Location of study of person

Status: This standard was approved as a departmental standard on December 9, 2025.

Definition

Location of study refers to either:

- the province, territory or country of the institution from which a person obtained a certificate, diploma or degree, or;

- the province, territory or country of the institution that a person attended during a specified reference period, or for a specific level of education.

In both cases, location of study refers to the location of the institution granting the certificate, diploma or degree, not the location of the person at the time they obtained the qualification or were attending the institution. The geographic location is specified according to boundaries current at the time the data are collected, not the boundaries at the time of study.

Person refers to an individual and is the unit of analysis for most social statistics programs.

Usage

Typically, the focus is on the location of study of the highest postsecondary certificate, diploma or degree obtained by a person. However, it may also be used to indicate the location of study of any specific level of education, including secondary school (high school). It may also be used to compare the person's location of study with their place of residence on a specified reference date. The location that is the focus should be specified.

Conformity to relevant internationally recognized standards

There are no relevant internationally recognized standards.

Classifications

• Variant of the Standard Classification of Countries and Areas of Interest 2022 for Social Statistics June 13, 2023 to current
• Standard Geographical Classification (SGC) 2021 September 07, 2021 to current
• Classification of location of study compared with province or territory of residence April 07, 2016 to current
• Classification of location of study June 20, 2011 to current

Relation to previous version

• Location of study of person December 09, 2026 to current

  The definition of the concept 'Location of study' has been reworded in English but the meaning is unchanged.

• Location of study of person April 07, 2016 to December 08, 2025

  The standard has been updated. The definition and usage have been expanded to include focuses other than the highest certificate, diploma or degree of the person. The classification 'Location of study compared with province or territory of residence' has been added.

• Location of study of person June 20, 2011 to April 06, 2016

  This was the departmental standard from June 20, 2011 to April 06, 2016.