University, College, University College, Career College (Post-secondary School)

In Canada, education is regulated by each separate provincial government through the individual ministries of education. The ministries of education oversee smaller bodies called boards of education or district school boards (such as the Toronto District School Board) which oversee the individual schools.

There are 10 provinces and three territories, each with their own way of organizing education, but there are some generalizations that one can make about Canadian education.

In Canada there is a division between where you would go to school to prepare yourself for certain types of work when choosing between university and college, though the line between the two are starting to blur.

It used to be that if you wanted to become an electrician, a police officer or a plumber, or take on some other kind of hands-on trade or career, you would attend a college to receive a diploma. If you wanted to become a professional, such as a doctor, lawyer or teacher, you would attend a university to attain a degree.

Those same basic rules still apply, but many people in areas traditionally reserved for university graduates, such as business, are starting to obtain those positions with the help of college degrees. Colleges are handing out degrees and universities are handing out diplomas. Some schools have been specially formed to give students the opportunity to graduate with both a degree and a diploma.

In Québec, the situation is a little different. After high school, students can choose to go to a special school called a cégep. This is similar to a college in the rest of Canada, where a student might get a diploma to be a dental assistant or a cartographer. The difference is that if a Québec student wants to go to university, they must attend at least two years of school at a cégep