Definitions and Notes

Enrolment and Credentials Granted statistics are generated from the Postsecondary Student Information System (PSIS) database. For more information on PSIS click here.

Definitions

The following definitions were applied in the preparation and presentation of the data:

Full-time Undergraduate Student: A full-time undergraduate student is a person enrolled in credit courses and/or program of study who is taking at least 60% of the normal course work associated with a program year.
Full-time Graduate Student: A full-time graduate student is enrolled in a program of study and makes substantial demands upon the resources of an institution such as enrolling in courses and/or engaging in research or writing a thesis under continuing supervision.
Part-time Undergraduate Student: A part-time undergraduate student is a person enrolled in credit courses and/or a program of study who is taking less than 60% of the normal course work associated with a program year.
Part-time Graduate Student: A part-time graduate student is enrolled part-time at an institution in an approved graduate degree, certificate or diploma program. Part-time graduate students fall into two main categories:
- Students who have completed their required course work and are writing their thesis; and
- Students who have not completed their course work and are presently taking courses and/or working on their thesis.
Community College Programs: Community College programs are non-university level post-secondary certificate or diploma programs typically 1 to 2 years in duration.
Undergraduate Certificates and Diplomas: Undergraduate Certificates and Diplomas are an integrated grouping of related courses of approximately 30 credits. Programs offered at this level can be 1 to 2 years in duration and contain general educational elements as well as a major concentration emphasis.
Bachelor Degree: A Bachelor degree is an undergraduate degree that includes a mix of applied and theoretical work and an intensity of specialization ranging from 90 to 205 credits (3 to 5 years in duration).
First Professional Degree: A First Professional degree is not considered a graduate level program, however, study normally occurs at the post-baccalaureate level. First Professional degrees include the following: Bachelor of Law (L.L.B), Doctor of Dental Surgery, D.D.S.), Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.). Professional designations are normally associated with this type of degree.
Graduate Certificates and Diplomas: Graduate Certificates and Diplomas are a grouping of related graduate-level courses of approximately 30 credits. Programs offered at this level are typically 1 year in duration.
Master's degree: Master's degree programs are either course-based, sometimes with a report, but without a thesis requirement, or research-based with a thesis requirement. Master's degree programs are usually 1 to 2 years in duration
Doctorate: Doctoral degree programs are research-based with a thesis requirement.
Full-time Equivalent (as of December 1st for statistical purposes): Full-time equivalent (FTE) is a value assigned to each student dependent upon the registration status (full-time or part-time) and level (bachelor's, master's or doctoral) of the student. All full-time students are assigned an FTE of 1.00. Part-time undergraduate students are assigned an FTE of 0.10 for every one semester course and 0.20 for every two-semester course in which they are enrolled. Part-time master's level students are assigned an FTE of 0.33 for the academic year. Part-time doctoral level students are assigned a 1.00 FTE for the academic year.
Weighted Full-time Equivalent: Weighted full-time equivalent (WFTE) is a value calculated for each program category (arts, science, business administration, engineering, etc.) by multiplying the total FTE of the program category by a specified weighting factor. The WFTE is intended to reflect the relative costs of programs.
International Student: One who is studying in Canada under a student authorization issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
Undergraduate Student: Includes undergraduate certificates, undergraduate diplomas, bachelor's degree and first professional degree.
Graduate Student: Includes graduate certificates and diplomas, and Master's and Doctoral degrees.

Fields of Study

Major field of study categories are based on the Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) Canada primary groupings. For more information on the CIP Primary Groupings please visit Statistics Canada's website.

CIP Primary groupings are used in all MPHEC publications starting in September 2014 and they may not be comparable to previous years. For publications prior to September 2014 the field of study groups are defined here: MPHEC major field of study groups

Discipline Clusters

Major fields of study are grouped into four broad Discipline Clusters under two different Program Orientations:

Applied and professional programs
Commerce and administration
Applied arts and sciences and professional programs

Liberal arts and sciences
Physical and life sciences and mathematics
Humanities, arts and social sciences

Disciplines Clusters are based on the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) Canada codes. The list of CIP codes included under each Program Orientation and Discipline Cluster are available here:
Discipline Clusters and CIP 2021 (February 2025)
Discipline Clusters and CIP 2011/2016 (September 2014)
Note: There are no structural or title changes between CIP 2011 and CIP 2016.

For MPHEC publications prior to September 2014, Discipline Clusters and Program Orientation categories are based on MPHEC major field of study codes: Discipline Cluster and Major Field of Study

Notes

The data for the University of Prince Edward Island includes enrolments and credentials granted at the Atlantic Veterinary College (AVC).
Effective September 1, 2012, Nova Scotia Agricultural College merged with Dalhousie University and is now the Faculty of Agriculture at Dalhousie University.
Student Gender: The gender variable is obtained through administrative data shared with the MPHEC by post-secondary institutions. Hence, it is possible that sometimes the only information available is “sex at birth” in which case it is used as a proxy for “gender.” Some institutions do not require students to identify their gender or include “non-binary person” in the “unknown” category for the gender variable provided in their files which makes it impossible to publish data on non-binary persons. Only students reported as “Male” or “Female”, or “Man” or “Woman”, are included in the statistical reports on enrolment and credentials granted by gender. In open data sets and the Annual Digest, the category “non-binary person” is grouped with “unknown”.

Statistical Tables on Enrolment:

Enrolment is based on headcounts in the fall term.
Undergraduate enrolment includes students enrolled in technical programs at universities.
Graduate enrolment includes students enrolled in health-related residency programs.
Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) categories are based on the Classification of Instructional Program (CIP) Canada 2016.
International students are students who do not have Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status in Canada. Refugees are included in the international student enrolment.
International students enrolled at overseas campuses are excluded.
The province of residence is the province declared at admission for Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
Age as of December 31st of the reporting year. Only students with a birth date reported are included in the statistical reports by age group.
Registration status is calculated according to the "MPHEC Methodology to calculate USIS-like December 1st and Full-year enrolment, registration status, full-time equivalent (FTE), and weighted full-time equivalent (WFTE) from Enhanced Student Information System (ESIS) Data".

Statistical Tables on Credentials Granted:

Credentials Granted are calculated by calendar year (January-December).
Attestation and other short program credentials are not included.
Undergraduate degrees include bachelors, Bachelor of Laws or Juris Doctor (LLB, JD), Doctor of Medicine (MD), Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS), and Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM).
Graduate degrees include Masters and PhD degrees.
International students are students who do not have Canadian citizenship or permanent resident status in Canada.
International students graduating from overseas campuses are excluded.
The Province of residence is the province declared at admission for Canadian citizens and permanent residents.
Maritimers are Canadian students who declared New Brunswick, Nova Scotia or Prince Edward Island as their permanent province of residence.
Home Province Residents are Maritimers at an institution in their permanent province of residence.
Age as of graduation date. Only students with a birth date reported are included in the statistical reports by age group.