There is a move in Ontario universities to make tuition free – or at least, more affordable – for international PhD students, a move that was given momentum by the Ontario government’s announcement that universities could use 10% of the grants they receive for graduate students to enrol more graduate students. Research-intensive universities can use up to 15%. This means that 1200 students will be funded for the next three years, up from 133.
Last month, the University of Toronto announced that international graduate students would now only pay domestic student fees. Brock University more recently announced that fees would be completely covered by the university for international graduate students.
Why? There are a few reasons, but a very compelling one is the obvious from a recent study from the University of Toronto that found that half of its international PhD graduates become permanent residents.
Read more in The Globe and Mail.