The Study & Stay PEI Program is located in the Robertson Library on the UPEI campus and is administered by UPEI under the Office of Study Abroad & International Partnerships. The program received funding from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency (ACOA) and the Government of PEI for the period August 15, 2022 to August 15, 2025. In 2026 an external evaluation of the Study & Stay PEI program is being conducted which will inform the future direction and shape of the program.

History

The Study & Stay concept was developed by EduNova in Nova Scotia and the first program was started in 2016. The initial idea supported by ACOA, was to create an international student attraction and retention pilot program open to international students in community colleges and universities.

The Atlantic provincial governments, with support from ACOA and Immigration, Citizenship and Refugees Canada (IRCC) agreed to expand the Study and Stay program throughout the Atlantic region to attract and retain international students. Study and Stay was linked to the Atlantic Growth Strategy’s skilled workforce/immigration pillar, enhancing the region’s capacity to attract and retain a skilled workforce and meet regional labour market needs.

In September 2018 the first cohort of the Atlantic Canada Study and Stay ™ across all four Atlantic provinces was launched. The Atlantic Canada Study and Stay ™ program continued to expand and grow until 2021 when it was decided that each province should manage their own program. In 2021 the Study & Stay PEI Program was launched and we are about to start the seventh cohort in September 2024. 

The first cohort of international students from PEI participating in the Atlantic Canada Study and Stay ™ back in 2018 was quite small. A total of 32 students joined the program compared to 153 who joined in 2025.