diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index b901ce4..5a305a7 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -86,17 +86,21 @@ your_profile_name:
       username: your_mysql_username
       password: your_mysql_password
       ssl_disabled: True
+      charset: utf8mb4
+      collation: utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci
 ```
 
 | Option          | Description                                                                         | Required?                                                          | Example                                        |
 | --------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | ---------------------------------------------- |
-| type            | The specific adapter to use                                                         | Required                                                           | `mysql`, `mysql5` or `mariadb`                            |
+| type            | The specific adapter to use                                                         | Required                                                           | `mysql`, `mysql5` or `mariadb`                 |
 | server          | The server (hostname) to connect to                                                 | Required                                                           | `yourorg.mysqlhost.com`                        |
 | port            | The port to use                                                                     | Optional                                                           | `3306`                                         |
 | schema          | Specify the schema (database) to build models into                                  | Required                                                           | `analytics`                                    |
 | username        | The username to use to connect to the server                                        | Required                                                           | `dbt_admin`                                    |
 | password        | The password to use for authenticating to the server                                | Required                                                           | `correct-horse-battery-staple`                 |
 | ssl_disabled    | Set to enable or disable TLS connectivity to mysql5.x                               | Optional                                                           | `True` or `False`                              |
+| charset         | Specify charset to be used by a connection                                          | Optional                                                           | `utf8mb4`                                      |
+| collation       | Set to enable or disable TLS connectivity to mysql5.x                               | Optional                                                           | `utf8mb4_0900_ai_ci`                           |
 
 ### Notes
 
diff --git a/dbt/adapters/mariadb/connections.py b/dbt/adapters/mariadb/connections.py
index 94c9428..6e463de 100644
--- a/dbt/adapters/mariadb/connections.py
+++ b/dbt/adapters/mariadb/connections.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ class MariaDBCredentials(Credentials):
     password: Optional[str] = None
     charset: Optional[str] = None
     ssl_disabled: Optional[bool] = None
+    collation: Optional[str] = None
 
     _ALIASES = {
         "UID": "username",
@@ -98,6 +99,12 @@ def open(cls, connection):
         if credentials.port:
             kwargs["port"] = credentials.port
 
+        if credentials.charset:
+            kwargs["charset"] = credentials.charset
+
+        if credentials.collation:
+            kwargs["collation"] = credentials.collation
+
         try:
             connection.handle = mysql.connector.connect(**kwargs)
             connection.state = "open"
diff --git a/dbt/adapters/mysql/connections.py b/dbt/adapters/mysql/connections.py
index 353d5ce..0e2af00 100644
--- a/dbt/adapters/mysql/connections.py
+++ b/dbt/adapters/mysql/connections.py
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ class MySQLCredentials(Credentials):
     username: Optional[str] = None
     password: Optional[str] = None
     charset: Optional[str] = None
+    collation: Optional[str] = None
 
     _ALIASES = {
         "UID": "username",
@@ -94,6 +95,12 @@ def open(cls, connection):
         if credentials.port:
             kwargs["port"] = credentials.port
 
+        if credentials.charset:
+            kwargs["charset"] = credentials.charset
+
+        if credentials.collation:
+            kwargs["collation"] = credentials.collation
+
         try:
             connection.handle = mysql.connector.connect(**kwargs)
             connection.state = "open"
diff --git a/dbt/adapters/mysql5/connections.py b/dbt/adapters/mysql5/connections.py
index 0160bd9..ee7cbc5 100644
--- a/dbt/adapters/mysql5/connections.py
+++ b/dbt/adapters/mysql5/connections.py
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ class MySQLCredentials(Credentials):
     password: Optional[str] = None
     charset: Optional[str] = None
     ssl_disabled: Optional[bool] = None
+    collation: Optional[str] = None
 
     _ALIASES = {
         "UID": "username",
@@ -98,6 +99,12 @@ def open(cls, connection):
         if credentials.port:
             kwargs["port"] = credentials.port
 
+        if credentials.charset:
+            kwargs["charset"] = credentials.charset
+
+        if credentials.collation:
+            kwargs["collation"] = credentials.collation
+
         try:
             connection.handle = mysql.connector.connect(**kwargs)
             connection.state = "open"
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index f257d6f..6d08cd4 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -68,7 +68,7 @@ def _get_dbt_core_version():
     include_package_data=True,
     install_requires=[
         "dbt-core~={}".format(dbt_core_version),
-        "mysql-connector-python>=8.0.0,<8.1",
+        "mysql-connector-python>=8.0.0",
     ],
     zip_safe=False,
     classifiers=[