Education system
Québec’s education system has four levels:
Elementary education
Secondary education
College education
University education
Elementary education
All children must be enrolled in elementary school once they reach the age of 6. A child aged 5 who will turn 6 before October 1 may start school at the beginning of that school year. Special services are available for students with behavioural or learning difficulties.
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Secondary education
After six years of elementary education, students move on to secondary school where
- the five-year general education program leads to the Secondary School Diploma and provides access to post-secondary education;
- various vocational education programs lead to specialized or semi-specialized trades and the awarding of a Diploma of Vocational Studies or Attestation of Vocational Specialization; the programs are accessible after three to five years in the general education program, and last from one to two years.
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College education
The general secondary education program leads to the college level of education, the first step in the post-secondary system. Public general and vocational colleges (known as Cégeps) and some private colleges offer students a choice between:
- two-year pre-university programs, leading to university;
- three-year technical programs, leading to technical employment.
Some technical programs can also lead to a university program. Students in both the pre-university and technical streams take core general education classes, some of which are common to both streams.
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University education
University education is the second stage in post-secondary education. The length of a university program varies depending on the field and level concerned.
Undergraduate university programs lead to a Bachelor’s degree (three to five years) or a certificate or diploma (one to two years). Postgraduate programs lead to a Master’s degree (generally after two years) or a certificate or diploma (generally after one year); doctoral level programs lead to a doctorate after three or more years of study.
The universities enjoy a large measure of independence and can define their own rules, their teaching and research programs, and their admission and registration requirements, and can also issue their own diplomas.
Québec has a large number of universities, post-secondary schools and research institutes concentrated in Montréal, Québec City and Sherbrooke. However, university-level instruction is also available in most outlying regions through the campuses of the Université du Québec network situated in Rouyn-Noranda, Saguenay, Gatineau, Montréal, Rimouski and Trois-Rivières.
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