MEng and MASc year terms in Canada

[mechanik]

Dear all,

three year terms, fall, winter and summer
For MEng and MASc studnets, do they take classes/research even in summer?

I thought summer is a holiday for student, but when I saw tuition fees for some universities, I found they multiply term fees by three, so summer is included.

So, I wanna confirm, Are summer classes standard, or just for the ones who want to finish quick?

Thanks a lot

[TakeruK]

Graduate students do not get the summer off in Canada. In research based programs, we generally only take classes and work as TAs in the Fall and Spring terms (i.e. Sept to April) and the summer (May through August) is for research only. So, many students are actually looking forward to the summer as we can focus our full energy on the main purpose of our MSc program--research. In fact, during my Masters program, I got more research done in the four summer months than I did in the entire other 8 months because classes and TAing take up a ton of time.

 

Graduate students do get vacation and break times though. We schedule them where it works for us and our advisor. Usually, longer vacations are taken in the summer because our time is a lot more flexible in the summer (i.e. it's hard to be away for 2 weeks if you are taking classes or teaching!).

 

So, the short answer is yes, if you are in a research program, working in the summer is standard. But on the plus side, you are paid for the entire year, including the summer, so it's just like any other job. If you are not in a research based program, then I am not 100% sure if there are summer classes. I know that in my previous schools (engineering physics is part of the physics department), we only offered undergrad classes in the summer, rarely graduate ones.

[mechanik]

Graduate students do not get the summer off in Canada. In research based programs, we generally only take classes and work as TAs in the Fall and Spring terms (i.e. Sept to April) and the summer (May through August) is for research only. So, many students are actually looking forward to the summer as we can focus our full energy on the main purpose of our MSc program--research. In fact, during my Masters program, I got more research done in the four summer months than I did in the entire other 8 months because classes and TAing take up a ton of time.

 

Graduate students do get vacation and break times though. We schedule them where it works for us and our advisor. Usually, longer vacations are taken in the summer because our time is a lot more flexible in the summer (i.e. it's hard to be away for 2 weeks if you are taking classes or teaching!).

 

So, the short answer is yes, if you are in a research program, working in the summer is standard. But on the plus side, you are paid for the entire year, including the summer, so it's just like any other job. If you are not in a research based program, then I am not 100% sure if there are summer classes. I know that in my previous schools (engineering physics is part of the physics department), we only offered undergrad classes in the summer, rarely graduate ones.

 

I didn't get a notification that someone replied.

Thanks a lot for yours. It is really helpful.