Study in Canada Uganda

Study in Canada Uganda

The Pearl of Africa, or Uganda, is a country in the east of Africa. Rainforests, volcanic mountains and other natural beauties can be found in this African country. Lake Victoria, the second biggest freshwater lake, is located right here. In the ethnic mosaic of Uganda the number of languages the population speaks exceeds forty.

Uganda is a rapidly developing African country. Uganda is not only considered to be a young country, for it gained the independence only in 1962, but it has a very young population. Consequently, the youth seeks to obtain higher education, but the problem is that excessive number of students lead to the lack of vacant places in the higher education establishments. Therefore students of the majestic country often change residence in pursuit of obtaining finest education, gaining experience abroad and getting acquainted with people of other cultures. Regard Canada as a place which you’d like to connect your future with. Studying in Canada is an indispensable option when it comes to choosing a place of getting eduction and it’s becoming more and more popular especially among students from Uganda. Given that, a special Uganda Canadian Associate in Saskatchewan was established. It serves to help students and other immigrants, who come to study in Canada from Uganda, with the processes of adaptation, immigration and employment. In an effort to preserve Ugandan values and culture in Canada, the Associate facilitates a number of activities and events: music and arts workshops, camps with language classes. All these help students with managing the most common challenges students face when studying in a foreign country such as dealing with a new environment and mentality. So coming to study in Canada from Uganda is not that frightening, moreover Canada has an extremely positive outlook on foreign students and immigration. 

Scholarships and expenses

Well, we’ve discussed how some possible psychological problems of students, who decided to come and study in Canada from Uganda, can be mitigated with a friendly community of fellow-countrymen, now it’s time to know more about money matters. First thing you need to know is that Canadian higher education establishments provide a variety of scholarships, granted specifically to African students and also students from developing countries - Canada, as a student-oriented country, provides an affordable education to everyone. Ugandan students are also free to apply for scholarships for international students. 

For example, McGill University together with MasterCard Foundation offers scholarships for Ugandan students in Canada. International University of Applied Science grants scholarships for African and Indian students which can cover up to 80% of tuition fees if they show high academic achievements. If you are a doctoral student who wants to study in Canada from Uganda, there are many great opportunities for you to do your research in any field which will be sponsored by University of British Columbia with $2000 and additional $30000 every twelve months. 

Living Canada is considered to be one of the most affordable compared to the USA, Great Britain or Australia. International students can live in a dormitory or rent an apartment with their fellow-students. Costs vary depending on a town and university you choose. In the University of British Columbia in Vancouver an undergraduate will pay on average $11000 for a room in a residence for two terms. The fees of the University of Toronto vary according to the type of room and place of a campus: from $7000 to $17000, while renting a studio apartment in Toronto would cost around $1600 per month. Another important detail is that some campuses offer meal plans so you don’t have to worry about cooking and buying groceries, while living in an apartment you have to make meals yourself which is a time-consuming process.

On the whole it’s estimated that an international student spends about $200-$300 for their daily expenses and food and an average of $120 for transportation. But keep in mind that the bigger the city is the higher the amount of spendings. 

Popular majors

So now when we understand that students who come to study in Canada from Uganda have all the chances to get a scholarship that can reduce tuition fees or cover up the biggest amount of the expenses. Let’s get through with the most popular majors for the students who want to come to study in Canada from Uganda. On the top of the list of highest paying professions in Uganda are the following: pilots, software engineers and medical doctors. So if one wants to come to study in Canada from Uganda to become a pilot of a multi-engine aircraft, there is Seneca college in Peterborough which offers a four-year Bachelor’s degree in aviation and, what is very important, real work experience which is compulsory to successfully graduate. Hands-on learning is essential when studying aviation, so to become licensed pilots students use special simulation tools and after obtaining a certain level of knowledge, precede to working on real planes. Together with it, they study business management and airports operation and planning. 

If you come to study in Canada from Uganda and want to choose a Bachelor's in software engineering, one of your options can be University of Guelph. There you may gain all the necessary knowledge to learn how to develop apps, games and web sites and take electives in cyber security, artificial intelligence and others. 

Eventually, if you choose medicine to study in Canada, you’re a very brave person - it’s a highly valued profession all around the globe, but what you need here is a lot of dedication and qualified instructors. Canadian universities are ready to offer the latter. The field of medicine studies is enormous: you may study dentistry, homology or kinesiology and public health.  The Waterloo University offers the degree of Bachelor’s in Science if you choose one of its popular programs of Health Sciences. There you don’t only learn how to treat people successfully, but also how to enhance and facilitate change in the healthcare system and foster healthy lifestyle in society. The aim of the studies is that you can be competitive and effective in Uganda upon graduation from a Canadian university. 

What attracts many students who come to study in Canada from Uganda is that students have a right to work during their studies which leaves them in a better position when applying for a visa or permanent residence in Canada. Even before finishing your degree, you may practice your skills, legally working in Canada - it’s well-known that Canada sees foreign workers as an aid to their economy. Mainly Ugandan settle in Saskatchewan because its provincial government assists foreign workers to obtain permanent residence in Canada with aSaskatchewan Provincial Nomination Program made specifically for the purpose of helping skilled people who want to obtain permanent residence in Canada. 

Language requirements

Remember that if you come to study in Canada from Uganda, you need to get a special student visa which is called a study permit in Canada and it goes together with a temporary resident visa. The process of getting a study permit may last from one to two weeks and you need to provide a letter of acceptance from the Canadian university you’re going to study in. It’s worth mentioning that you don’t need a certificate of language knowledge to get a study permit if you want to come to study in Canada from Uganda, because the official language of Uganda is English. But the students whose native language is not English or French need to confirm their knowledge of the languages to the university they're applying to. If you wish to come to study in Canada from Uganda, it’d be beneficial for you to know both English and the basics of French to ease the process of adaptation and successfully integrate into the bi-lingual Canadian society. For the students who are not exempted from confirming their language knowledge most of the Canadian universities offer language courses as a part of the preparatory stage for the undergraduate programs. There are also many language schools in Canada. 

The studies in universities are held in English, French and there are even bi-lingual programs which can introduce international students to both Anglophone and Francophone worlds. 

As far as the competency of the English language is concerned, it depends on a university which English language assessment test it’s ready to accept, it can be: IELTS(International English Language Testing System), CAE (Certificate in Advanced English), CPE(Cambridge certificate of Proficiency in English), TOEFL(the Test of English as a Foreign Language) or even Duolingo test. So students have to make sure to check the admission requirements carefully before passing an exam. 

When it comes to the French language, much less programs are taught entirely in French in comparison with English. But if your aim is to study in Canada from Uganda specifically in French, you may need to pass TEF (Test d’Évaluation de Francais) or TCF (Test de Connaissance du Français). You can take TCF multiple times, but with a sixty days interval between each attempt for you to get the desired result. Acquisition of the French language may not only be needed if you come to study in Canada from Uganda but also if in future you’ll decide to apply for Express Entry. In this case you’ll have an advantage for the knowledge of French because the French government aimed at increasing the number of Francophone international students and immigrants.