Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has officially confirmed that, for 2026, it will not add or remove any eligible fields of study for the Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP).
This matters because the field-of-study requirement has become one of the biggest “decision makers” for international students choosing study programs.
If their program’s CIP code isn’t eligible, they can finish school in Canada and still lose access to a PGWP—often without realizing it until they apply.
The new freeze removes one layer of uncertainty: the eligible fields list will remain stable throughout 2026.
Full list of fields eligible for PGWP in 2026
IRCC organizes PGWP-eligible fields of study into 6 broad field categories.
These are the fields that remain “frozen” (no additions or removals) throughout 2026.
- Agriculture and agri-food
- Education
- Health care and social services
- Science, technology, engineering and math (STEM)
- Trade
- Transport
Important: the category list above is not the same thing as a “program list.”
Each category contains many specific eligible CIP codes, and PGWP eligibility is determined at the CIP-code level.
Full list of study programs eligible for PGWP in 2026
The bigger question is whether your program’s CIP code stays on the eligible list when you apply.
Because the official eligibility check is CIP-code based, the fastest way for readers is to search by either:
