# MS Computer Science From Canada



## Serendipity14 (Jun 24, 2013)

Hi,

I stumbled on to this forum while googling for pursuing ms from a canadian university. Before poking members with all my queries, let me just give you a brief idea:

I have completed B Com (61%) from Delhi University. Right now I am pursing MCA (81% till now) from Indraprastha University (in 3rd year i.e final year). Before this, I secured 82% in 10th and 78% in 12th.

There's a lot I have in mind about pursuing MS from Canada. Hopefully, some of these queries will be answered here. I will start the discussion with couple of them:

1. What's the average p.a cost including tution fee and living expenses?
2. With the marks I have before me, will I be able to get admission in universities such as University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, Brock University, University of Victoria, Ryerson University?
3. I do not have a strong financial background, tution fee will be manageable but not living expenses. As a student, will I be able to recover living cost at-least with internship under faculty (Research based) and/or otherwise? Also, the balance between study and part-time job is manageable?

Thanks a lot for your time!


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

Google those universities, and look for their admission requirements.
University of Toronto: Admission Requirements
Also look for their section for International Students:
International | Discover U of T

International Tuition will be somewhere between $20,000 and 30,000/year. But if you don't hold a Bachelor degree in a Science related field, I think it will take longer to get your Masters degree in Computer Science, as you don't have all the prerequisites?

If finances are an issue, I would look for a Masters degree in a place that has a lower cost of living, so I would not look at Toronto.


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

If finances are an issue, I'd advise to look elsewhere than Vancouver as well... it is generally considered to be more expensive than Toronto.


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## Serendipity14 (Jun 24, 2013)

EVHB said:


> Google those universities, and look for their admission requirements.
> University of Toronto: Admission Requirements
> Also look for their section for International Students:
> International | Discover U of T
> ...


I will opt for MS after completing Masters Of Computer Application (from India). So, there will be computer background at graduate level if not at under graduate level.

Also, these universities are tier 1, considered very good. As suggested by you, if I were to look for a university in place with lower cost of living then wouldn't the degree value suffer? From a lower grade university (tier 2)?

Thanks for your input


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

The value of the university(degree) doesn't depend on the fact that they are located in an expensive city. I didn't even know that Ryserson or Brockwas highly valued for Computer Science at all! (on contrary!!) And I always thought that University of Waterloo was top for Computer Science in Canada...

Where did you find the ranking that put these universities on top in Computer Science?


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## Serendipity14 (Jun 24, 2013)

EVHB said:


> The value of the university(degree) doesn't depend on the fact that they are located in an expensive city. I didn't even know that Ryserson or Brockwas highly valued for Computer Science at all! (on contrary!!) And I always thought that University of Waterloo was top for Computer Science in Canada...
> 
> Where did you find the ranking that put these universities on top in Computer Science?


Hi,

I am sorry, maybe I put forth my concern is a wrong way. What I meant was, usually the top notch universities are located in prime locations, if I were to select (or be eligible) a university somewhere else i.e a 2 tier university then would it be still beneficial?

Thanks for your reply


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

If you are worried about that, you will have to do your research on what universities are top ranked. For Computer Science. That most certainly isn't York or Brock.


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## Serendipity14 (Jun 24, 2013)

EVHB said:


> If you are worried about that, you will have to do your research on what universities are top ranked. For Computer Science. That most certainly isn't York or Brock.


Yeah. Agreed. Also, on financial front, how difficult is it to recover living cost at-least whilst studying in canada? I have read and heard students talk about part time jobs, summer jobs, internship under faculty but there's no clear picture as to what are the chances.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

Serendipity14 said:


> 1. What's the average p.a cost including tution fee and living expenses?



Unanswerable because it varies by province and you have to take into account tuition fees, living costs, etc.





> 2. With the marks I have before me, will I be able to get admission in universities such as University of Toronto, University of British Columbia, Brock University, University of Victoria, Ryerson University?



It depends on how they value your program and whether they think it is a quality program and university.





> 3. I do not have a strong financial background, tution fee will be manageable but not living expenses. As a student, will I be able to recover living cost at-least with internship under faculty (Research based) and/or otherwise? Also, the balance between study and part-time job is manageable?



Depends on the professor so it is unanswerable.

When I was doing my PhD I worked part-time but I wouldn't recommend it.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

Serendipity14 said:


> I will opt for MS after completing Masters Of Computer Application (from India). So, there will be computer background at graduate level if not at under graduate level.



Depends on the length of your undergrad and graduate programs. When I was doing my PhD there was a Master's student who already held a Master's from Pakistan. His family were angry that he had to do another Master's in Canada but he understood it because his B.A. was only two years and his Master's another two - so a total of four years. Here in Canada four years of university will only earn you a B.A., not a Master's.

So if your education is similar to the guy from Pakistan's, your degrees will not be considered to be the equivalent of Canadian degrees.





> Also, these universities are tier 1, considered very good. As suggested by you, if I were to look for a university in place with lower cost of living then wouldn't the degree value suffer? From a lower grade university (tier 2)?



We do not have Tier 1, Tier 2, etc. here. And if we did, Ryerson would _not_ be a Tier 1 university - and Brock most certainly wouldn't! And we also tend to judge schools based on the individual programs (ie. a school could have a great biology program but be much weaker in math so would have a good reputation in biology but not in math).

I did my undergrad degree at the University of Waterloo which is the best engineering, math, and computer science school in Canada. The city in which it is located has a much lower cost of living than Toronto and Vancouver but cost of living in a surrounding town has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the quality of education at a university. I am not sure where you are getting this idea but it is wildly off the mark.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

Serendipity14 said:


> What I meant was, usually the top notch universities are located in prime locations,



This is completely and utterly false.


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## Serendipity14 (Jun 24, 2013)

colchar said:


> When I was doing my PhD I worked part-time but I wouldn't recommend it.


Apart from that, any possiblities of off campus job? Although I will be prepping up for full cost before leaving for Canada but I'd like to weigh in chances of recovering some part of total cost via part time job. I have heard on campus jobs are difficult. No idea about off campus jobs.


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## Serendipity14 (Jun 24, 2013)

colchar said:


> Depends on the length of your undergrad and graduate programs. When I was doing my PhD there was a Master's student who already held a Master's from Pakistan. His family were angry that he had to do another Master's in Canada but he understood it because his B.A. was only two years and his Master's another two - so a total of four years. Here in Canada four years of university will only earn you a B.A., not a Master's.
> 
> So if your education is similar to the guy from Pakistan's, your degrees will not be considered to be the equivalent of Canadian degrees.


I am a resident of India. Back here, Bachelor's requires 3 years of study and Masters (MCA specifically) is also 3 years of duration. So in total, a span of 6 years. I did visit website of some universities and the year of study satisfies the minimum requirement of 5 years.



colchar said:


> We do not have Tier 1, Tier 2, etc. here. And if we did, Ryerson would _not_ be a Tier 1 university - and Brock most certainly wouldn't! And we also tend to judge schools based on the individual programs (ie. a school could have a great biology program but be much weaker in math so would have a good reputation in biology but not in math).
> 
> I did my undergrad degree at the University of Waterloo which is the best engineering, math, and computer science school in Canada. The city in which it is located has a much lower cost of living than Toronto and Vancouver but cost of living in a surrounding town has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with the quality of education at a university. I am not sure where you are getting this idea but it is wildly off the mark.


I am sorry, I meant no disrespect. This is what I have read in forums, blogs on internet. Anyhow, I am glad some things are being cleared here 

Thanks a bunch for your replies. They have been greatly helpful.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

Serendipity14 said:


> Apart from that, any possiblities of off campus job? Although I will be prepping up for full cost before leaving for Canada but I'd like to weigh in chances of recovering some part of total cost via part time job. I have heard on campus jobs are difficult. No idea about off campus jobs.



So far as I know, foreign students are only allowed to work on campus.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

Serendipity14 said:


> I am a resident of India. Back here, Bachelor's requires 3 years of study and Masters (MCA specifically) is also 3 years of duration. So in total, a span of 6 years. I did visit website of some universities and the year of study satisfies the minimum requirement of 5 years.



So long as the universities you attended are considered decent enough to be the equivalent of Canadian schools then you shouldn't have a problem and it will all depend on your grades. 

The majority of Master's programs ask that you have a minimum of a B average to apply but trust me when I tell you that that is the bare minimum to apply - a B average will not get you a place in a program, especially at a good school. You will need a solid A average to be competitive.





> I am sorry, I meant no disrespect.



I understand that so no worries - but you have been badly misinformed by people who have no idea what they are talking about. I spent a decade in the Canadian (Ontario actually) university system from B.A. (Hons), M.A., through to a PhD program until I finally got sick of that and moved into another field so I have intimate knowledge of graduate education here.


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## Serendipity14 (Jun 24, 2013)

colchar said:


> So far as I know, foreign students are only allowed to work on campus.


What are the chances of getting on campus job?


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## Serendipity14 (Jun 24, 2013)

colchar said:


> So long as the universities you attended are considered decent enough to be the equivalent of Canadian schools then you shouldn't have a problem and it will all depend on your grades.
> 
> The majority of Master's programs ask that you have a minimum of a B average to apply but trust me when I tell you that that is the bare minimum to apply - a B average will not get you a place in a program, especially at a good school. You will need a solid A average to be competitive.


Alright. Shall keep that in mind. From what I have understood, I need to find out a university with affordable tuition cost, is in a inexpensive area and has a good standard of education.

Also, can you please share (if possible) list of top universities for Msc Computer Science. I have googled around but came to know that some universities no longer support the ranking system and have backed out. The most relevant list I got was from wikipedia. But that's a generic list.



colchar said:


> I understand that so no worries - but you have been badly misinformed by people who have no idea what they are talking about. I spent a decade in the Canadian (Ontario actually) university system from B.A. (Hons), M.A., through to a PhD program until I finally got sick of that and moved into another field so I have intimate knowledge of graduate education here.


Woah! That's a lot of canadian experience. I sure am getting a good advice, no doubt about that  Thanks a lot!!


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

Serendipity14 said:


> What are the chances of getting on campus job?



Depends entirely on the university and whether or not there are any jobs available. Basically, the question is unanswerable.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

Serendipity14 said:


> Alright. Shall keep that in mind. From what I have understood, I need to find out a university with affordable tuition cost, is in a inexpensive area and has a good standard of education.



All universities charge basically the same tuition, it will only vary by province.





> Also, can you please share (if possible) list of top universities for Msc Computer Science. I have googled around but came to know that some universities no longer support the ranking system and have backed out. The most relevant list I got was from wikipedia. But that's a generic list.



The list starts with the University of Waterloo. Toronto, McMaster (where I was doing my PhD), McGill, UBC, etc. will all be good.


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## Serendipity14 (Jun 24, 2013)

colchar said:


> The list starts with the University of Waterloo. Toronto, McMaster (where I was doing my PhD), McGill, UBC, etc. will all be good.


Thank you. This will serve well  Also, there's one more question I wanted to ask. There are plenty of websites, forums, blogs, etc which suggest USA as the best place to pursue MS. I am sure you must have explored alternatives before settling for Canada. Do you have any idea about the degree of comparison between these countries?

I know, top notch universities in Canada have the same scope but what about others leaving behind one or two?

Thanks again


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## WestCoastCanadianGirl (Mar 17, 2012)

You might be interested in the Maclean's University Rankings listing.

The publication is fairly well known across Canada (i.e. they sell the listing in print form in most newsagents and supermarkets) and is more or less accurate i.e. there is often squabbling between fans/supporters/administration of the University of Toronto, McGill University and the University of British Columbia as to which school is the best, but those three are considered to be the best all-round schools in Canada.


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## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

What is your end goal? Why do you want to pursue your Masters in Canada? Why would you want to pursue your Masters in the US or else in the world? 
If you want the top of the top, I would think MIT or Stanford are a good start. 
Oxford or Cambridge in the UK are top too. 
I don't think a Canadian university is in the world top 10 for Computer Science.


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## Serendipity14 (Jun 24, 2013)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> You might be interested in the Maclean's University Rankings listing.
> 
> The publication is fairly well known across Canada (i.e. they sell the listing in print form in most newsagents and supermarkets) and is more or less accurate i.e. there is often squabbling between fans/supporters/administration of the University of Toronto, McGill University and the University of British Columbia as to which school is the best, but those three are considered to be the best all-round schools in Canada.


Thank you. This will be of great help  I have been searching for University ratings wrt MS studies.


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## Serendipity14 (Jun 24, 2013)

EVHB said:


> What is your end goal? Why do you want to pursue your Masters in Canada? Why would you want to pursue your Masters in the US or else in the world?
> If you want the top of the top, I would think MIT or Stanford are a good start.
> Oxford or Cambridge in the UK are top too.
> I don't think a Canadian university is in the world top 10 for Computer Science.


My first and foremost goal is to get quality education keeping in mind cost involved.

Why do you want to pursue your Masters in Canada?
Based on counselling sessions as well as online help (through forums, websites, et al), the tution cost is cheaper in Canada as compared to other countries. Whereas, the cost of living doesn't vary much. Thus the reason to pursue Masters in Canada.

Why would you want to pursue your Masters in the US or else in the world?
Again, based on my own findings, universities in USA (not all though) have higher education standards, research fundings, better equipment, etc. Although, for me, everything boils down to affordability. I need to keep expenses involved in mind before choosing a destination.

If you want the top of the top, I would think MIT or Stanford are a good start. 
Oxford or Cambridge in the UK are top too.
As far as I know, in UK MS is course based and not research based. Right?

I don't think a Canadian university is in the world top 10 for Computer Science.
If I a getting knowledge, facilites and good environment, I am ready to join the university irrespective of that fact that it isn't a hot shot university.

Another question, if I may ask, there has been a lot of coverage about Singapore as study destination. Any ideas/views on that?

And thanks for reply! Appreciate it.


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## natali449 (Sep 12, 2012)

By this posting we have to getting good information about the MS computer science located canada...


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

Serendipity14 said:


> Thank you. This will serve well  Also, there's one more question I wanted to ask. There are plenty of websites, forums, blogs, etc which suggest USA as the best place to pursue MS.



This is bollocks. Canadian universities are every bit as good as American ones and, in fact, many of ours are far better than many U.S. universities. It comes down to the school, not the country.






> I am sure you must have explored alternatives before settling for Canada.



I grew up in Canada so the decision was easy. I considered some U.S. schools but decided against them for various reasons.




> Do you have any idea about the degree of comparison between these countries?


See my first comment in this post.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

WestCoastCanadianGirl said:


> You might be interested in the Maclean's University Rankings listing.
> 
> The publication is fairly well known across Canada (i.e. they sell the listing in print form in most newsagents and supermarkets) and is more or less accurate i.e. there is often squabbling between fans/supporters/administration of the University of Toronto, McGill University and the University of British Columbia as to which school is the best, but those three are considered to be the best all-round schools in Canada.




Those rankings are problematic and many schools now refuse to provide the information that is used to compile the rankings. They are a decent enough general guide but are far from authoritative.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

EVHB said:


> What is your end goal? Why do you want to pursue your Masters in Canada? Why would you want to pursue your Masters in the US or else in the world?
> If you want the top of the top, I would think MIT or Stanford are a good start.
> Oxford or Cambridge in the UK are top too.
> I don't think a Canadian university is in the world top 10 for Computer Science.



The University of Waterloo.


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## colchar (Oct 25, 2011)

Serendipity14 said:


> Why do you want to pursue your Masters in Canada?
> Based on counselling sessions as well as online help (through forums, websites, et al), the tution cost is cheaper in Canada as compared to other countries.



Not if you are a foreign student - you will pay much much more than a Canadian student will. Even Canadian students going to provinces other than their home province pay more (not much more, but still more) and foreign students pay significantly more than Canadians do. Our families have paid the taxes that help fund the system whereas foreign students' families have not so those foreign students pay a lot more in tuition.


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## Serendipity14 (Jun 24, 2013)

Just an update to this thread 

I have finally decided to pursue MS from Canada. Right now, I am preparing for GRE and IELTS. I'll be appearing for these exams in October.

Thanks everyone for putting forth your view point. I was really confused earlier.


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