New tuition fee framework for international students
In March of 2019, the Government of Quebec announced a change in its funding formula for international students.
Starting September 1, 2019, the government will no longer provide any funding for international undergraduate students, nor for professional or non-research master's students. These students will be considered ‘deregulated.’
International students are a vital part of the Concordia community. They add to our diversity and innovation, bring unique cultural experiences and points of view, and raise the global outlook and profile of our city, province and region.
Having consulted prospective international students about the factors that are most important to them in choosing where to study, Concordia is implementing a new tuition framework starting in the fall of 2019. It will not affect returning international students staying in the same program. Nor will it affect future international PhD or research master's students.
For prospective undergraduate and professional or non-research master's students, the new framework will provide predictability regarding the cost of their studies, maintain accessibility, and better reflect the value of a Concordia degree when compared to other Canadian universities.
The revenue will allow Concordia to further advance its academic mission by, among other things, providing enhanced support for international students through additional scholarships and bursaries, expanded language training, on-campus work opportunities, and funding to offset emergencies.
- Starting September 1, 2019, the Government of Quebec will no longer provide funding for any international undergraduate or professional, non-research master's students – except for students from France or French-speaking Belgium.
- Impact on Concordia (as calculated by the Government): $6.6 million of lost funding annually.
- It’s worth noting that Quebec is the last provincial government in Canada to change its funding formula for international students.
- In contrast to the rest of Canada, the Government of Quebec will continue to fund international PhD and research master's students. This is good news; the ongoing funding will allow us to continue building our research capacity here at Concordia and more widely, in Montreal and Quebec.
- Concordia’s international tuition levels are currently among the lowest in Canada.
- In key fields such as undergraduate Engineering, Computer Science and Business, Concordia charges significantly less – sometimes 40-50% less – than our major competitors in Quebec and across Canada.
- These gaps are forecast to grow as many universities across the country have already announced substantial new increases in international student tuition for 2019-20.
- To address the gap in funding, we will bring tuition fees for future international students – i.e., those beginning their studies in the fall of 2019 or later – more in line with the average of other Canadian universities through gradual increases that are modest compared to national trends.
- In polling prospective international students, we learned that predictability of cost is important to them; they want to know how much their studies will cost from the start. Therefore:
- Future undergraduate international students will see yearly fee increases of between 4.25% and 8.25%, depending on their program.
- Future professional and non-research master's students will see one set fee increase for their entire program. In 2019-20, this increase is 4.25% for all programs except for the MBA, for which fees will increase by 8.25%.
- NOTE: Returning/current international students staying in the same program are not affected. As they have in the past, these students will see the same level of fee increase as students from the rest of Canada.
- Only future international students – i.e., those beginning their studies in the fall of 2019 or later – will be affected.
- Returning/current international students staying in the same program are not affected. As they have in the past, these students will see the same level of fee increase as students from the rest of Canada.
- In contrast to the rest of Canada, the Government of Quebec will continue to fund international PhD and research master's students. This is good news; the ongoing funding will allow us to continue building our research capacity here at Concordia and more widely, in Montreal and Quebec.
- In 2019-20, future undergraduate international students will see a fee increase of 8.25%.
- Future professional and non-research master's students will see one set fee increase for their entire program. In 2019-20, this increase is 4.25% for all programs except for the MBA, for which fees will increase by 8.25%.
- Returning/current international students staying in the same program are not affected. As they have in the past, these students will see the same level of fee increase as students from the rest of Canada. In 2019-20, this is 4.25%.
- Moderately increasing fees for future international students allows Concordia to both to address the gap in Government of Quebec funding and continue to support students.
- We plan to continue investing in international students by providing language training to enable them to join the Quebec labour market, expanding on-campus work opportunities, and making emergency funding available in cases such as currency fluctuations.
- It’s worth noting that Concordia’s budget for 2019-20 contains new investment in support of international students, including the introduction of
- $1.1 million of recurring fee remissions for international PhD students and
- $900,000 of recurring entrance scholarships for new international undergrads.
- We will also continue investing in Concordia’s overall academic mission, to benefit all students.
- Over time, this new framework will allow Concordia to generate some additional revenue that will allow us to build on our recent pattern of record investments in scholarships and student support.
- The framework reflects and constructively leverages the factors that prospective students consistently identify as positive attributes for studying at Concordia. These include:
- the quality and distinctiveness of our academic programs;
- our global reputation as the top North American university under 50 years of age; and
- location: Montreal is consistently ranked among the world’s top 5 cities for students.
- At the same time, the framework better reflects the market value of a Concordia education in the Canadian and international context.
Concordia’s new international tuition fee framework aims to advance the university’s academic mission by building on five principles that reflect our values:
- We will be fiscally responsible in how we address the loss of government funding.
- As part of our strategic enrollment management planning and to reflect the importance of internationalization as an asset for Concordia, we want to maintain the international portion of our student body at approximately 20%.
- Our tuition pricing preserves accessibility and provides cost predictability to prospective students.
- We aim to protect and enhance the global reputational value of a Concordia degree by better aligning our tuition with the norms at comparator universities in Canada (i.e., Ryerson, Carleton, York, Simon Fraser, Waterloo), as well as with McGill and, for certain disciplines, other Quebec universities such as HEC and Ecole Polytechnique.
- We intend to use the tuition revenue we receive to support our academic mission, including by providing additional support international students who choose to study at Concordia.
Students:
If your question is not answered by the FAQ, email study@concordia.ca
Faculty/Staff:
If your question is not answered by the FAQ, email internalcomms@concordia.ca