Canada's Point System: Education

as promised, here is a closer look at canada's point system.

let me start off with education.

education gives you a maximum of 25 points. this is based on the number of years you have spent studying.

in determining your points for education, you will encounter 2 terminologies - full time study and full time equivalent study.

full time study is defined by having "at least 15 hours of instruction per week during the academic year, including any period of training in the workplace that is part of your studies."


full time equivalent study on the other hand, is defined as the "length of time that it would have taken to complete a program of study on a full-time basis, but was actually completed on a part-time or accelerated basis."

before you get confused, all it really means is that you were able to complete the number of required years of study whether you did it full time, part time or in an accelerated mode.

below is the list of categories and their respective points. remember that you must meet all the conditions to earn points in a particular category. this means that if the highest degree you've attained does not match the required number of years of study, then you must give yourself points based on the number of years you've studied.

a. 25 points if you have a master’s degree or PhD and at least 17 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study.

b. 22 points if you have two or more university degrees at the bachelor’s level and at least 15 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study.

c. 22 points if you have a three-year diploma, trade certificate or apprenticeship and at least 15 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study.

d. 20 points if you have a university degree of two years or more at the bachelor’s level and at least 14 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study.

e. 20 points if you have a two-year diploma, trade certificate or apprenticeship and at least 14 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study.

f. 15 points if you have a one-year university degree at the bachelor’s level and at least 13 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study.

g. 15 points if you have a one-year diploma, trade certificae or apprenticeship and at least 13 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study.

h. 12 points if you have a one-year diploma, trade certificate or apprenticeship and at least 12 years of full-time or full-time equivalent study.

i. 5 points if you completed high school.

if you wanna take the complete self-assessment, click here.