A new global survey has found that 42 per cent of Canadian students help fund their own post-secondary educations, well above the global average of 15 per cent.

The study also found that the majority of Canadian parents also pitch in to help (76 per cent versus global average of 87 per cent).

These are the findings of a study commissioned by HSBC, The Value of Education: Higher and higher, which surveyed more than 8,400 parents across 15 countries.

"The good news is that Canadians take a proactive approach to financing their child's education," said Larry Tomei, Executive Vice President and Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management, "Taking advantage of registered education savings programs, or scholarships and bursaries is key, however, there is still opportunity to do even more."

Registered education savings plans

The study found that 35 per cent of parents in Canada are taking advantage of specific education savings programs. This makes them second mostly likely to do so after China. The global average was 21 per cent.

The study also indicated that parents around the world generally have strong opinions about what they would like their child to study at university, such as medicine, engineering and finance. However, 46 per cent of parents in Canada said they do not have specific courses in mind for their child. This was among the highest proportion across all markets surveyed and more than twice the global average of 21 per cent.