permit.

 

[lferfga]

You can only do internships if it is required as a part of your studies. If it is required as part of your studies you will be given a letter from your college/university, and you need to use that letter to apply for a co-op work permit.

Internships are just work, as long as it's part time during classes or full time during scheduled breaks you don't need anything else.
The letter is if you need to take a semester off to do the internship as a requirement in your program (i.e. it is mandatory and counts for credits).

 

[selvakk]

Internships are just work, as long as it's part time during classes or full time during scheduled breaks you don't need anything else.
The letter is if you need to take a semester off to do the internship as a requirement in your program.

It's not a semester off, you can do a co-op during your second semester or after the second semester is completed. If your particular institution does not consider the summer term as a holiday, then it's not a scheduled break. Things like winter holidays is considered as a scheduled break.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/work/work-off-campus.html

 

[lferfga]

It's not a semester off, you can do a co-op during your second semester or after the second semester is completed. If your particular institution does not consider the summer term as a holiday, then it's not a scheduled break. Things like winter holidays is considered as a scheduled break.

Right, I just meant that the co-op work permit is only required for mandatory co-ops/internships that are part of a student's program. They can still take a job called "engineering intern" for example without the work permit, as long as they follow the regular rules for off-campus work.
That's probably a discussion for another thread though, we don't want to take over this one.

 

[sector18]

I guess your school's immigration advisor would be your next option.
In my case he was the first one I asked. He told me to ask the department, and they were very clear about it.
It went basically like this:
Me: "I know summer is not mandatory, so if I don't take any classes is that considered a scheduled break?"
Department: "No, it's not considered a scheduled break."

It's annoying that CIC doesn't have their own precise definition of what a scheduled break is. They don't even have a definition for "full time studies".
I'm being extra careful to meet the PGWP requirements so I'm not taking any chances, even though an internship in the summer would have been ideal.

Yes, it is pretty annoying. I asked the same question to an international student advisor and the School of Graduate Studies. The answer I got is to ask the department for details...
I am super curious about how cic knows if the summer is counted as a scheduled break. I have asked all relevant department and staff for the same question and none of them told me the exact answer. But how can CIC determine if the term is a scheduled break or not?
If I call CIC and tell them which program I am enrolled, will they tell me if my summer is a scheduled break?

 

[sector18]

It's not a semester off, you can do a co-op during your second semester or after the second semester is completed. If your particular institution does not consider the summer term as a holiday, then it's not a scheduled break. Things like winter holidays is considered as a scheduled break.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/study-canada/work/work-off-campus.html

In my case, it might not be a semester off, since the enrolment of the summer term is not mandatory. However, I cannot find the answer if the summer is a scheduled break or not. If I apply for coop work permit now, can I start work while waiting for the result?

 

[sector18]

Right, I just meant that the co-op work permit is only required for mandatory co-ops/internships that are part of a student's program. They can still take a job called "engineering intern" for example without the work permit, as long as they follow the regular rules for off-campus work.
That's probably a discussion for another thread though, we don't want to take over this one.

I am pretty clear about the regular rules for off-campus work. However, the definition of scheduled break is really tricky, and I cannot get a clear answer from an international student advisor, school of graduate studies and my department. Are there any other ways for me to check if the summer is considered a scheduled break?

 

[selvakk]

Yes, it is pretty annoying. I asked the same question to an international student advisor and the School of Graduate Studies. The answer I got is to ask the department for details...
I am super curious about how cic knows if the summer is counted as a scheduled break. I have asked all relevant department and staff for the same question and none of them told me the exact answer. But how can CIC determine if the term is a scheduled break or not?
If I call CIC and tell them which program I am enrolled, will they tell me if my summer is a scheduled break?

I think CIC defers to the institution with regards to what and when is a particular period is considered a scheduled break. All the CIC is bothered is that you are not skipping school to work. Normally colleges/universities have a program or institution wide calendar with all the dates of the holidays, you could check there. I don't think CIC would be able to help.

 

[sector18]

I think CIC defers to the institution with regards to what and when is a particular period is considered a scheduled break. All the CIC is bothered is that you are not skipping school to work. Normally colleges/universities have a program or institution wide calendar with all the dates of the holidays, you could check there. I don't think CIC would be able to help.

Thank you so much for your information! However, I cannot find such a calendar showing summer is a scheduled break for both graduates and undergraduates (The undergraduates definitely have the scheduled break based on the email from the international student advisor) OTZ.

I do find that on the official pages of some university officially states that summer is a scheduled break for undergraduates and for graduates everything depends on their department. However, my university even did not explicitly states scheduled break exists for undergraduates.