Concordia University offers lots of programs for students attracted to lively Montreal nightlife and low cost of living

Canada’s sixth-largest postsecondary institution doesn’t have a high profile in Vancouver. But Concordia University in Montreal is an attractive option for B.C. students hoping to obtain their English-language postsecondary education in a diverse city full of nightlife at a fraction of the cost of living in Vancouver.

Concordia’s director of student recruitment, Matt Stiegemeyer, told the Straight by phone that Montreal’s four universities and various colleges ensure there’s a wide range of activities for young people.

“It’s pretty easy for students to have a good time here,” Stiegemeyer said. “I like the diversity around the city. It’s not an English-French cultural divide. There really is a variety of people, languages, food, and cultural events.”

Concordia was created in 1974 through the merger of Loyola College, in the neighbourhood of Notre-Dame-de-Grâce, and Sir George Williams University, which was downtown. Concordia offers a wide range of academic programs to its more than 46,000 undergraduate and graduate students, who attend classes on the two campuses.

The highly regarded John Molson School of Business is downtown. Journalism, communications, and sciences are offered at the Loyola campus, which is also where a hockey rink, football field, and other sports facilities are located.

Stiegemeyer said that Concordia’s model is different than UBC, where students attend classes at either the Vancouver or Okanagan campus. At Concordia, students will often take courses at both campuses in the same semester. “We run our shuttle back and forth,” he said.

According to Stiegemeyer, graduate students can obtain master’s degrees in professional areas, including business administration and public policy, as well as PhDs in humanities, sciences, social sciences, engineering, and fine arts. He said that half of this year’s new undergraduate students came from provinces other than Quebec or from outside of Canada.

Concordia also has a lively student media, with two student newspapers and a radio station. “Journalism is a big program for us,” Stiegemeyer said. “So there’s a real support structure around that, making sure the students get that hands-on experience.”

One of the benefits of attending Concordia is the relatively low cost of living in Canada’s second-largest city. The university’s Graduate Programs Viewbook 2017-18 points out that the average rent over a year is $10,200 in Montreal. That compares to $18,828 in Vancouver and $18,120 in Toronto.

Concordia estimates that even after a prospective student adds annual expenses for food ($3,900), transportation ($600), utilities ($1,620), and books and supplies ($900), the overall cost of $17,220 for students living in Montreal is still below what people pay, on average, for just rent in Vancouver or Toronto.

“There’s a lot of affordable housing,” Stiegemeyer said. “We benefit from economies of scale with our groceries.”

He acknowledged, of course, that the weather is not always as good in Montreal as it is in Vancouver. “You have to deal with a lot more snow.”