Graduate Studies - MASc vs MEngg

This document is originally written by Md. Shafayet Islam, MASc Student (Concordia Univeristy).

Year of Publication: 2017

©PBSCU Any unauthorized use of this article, including copying or editing is prohibited. If you want to use the article, you need to take permission from us: pbscuadm@gmail.com or from the author and you must mention the author's name and the group's name in all cases.

Graduate Studies in Concordia University, Montreal

Masters of Engineering (MEng)

Why pursue a Master's in Electrical and Computer Engineering in Concordia?

The Master of Engineering (MEng) is 2 Year coursework based graduate program that is designed for engineering graduates who want to enhance their technical and professional skills to have a competitive edge in today’s job field. University ranking is on par in terms of research opportunities and current Canadian job market.

Link: http://www.concordia.ca/academics/graduate/electrical-engineering-meng.html

Program Information:

45 Credit (10 Courses * 4 Credit each + One Seminar Course * 1 Credit) to complete the degree requirements

Time Limit:

Full-time students must be completed within 12 terms (4 years) from the time of initial registration. For part-time students, the time limit is 15 term (5 years). Usual semesters are Fall and Winter. Very few courses are offered only in Summer semester. If need be, one can take leave of absence for summer semesters prior to application to graduate program coordinator. No leave is granted for regular semesters unless urgent occasions. Related documents are MUST in order to avail this leave.

N.B. applying for part-time studentship will put visa application at risk as it intends to more of a working intention rather than studying in Canada.

Application Requirements:

• Undergraduate CGPA: >= 3.00/4.00 (No need for WES Evaluation)

• IELTS Score: >=6.5 (No band less than 6)

• GRE Score: Not needed. But preferable to write it in case of switching to another degree as gives a pretty boost up in the application.

• Letter of Reference: The best combination is an academic and industrial mixture. Having no job experience, academic ones will do just fine.

• Statement of Purpose: A maximum 2-page essay containing why particularly choosing this university for graduate studies and what benefit can be achievable from this degree to one’s career. A brief discussion about previous research / academic projects experience along with job experiences (if applicable) is highly recommended. Citing recent updates from the respective department of this university and mentioning them in SOP makes it rawer and self-made than copy-pasting from other sources. Bear in mind, this letter is one of the key element of granting admission.

Application Deadline:

Fall Semester (September - December): Before Feb 15

Winter Semester (January – April): Before June 15

Summer Semester (May-August): October 15

Tuition Fees:

Approximately $29,000 CAD (including health insurance) for 2 years Master’s program.

Source: http://www.concordia.ca/admissions/tuition-fees/calculator.html

Co-Op Education:

Option available in expense with higher CGPA (>=3.4 out of 4.3) and placement availability.

Funding Options:

Usually MEng students are not privileged with any sort of bursaries or funds. Very less possibilities of managing TAships unless recommended by faculties. Since this is a course based program, expect loads of course work, library hours, group project discussions, collecting class materials of previous semesters from course mates and lastly sleepless nights before midterms and finals with handful of stresses, but money / fund issues shouldn’t be one of them.

Switching to Masters of Applied Science (MASc)

Lucrative Research Assistantships, Teaching Assistantships, internal and external funds, Departmental funds, Professors grunt, Provincial and Federal Scholarships etc. may seems like a no brainer choice but getting it is not that easy as it sounds. Provided you have enrolled for MEng, the only possible way to switch it to MASc is to convince the supervisor of your interest UPFRONT. It may be done by taking his/her classes or may be consulting directly in their office hours. Common notion is to create a good impact and top scores in respective courses with clear understandings in the material which automatically creates a mentionable attention in professor’s mind for prospective researcher. If they have vacant positions in their lab, they will contact you by themselves with the offer. Since this eases the complexity of finding some student from distant places rather than from their own class, don’t expect this task to be that easy to achieve. Lucrative Research Assistantships, Teaching Assistantships, internal and external funds, Departmental funds, Professors grunt, Provincial and Federal Scholarships etc. may seems like a no brainer choice but getting it is not that easy as it sounds. Provided you have enrolled for MEng, the only possible way to switch it to MASc is to convince the supervisor of your interest UPFRONT. It may be done by taking his/her classes or may be consulting directly in their office hours. Common notion is to create a good impact and top scores in respective courses with clear understandings in the material which automatically creates a mentionable attention in professor’s mind for prospective researcher. If they have vacant positions in their lab, they will contact you by themselves with the offer. Since this eases the complexity of finding some student from distant places rather than from their own class, don’t expect this task to be that easy to achieve. But Nothing is Impossible. Right?

Application Procedure:

Gather all the required documents first. That should include the followings:

1. CV. One recently updated with academic project/research experiences and/or job experiences (if any).

2. Three (3) Copies of LOR. Preferably from academic (2) and industrial (1, if any) experience. Hard copies will be needed to submit. Online submission at a later date is also available if it’s not ready during paper submission.

3. One copy of 2-page SOP.

4. One copy of Official mark sheet of respective university

5. One copy of Attested Provisional Certificate/ Degree Certificate

6. One copy of IELTS score.

7. 100CAD application fee.

Then apply through here http://www.concordia.ca/admissions/apply-now.html

before deadline approaches. For any particular case based inquiries, shoot your mail at grad-program@ece.concordia.ca. It might take some time to respond but in general, they are quite helpful.

After submitting the application, it takes near around 4-6 weeks for them to reply with either positive or negative feedback. Keep 1-2 weeks in the buffer while applying for Fall semester as this is the pick season.

CAQ:

Once admission letter has been issued, next step is to apply for CAQ. Once admission letter has been issued, next step is to apply for CAQ. Once admission letter has been issued, next step is to apply for CAQ. This is a provincial study permit certificate issued by Immigration Quebec for international students to study in Quebec province only. . . The complete study permit will be issued by Citizenship and Immigration Canada after landing in Canada. This costs around $111CAD. Any online transaction methods (VISA, MasterCard, Virtual Debit Card etc.) is allowed. The details can be found here: http://www.immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/immigrate-settle/students/obtaining-authorizations/certificat-acceptation/fees-required.html

Study Permit Application: This information are from 2017

Roughly it takes around 3-4 weeks to get the online confirmation for Quebec study permit (CAQ). Once it comes into the hand, one can apply for student visa application.

The followings are needed to submit in order to apply for student visa:

1. Notarized photocopy of all the academic certificates (PSC,JSC,SSC,HSC,BSc,MSc etc.)

2. Notarized photocopy of first 5 pages of old passport / first 2 info pages of Machine Readable Passport.

3. Police Clearance certificate. Necessary information can be found in here Guide: http://www.online-dhaka.com/english/619_689_2063_0-police-clearanc--certificate.html ; Bangladesh Police Website: http://www.police.gov.bd/tab.php?id=4

4. Birth Certificate in English

5. Updated CV à One copy.

6. Study Plan à the very same context of SOP used for university application with an addition of country ties and strong reasoning for returning to home country is a MUST.

7. Few passport size photos just in case. Though VFS will take photos and fingerprints by their own.

8. Notarized photocopy / Original copy of IELTS score.

9. Documents of Currently studying degree (If applicable.)

10. Job Certificate (If applicable)

11. Marriage Certificate (If applicable)

12. Relationship Documents (If applicable)

13. Financial Evidence

a. Sponsor:

i. Affidavit of Financial Support Documents/Property Evaluation

ii. Relationship Proof Documents with Sponsor (Usually notarized photocopy of passport)

iii. Bank Solvency Certificate

iv. Bank Statements for >=6 Months

v. Source of Income (Provident Fund, Salary Certificate, Trade License, LC Documents, Invoice, Dealership agreement etc.)

vi. Company Memorandum & Audit Report for companies.

vii. Ownership documents (Fixed Assets i.e. residential lands, apartment/flat tenant deed agreement, commercial land, Shop rent etc.)

viii. Income Tax Certificate

ix. Income Tax Return for last 2 fiscal years.

x. Visiting Card of the Sponsor

xi. Notarized photocopy of Sponsor’s last educational qualification certificate

xii. Letter of financial guarantee

b. Self (If applicable)

i. Job Certificate

ii. Salary Certificate

iii. Bank Statement (Salary account, personal account etc.)

iv. Visiting Card

v. TIN Certificate

vi. Tax Return (If income is above tax payable)

vii. Professional Certificates (CCNA, RHCSA, CompTIA, ITIL, VMWare, CA, PMP etc.)

VISA file submission in VFS, DHAKA:

During the visa application submission, the followings along with the aforementioned documents are needed to be provided:

1. Document Checklist. Link available from here http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5483E.pdf

2. Study Permit Checklist. Link available from here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5850E.pdf

3. Family Information Form. Link available form here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5707E.pdf

4. Application for Study Permit. Link Available here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM1294E.pdf

5. Biometric fingerprint and photograph. These will be taken in VFS.

6. Full photocopy of all the pages of passport. In case of multiple, all of those pages as well.

7. Only first 2 pages (Machine Readable Passports) of photocopy of the current passport.

8. Visa application fee of BDT 13798 in cash only. Best practice is to bring the changes as they don’t have much during fee collection. Breakdowns are all in BDT.

a. Visa fee amount à 8610

b. Biometric Fee à 4880

c. Application Service Charge à 251

d. SMS Service Charge à 57

Medical Examination Request:

After successful submission of Visa application, if everything goes according to as it supposed to be, a medical examination request followed by a unique medical report form (IMM1017E) will be mailed in the give mail address.

This medical examination includes a blood test, urine test, an x-ray of your chested area for checking simple flu related diseases. In case of heavy medical doses already been prescribed with or been operated with any major issues has to be declared during the medical examination for further procedures. Medical reports will be submitted to VFS the by the Physician panel themselves within two working days. No need to query for the medical report in the test center.

There is a list of panel physicians registered under IRCC for medical examination specifically for visa application (i.e. immigration, student, tourist etc.) purposes. These are mentioned as below:

The following Panel Physicians are available in this country - ordered by city:

1. Name: Abdul Wahab

Address: Dr. Wahab's Medical Centre

Road 12, House 3,Baridhara-1212

Telephone: (880-2) 984 7553;(880-2) 984 3439

Estimated Cost: BDT 4200

2. Lina Shahnaz Parveen Hoq

Address: Green Crescent Health Services

60 Park Rd, Baridhara Diplomatic Zone-1212

Telephone: (88) (02) - 58817335, 9862384

Estimated Cost: BDT 3800

3. Dr. A.K.M.M.R. Faruq, Dr. Anup Kanti Das Dr. Sonia Arifa

Address: IOM Migration Health Assessment Clinic

1st & Ground floor, House 13/A, Road 136, Gulshan-1,1212

Telephone: +88 0171 3481 798; +88 0177 7761 309

Estimated Cost: BDT 4000

Final Confirmation of Visa Approval

The estimated timeline for approval of student visa is around 8-10 working weeks in Singapore. Unless second security clearance issues are needed, more or less the given timeline is well maintained. There are few cases though, where visa approval comes at a much later date than completing the medical examination. Check Hall of Fame for clear overview in this regard.

Life in Montreal: Time to pack your bags!

Named world’s best student city for a reason! Highly vibrant and diversity is well observed. Night life and Summer days are where people make most of the memories. Snowfall may seem filmy and cute for the first few weeks, but once getting the hold of it there is a less chances of liking it further. Native Canadians are way over polite (!) and respectful. Here are some tips and tricks to survive in Montreal.

• Start to learn French if you intended to go through from the very first line of this document. Learning French will be highly helpful in terms of further immigration or looking for jobs in Montreal. In distant places (>100KM from Montreal) people doesn’t even understand English. So “ Start to learn French if you intended to go through from the very first line of this document. Learning French will be highly helpful in terms of further immigration or looking for jobs in Montreal. In distant places (>100KM from Montreal) people doesn’t even understand English. So “alors commencez à apprendre le français. Bien?”

• Adapt in saying “Sorry, Thank You” (Both in French and English) in every steps of your Montreal life.

• Use right side of escalator for standing and left side for rushing up. Don’t BLOCK the left aisle of escalators.

• It is a courtesy to hold the doors for peoples coming from one’s behind. If one holds the door for you, don’t forget to say Merci!

• Living Expenses are subjective in Montreal. It varies from places to places and of course one’s living style. Minimum can be found from 300-500CAD for one room in a 3 ½ apartment to 5 ½ apartment. The more friends, the less the rent for one’s head. Usual tendency is to stick near the downtown campus where the costs are marginally higher than places. Pricing will vary from places to places. Living near Bengali community will help to find these options.

• Bringing snow boot and winter jacket from Bangladesh will not help at all. Well, may be for few weeks but not preferable for more than that. Snow boot, winter jackets are available from 70-80 CAD to 150-200 CAD depending on the place. Use your budget wisely.

• Part- time job is available mostly on the call centers, restaurants and factories. French is not mandatory at all for these sort of physical jobs. But having this knowledge will give you upper hand in tips!

• Summer jobs are most lucrative and versatile. For Canadian work experience, this time is perfect. Simultaneously handling jobs and course pressure is not a matter of joke. Caution is advised!

• Let the myth of conducting part time jobs for paying tuition fees and living expenses altogether be out of our head! Even in one’s wildest dreams (doing 2-3 part-time jobs for more than 20hrs/week / managing cash paid jobs) this seems mathematically impossible. That’s how the Canadian system has been built. Risking one’s career for making money from numerous opportunities of cleaning dishes to running buses to lifting boxes with the expense of sacrificing grades is just buying gold’s fool from the Canadians. Balance your work with study.

• Bring your national id card and driving license and keep them with yourself all the time. There are some places(!) where even university ID is not accepted to prove your identity in Canada.

• “Winter is coming” may seem like a widely known phrase for you but the real face of winter is even scarier than Winterfell. From Dec-April, these months will make you realize how winter storms in North feels in real life from reel life. If you couldn’t catch any of those metaphors, just Try to keep yourself warm in the coldest of the days in Montreal. Valar Morghulis!