The desire to finish studies as soon as possible is explained quite simply: Canadian students, as a rule, take out a study loan, and therefore strive to start working sooner in order to repay their debt to the bank before they have their own children. University administrators looked at such zeal and decided: if there is demand, if every discipline is “weighed” and “measured” by a certain credit, then why not offer students to study individual disciplines in the summer? Those who wish can later add summer credits to their basic university ones, while those who are not particularly inclined to fill their heads with academic wisdom can take some course, as they say, for company.
For the sake of fairness, we note that there are not many people willing to spend their vacations or holidays studying in classrooms. However, there are plenty of specialists seeking to improve their professional qualifications and attending summer courses on a par with students.
Now let us tell you in more detail about several universities that practice summer education. For example, the University of Alberta, located in Edmonton, approaches the recruitment of target groups from among summer study enthusiasts as follows. The main summer group can include students who are currently continuing their studies at the university: they have the right to attend all available courses of the summer semester. Next come those who once studied at Alberta but interrupted their studies more than a year ago, and exchange students who came to the university under relevant agreements.
Note that representatives of these groups are also entitled to register for all programs operating in the summer. But new students, visiting students, special students, and students in open access programs can only listen to those programs that are in so-called open access. However, registration for most programs is allowed for all groups. The list of disciplines is huge: it starts with “A” - Accounting (accounting) and ends with “W” - Writing (writing). Courses are held mostly in the evening (teachers are also people and take into account that it is summer outside).
The summer semester at the University of Alberta lasts only six weeks. This year it runs from July 5 to August 13. The cost of a three-credit course is 607.85 Canadian dollars, and a six-credit course is 1,038.77. Admission to summer courses requires knowledge of a language - English (at TOEFL 210 level) or French (DELF).
At Acadia University, the cost of summer educational programs for international students is somewhat higher - 1,390 Canadian dollars for a three-credit and 2,780 for a six-credit course. The institution is located in the town of Wolfville, Nova Scotia. For several years now, according to the Maclean's ranking, this small university has been the best among all Canadian universities in terms of the bachelor's programs it offers.
As for Acadia's summer school, its courses cover a wide range of disciplines. These include art, business, chemistry, communications, computer studies, economics, education, English, French and Spanish, physics, psychology, and sociology. Classes in Acadia University's summer programs begin in early July.
Summer studies at Ryerson University begin on June 21. The number of courses at the institution is impressive and quite comparable to Alberta. Here you can find accounting, biology, chemistry, design, and a host of other diverse programs. Tuition costs from 1,300 Canadian dollars per course.
The University of Calgary's Summer Institute operates for only two weeks - from July 19 to 30. Students can attend short one-, two-, or five-day courses in management, human resource management, communications, leadership development, and marketing. Even though the training program may be limited to one day, full credits are awarded for each course attended and completed. Tuition is 249 Canadian dollars for a one-day course, 279 for a two-day course, and 429 for a five-day course.
Concordia University, located in bilingual Montreal, runs a summer school at the university's Centre for Continuing Education from early June to the end of August. International students have access to courses in mass media and communications (cost - 1,650 Canadian dollars), digital photo processing (2,250), e-commerce (2,250), graphic applications (2,250), hospitality management (1,750), human resource management (1,820), management (1,820), and digital photography and videography (1,850).
McGill University, also located in Montreal, took a more academic approach to organizing summer courses running from May to early August. The list of disciplines available to international students is no less impressive than at the University of Alberta. The cost of a three-credit course ranges from 1,026 to 1,500 Canadian dollars, and a six-credit course from 2,052 to 3,000.
A very creative approach to using the summer semester was taken by the authors of a joint project between two educational institutions located in Toronto - the ILAC language school and Laurentian University. Students of economics departments and professionals with work experience in finance and management, who have a high level of English but no documentary confirmation of it (a TOEFL certificate), can attend English lessons at ILAC in the morning and prepare to pass the language exam. And twice a week - on Friday and Saturday evenings - they can improve their qualifications at Laurentian University.
Among the upcoming programs are courses in strategic and applied management, which will run from June 23 to July 20. These are followed by courses in accounting for managers and in global financial institutions and markets (July 21 - August 17), then courses in financial analysis for managers and in e-commerce management (August 18 - September 14). The cost of the educational block is 1,350 Canadian dollars.
You have probably already noticed that Canadian universities offer a wide range of summer programs, so the choice of place and course of study depends on your future plans. In any case, the international experience gained will be useful in future employment.