Going to college after finishing a degree

Release date: November 30, 2022

More information The Daily release PDF version

Infographic: Going to college after finishing a degree — Description: Going to college after finishing a degree

Nearly **1 in 5 college^{Note 1} students** in Canada (19.4%) had previously completed a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Close to **1 in 10 Canadian-born college^{Note 1} students** had previously completed a bachelor’s degree or higher.

More than **1 in 3 immigrant college^{Note 1} students** had previously completed a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Share of college^{Note 1} students who had previously completed a bachelor's degree or higher
Table summary
This table displays the results of Share of college students who had previously completed a bachelor's degree or higher. The information is grouped by Province (appearing as row headers), Share (appearing as column headers).
Province Share

Newfoundland and Labrador 9.1%

Prince Edward Island 16.6%

Nova Scotia 17.2%

New Brunswick 13.5%

Quebec 10.8%

Ontario 25.8%

Manitoba 20.7%

Saskatchewan 17.7%

Alberta 19.4%

British Columbia 24.1%

**Note:** Ontario and British Columbia had the highest shares.

Among college^{Note 1} students, **women were more likely than men to have a previous bachelor’s degree or higher.^{Note 2}**

Women: 22.2%

Men: 16.0%

The most common college^Note 3 fields of study for college graduates with a previous Canadian bachelor’s degree were :
Table summary
This table displays the results of The most common college fields of study for college graduates with a previous Canadian bachelor’s degree were :. The information is grouped by College field of study (appearing as row headers), Percentage (appearing as column headers).
College field of study Percentage

Human resources management and services 7.6%

Registered nursing specializations (e.g., critical care nursing) 5.7%

Allied health diagnostic, intervention and treatment professions (e.g., paramedic, respiratory care therapist) 4.0%

For more information, please consult *The Daily*: https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/221130/dq221130a-eng.htm

**Sources:** Statistics Canada, Census of Population 2021 and 2016, Postsecondary Student Information System; Wall, Katherine. 2021. “Completion of a college certificate or diploma after a bachelor’s degree.” *Insights on Canadian Society*. April. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 75-006-X.

Notes

Note de bas de page 1.

“College” includes colleges, CEGEPs, business schools, technical institutes, trade schools and other non-university postsecondary institutions.

Retour à la référence de la note de bas de page 1 referrer

Note de bas de page 2.

Given that the non-binary population is small, data aggregation to a two-category gender variable is sometimes necessary to protect the confidentiality of responses provided. In these cases, individuals in the category “non-binary persons” are distributed into the other two gender categories. Unless otherwise indicated in the text, the category “men” includes men, as well as some non-binary persons. The category “women” includes women, as well as some non-binary.

Retour à la référence de la note de bas de page 2 referrer

Note de bas de page 3.

For this table, “college” includes only public colleges and CEGEPs.

Retour à la référence de la note de bas de page 3 referrer

Share of college^{Note 1} students who had previously completed a bachelor's degree or higher
Table summary
This table displays the results of Share of college students who had previously completed a bachelor's degree or higher. The information is grouped by Province (appearing as row headers), Share (appearing as column headers).
Province	Share
Newfoundland and Labrador	9.1%
Prince Edward Island	16.6%
Nova Scotia	17.2%
New Brunswick	13.5%
Quebec	10.8%
Ontario	25.8%
Manitoba	20.7%
Saskatchewan	17.7%
Alberta	19.4%
British Columbia	24.1%
Note: Ontario and British Columbia had the highest shares.

The most common college^Note 3 fields of study for college graduates with a previous Canadian bachelor’s degree were :
Table summary
This table displays the results of The most common college fields of study for college graduates with a previous Canadian bachelor’s degree were :. The information is grouped by College field of study (appearing as row headers), Percentage (appearing as column headers).
College field of study	Percentage
Human resources management and services	7.6%
Registered nursing specializations (e.g., critical care nursing)	5.7%
Allied health diagnostic, intervention and treatment professions (e.g., paramedic, respiratory care therapist)	4.0%

More information

Note of appreciation

Canada owes the success of its statistical system to a long-standing partnership between Statistics Canada, the citizens of Canada, its businesses, governments and other institutions. Accurate and timely statistical information could not be produced without their continued co-operation and goodwill.

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Copyright

Published by authority of the Minister responsible for Statistics Canada.

Use of this publication is governed by the Statistics Canada Open Licence Agreement.

Catalogue no. 11-627-M

Frequency: Occasional

Ottawa

Date modified:: 2022-11-30

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Going to college after finishing a degree