Statistics

SPSS vs R for Canadian Graduate Students: Which Should You Learn?

A practical comparison of SPSS and R for Canadian Master's and PhD students choosing their analysis tool.

📅 January 18, 2026 ⏱ 4 min read 🏷 Statistics

Canadian graduate programs are split: nursing, social work, and education lean SPSS; economics, statistics, and increasingly psychology lean R. Here's how to decide.

SPSS — pros and cons

R — pros and cons

What Canadian programs actually use

Pragmatic recommendation

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Is SPSS still used at Canadian universities?

Yes — nursing, education, social work, and most psychology programs at Canadian universities still default to SPSS.

Should I learn R or Python for grad school?

R if you're going into health, biostats, or academic publishing. Python if you're heading into industry, data science, or ML.

Is R free for Canadian students?

Yes — R and RStudio are both free and open-source. No university license required.

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