Our Admissions Process
Admission Procedure
Admission to the Graduate Program is on a competitive basis and is not automatic even if minimum requirements are met. Applicant files are processed in order of completion. However, we typically begin circulating files to faculty after the deadline and continue until the program is full, usually in early summer.
Once an applicant has submitted all required documentation and it has been determined that minimum admission standards are met, the file is circulated amongst faculty members. Selection is based on many factors including grades, reference letters, publications (if any), work experience, available space in area of research interest and finally and importantly, acceptance by potential supervisors. The number of applicants and the number of available spaces vary from year to year. We regret that we are unable to accept many excellent qualified applicants due to space and funding considerations.
The process of making a decision on a file will take approximately 3-4 months after the deadline. NOTE: This can stretch if supporting documents are found to be inadequate or if the evaluation of the file is complex and must be done through the Faculty of Graduate Studies.
Offers of Admission
Students are sent a preliminary acceptance letter by the Department. The letter will indicate which faculty member or research group has agreed to accept supervision of the student. The letter may also state whether or not financial assistance is available. If financial assistance is available, the supervisor is expected to contact the student independently, either by email or letter.
The department will require to send a letter of recommendation for acceptance to the Faculty of Graduate Studies, who will check the applicant's qualifications, verify supporting documents and either issue a official letter of acceptance to the applicant (with a copy to the department) or send the applicant's file back to the department, indicating why they are unable to process the application further. If there are no unforeseen problems with the applicant's qualifications, an official acceptance letter will arrive from the Faculty of Graduate Studies at UBC within 4 to 6 weeks.
Please DO NOT call or email
Our office is considering your application. We understand and sympathize with the applicants' concerns about their applications; however, all successful applicants will be notified of the Department decision as soon as it's made. Therefore, we will not be able to reply to your email or call in the case of no decision having been made for your application. Thank you for your patience!
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Last reviewed 
2/9/2010 11:09:15 AM