How Post-Secondary Education Works in Quebec: Institutions, Degrees and Credentials

Quebec adds a step between high school and university

Every other Canadian province sends students from high school straight into university or college. Quebec puts CEGEP in between. Secondary school in Quebec ends after Secondary V, one year short of Grade 12 elsewhere in Canada, and CEGEP fills that year plus one or two more.

CEGEP stands for Collège d'enseignement général et professionnel. It sits between secondary school and university, and it splits into two tracks: a 2-year pre-university program or a 3-year technical program. Both lead to the Diplôme d'études collégiales, known as the DEC.

What CEGEP gives you: DEC and AEC credentials

The pre-university DEC prepares you for a bachelor's degree. You pick a stream, sciences, social science, arts or commerce, that matches the university program you want next. The technical DEC trains you for a specific occupation and also opens the door to university if you want to continue.

CEGEPs also offer the Attestation d'études collégiales, or AEC, a shorter credential built around specific job skills. An AEC does not carry the same weight as a DEC for university admission, so check the program requirements before you plan around one.

University degrees: 3 years instead of 4

Finish a pre-university DEC and a Quebec bachelor's degree usually takes 3 years, not 4. The province treats CEGEP's second year as equivalent to first-year university elsewhere in Canada.

Students who arrive at a Quebec university without a Quebec DEC, whether from another province or from a foreign high school system, typically complete a 4-year bachelor's degree instead, sometimes after a qualifying or transition year. Requirements vary by university and program, so confirm the exact path with the admissions office before you apply.

Professional programs run on their own timelines regardless of your CEGEP background. Engineering and computer science bachelor's degrees often take 3.5-4 years even after a pre-university DEC, and professional-entry programs like medicine, law and pharmacy admit you after a bachelor's degree or, in medicine's case, sometimes directly from CEGEP into an extended combined program. Check each program's official page for its real length before you plan your years.

The academic calendar

Quebec runs on the same two-semester structure as the rest of Canada, a fall term from September to December and a winter term from January to April. CEGEPs and universities both add a shorter summer session for students who want to accelerate a program or make up a course.

CEGEP report cards use a percentage and letter-grade scale set by each college, while your R score, the cote de rendement au collégial, becomes the number Quebec universities compare against your CEGEP class when they assess your application. A strong R score matters more for competitive programs like medicine or engineering than your raw percentage grade.

Who approves and reviews programs

The Ministère de l'Enseignement supérieur approves every program at Quebec's public colleges and universities and authorizes each one to run. New university programs also go through the Bureau de Coopération Interuniversitaire's New Program Evaluation Commission, which reviews academic quality before the ministry signs off on funding.

CEGEP programs answer to the Commission d'évaluation de l'enseignement collégial, which checks how each college evaluates its own programs, delivers its curriculum and tracks student learning. Regulated professions add another layer, engineering programs answer to the Ordre des ingénieurs du Québec, for example, on top of ministry and university approval.

Quebec institutions in the national picture

Quebec's major universities, McGill, Concordia, Université de Montréal, Université Laval, Université de Sherbrooke, UQAM and the wider Université du Québec network, along with specialized schools like HEC Montréal, Polytechnique Montréal and ÉTS, hold membership in Universities Canada , the national association that represents Canadian universities. CEGEPs and other colleges connect nationally through Colleges and Institutes Canada .

French-language and English-language institutions

Quebec's post-secondary system runs in both French and English. Most CEGEPs and universities teach in French, since French is Quebec's official language and the primary language of instruction across the province. McGill University, Concordia University, Bishop's University and a smaller number of CEGEPs, including Dawson College, Vanier College and John Abbott College, teach in English.

Your language of instruction at CEGEP does not lock you into the same language at university. Plenty of students move from an English CEGEP into a French-language university program, or the other way around, though strong proficiency in the language of instruction still matters for coursework and, at some French-language institutions, for admission itself.

Moving between institutions

Quebec universities and CEGEPs sign articulation agreements that spell out how many DEC courses transfer into a bachelor's degree. Technical DEC graduates often get partial credit toward a related bachelor's program, which shortens the 3-year track further in some cases.

Switching CEGEPs mid-program works the same way as switching high schools, contact the receiving college's registrar and your credits usually transfer within the province. Moving your Quebec credential to a university outside Quebec takes more planning, since other provinces do not run a CEGEP-equivalent tier. Ask the receiving university's admissions office how it treats a Quebec DEC before you commit.