Hi,
A lot has been discussed and talked about duration of academic year and the post grad work permit to be received after it.
Usually, as per CIC, 1 academic year = 4+4= 8 months or 2 semesters. and 2 years of academic study = 8+8= 16 months or 4 semesters. (
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/cec/graduates.asp)
Most 1 academic year courses are 8 months/ 2 semesters long and may or may not include a co-op/ internship/work experience term ranging from few weeks to a full (3rd)SEM Or it can be a full time fast track course of 3 semester studies so as to cover more portion.
Now, as per PGWP rule, you 'll receive PGWP exactly equal to the duration of your studies if your full time studies is atleast of 8 months duration but less than 2 years. And you'll receive a PGWP of 3 years if you complete a full time course of duration of 2 years or above. If u study a 1 year course of lower level (say PG certificate) and then do another 1 year of Masters, those also get 3 years PGWP.
Saying this, those pursuing 2 years full time courses (of 4 semesters or 16 months) generally get a 3 years PGWP, but however many pursuing 1 academic year of studies (2 semesters/ 8 months, without co-op) may or may not get just 8 months of PGWP instead of 1 full academic year. Those who pursue co-op/internship/work experience months/full 1 SEM, which is as part of their course, receive total PGWP of 8 months+ the number of co-op months. Now, why this injustice, I don''t know and you may even get a 1 full year PGWP after 8 months of studies or in rare cases (as happened to 1 member on this forum) got less that 3 years PGWP, even after completing a 2 years PG certificate programme from a college.
Also there 're MBA programmes, ranging from 12 to 14 to 18 months, but one gets 3 years PGWP.
Thus, it's safe to assume that, it largely depends on the VO issuing the PGWP and also on the number of credit hours for the course.