siddhesh398 said:
Hi,
I have completed 15 years of education in India [B.Sc(IT)] with 4 years of experience in IT industry.
I need guidance on for applying :
1.Best Colleges for pursing Post Graduate Certificate program in Canada for Computers/IT related study.
Province with fair opportunity for obtaining job and PR .
[Since I will complete 16 years of education after completion of the PG certificate ,will I be eligible for applying Master's degree ?
A consultant told me I can apply for Masters after completion of PG Certificate program , but I am skeptical]
2.Universities which accept students for Master's degree with 15 years of education.
I had talked with few consulting agencies but the options they gave are very limited,I think they promote only those colleges to which they gain monetary benefits.They don't provide the best options.
Hi,
Most Canadian universities need atleast B grade or minimum 60% in final 2 years of a 4 years Bachelor's degree for students from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nigeria etc. ( or a 3.0/4.0 GPA for Canadians)... and an IELTS score of 6.5 overall (with no bands less than 6)(some may require IELTS score of overall 7) for being eligible to apply to Master degree programs. Canadian universities DO NOT require GRE.
You can pursue a course based master degree (M.Eng) OR a research oriented, thesis based MaSc. degree in CS/IT or closely related fields. The research based degrees are usually much more competitive, where one generally needs to show some knack for research (like published papers) and selected students usually get partial or full funding. To the best of my knowledge, there are no Canadian public universities which will accept a 3 years BSC qualification from India, for entry to their Master degree programs in CS/IT related fields.
Since you are not eligible to apply for a Master's degree in CS/IT/related fields... you may pursue a 1 year (2 sem or 3 sem)PG certificate program in CS/IT/related field in any of the Canadian colleges. There are very few PG certificates of 2 year duration, but pursuing those, will close your option and/or waste another year for your main aim towards getting into a Master's degree, especially when you have quality 4 years IT work ex... pursuing Master's will definitely be the right path for you. Now, once you complete a 1 acd. year( atleast 2 sem / actual 8 months of study)PG certificate program from a Canadian college, you will have total 4 years of education and then depending upon the PG certificate pursued, Canadian university you choose to apply to, program eligibility...
you may or may not be eligible for admission to a Master degree program.
So, fact is... unless you inquire with all the individual universities offering Master degrees in CS/IT/Related field, about what is their stand on a 3 years Bachelor's (from India)+ 1 year PG certificate from Canadian colleges + your IT exp., and will it be considered as equal to a Canadian 4 year's bachelor's degree or not.. how will marks+ GPA be calculated in average... till then no 1 can say for sure... whether you will be eligible to apply for a Master degree or not. Act right now... do some hard work..research... select a dozen random Canadian public universities (if possible to all universities offering Master's in CS/IT... after you decide which PG certificate college program you will do), and mention your 3 years BSC IT+ that 1 year PG cert. program+ resume/ IT work ex.... and inquire about this scenario.. shoot emails... and see..what they say. If you may be eligible to apply, then while studying PG certificate in Canada from Sept. 2013, i.e while being in Canada, you will have to apply for Master degree programs at Canadian universities for Sept. 2014 intake, as applying for 2014 Fall/Sept. intake, usually the last date can be anywhere between Nov 1 2013 to Feb 1 2014.
Here's the list of ALL recognized Canadian educational institutes (universities and colleges) eligible for OCWP+PGWP, listed according to province:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/study/institutions/participants.asp -- Go through the university official websites, email the graduate CS departments offering master degrees of a dozen or so randomly selected universities (if possible all)... and inquire about your probable situation of whether they will be accepting a 3 years bachelors form India+ 1 year Pg certificate from Canadian college or not. Educational agents/ consultancies have nothing to loose, you get into a Master's degree or not...it's upto you to find out, what's the reality. All they want is to send you to 1 of their affiliated colleges..and get fat commission from the college.
You can see general rankings of Canadian universities to get an overall idea.. as to which universities are reputed. This way, you can email some of the top as well as mid level universities.
For example:
http://www.university-list.net/canada/rank/univ-7007.htm
www.4icu.org/ca/
Now, regarding 1 academic year (2sem or 3 sem ) PG certificates in Canadian colleges (IT/CS/Related fields):
As of now.. some of the 2 sem/ 8 months of actual study (which will most probably give you a 1 sem/4 months break in between to start Sept 2014 M. Eng program)/1 year PG cert. courses in CS/IT related fields ..this Sept. 2013 you can consider are...
http://www.senecacollege.ca/fulltime/DAD.html
http://www.fanshawec.ca/programs-courses/full-time-programs/ISM1-intro
http://www.humber.ca/program/enterprise-software-development
http://www.northernc.on.ca/plant-automation
You may also purse 1 acd year-3 semester/ actual 12 months of study programs... but it will not give you any break... and then immediately you will have to start your M.Eng program after your PG certificate... Some of good 3 sem/1 year PG programs you may consider are:
http://www.georgebrown.ca/T405-2013-2014/ (GBC IT analyst - good program... One of most reputed college in Canada, reccomended provided you are interested in this course)
http://www.georgiancollege.ca/programs/outline/computer-and-network-systems-security-cnss/
http://www.conestogac.on.ca/fulltime/0066C.jsp
http://www.sheridancollege.ca/programs-and-courses/full-time-programs/programs-a-z-index/game-development-advanced-programming.aspx
http://www.cambriancollege.ca/Programs/Programs/201309BAGC.HTM
Also, pursuing 1 year PG college certificate+ 1 year Master degree at a University, will make you eligible for a 3 years open work permit -PGWP... will give you enough time to pursue your career as well as immigration in Canada.
To know more about various student immigration programs in Canada for international students (see April 2013 update with official links; mid page 6):
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/various-immigration-programmes-for-international-students-in-canada-t100908.75.html
Finally, if you excel in your academics, field of study, have real skills... coupled with networking abilities, soft skills and luck... you should be able to find a skilled job (especially in your field)...which will make you eligible for almost all student immigration programs... and qualify you for a PR.
Hope it helps.
Best of Luck.
***All opinions expressed are purely personal, and pieces of information mentioned are to the best of my knowledge... You should consult other sources too.
