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2006 Census: Educational Portrait of Canada, 2006 Census: Immigration

Field of study: One-quarter of university-qualified recent immigrants had a degree in Engineering

The most popular field of study among recent immigrants aged 25 to 64 having a university degree in 2006 was Engineering, followed by Business, Management, Marketing and Related Support Services in second place, and Health Professions and Related Clinical Sciences in third, according to the census.

An estimated 25% of those who arrived between 2001 and 2006 with a university degree had graduated in Engineering. In contrast, just 6% of Canadian-born degree-holders in this age group had a degree in Engineering.

About 19% of university-qualified recent immigrants had graduated in Business, Management, Marketing and Related Support Services. This was just above the proportion of 16% among the Canadian-born population.

Some 6% of recent immigrants having a university degree had studied in Computer and Information Sciences and Support Services. This was three times the proportion among the Canadian-born population (2%).

Similarly, 4% of those having a university degree who arrived between 2001 and 2006 studied Physical Sciences, while only 2% of the Canadian-born population did so.

In contrast, recent immigrants accounted for small proportions in some fields of study, compared to the Canadian-born population. For example, 5% of all foreign-born degree holders aged between 25 and 64 had a degree in Education, compared with 19% of the Canadian-born population.


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