A Question for Canadian Users Here

[zHellas]

First off, I'm going to state that this might just be me being somewhat depressed after reading through a "USA shitty healthcare system" topic in the Off-Topic Discussion thread.

Secondly, I'm asking you guys as I'm not sure how to word what I'm about to ask in a way that I can get a useful Google search out of it.

My Question: Will a degree from a State University be recognized in Canada?

I'm curious as I probably will try to move & live there after college. I'd do England, but I think making the transition from the U.S. to Canada would be easier (the only real differences are that you guys have French instead of Spanish as the 2nd most prevalent language, and the Metric system (which I am familiar with, at least)).

EDIT: I realize that my question might be what I meant by "word what I'm about to ask in a way that I can get a useful Google search out of", and I did but failed. Didn't really get any info.

 

[zHellas]

I apologize if this does turn out to be a temporary feeling, but I'd still like to have the information on hand just in case.

 

[michiehoward]

I'm sure it will.

 

[zHellas]

I'm sure it will.

Maybe, but I'd like to have actual proof or at least a "yes" from a generally accepted source...

I also just realized this might be hard to prove. Fuck.

 

[Flutterguy]

I know alot of people in Canada get college/uni diplomas for medicine then move to the states where they make more money as doctors.

 

[Jordi]

I'm not Canadian or American, so I don't really know. However, I think it might help more knowledgeable people than me if you could specify what it is exactly that you are trying to do. Especially, who do you want to recognize your degree? If it is a future employer, then I doubt that they will really care what country you got your degree from, although they might want to find out how much it is "worth" (i.e. how well it compares to similar degrees in their own country).

On the other hand, if you're asking if Canadian universities will consider American undergraduate education as good enough to qualify for Canadian graduate school, then I can imagine things being slightly more difficult, or at least different. I would still expect that any self respecting university would go through the trouble of figuring out if you are eligible though.

However, you might want to be careful about what institution you are going to get your unspecified degree from. I hear that there can be huge differences between the quality of different institutions, and that Americans care greatly from what university or college you graduated.

 

[zHellas]

Especially, who do you want to recognize your degree? If it is a future employer, then I doubt that they will really care what country you got your degree from, although they might want to find out how much it is "worth" (i.e. how well it compares to similar degrees in their own country).

I just want to know if that I get a degree in Computer Science from a State University in the U.S., that it'll be valid (in that I can use to get a job/in that it won't be worthless when/if I move to Canada).

On the other hand, if you're asking if Canadian universities will consider American undergraduate education as good enough to qualify for Canadian graduate school, then I can imagine things being slightly more difficult, or at least different. I would still expect that any self respecting university would go through the trouble of figuring out if you are eligible though.

No, I don't really plan on going to graduate school at all (I REALLY don't feel like writing a damn thesis). Just a Bachelor's degree.

However, you might want to be careful about what institution you are going to get your unspecified degree from. I hear that there can be huge differences between the quality of different institutions, and that Americans care greatly from what university or college you graduated.

It's a State University i.e. a Public University. Might be a Private University, depending on if I can figure out some things about the tuition and my father's G.I. Bill.

No offense (and I also may have misconstrued your post), but I doubt that the two places I'm thinking of will be fraudulent.

 

[VonKludge]

Depends heavily on what you are studying and in which province you intend to go.

If there is a professional order for your future job I'd suggest asking them.

Cheers!

 

[zHellas]

Not that I can prove it, but I work at a major Canadian University.

The answer is...it depends what you want to do with it.

Are you looking to go into graduate school? Do you expect an employer to recognize it? Is it in a profession that requires certification of some kind?

So what degree are you taking in the US and how do you want to use it in Canada? (Also as a side note, how do you plan to get up here...study permit? marrying someone? )

I just want to know that it won't be useless and that I can get some sort of a job related to the degree in Canada.

I'm planning on taking Computer Science.

In terms of how to get there... immigration papers?

 

[Nimbus]

You might have trouble getting a job. I know that American bachelor's degrees are (in general) not exactly thought of highly.

EDIT: Oh, also, you CAN get a master's degree without writing a thesis. I know my college offers several taught CompSci master's programs.

 

[Staskala]

I'm not Canadian, but there should be a ministry that deals with education and/or research.
It should also have a department that deals with accreditation, that's the one you should write to.

I'm not very familiar with the Canadian government structure and for some reason there seems to be only a Ministry of Education for Ontario, so that's all I can help you with.

 

[zHellas]

I'm not Canadian, but there should be a ministry that deals with education and/or research.
It should also have a department that deals with accreditation, that's the one you should write to.

I'm not very familiar with the Canadian government structure and for some reason there seems to be only a Ministry of Education for Ontario, so that's all I can help you with.

Thanks! Still useful information. Plus I'm not doing all this now, just wanting to have some information on hand about the subject.

 

[Staskala]

I'm not Canadian, but there should be a ministry that deals with education and/or research.
It should also have a department that deals with accreditation, that's the one you should write to.

I'm not very familiar with the Canadian government structure and for some reason there seems to be only a Ministry of Education for Ontario, so that's all I can help you with.

Thanks! Still useful information. Plus I'm not doing all this now, just wanting to have some information on hand about the subject.

Actually, never mind what I previously said, in Canada accreditation is a state matter, federally organized by the CICIC.
Anyway, here you go:
http://www.credentials.gc.ca/

 

[Jordi]

However, you might want to be careful about what institution you are going to get your unspecified degree from. I hear that there can be huge differences between the quality of different institutions, and that Americans care greatly from what university or college you graduated.

It's a State University i.e. a Public University. Might be a Private University, depending on if I can figure out some things about the tuition and my father's G.I. Bill.

No offense (and I also may have misconstrued your post), but I doubt that the two places I'm thinking of will be fraudulent.

I'm curious: what did I say that made you think I was suggesting any kind of fraud anywhere?

If you're just using it to look for a job I would be really surprised if anybody cares that you got your degree in the US. Again, I'm not Canadian so I don't know how things are in your country, but it is my experience (in the Netherlands) that potential employers generally don't have very hard requirements. They will post something like "required: University-level thinking ability", and obviously a degree from a Dutch university will immediately show them that you probably have that. But I think the same is true from degrees from other (at least Western) countries. And even if you would have a Dutch degree of a somewhat lower institution than a university, you might still be able to convince them. Of course, that would mean that you need to compensate, so it doesn't make things easily.
Honestly, in your case I wouldn't worry about it. I imagine most prospective employers would think having lived (and studied) in another country for a couple of years is a pretty big plus.

 

[zHellas]

EDIT: Oh, also, you CAN get a master's degree without writing a thesis. I know my college offers several taught CompSci master's programs.

Really? I thought to get a Masters you had to do something like a Thesis. Doesn't have to be like a paper or anything.

 

[zHellas]

I'm curious: what did I say that made you think I was suggesting any kind of fraud anywhere?

I did say that I may have misconstrued your post. When you said something along the lines of, "Beware what institutions you might get your degree from", the only thing I could think of was fraudulent degrees &/or universities.

Sorry.

 

[zHellas]

I'm not Canadian, but there should be a ministry that deals with education and/or research.
It should also have a department that deals with accreditation, that's the one you should write to.

I'm not very familiar with the Canadian government structure and for some reason there seems to be only a Ministry of Education for Ontario, so that's all I can help you with.

Thanks! Still useful information. Plus I'm not doing all this now, just wanting to have some information on hand about the subject.

Actually, never mind what I previously said, in Canada accreditation is a state matter, federally organized by the CICIC.
Anyway, here you go:
http://www.credentials.gc.ca/

Thanks. *saves the link in a folder*

 

[Mr. 47]

I'm sure of it, but have no first hand experience of it, because, really, why wouldn't it be?
Canada, or at least Atlantic Canada, has a lot of immigrants. If we didn't accept degrees from a broad range of cultures, we wouldn't have many, would we? I don't think there would much difference between American and Canadian degrees.

 

[Canadamus Prime]

I can't imagine why it wouldn't, but as has been previously mentioned there is a website where you can find out for sure.

 

[King Toasty]

I've heard it depends what the diploma is. Not for medical degrees, unfortunately.