If you plan on working in Canada after graduating as an international student, you should plan ahead to ensure that you’ll be eligible for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP).
For certain programs, you’ll need to meet field of study requirements in order to be PGWP eligible.
Schedule a Free PGWP Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm
If you’re level of study requires you to meet field-of-study requirements to get a PGWP, you must connect your educational program to the correct title and code under the Classification of Instructional Programs (CIP) system and ensure that this CIP code and title are among those that are eligible.
This article will cover the steps you need to take to ensure your study program meets all the eligibility criteria for a PGWP.
What are field of study requirements and who needs to meet them?
In late 2024, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) restricted the availability of PGWPs to international student graduates at certain levels of study, as part of a wider effort to reduce Canada’s temporary resident (work and study permit holder) population.
This was done through the imposition of the field of study requirements for PGWP eligibility, connecting work permit availability to labour market demand for jobs that are connected to certain study programs.
Under these new requirements, international students at the college or non-degree program level of education must ensure that they are studying in a program that connects to in-demand occupations in Canada’s labour market.
Field of study requirements apply to anyone who submitted their study permit application on or after November 1, 2024.
These changes are summarized below:
| Level of study | Field of study requirements |
|---|---|
| College bachelor’s degree programs | N/A |
| University bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral programs | N/A |
| University programs not listed above | Must have graduated from an eligible field of study. |
| College program or other non-university program | Must have graduated from an eligible field of study. |
For more information on which study programs are considered bachelor’s degrees, visit our article.
How to ensure your program is PGWP-eligible
If your level of study requires you to meet field of study requirements, you can take the following steps to ensure that your program is eligible for a PGWP upon completion:
- Determine the CIP title and code that best fits your study program; and
- Check that this CIP code is among the eligible codes for a PGWP.
Note: At the time of writing, only educational programs in the following fields are PGWP-eligible:
- Agriculture and agri-food programs;
- Education programs;
- Health care and social services programs;
- STEM programs;
- Trade programs; and
- Transport programs.
A full list of these programs can be found here. Changes to eligible fields of study are expected in early 2026.
1. Determine the CIP title and code that best fit your study program
To find the CIP code and title that connects to your chosen program, visit Statistics Canada’s official CIP page, which includes all CIP codes, as well as illustrative examples of program titles, and any listed exceptions for each study program under the CIP.
The CIP page allows you to search by general program title and field (or category) of study, with the ability to filter from broad searches to specific programs. For example, certain searches may yield a “series” result (which indicates that a broad range of programs fall under this classification) or a “sub-series” result (which indicates the result is filtered down to a more narrow scope of that field).
This can be visualized as follows:
Series > Sub-series > Individual study program
Program titles can be broad, and CIP codes and titles are categorized by their description, not their title. To pick the correct CIP entry for your study program, you must read the description and ensure it closely matches your chosen study program.
To further ensure that you pick the correct CIP code and title, you can check your Designated Learning Institution’s (DLI’s) website. Most DLIs provide details about PGWP eligibility and include the relevant CIP codes on their sites.
If you still have questions, you can also contact your DLI directly. They can give you more information about your program and confirm the applicable 6-digit CIP code and title.
2. Check if your study program is among those that are PGWP-eligible
Once you have found the correct CIP code and title that corresponds to your study program, you can use our dedicated tool to ensure that it is among the current list of PGWP-eligible programs.
Our tool also features clickable entries, which expand to show the program description, allowing you to double-check that you have picked the correct entry.
If your chosen CIP code and title are included on our dedicated tool, then your program is PGWP-eligible.
Other criteria you need to meet to be PGWP-eligible
In addition to meeting field of study requirements (if applicable), all international students who wish to apply for a PGWP must meet language proficiency requirements (in English or French) according to their level of study, as well as general eligibility requirements.
Language proficiency requirements
Depending on your study program, you must a score either a minimum of level 5 or 7 under the Canadian Language Benchmark (CLB) across all four language abilities in at least one official language.
| Level of study | Language requirements |
|---|---|
| College bachelor’s degree programs | CLB 7 |
| University bachelor’s, master’s or doctoral programs | CLB 7 |
| University programs not listed above | CLB 7 |
| College program or other non-university program | CLB 5 |
General eligibility requirements
In addition to the above (if applicable), all international students must meet the following criteria to be eligible for a PGWP upon graduation:
- Finish a program of study at a PGWP-eligible DLI that was at least 8 months in duration (or 900 hours for programs in Quebec).
- Maintain full-time student status in Canada during *each semester of their study program.
- Submit their PGWP application within 180 days of receiving confirmation that they completed your program of study.
- Maintain study permit validity at some point during the 180 days after graduation and before they submit their PGWP application.
*Students may study part-time in their final semester.
Schedule a Free PGWP Consultation with the Cohen Immigration Law Firm