Getting a Study permit to do your masters or post graduate program is becoming one of the most popular Canada relocation routes for Nigerians.

According to the IRCC, in 2019 Canada welcomed over 404,000 people who used the study visa route to relocate to Canada,
and Nigeria is among the top ten countries.

Source: https://www.cicnews.com/2020/02/canada-welcomed-more-than-400000-new-international-students-in-2019-0213724.html

The reasons for this are obvious:

1. A Canada Masters degree or post graduate degree is a door opener for you anywhere in the world.

2. You don't need IELTS (under certain conditions) to immigrate and study in Canada.

3. It is very easy to transition from temporary study visa to permanent resident after you're done with studies.

4. You can relocate with your family

5. There are no obvious age restrictions.

6. You can work while schooling,
among other benefits.

First thing you need to know if you are applying for masters in Canada is that they are 2 different kinds of masters:

1. Thesis based masters
2. Course based masters

For thesis based masters you're going to be conducting lots of research and working closely with a professor on a topic that interests you both.

And before you apply for admission you need to be accepted by a professor (some of them have access to funding which you might enjoy) before sending in your application.

For the course based masters, even though you will be conducting some research, most of the work will be done in class.

You don't need to do a lot of research compared to the thesis based masters.

Post graduate diploma or post graduate certificates are mostly course based.

Eligibilty criteria / required documents

Now, eligibility criteria is usually dependent on the program and the school you're applying to.

However there are general eligibility criteria you'll need to meet before you can apply

1. You need English proficiency test (IELTS / TOEFL)

Many candiates are required to proof their English proficiency by writing IELTS or TOEFL.

However if English is your first language, or you had your Bachelors degree in English, you can contact the school you are applying to and they will wave the ielts or any other English test

That means you can relocate through the study visa route without writing the IELTS.

2. Bachelor's degree in a related course or work experience in the field you wish to study.

Some schools require that you need to have work experience in a certain field, if you don't have a Bachelors degree in that field.

For example if you want to study a masters in Human Resources, and what you have is a Bsc in Physics. Some schools require you have work experience in a HR or similar role

They need this to prove that you can do the masters and complete it successfully.

3. A High enough grade in your undergraduate program.

You need to have at least a 2nd class upper in your undergraduate program.

However if you didn't have a 2nd class upper cgpa in your undergraduate course not to worry, there is a way out.

Because many schools only need you to have a 2nd class upper cgpa in the last 2 years of your program,

This means even if you graduated with a 2.2 or 3rd class, if you had a CGPA of 2.1 from year 3 to year 4 (or year 4 to year 5 if it is a 4 years program) you are still eligible.

If you still don't meet any of the above requirement, you can do a 1 year qualifying program and then you will be accepted to carry on your masters.

There are also schools that accept 2.2 for masters

Next, we discuss putting together a strong application

Putting together your application

Before we go on, here is a website you can use to easily search for Canada universities you can do masters in
https://universitystudy.ca

Back to the gist

What you need for your application is largely dependent on the program and the school you are applying to.

But in general, these are the documents that must be included in your application:

1. Your resume or CV.

Some will ask while others will not.

However it is always good to include your resume so they can see your work experience and some of the things you have achieved in your career.

This will help them make a better decision about you. A good resume will give you an edge.

2. Statement of Purpose.

This is a very powerful tool that will influence your application.

Your statement/letter of purpose allows you to explain your personal interest in the program to which you are applying.

It should reference the kind of knowledge you expect to gain from the program and should define the reasons why you chose the program and how it can satisfy your own interests.

An SOP can be the difference between you getting an admission or missing out

3. Transcript.

Before including your transcript it should be evaluated by the WES or any other body recognized by the IRCC for carrying out Educational Credential Evaluation

Basically ECA means any of these bodies evaluate your Nigerian degree (or any other country) and certify that it is equivalent to the Canadian version of that degree.

If you did a Bsc in Nigeria or Ghana or India, they certify it is equal to a Canadian Bsc.

4. Any research paper you have puplished - if any

This can give you an edge. If for example you wrote your final year project and you had it published in a journal you should also include it in your application.

Submitting your application

If it is a course based program, simply go the school faculty website, upload required documents and follow the application instructions

If it is a thesis based program,

you have to first contact a professor you share same research interests in the faculty you want to get admitted in.

He will give you the go ahead to apply.

Now, you may be wondering how do you know which professor to contact, his contact details and what he is working on.

Its easy, all these details are in the faculty website of the school you want to apply to.

However, this makes it asier to search => https://canadastudy.ca

Applying for admission to Canadian university and colleges cost between 150 to 200 CAD. And you can do it yourself.

Getting Scholarships and Sponsorships

Tuition fee in Canada can cost upto15,000 to 20,000CAD per year.

Whether you can afford it or not is not the issue here. The thing is there are many scholarship opportunites you can take advantage of.

And you can get either full or partial scholarship.

Some free money for your Canadian atudies won't hurt.

Scholarships are given based on academic performance, leadership abilities and other criteria.

Also, for thesis based masters, professors have access to funding for research that their students can also benefit from

So, this is just an overview of how to apply for a study visa

Here's one more piece of useful information.

There is a webinar by someone who has gone through the entire process of:

1. getting admission
2. getting a scholarship
3. getting a study visa
4. completing his studies and
5. getting a Canada Permanent Residency

He has recorded a video of each step.

You can click this link, register and watch the webinar replay for free.
https://iknowexperts.com.ng/canada-secrets

Commendable

Hello gurus, please kindly assist me. My official transcript had been sent to Regina university since last week Friday but no reply yet, do I still need to send to them again. However I applied for masters.

Johnvibe:
Hello gurus, please kindly assist me. My official transcript had been sent to Regina university since last week Friday but no reply yet, do I still need to send to them again. However I applied for masters.

Can you text me pls. My phone no is ‪+234 810 710 9688‬ WhatsApp