Application Review + Admission Offers

A person using a walker in a hospital room

Application review begins ~ March 1 and the first round of admissions is completed around mid-May.

Admission GPAs are calculated using the most recent, applicable 60 credits (20 courses) of coursework completed by January 1 of the admission year. All aspects of the application are reviewed to ensure a proper fit with the program and the OT profession.

Fulfilling the minimum criteria and GPA only guarantees consideration for admission. When an application qualifies for consideration that application is entered into a lottery system using one or both of two routes (see below). Meeting the admission GPA in a particular year does not guarantee admission. Admission through one or both of the application routes is a matter of chance and depends on the number and caliber of applications received each year.

Courses Not Considered

These courses are not included in the calculation of the admission GPA:

  • Activity courses in phys. ed., studio and performance courses in fine arts, practicum courses, pass or fail courses and seminar, research and thesis courses.
  • Repeated courses (or courses with similar content) of previously passed or failed courses.
  • Certificate-level and Diploma-level courses.

Courses that May Be Considered

  • Most international exchange courses, graduate-level courses, and courses completed outside of a degree may be included in the calculation of the admission GPA.
  • The CASPer results will complement the other tools and personal information that we consider when reviewing applications.

For detailed information refer to the FAQ section of the website.

Number of Admissions

  • Approximately 124 students are admitted in total.
  • 102 of the seats are reserved for Alberta residents.
    • If offered admission applicants will be required to provide proof of Alberta residency.
    • See the FAQ page for residency information.
  • A maximum of 15% of seats will be offered to out-of-province or international applicants.
  • Two of the spaces are reserved for Indigenous applicants.
    • If those spaces are not filled, they will be filled using the general applicant pool.
    • If offered admission for these 2 seats, applicants will be required to provide proof of Indigenous identity.
    • Information regarding required documentation can be found in the University of Alberta calendar.

Evidence of a strong academic history

The OT program is academically challenging which is why preference is given to applicants who have completed at least 24 credits (a full course load of 4- 5 courses/semester) over two consecutive terms or semesters at some point during their academic career while maintaining a strong GPA.

OT students take 30+ credits/year over a 26-month program. The program is tightly sequenced, comprehensive and academically challenging, and enrollment each term is contingent on successful completion of all courses in the prior term(s). Applicants need to be prepared for the academic rigor; consequently, those with a history of multiple withdrawals and/or failures are usually not competitive.

Selection of Applicants

The MScOT program uses a two-route selection process. Applicants who meet all general admission requirements are first considered for Route 1. Applicants may also be considered for Route 2 if they meet the additional eligibility criteria described below. Route 1 selection occurs first; applicants who qualify for both routes but are not selected in Route 1 will be considered in Route 2. 

Route 1 (Up to 70% of Admitted Seats)

Eligibility Requirements 

  • Admission GPA of 3.8 - 4.0
  • CASPer score in the 4th quartile
  • Completion of all three prerequisite courses

Eligible applicants are placed into a lottery pool for 70% of the available program seats.

Route 2 (Up to 30% of Admitted Seats)

Route 2 recognizes that academic GPA alone does not fully capture an applicant's readiness for the occupational therapy profession. This pathway is for applicants whose lived experience has given them direct, sustained insight into communities with limited access to health, rehabilitation, or related services and who are positioned to contribute meaningfully to those communities as future OTs. 

Is Route 2 right for you?

Route 2 is an alternative admission pathway. Before submitting Route 2 responses, critically evaluate whether your background genuinely meets the intent of this route by asking yourself the following four questions:

  1. Do I have direct, sustained personal or professional experience with a specific community that faces significant barriers to accessing health, rehabilitation, or related services?
  2. Can I describe what I learned from that experience about a specific unmet need, something I could not have understood through coursework or brief exposure alone?
  3. Can I identify specific knowledge, skills, perspectives, or relationships I developed through this experience that would position me to contribute in occupational therapy practice?
  4. Do I have a contact person with direct knowledge of my engagement with this community, someone who can speak specifically to the nature and context of my involvement, not simply of my general character or academic abilities?

If you can not answer yes to all four questions, do not apply though Route 2. Applications without evidence of genuine, sustained engagement will not be considered. 

Route 2 Eligibility Requirements:

  • Admission GPA of 3.4 - 4.0
  • Completion of all three prerequisite courses
  • Completion of CASPer (no quartile minimum required for Route 2)
  • Self-identification of at least one Route 2 indicator (see bullet list below)
  • Submission of Route 2 narrative responses as part of the Statement of Interest/ASRQ by the January 31 application deadline. 

Route 2 Indicators Include:

  • Member of an equity-seeing group (ie: racialized communities, people with disabilities and the 2SLGBTQIA+ community, etc)
  • First person in your immediate family to attend University
  • Veteran of the Canadian Armed Forces
  • Significant work experience in an OT-relevant setting (minimum 500 hours). Formal certificate in leadership education or training. 
  • 15 University credits in Indigenous, Gender, Anti-Racism or EDI studies
  • Additional other category - relevant life experience assessed on its own merits

For full information, including indicator definitions, narrative component instructions, how responses are evaluated, and guidance on whether Route 2 is the right pathway for your application, see the Route 2 details page linked below. 

Route 2: Full Information and Application Instructions

Remaining Applicants

Once the initial selection for Route 1 and Route 2 is complete, all remaining applicants will be considered for admission based on a combination of GPA, CASPer score, and Statement of Interest/ASRQ.

Applicants in Route 1 may be recommended for acceptance or conditional acceptance around mid-May of the admission year. The remaining applicants will be advised of their status from late May, mid-late June etc., through August of the admission year. So, if you don't hear from us at the end of May, your application will be reviewed again in June and so on. Normally all admissions and refusals are completed and a waiting list created by the end of June.

Applicants who have been placed on the waitlist are required to submit official transcripts showing any outstanding winter/spring grades, prerequisite courses, or degree completion to the department by June 30 of the admission year. These documents must be emailed as PDF's to mscot@ualberta.ca .

Applicants who do not complete this requirement by June 30 will be removed from the waitlist.

Successful applicants will be contacted by email. It's imperative that you maintain up-to-date contact information in Bear Tracks. If offered admission students must confirm their intentions to attend by submitting a non-refundable confirmation deposit of $175 payable to the University of Alberta (details will be included in the admission letter).

Admission Offer

The Department of Occupational Therapy will review the applications and make one of the following admission recommendations:

Unconditional offer

Applicants who have completed a Bachelor's degree and the course prerequisites will be made an unconditional offer of admission via e-mail and in a letter.

Conditional Offer

Applicants who remain in the process of completing the prerequisites and/or Bachelor's degree, will be made a conditional offer via e-mail and in a letter. Conditions may be one of or a combination of: Maintaining a competitive GPA while completing degree, completion of prerequisites or completion of degree.

Wait list offer

After all first round admission offers are made, applicants who were not rejected will be sent an e-mail giving them the option of being placed on a wait list. The number of applicants placed on the wait list varies from year-to-year and will be determined by the Department of Occupational Therapy.

In the event that a successful applicant subsequently declines admission a applicant on the wait list will be offered that seat and notified via e-mail. Historically, wait list applicants have been made offers as late as September 1st of the admission year.

Wait list offers of admission are subject to the Admission Committees review and may change throughout the admission cycle.

Decline

  • Applicants whose GPA or application is not competitive and/or does not meet the minimum 3.0 GPA to apply will be notified in a decline e-mail or letter. Any applicants remaining on the wait list once classes begin will be declined and notified in a decline e-mail.