Canadian universities may have cheaper tuition than their American counterparts, but that doesn't mean that students in Canada aren't having trouble paying for school each semester. Though there is one program in specific that the University of Toronto is looking to give some relief to after this Winter semester wraps up.
Right now for international PhD students, tuition fees come in at $21,560, that's a whopping 3 times more than the standard rate for other programs at the university. For students in such a hard and competitive program, it seems pretty unrealistic from them to be able to take on jobs during the semester to battle their growing student debt while still trying to get good marks.
@uoftThough the University of Toronto has decided that they will be drastically cutting those fees for students... but only for international students. The exclusivity of the offer is due to the fact that international students are paying a significantly higher rate tuition wise than students who call Canada home.
The shift to less expensive tuition for international students in this program is all part of a plan to attract more students to the university. Considering that international tuition not only Canada-wide but in any other country is just as ridiculously expensive, UofT's decision to lower their own rate makes them significantly more attractive to prospective students. Even a comparison to neighbouring Ontario universities like Western, where international rates hit $11,796 or look to Montreal's McGill University where international student tuition hits $17,198, it shows that their decision definitely sets them apart from other universities in the country.
While the slashed tuition doesn't come into effect until the student's fifth year of study, it's been said that in the first four years of the program, both international and domestic students are covered financially by funding packages from UofT. So the change ultimately allows international students the luxury of not being greeted with insane tuition fees after their fourth year.
Source: Toronto Star