What's the difference between colleges and universities?

Universities focus on academic and professional programs, whereas colleges specialize in career training and trades programs.

What is a college?

Colleges offer training in the trades and in applied fields. Generally, they focus more on hands-on training.

College students have the opportunity to graduate with diplomas, apprenticeships, bachelor's degrees, and graduate certificates. Students can usually choose whether they want to do their studies full- or part-time.

Most college programs require students to have completed high school. However, there are dual credit programs that let high school students take courses that count towards a college or apprenticeship program.

College programs vary in length according to the field and the type of qualification you graduate with:

  • Certificates: take 1 year of full-time studying
  • Diplomas: take 2 to 3 years of full-time studying
  • Bachelor's degrees in applied fields: take 3 to 4 years of full-time study

To attend a public college in Ontario, you must apply through www.ontariocolleges.ca. You may also want to consider private career colleges.

What is a university?

Universities have academic programs, like philosophy or political science, and professional programs, like engineering or law.

University students have the opportunity to graduate with (undergraduate) bachelor's degrees, or (graduate) master's or doctoral degrees. Like colleges, many programs allow students to study part-time.

The different types of degrees have different prerequisites: 

  • Undergraduate programs require applicants to have a high school diploma
  • Graduate master's programs require applicants to have an undergraduate bachelor's degree, usually in a relevant field
  • Most doctoral degrees require applicants to have completed a master's program, however some accept applicants with bachelor's degrees as well   

University programs vary in length according to the degree you graduate with: 

  • Bachelor's degrees: take 4 years of full-time studying
  • Master’s degrees: take 1 to 2 years of full-time studying
  • Doctoral (PhD) degrees: take 4 to 6 years to complete
  • Professional programs (e.g., law, medicine, dentistry): take about 2 to 4 years to complete

To attend a public university in Ontario, you must apply through www.ouac.on.ca

How much does it cost to attend a college or university?

According to Ontario College Application Services, the average cost of (domestic) tuition for one year in an Ontario college program is:

  • Diploma program: $2,400
  • Bachelor's degree program: $6,100
  • Graduate certificate program: $3,600

According to Statistics Canada, the average cost of (domestic) tuition for one year in an Ontario university program is:

  • Undergraduate (bachelor's degree) program: $6,834
  • Graduate (master's and doctoral degree) program: $7,437

International students who are NOT Canadian citizens, permanent residents, or convention refugees must pay international tuition fees, which are much more expensive than domestic tuition fees.

For example, the average cost of international tuition for one year in an Ontario University program is:

  • International undergraduate program: $36,123
  • International graduate program: $21,111

In addition to the cost of tuition, you should also consider:

  • application fees 
  • ancillary fees (e.g., student activity fees, athletic fees, health insurance, etc.)
  • books and supplies 
  • living costs (e.g., rent, food, transportation, etc.) 

How do I pay for college or university?

College and university programs are costly, but even if you don't have a lot saved up, there are ways to pay for them.

To finance your education, you can apply for:

Students must start paying back their loans after graduating over time and with interest, although sometimes graduates can negotiate time to look for a job before starting payments. On the other hand, scholarships and grants "gift" money to eligible students, and recipients don't have to pay them back.  

Should I attend college or university?

The decision to attend college or university is entirely yours. There's no one "right" path. 

To make an informed decision, you should consider:

  • What field of work you're interested in
  • How long you want to stay in school 
  • Your financial situation 
  • How much money you want to earn after graduating 
  • Whether you want to commute or move out 

Take your time to research before making your decision, and do what's best for you.