My budget is 15,000 CAD, is it enough to complete the Masters Degree

[0xFF]

Greetings Folks,

I have some doubts regarding studying Masters in Canada, My overall budget for the Master studies is 15,000 CAD. Beside this i can show $35,000 to Canadaian Govt. for the Visa process, but 15,000$ is the amount i shall be taking with me to Canada. Will I manage to complete two year Masters degree with this amount and a part-time Job ?

I am planning to Study Telecommunication Engineering. Kindly guide me accordingly.

 

[t119]

It will be tough but you can do it.

For living you will require approximately 8000 CAD per year and that also depends on the city you live in. You can start off campus job after you have stayed 6 months in Canada.

My suggestion would be to go for a thesis based masters if you can since that will be funded but it will be harder to get in.

You can also get into an MEng program(course based as opposed to thesis based) initially which is comparatively easier to get in. And then once you have gone there try to switch to a thesis based route for which you will have to manage a supervisor. Possible but challenging.

And finally with 15K CAD to start off with, you can manage I believe if you work part time and study full time. But that will be tough.

Best of luck.

 

[aamro1992]

It will be extremely tough. per year you will spend ~ 1680$ on food (excluding groceries), for me as an undergrad, books cost 400 to 500$ for a semester(for masters i think it will be higher cos of course work).. per month in waterloo for me cost 450$ per month..
those are the basic things you need to keep in mind

 

[t119]

You shouldn't say "extremely tough". Undergrad tuition and course loads are both higher than that of masters.

 

[0xFF]

It will be tough but you can do it.

For living you will require approximately 8000 CAD per year and that also depends on the city you live in. You can start off campus job after you have stayed 6 months in Canada.

My suggestion would be to go for a thesis based masters if you can since that will be funded but it will be harder to get in.

You can also get into an MEng program(course based as opposed to thesis based) initially which is comparatively easier to get in. And then once you have gone there try to switch to a thesis based route for which you will have to manage a supervisor. Possible but challenging.

And finally with 15K CAD to start off with, you can manage I believe if you work part time and study full time. But that will be tough.

Best of luck.

I liked your idea of first getting admission in the course based programme and then switching to thesis bases. I would like to tell you that i myself love research based programs and i'd love to enroll and study in the thesis based programme. In Job prespective which programme is better , Thesis bases or course based ?

I'd also like to ask that, Eventhough I have a good research based skills but would you please elaborate as what Canadian professors expects from a student who is enrolled in a thesis based programme; I mean what level of research do they expect from an undergraduated student ?

According to the new policy , a student can start off-Campus work right after arriving in Canada, with keeping in mind that this is authentic, will this make my situation any less tougher ?

 

[seab]

It depends on where you go and what program you do. Grad student often get paid as lab assistants and Teaching assistants. I've seen Grad students make 15-20000 a year for being research assistants and teaching assistants.

 

[0xFF]

It depends on where you go and what program you do. Grad student often get paid as lab assistants and Teaching assistants. I've seen Grad students make 15-20000 a year for being research assistants and teaching assistants.

Thankyou, that was really an encouraging post

 

[t119]

I liked your idea of first getting admission in the course based programme and then switching to thesis bases. I would like to tell you that i myself love research based programs and i'd love to enroll and study in the thesis based programme. In Job prespective which programme is better , Thesis bases or course based ?

It depends on the job really. But definitely a research based degree is better. It is harder and challenging, employers will know you haven't just completed courses but did some real work.

I'd also like to ask that, Eventhough I have a good research based skills but would you please elaborate as what Canadian professors expects from a student who is enrolled in a thesis based programme; I mean what level of research do they expect from an undergraduated student ?

That depends on the Professor's reputation. The more famous he is the more demanding he will be. But if you have one good publication and/or the right amount of passion to take up challenges apart from your academic skills Professors would be interested in you. You have to take it to them.

According to the new policy , a student can start off-Campus work right after arriving in Canada, with keeping in mind that this is authentic, will this make my situation any less tougher ?

If you are sure about the policy, it does make your case less tougher. In a big city you will get jobs with decent salary. But in anycase you will have to show adequate funds for the visa.

 

[0xFF]

Thank you very much for your great answers.

Eventhough I am an undergraduate student, i have worked on the Two research based project with one Most reputable Pakistani University while the other project was done for the most reputable Organization of Pakistan. I have approx. CGPA of 3.4 so far (7 semesters) and have 85+ Marks in each course related to my field (some of them have 90+ marks whic means 4GPA). Beside this I am one of the best computer programmer in my University (Programming is not my field though). Which is why I am quite confident that I will get admission in Research based program the only thing that worries me a little is what Canadian professors expects from us since we never worked at international level as a research assistant.

and Yes , I am capable of showing funds for the Visa, I am planning to show around $50,000.
P.S: are we supposed to show at least the First year fee + $13,000 ?

Thank you.

 

[t119]

It seems you are planning pretty ahead. Really appreciated.

Here is your to do list :

1. Try figure out a particular area where you want to research.

2. Browse through canada universities and faculty member profiles. See what are they are doing. Keep doing it, don't worry much about what you are finding at the beginning. At one point, you will get a good feel of what university is doing what and specifically which professors are there in your interested area.

3. Try to increase you cgpa. 3.7 at least.

4. Take the gre and get a good score, it will add weight to your profile.

5. Contact the professors you have found out in number 2. Contact them professionally. Email them something like your last comment. Do this during the october/november before the year of session start. That is, start contacting them in oct/nov 2013 if you want to start in sept 2014.

6. Depending on their reply, if you get any, try to evaluate your chances and make the decision of dropping an application.

And yes you are supposed to show that amount of money. Good Luck.