Are 4 Semesters equivalent to 2 Academic Years???

[sicko86]

Hi.. I want to ask you does 4 Semesters in Canada considered as 2 Academic Years in by CIC and if so

1) Can I obtain 3 years of Post Graduation work Permit for Studying 4 Semester (2 Academic Years) or I have to do study 2 full years in order to obtain 3 Years of Post Grad Work Permit?

2) Can I claim 5 Points for Doing 4 Semester as 2 Academic Years in applying for PR under skilled worker program?

Please I need clarification for these 2 Points.

Thanks

[professional 1]

Hi.. I want to ask you does 4 Semesters in Canada considered as 2 Academic Years in by CIC and if so

1) Can I obtain 3 years of Post Graduation work Permit for Studying 4 Semester (2 Academic Years) or I have to do study 2 full years in order to obtain 3 Years of Post Grad Work Permit?

2) Can I claim 5 Points for Doing 4 Semester as 2 Academic Years in applying for PR under skilled worker program?

Please I need clarification for these 2 Points.

Thanks

4 semesters (16) months are two academic years in canada as a full time student and it is mandatory to finish the program before applying for the PG work permit.(you cannot be studying the bachelor degree for 4 years and after the second year apply for the PG work permit because the program is not done yet.

For the purpose of the post graduation work permit you can get it for 3 years  if you study 2 academic years in a full time base and the program has to be done successfully (but make sure that you have 3 years left in your passport when you apply for it)


Last point, if you study two academic years in canada, the answer is YES you can claim 5 points for that.

[sicko86]

Thank You, I am doing Masters Actually I started Jan 2009 and I will be finishing April 2010 so Just to Confirm these are 16 continuous months so this will be still considered as 2 Academic years BY CIC???

[Maaties]

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op06-eng.pdf

See page 12, 6.3 education - "Full-time equivalent” means, in respect of part-time or accelerated studies, the period of time
that would have been required to complete those studies on a full-time basis."

So whether you took two years or less, as long as the normal period for the masters is two years, you can claim points for FSW.

“Full-time” is defined in R78(1) as requiring at least 15 hours of instruction per week during
the academic year, including any period of training in the workplace that forms part of the
course of instruction.

I believe 4 semester of 15 hours of instructions per week is considered a 2 year degree. If you finish it early, good for you, you get the points.

[professional 1]

Thank You, I am doing Masters Actually I started Jan 2009 and I will be finishing April 2010 so Just to Confirm these are 16 continuous months so this will be still considered as 2 Academic years BY CIC???

Again, for the purpose of the post graduation work permit, just count 16 months of study as a full time student in each semester to get the work permit for 3 years.

You said that you started on january 2009 and will be finishing on april 2009, is there any vacations between the semesters ? if yes you cannot count them with the 16 months it has to be 4 months for each semesters to count a total of 16 pure months of study to be granted the PG work permit for 3 years.

[sicko86]

No Vacation.. continuous Research Study, anyways I can delay it for 1 or 2 months more just in Case )

I have another Question.. I am planning to apply to PR FSW - 3 On Jan 2010 as I will be completing my first year.. can I claim that I will be done with 2 Academic Years.. as I will not graduate before April 2010?? If I bring them an official paper from the university stating that I still need at least 4 month (or more) and I will be completing the full 16 months of studies by April 2010?

[Maaties]

i think officially, they will only give you points for what you have completed. However, I am not sure whether Sydney NS looks at points anyway.

[sam0808]

Hi

I have a similar question,
my girlfriend has been studying for 4 semesters as well and would like to apply for the post graduate work permit for 3 yrs. She is a transfer student completing the last 2 years of an undergrad degree here.

She studied for 2 semesters of 4 classes ( 12 hrs) and 2 semesters of 5 classes (15 hrs).
4 classes IS considered full time by her school.

I noticed in a previous post it mentioned only 15 hrs ( 5 classes) is full time  according to CIC???

does this mean she can not get the post graduate permit...?

Any advice would be very appreciated.

[professional 1]

Hi

I have a similar question,
my girlfriend has been studying for 4 semesters as well and would like to apply for the post graduate work permit for 3 yrs. She is a transfer student completing the last 2 years of an undergrad degree here.

She studied for 2 semesters of 4 classes ( 12 hrs) and 2 semesters of 5 classes (15 hrs).
4 classes IS considered full time by her school.

I noticed in a previous post it mentioned only 15 hrs ( 5 classes) is full time  according to CIC???

does this mean she can not get the post graduate permit...?

Any advice would be very appreciated.

NO for the purpose of the post graduate work permit it is left to the educational institution to determine whether the student is a full time or part time, and it differs from one university or college to the other.

For example, mount saint vincent university in halifax give the status of full time for only 3 courses in the winter semester and the fall, and only one course in the summer semester to be a full time. while other univeristies gives 4 courses in the winter semester for the full time base.


so as i mentioned if her transcript shows that she was a full time student in each semester regardless the number of courses in that semester, and she has done at least the the half of her program of study or more in canada, and she applied withing 90 days of finishing her program, she will be eligible for the three years post graduate work permit.

[sam0808]

Thank you very much for your reply.

She studied in Quebec in 2003 and completed 7 courses, then she went back to the USA where she completed 20 courses. When she transferred back here she got credit ( advanced standing) for 15 of those courses. Then she completed the remaining 18 courses to get her degree in a two year period ( full time fall/winter- no classes during the summer).

If you add it all up, she did 25 courses here and 15 courses there that counted to her degree. total- 40 classes for a 4 year undergrad degree.

Will they count the courses she took in 2003 here in canada? It is all part of the same degree.. she just took time off school and that is why it took so long to complete the program.

Also, she never studied in the summer time.. she was a full time student the rest of the year but worked through the off campus work permit program during the summers.

Does this sound like someone who can get the 3 year work permit? Thank you so much for your information, it is very helpful!

[sam0808]

My girlfriend may have to take an extra class or two her final semester in order to graduate.

There may have been a miscalculation with her transfer credits.

This means that she will have been a full time students for 2 years, and then a part time student her last

semester of school. For the post graduate work permit it states that you must be a full time student to

qualify.. If this is the case, and she has to be part time just her last semester, does this mean she does not qualify? that can't be right...

Please advise, We really appreciate any clarification on this matter, thank you!