Natasha Chopra lists out the popular courses at the undergraduate and post graduate levels in Canada, Singapore and Australia
As admission requirements to reputed universities abroad is not easy to meet, some countries, such as Canada, are now offering pathway courses for students, to help them make the cut.
‘Pathway programmes’ act as a preliminary clearance round before allowing students to pursue their chosen course of study. Pathway institutions give students a second chance at fixing their scores. Here’s a list of countries and the courses they offer:
Canada
Canada is a country with a wide choice of courses at the undergraduate level, whether in a college or university. Studying in a college is believed to be cheaper than pursuing one under a university in Canada. The eligibility criteria is more stringent at university.
Navitas Colleges ICM and FIC are pathways colleges to universities such as the University of Manitoba and Simon Fraser University respectively. The pathway course in Canada is called a ‘UTP stage-2’ (Fees - $16,000 CA/year).
Universities offer complete Bachelor’s degrees that are of four years in duration. Popular courses offered include Bachelor’s in Business, Economics, Engineering (Mechanical, Electrical, Electronics and Mechanotronics). Fees — $16,000 CA to 22,000 CA. Living costs: $12,000 CA.
Some colleges in Canada also give away Diploma, Advanced Diploma and a few Bachelor programme awards in the following fields:
*Diploma — Business Management (Marketing, Finance, Business Insurance, Office Administration, Medical, Hospitality, Travel and Tourism, Information Technology, Networking, Biotechnology Technician, Biotechnology Technologist, Mechanical Engineering Technician, Mechanical Technologist, etc.)
*Advanced Diploma — Business studies, Information Systems.
*Bachelors degree — Business, Business Information systems, etc.
*Fees - $12,000 CA — $14,000 CA. Living expenses - $12,000/year.
Singapore
Singapore is home to well-respected local universities such as the National University of Singapore, NTU and SMU. Many of the high-ranking international universities have also set up campuses in Singapore such as INSEAD, Duke University and MIT. Total expense in Singapore can cost between 10 -12 lakhs per annum (living and tuition fees included).
Tuition fee varies between 6-8 lakhs and living expense will add up to 4 lakhs.
Tuition fee will be lesss if a student gets direct entry into the Bachelor’s degree. IELTS/TOEFL scores are not required by Singapore universities, as the student will be asked to arrange a letter from his/her school stating that the medium of instruction throughout has been English. The usual progression for Singapore is Diploma followed by an Advanced Diploma followed by a Bachelor’s degree.
Australia
Australia has once again become a popular destination thanks to the recent changes in visa regulations. It has now become easier for students to get a visa, study in a highly-ranked institution and make the most of employment prospects after course completion. There are several part-time work opportunities too. An Honor’s degree is four years in duration in Australia.
Some of the popular courses under the many Australian universities include:
*MBA, Business, Supply Chain Management, Retail Management, Finance, Accounting, International Business, Marketing and Event Management
*Science and Technology: Engineering (Nanotechnology, Food Technology, Artificial Intelligence, Transport Engineering, VLSI Engineering, Radio Engineering, Aerospace Engineering, Microelectronics, Criminology, Forensic Science, Biotechnology, Cell Embryology, Genetics, Drug Design, etc.)
*Tuition fees: AUD 18,000 – 36,000 per annum
*Living: 18,000 AUD per annum
*UG courses: 3 - 4 years
*PG courses: 1- 2 years
*Ph.D: 3 years
*Post study work visa: 2- 4 years
*Scholarships: A minimum of $ 2,000 AUD and up to 100 per cent of tuition fee waiver are given to students, depending on the profile of the student.
Other country options such as New Zealand and Ireland are relatively economical options with the possibility of work options both during study and post study.
Things that a student should know:
Take advice from peers but spend some quality time doing your own research and be clear of your reason for going overseas to study.
Students should look at rankings but these should not be the deciding factor as there are many other factors to consider too. The most important aspect in university shortlisting should be the course content followed by other indicators like infrastructure, popularity, faculty etc.
Some helpful sites:
*www.ucas.ac.uk
*www.prospects.ac.uk/hotcourses
*http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_954.html
*http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/australia/
*www.cricos.deewr.gov.au
*www.usnews.com
*www.collegeboard.com
(The writer is the managing director of The Chopras.)
(This is the final part of the article titled ‘Facts and figures of studying abroad’, which appeared in Education last week.)