CALDO is a consortium of Canada’s leading universities in research and innovation, offering top-ranked programs in English and French to students from all over the world. CALDO offers free support and guidance to prospective candidates from Latin America on how to find graduate programs, navigate the application process and get to know scholarship options from your home country.

Our Members consist of the following:

• University of Alberta
• Université Laval
• McMaster University
• University of Saskatchewan
• University of Toronto
• University of Waterloo
• Western University

• Single point of contact to Top universities in Canada
• Tailored and personalized guidance and support
• Follow-up and support on day-to-day issues once students have been admitted.

Our personalized services allow candidates to receive detailed information on programs of study they are interested in and support with the application process. The service is comprised of the following:

1. Identifying programs of study that align best with the candidates’ interests
2. Assisting candidates in identifying the admission requirements and application deadlines for their program of interest
3. Assisting the candidates in identifying and gathering the required academic documents for the application process (statement of research, academic CV, suitable langue test scores, etc.)
4. Proving support in navigating the application process.

Application processes, requirements for admission, and program costs vary greatly from one university to the next and one program to the next. Students must ensure to confirm the requirements on the individual program or department websites.

In general, students must meet a minimum academic average (or GPA) as well as a minimum language requirement. The minimum scores vary and meeting those minimum scores does not guarantee admission.

The minimum scores vary from one university to the next and one program to the next. All of our Universities generally accept either the IELTS or the TOEFL language proficiency tests.

On average, universities require at least 6.0 on the IELTS or 86 on the TOEFL Internet-based Test. Some Universities and some programs require higher scores.

See more information here.

See each University’s minimum language requirements below:

• University of Alberta
• Université Laval
• McMaster University
• University of Saskatchewan
• University of Toronto
• University of Waterloo
• Western University

In general, universities require students to include the following documents in their application:

• A proof of language proficiency, usually the IELTS or TOEFL scores. See more information here. Your scores will need to be included in your application
• Transcripts for all university studies, including copies of diplomas
  Letters of recommendation (each program will specify how many)
• Statement of Research Intent: you can find more information on this subject here
• Your academic CV: This is different from a regular professional CV. Please see the following page to get tips and tricks on how to write an Academic CV.

For some programs, you will need to secure a research supervisor prior to applying; in other instances, this is done after you are accepted to a program. It depends on the program, and the university. There is no general answer on this – the information will be provided on the program’s application requirements.

For Research Master’s and Doctoral studies, you will be working closely with a faculty research supervisor.

Many research-based graduate programs expect students to identify a prospective supervisor prior to applying for admission. It is best to check with the graduate program you will be applying to, to find out if this is expected. CALDO can also help you determine if this is a requirement.

You will find information on how to contact supervisors here. You will need to include a Statement of Research when contacting supervisors. You can find more information on this subject here.

CALDO does not offer scholarships directly but rather cooperates with international partners, including government agencies and educational institutions, to establish agreements that facilitate higher education mobility from Latin American countries and who offer full scholarships for Master’s and/or PhDs. Under the agreements CALDO signs with Funding Agencies in Latin America, some Research Master’s programs, and PhD programs, are co-funded by the Funding Agency and the CALDO Member host institution.

• For Research Master’s programs, the University of Alberta, the University of Saskatchewan, and Western University will cover the International Differential Tuition fee (IDF) (the difference between the cost of tuition for domestic students and the cost of tuition for international students). The difference is covered by the funder.
• For PhD programs, all CALDO member universities will cover the IDF and the difference is covered by the funder.

CALDO can help you determine if your program of choice would be eligible under the different agreements.

CALDO is partnered with sponsoring agencies in 9 Latin American countries: Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay. Find out more here.