The five Universities are: Royal Roads University, The University of Victoria (both on Vancouver Island), Simon Fraser University is in Burnaby, The University of British Columbia is in Vancouver and The University of Northern British Columbia is situated in Prince George. These five universities of British Columbia provide the majority of degree level education.

There are five institutes that provide specialized programs in technologies and trades, art and design, law enforcement, marine training, and indigenous studies. Four of these institutes are located in and around the vicinity of Vancouver; the fifth one is in Merritt which is close to Kamloops.

There are also Private Post Secondary institutes that offer a wide range of courses in British Columbia. The tuition fees will be considerably higher for these establishments.

Whilst on the subject of tuition fees, post secondary studies in Canada are NOT free. To help parents with the cost of tuition, the Canadian Government introduced Registered Education Savings Plan's (RESP).

The British Columbia Student Assistance Program is a joint Program between the Federal and Provincial Government. This is available as a loan for eligible students to assist with the costs of post secondary studies at colleges, universities, institutes and private training institutions. These loans will have to be repaid after the course has finished!