Universities in Canada's North: Yukon University, Aurora College, Nunavut Arctic College and territorial student aid

One. Yukon University is the only university in Yukon, the Northwest Territories or Nunavut. It began in 1963 as a vocational training centre, became Yukon College in 1983, and was granted university status in spring 2020. All thirteen of its campuses took the new name.

The other two territories each have a college. Aurora College serves the Northwest Territories from campuses in Yellowknife, Fort Smith and Inuvik. Nunavut Arctic College has five campuses and Community Learning Centres in all 25 Nunavut communities.

Both colleges offer some degrees through partner universities. But the list of programs is short. If you want engineering, medicine, computer science or most arts and science majors, you'll study in a province.

Yukon University lists six bachelor's programs: Business Administration, Indigenous Governance, Northern Environmental and Conservation Sciences, Social Work, and two routes to a Bachelor of Education through the Yukon Native Teacher Education Program (YNTEP), one for high school graduates and one after a first degree.

Two of these are partner degrees. Social Work is granted by the University of Regina and accredited by the Canadian Association for Social Work Education. The science degree is a University of Alberta BSc: you take years three and four in Whitehorse after about 60 transferable credits.

Yukon U also lists diplomas in areas such as Biological Sciences, Earth Sciences, Early Learning, General Studies, Liberal Arts, Northern Studies, Aviation Management and Practical Nurse, plus many certificates and trades programs.

A diploma can be a first step. The Northern Environmental and Conservation Sciences Diploma is one way to build the credits the U of A degree needs. See our Yukon University profile.

You apply on Yukon U's own online form, not through OUAC or EducationPlannerBC. Applications for Fall 2027 are already open for both Canadian and international students.

Yukon U doesn't post one closing date for all programs. It says some programs have early deadlines between March and May, and you should ask the program adviser listed on each program page. Processing can take up to four weeks.

The application fee is $30 for residents of Canada or Alaska and $100 for international applicants.

Check the program page first. The Social Work degree, for example, needs 30 university credits before you can enter it, so it isn't a direct-from-high-school option.

For 2026-27, residents of Canada or Alaska pay $152 per credit for undergraduate courses, or $456 for a three-credit course. University Access Pathways courses cost $96 per credit. Yukon U's page doesn't set a different rate for Yukoners and other Canadians.

Yukon U's international fees page, labelled 2025-26, lists $400 per credit, a $6,000 non-refundable tuition deposit, and per-term fees including $216.30 for mandatory health and dental insurance.

Campus housing sits next to the main Whitehorse campus. For 2026-27, an individual dorm costs $2,247 a term, a room in a two or three-bedroom unit costs $2,655, and a family two-bedroom costs $5,041. Those totals include activity and laundry fees. You also pay a $50 housing application fee and a damage deposit of $250 to $700.

Aurora College is still called Aurora College. The Government of the Northwest Territories committed to transforming it into a polytechnic university in October 2018, and the education minister approved the college's request to begin that process on July 31, 2023.

A 2023 territorial timeline aimed to launch the polytechnic university in May 2025. In May 2026, the college said it continues its transformation into a polytechnic university and now operates at arm's length from the territorial government, with a Board, an Academic Council and an Indigenous Knowledge Holders Council. We found no official launch date on the government or college pages we checked.

Today, Aurora's degree option from high school is the four-year Bachelor of Science in Nursing in Yellowknife, granted through a partnership with the University of Victoria. Priority goes to complete applications by April 1. Indigenous applicants and long-term NWT residents get priority.

General Studies is a two-year, 60-credit diploma in Fort Smith or by distance. Aurora says you can then apply to enter year three of a Bachelor of Education or Social Work.

Nunavut Arctic College's degree-level programs include the Bachelor of Science in Nursing (Arctic Nursing), granted by Dalhousie University; the Bachelor of Social Work Nunavut cohort with Memorial University; the Nunavut Teacher Education Program; and a law degree delivered through the University of Saskatchewan as a one-time, four-year offering.

The Teacher Education Program trains teachers for Nunavut schools and expects applicants to be proficient in Inuktitut.

The minimum requirement for any certificate, diploma or degree is a high school diploma, and some programs need specific courses. The college welcomes qualified out-of-territory Canadians, but space for non-residents depends on program capacity, the number of qualified Nunavut applicants and language requirements.

Student housing is available on the Nunatta campus in Iqaluit, the Kivalliq campus in Rankin Inlet and the Kitikmeot campus in Cambridge Bay. Housing is assigned once you're accepted into a program.

Yukon: the Yukon government offers the Yukon Grant and the Student Training Allowance to post-secondary students, and Canada Student Loans and Grants are open to full and part-time students. Check the current amounts and residency rules with the Yukon government before you count on them.

Northwest Territories: NWT Student Financial Assistance offers a Basic Grant for tuition, fees, books and travel, a remissible loan for monthly living costs, and a repayable loan of up to $1,400 a month based on need. You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and meet the program's NWT residency rules. Apply by June 30 for an August or September start, or October 31 for a December or January start.

Nunavut: FANS requires 12 continuous months living in Nunavut before your acceptance, and you must fit one of three groups: Nunavut Inuit students, non-Inuit students with Nunavut schooling, or non-Inuit students with Nunavut residency. The August 2024 handbook sets a July 15 deadline for programs starting between August 15 and October 1.

These programs follow residency, not the school, so they can help if you study in a province too, as long as the school and program are approved.

Most programs aren't offered in the North, so plan a list of provincial universities alongside any northern option. UBC's calendar groups Yukon with BC as one high school curriculum, so Yukon students apply to UBC with the same course rules as BC students. Read our BC universities guide.

Many partner universities have their own pages with us: Alberta universities, Saskatchewan universities and Atlantic Canada universities, which covers Dalhousie and Memorial. Track every date in our Canadian deadlines list.

If you're a Caribbean student, Yukon U accepts international applicants for Fall 2027 at $400 per credit (2025-26 rate). The two colleges focus on territorial residents. Our Caribbean pathways guide covers study permits and planning.