How can I compare tuition fees for Canadian universities after UniversityStudy.ca closed?

Updated

UniversityStudy.ca has been retired, so its tuition comparison tool is no longer available. Universities Canada, the organization behind the site, now points students to its own resources for comparing tuition fees by university and viewing tuition ranges for Canadian and international undergraduate and graduate students. If you need exact current amounts, treat those ranges as a starting point and confirm the final figure on each university's own website.

What changed

UniversityStudy.ca was an initiative of Universities Canada. The site now displays a closure notice: services have been retired, and visitors are directed to Universities Canada for further information. That means any bookmarked comparison pages, saved program searches, or tuition tables from the old site should no longer be relied on.

The closure notice does not say the underlying tuition data disappeared — it says the site's services were retired and that Universities Canada offers helpful information and resources instead.

Where to compare tuition now

The closure page lists three main paths, each with a different purpose:

Resource What it covers Best used for
Compare tuition fees by university Tuition ranges for Canadian and international undergraduate and graduate students at universities across Canada Getting a broad, side-by-side sense of cost differences between schools
Scholarships and programs Scholarships, awards, and programs administered by Universities Canada Reducing net cost rather than comparing sticker price
Possible with U Stories about how universities prepare students, advance research, and strengthen communities Context on outcomes, not fees

For anything beyond a range — exact program fees, ancillary charges, and per-year amounts — go to the individual university's official tuition page. Institutions set their own fees, and published ranges cannot capture program-level differences.

What to keep in mind when comparing

Tuition in Canada is not a single number, and the categories below are the ones the Universities Canada resource itself separates:

  • Residency status. Canadian and international students are quoted separately, and the gap is usually large. Compare only within the same category.
  • Level of study. Undergraduate and graduate tuition are listed as distinct ranges. A graduate professional program can sit far outside the undergraduate band.
  • Program, not just school. Two students at the same university can pay different amounts depending on faculty or program.
  • Year of study. Many ranges cover a full program rather than a single year, so read the label before assuming an annual figure.

A practical comparison routine

  1. Start with the Universities Canada tuition comparison to narrow your list by province and residency category.
  2. Shortlist five to eight universities.
  3. For each one, open its official tuition page and search for your specific program and level.
  4. Record the figure, the academic year it applies to, and whether it is per year or per program.
  5. Check the scholarships resource for awards you may qualify for, since financial support can change the real cost more than a small tuition difference does.
  6. Re-check each figure close to your application deadline — published ranges are not a substitute for the university's current fee schedule.

Common pitfalls

  • Assuming the old UniversityStudy.ca comparison still works. It does not; the site is closed.
  • Mixing international and domestic figures in one table, which makes the comparison meaningless.
  • Treating a tuition range as a quote. It is a range across many programs and years.
  • Ignoring mandatory non-tuition costs, which vary by institution and are usually listed separately from tuition.

If your goal is simply to understand the landscape, the Universities Canada comparison plus the scholarships page is enough. If your goal is to budget for a specific program, the university's own tuition page is the only figure worth planning around.