Statistics Canada has released new information about the rising popularity of college postgraduate programs in Canada.
- College postgraduate credentials – that is, credentials from college programs that typically require a previous postsecondary credential – have grown in popularity, accounting for 13% of all college graduations in 2019, up from 6% in 2014.
- The rise in college postgraduate credentials is largely driven by international students, particularly those from India. By 2019, two-thirds (67%) of graduates from college postgraduate credential programs were international students, up from less than one-third (30%) in 2014. Over half (53%) of all graduates with these credentials in 2019 were international students from India.
- Eight in ten international students who completed a college postgraduate credential in 2015 gained permanent residency within 5 years of graduation, a higher rate than for international graduates of bachelor’s or master’s degrees.
- Over three-quarters of international students who completed a college postgraduate credential in 2015 had wage earnings four years after graduation.
- Among international students who completed a college postgraduate credential in 2015, Indian students were more likely than those from other countries to have wage earnings four years after graduation, but their average earnings were lower.
- International students from countries other than India who completed a college postgraduate credential in 2015 had similar earnings to international students who completed a bachelor’s degree, while Indian graduates with college postgraduate credentials earned less.
- Canadian students who completed a college postgraduate credential in 2015 had higher earnings than those with a non-postgraduate college certificate or diploma, by several thousand dollars.
