Thinking of going abroad? The four main countries for furthering your study - Canada

More than 130,000 international students study at Canadian educational institutes every year.

Director of the Canadian Education Centre in Hong Kong, Yiu Mei-mei, said there was a long history of Hong Kong students pursuing postgraduate studies in Canada.

In Canada, where education is the responsibility of each province or territory, universities set their own admission requirements and criteria for recognising overseas academic qualifications. Course lengths vary, with master's programmes running from 16 months to two years. Ms Yiu said admission requirements were similar at most universities, though competition was tougher in the major cities.

Most institutions require students to demonstrate proficiency in their language of instruction, either English or French, usually through a standardised language test such as the Canadian Academic English Language Assessment or the IELTS test.

International postgraduate students are encouraged to contact the university or college of their choice for detailed information on how they assess international qualifications. Ms Yiu said some provinces were actively promoting postgraduate education and she encouraged students to find out about scholarships and financial assistance that may be available. Canada has many attractions as a study destination - its qualifications are well-regarded, it offers a quality lifestyle, and courses and cost of living are said to be cheaper than in some competiting countries.

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