Application Requirements for Academic Documents

When applying to the University of Alberta you are required to declare on your application ALL academic education from all past and present universities, colleges and post-secondary institutions attended (including the University of Alberta).

In addition to completed degrees, diplomas and post-secondary certificates, programs that are currently in progress, incomplete studies, discontinued studies, non-degree studies/courses, courses or programs taken through university exchanges or by distance, failed courses, transfer credit courses, and online courses must be declared, whether you think they are relevant to the degree you are applying to, or not. Even if courses taken at one institution are recorded on another institution's transcript, transcripts must be submitted from the institution at which the courses were taken.

Your complete and up-to-date post-secondary educational history is required by the academic department for a complete review and evaluation of your application.

Failure to list and provide complete transcripts from all institutions you attended on the application may be considered an intentional omission and will lead to the cancellation of your application for admission or withdrawal of your offer of admission.

Uploaded documents must meet the following criteria in order to be accepted:

  • An official transcript issued to you by the post-secondary institution (preferred); OR
  • A transcript/student record obtained from self-serve web system of the post-secondary institution and include the system's URL and print date. Note: GPS may request official documents if deemed necessary.
  • The document must include your full name, post-secondary institution name, academic program, the grading scheme/scale legend, names and numbers of courses, year and term of attendance, credits, and grades received.
  • The transcript must be scanned in its entirety (front and back pages), including the transcript legend typically printed on the back of the transcript, and be legible. Ensure that no information is cut off during scanning.
  • Up-to-date transcripts are defined as transcripts dated or issued in the fall/winter session of the year of application (if currently registered) or within a year of the term for which you are applying (if not currently registered).
  • All Canadian and American transcripts must have a recent date on which it was printed.
  • As applicable:
    • Transcripts provided to support a degree that has been conferred must cover the entire period of the degree.
    • A literal English translation of transcripts in languages other than English must be provided by the issuing institution or by a certified translator.
    • Transcripts issued by a Canadian institution in French are acceptable. They do not need to be translated into English.
  • If the official language of instruction at your institution is not English, please include both the original language document and a certified literal English translation for the transcript and degree certificate/diploma by the issuing institution or by a certified translator.
  • A Degree Certificate must accompany transcripts* that do not clearly indicate:
    • that a degree has been conferred/awarded/granted; and
    • the date on which the degree was conferred.
  • Degree certificates must include the date of conferral, the registrar's signature, and a post-secondary institution stamp or seal.
  • Individual mark sheets are required for India and Pakistan; consolidated transcripts are not acceptable. Graduate Certificate, Graduate Degree and Transcripts in original language and English translation are required for documents from China.
  • You may have an interim transcript that does not yet indicate that a degree has been conferred and the date that the degree was conferred. However, final transcripts from all North American and many international institutions will include this information; in which case there is no need to submit a Degree Certificate.

Please note:

  • The University will refuse any screenshots, photographs, or prints of an unofficial document.
  • We do not accept documents notarized by a notary public, or endorsed by a lawyer, professor, or judge.
  • Transcripts uploaded on the online application portal are considered to be unofficial documents.
  • Please do not send official hard-copy documents unless we request them from you in a conditional admission offer letter.
  • If you receive a conditional offer of admission letter and accept the offer, you must then provide official hard-copy transcripts. These must be sent directly from the post-secondary institution in a sealed envelope to the Faculty of Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies office to clear your condition(s) of admission.

Your offer of admission will be contingent upon the receipt and verification of these official documents by GPS.